Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)

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:

To save costs the Hispaniola from 'Treasure Island' was reused and renamed Lydia but now the ship was rocked instead of the horizon, this caused many problems due to the combined weight of ship crew and equipment.

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 "The Monkees: Hitting the High Seas (#2.12)" (1967)

In the Age Of Sail, there was no one better . . . .

Adapted from C.S. Forester's saga, this movie condenses three of his novels from the Napoleonic era into a fine movie well worth watching. From the first few minutes of music and opening narrative where we first meet Hornblower (a captain of steel who uses his brains to defeat his enemies), the audience is hooked. Peck, in one of his best performances, plays the lead role to perfection in every way, right down to Hornblower's trademark "Ha - h'm." Mayo is well cast as Lady Barbara (the Duke of Wellington's sister) who manages to get under Hornblower's skin with the help of Cupid's arrows. This film deftly blends an array of fine performances, excellent camerawork, beautiful scenery, Robert Farnon's spirited musical score, and well- choreographed ship battle sequences into a brilliant work of art that will leave audiences - and fans of Forester's series - wanting to see it again. An excellent choice!