Captain from Castile (1947)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Samuel Shellabarger (novel)
Lamar Trotti (writer)

Release Date:

January 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Master of Women's Hearts . . . . . . . Conqueror of a New World.

Plot:

The invasion of Mexico by Cortez, as seen by a young Spanish officer fleeing the Inquisition.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Inquisition | Spain | Expedition | Caballero

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Pedro De Vargas
Jean Peters	...	Catana Perez
Cesar Romero	...	Hernando Cortez
Lee J. Cobb	...	Juan Garcia
John Sutton	...	Diego De Silva
Antonio Moreno	...	Don Francisco De Vargas
Thomas Gomez	...	Father Bartolome Romero
Alan Mowbray	...	Prof. Botello (the astrologer)
Barbara Lawrence	...	Luisa De Carvajal
George Zucco	...	Marquis De Carvajal
Roy Roberts	...	Capt. Alvarado
Marc Lawrence	...	Corio

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In several of the scenes in Mexico, a large smoke cloud is seen on the horizon. At the end of the movie smoke is shown rising from a volcano. This is most likely a fortuitous eruption of the Paricutin volcano in 1947, when the movie was filmed, standing in for the eruption of Popocatepetl on Cortez's day.

Quotes:

Father Bartolome Romero: God's love is a heavy burden.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Conquistadors" (2000)

Excellent "old school" adventure film.

The first time I saw a version of "Captain from Castile" was on a black and white TV in the late Fifties and it became one of my favorite films which I have seen at least ten times and will continue to pull it out. It was a pleasant surprise to see the full version in color as I thought it was shot in black and white

This doesn't have the spectacular effects of today's films. It is just an excellent "old school" adventure film which deals with honor and loyalty which are pretty much lacking in today's films. It fired my young imagination and encouraged me to read the book by Samuel Shellabarger upon which it was based.

It has a wonderful cast including Ty Power, Jean Peters, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Caesar Romero, and a lot of veterans in minor rolls including Jay Silverheels (Tonto). Alfred Newman's score is good.

Power was great as usual and Jean Peters turns in an excellent performance -- this was her first film.

Much of the film was shot in Mexico following the actual route that Cortez followed when he was conquering the Aztecs. (Check out the live volcano in the background that was erupting while the film was shot. That ain't a painted background.)

I highly recommend this film especially if you haven't seen a Tyrone Power film because this is one of his best.