Barnacle Bill

Bill Johansen [Wallace Beery] is a lazy fisherman who drags his small, sinking boat into San Pedro harbor, kicking off trouble with ship chandler Pop Cavendish [Donald Meek] and Pop’s spinster daughter Marge Cavendish [Marjorie Main], who would happily marry him if he would finally settle his debts. Pop tries to have the boat attached, but Bill has cleverly listed ownership in the name of his daughter Virginia [Virginia Weidler], whom he hasn’t seen since she was a baby, a ruse that keeps the authorities from seizing the vessel. Meanwhile, reefer ship-owner John Kelly [Barton MacLane] has a monopoly over the local catch, pressuring fishermen to take far less than market value through intimidation and force. Marge judges Bill as the right man to stand up to Kelly, yet Bill yearns for easier money by pursuing swordfishing with his partner Pico [Leo Carrillo], a pursuit that promises a larger payoff with less grind.

Virginia, now twelve, is brought to meet Bill by her Aunt Letty [Sara Haden], who worries about her sister’s memory of Bill and whether he would truly be a capable father. Bill is fond of Virginia but recoils at the thought of parenting, so he persuades Marge to let the girl live ashore with them for the time being. Virginia and Marge soon decide to reform the rough-edged fisherman, and Bill reluctantly accompanies them to church, though his drinking later at supper underlines the turbulence in his life. Virginia reveals the death of her maternal grandfather, Gramps, a famed Gloucester schooner captain, and Bill’s own dream crystallizes in a pipe-dream moment when Virginia hands him Gramps’ captain’s telescope as a symbol of the life he longs to command.

To prove it can happen, Bill and Pico take on work aboard a tuna boat and return to find Virginia and Marge have given the rundown boat a much-needed make-over. When Bill goes to collect his pay, he discovers the haul is far smaller than expected, a sign that Kelly is cheating the fishermen through dishonest scales. After confronting one of Kelly’s henchmen, Bill is offered a bribe to hush up, but the sight of Virginia rallying the other fishermen—armed with a sense of solidarity—convicts him to refuse the corrupt money and throw the henchman into the harbor instead. Virginia stores his wages for safekeeping, while Bill—drinking again—celebrates his new status as a local hero, just as Kelly sabotages the boat by scuttling it after Bill passes out.

As Bill and Pico work to salvage the vessel, Virginia witnesses the threat intensify: the We’re Here, the Gloucester schooner that represents Bill’s dream, is put up for auction. Bill makes the risky move of bidding the highest sum, putting down a deposit and gaining ten days to settle the balance. He openly confesses his longing to sail the We’re Here to the South Seas and sweet-talks Marge into lending the funds, hinting at a possible marriage if the dream becomes real. The other fishermen, meanwhile, propose converting the We’re Here into a reefer ship and offer to finance the transformation, which Bill pretends to accept while secretly leveraging the arrangement to press Kelly for cash to buy supplies for trade abroad.

Virginia discovers the ruse and, disillusioned, asks Aunt Letty to take her home. When Marge arrives to retrieve Virginia’s clothes, Bill reluctantly returns Gramps’ telescope. Yet a change of heart propels him to keep his promise to the men who believed in him. Pop boards the ship as a kind of investor, and Marge disguises herself as cook to keep Bill honest. Bill lands at the fishing grounds just as Kelly intensifies his intimidation, and he returns the money to the fishers, standing firm against coercion. Kelly and his gang attempt to board the We’re Here to scuttle her, but Pop intervenes and the crew—now rallied by Bill—set their plan in motion, forcing the intruders to work as part of weathering a brutal storm.

Virginia and the telescope wait back in San Pedro, and in the wake of these trials Bill and a suddenly bashful Marge seal their bond with a wedding, cementing a new chapter for the Johansen clan.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:49