Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay) &
Ben Roberts (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 April 1951 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

Wherever adventure beckons, you'll find Captain Horatio Hornblower!

Plot:

During the Napoleonic wars, a British naval captain has adventures in Central American waters.

Plot Keywords:

Napoleonic Wars | Frigate | Megalomaniac | British Navy | Fortress

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Capt. Horatio Hornblower, R.N
Virginia Mayo	...	Lady Barbara Wellesley
Robert Beatty	...	Lt. William Bush
Moultrie Kelsall	...	Lt. Crystal (as M. Kelsall)
Terence Morgan	...	2nd Lt. Gerard (as T. Morgan)
James Kenney	...	Midshipman Longley
James Robertson Justice	...	Seaman Quist (as James R. Justice)
Denis O'Dea	...	RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
Richard Hearne	...	Polwheal (Hornblower's batman)
Michael Dolan	...	Surgeon Gundarson
Stanley Baker	...	Mr. Harrison (bosun)
Alan Tilvern	...	Hernandez
Alec Mango	...	El Supremo (Don Julian Alvarado)
Christopher Lee	...	Spanish captain
John Witty	...	Entenza

Also Known As:

Captain Horatio Hornblower (USA)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Peck and Mayo recreated their roles for a 1/21/52 broadcast of radio's Lux Theater.

Goofs:

Factual errors: After the Natividad is first captured, Hornblower states he was last in his class in sword play. This is incorrect, as midshipmen in the Royal Navy did not attend a school, but rather learned on board their ships. This is also not included in the book.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In the year Eighteen Hundred and Seven, a small ship of the Royal Navy set sail from England for a secret destination. With five million French and Spanish soldiers poised on the Continent under Napolean, nothing could save England from invasion except her 300 ships. HMS Lydia was soon far beyond battle-charged Europe. Under the most secret of sealed orders, she sailed for southern waters, fought her way around the Horn...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)

A true classic,even in Spain

This film is not frequently shown in Spanish television,but even with a clumsy Spanish dubbing-in which our heroic Hornblower changes his voice two times!one can see why it must be considered a classic of entertainment-Gregory Peck in his best years,ships, troubled romance,heroic sacrifice, the very Forester behind, and even a baby!And for me,its an extra pleasure checking a very young Christopher Lee trying to speak Spanish. This film is the perfect introduction for the still better, if possible, series starring Ioan Gruffudd which came so many years later.