Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Andrew Grieve

Writers:

C.S. Forester (story)
Patrick Harbinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Plot:

Lt. Hornblower and his crew are captured by the enemy while escorting a Duchess who has secrets of her own.

Plot Keywords:

Duchess | Navy | Fog | Actress | Prison

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd	...	Horatio Hornblower
Robert Lindsay	...	Capt. Pellew
Cherie Lunghi	...	Duchess of Wharfedale
Christopher Fulford	...	M'Man Hunter
Ronald Pickup	...	Don Massaredo
Jamie Bamber	...	Kennedy
Jonathan Coy	...	Lieutenant Bracegirdle
John Woodvine	...	Sir Hew Dalrymple
Paul Copley	...	Matthews
Sean Gilder	...	Styles
Simon Sherlock	...	Oldroyd
Jean-Yves Berteloot	...	Etienne de Vergasse
Vincent S. Boluda	...	Spanish Lieutenant
Jolyon Baker	...	Captain Joubert
Colin MacLachlan	...	Master Bowles

Also Known As:

Horatio Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil (USA)

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

French | Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Peniche, Portugal

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening shot, when a rowing boat comes close to the shore, a helicopter can be heard.

Quotes:

Etienne de Vergasse: So, Mister Hornblower, her grace tells me that you were careless enough as to sail your ship straight into the middle of the Spanish fleet.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Hornblower: Duty (2003) (TV)

If America only knew how good this was.

If America only knew how good this was,it would be the highest rated Made-For-TV movie series of all time(hard to believe there are more people out there that would rather watch "The Columbo Mysteries" than Horatio Hornblower- that just goes to show the power of major network name-brand advertising.

The Hornblower movie series has been television at its finest. I have seen all 6 of the A&E Horatio Hornblower movies,"The Duchess and the Devil" is my favorite of the 6 films. However I tune in to A&E everytime they air a new Hornblower movie. So far all 6 movies have been based on the Horatio Hornblower adventure novels written by C.S. Forester(the same author who wrote African Queen). Each Movie chronicles the on-going adventures of Horatio Hornblower who is a Brittish Lt. in the Brittish Navy during the late 1790's-to early 1800's during the Napoleonic era in Europe. I sincerly believe that each one of these 6 Films has been good enough to have shown at the movie theaters,if the producers had wanted to. Unlike other Made-For-TV films,The Hornblower films do not have that Made-For-TV feeling to them,like most television movies have.

A common misconception that people who havent seen these movies have is that all 6 of these films go to gether as a mini-series- that is not true. The Hornblower movies are not a mini-series,all 6 of these films are individual movies about the same charactor- with all the same actors playing the same roles in each film(EXAMPLE:think of the James Bond films-They are not sequels, but they are all about the adventures of James Bond- that same principle applies to the Hornblower movies) I give the entire Horatio Hornblower movie series 5 out of 5 stars. Its Perfect entertainment- but you cant please everyone, so for those of you dont like epic battleship battles,historic style drama,high stakes adventure, and danger on the high seas,if you dont like stuff like that-there is always Columbo re-run for you to watch.