Captain Kidd (1945)

The unhistorical adventures of pirate Captain Kidd revolve around treasure and treachery.

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (screenplay), Robert N. Lee (original story)

Stars:

Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Laughton	...	Capt. William Kidd
Randolph Scott	...	Adam Mercy / Adam Blayne
Barbara Britton	...	Lady Anne Dunstan
Reginald Owen	...	Cary Shadwell
John Carradine	...	Orange Povy
Gilbert Roland	...	Jose Lorenzo
John Qualen	...	Bart Blivens
Sheldon Leonard	...	Cyprian Boyle
William Farnum	...	Capt. Rawson
Henry Daniell	...	King William III

Storyline

In this unhistorical account, Capt. William Kidd is already a clever, ruthless pirate when, in 1699, he tricks the king into commissioning him as escort for a treasure ship from India. He enlists a crew of pardoned cutthroats - and Orange Povey, whom Kidd once abandoned on a reef and hoped never to see again. Of course, Kidd's intentions are treacherous. But there's more to gunner Adam Mercy than meets the eye.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | pirate | king | diamond | pearls | 

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Taglines:

Adventure on the high seas!

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film as director for Rowland V. Lee.

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Goofs

Near the start of the movie as Capt Kidd is burying his treasure in the cave, he shoots one of his sailors. Kidd is holding the gun in his right hand pointed toward the victim. When he shoots there is a large volume of smoke. The shot shifts to a broad shot of the cave showing the dead sailor, other members of the crew and Kidd. In this shot, there is no smoke from the gun being fired and Kidd is holding the gun pointed to the ground by his side.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Capt. William Kidd: Stab me, there's a pretty sight!
Orange Povey: It'll be prettier still when the fire reaches the magazine, Captain.
Cyprian Boyle: Pity though. Lots of stout seamen among 'em. They've been with us a long time.
Capt. William Kidd: We can none of live forever, Mr. Boyle. Dead men don't talk.

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Alternate Versions

The Roan Group DVD version, which comes from an excellent print, is sadly missing one of the best scenes in the film. In the scene Charles Laughton has trouble dressing for dinner on the ship, he is chastised for his hair-do by his valet, and then gets confused with his manners during dinner. We also learn a little more about Randolph Scott's character in this delightful scene. It can be found on the Australian VHS release from Force Video.

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Connections

Featured in Sprockets: Masters of Menace (1995)

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Soundtracks

Rule Britannia
(uncredited)
Lyrics by James Thomson
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Heard when toasting the merchant ship and when the ships meet on the sea

User Reviews

A Bit Disappointing

Seeing Charles Laughton in a nautical-themed movie, I was hoping for something akin to his brilliant turn in "Mutiny On The Bounty" made 10 years earlier. Unfortunately, aside from another good performance from Laughton, this bears little resemblance to that earlier masterpiece. There's not really much "nautical" adventure in this. Even when the movie is set on the high seas, we rarely see the sea, the story being confined to the inner parts of the ship. Laughton's Kidd is not an historical treatment of the legendary pirate, but rather a mythical yarn about Kidd's attempt to reclaim a treasure stashed away near Madagascar, and his attempts to gain even more treasure by selling himself to King William III as a protector and escort of one of His Majesty's ships en route from India to England laden with riches.

The performances here were all right - headed of course by Laughton - but the story honestly didn't really capture me. Compared to Laughton's earlier "Bounty" this seemed much older in terms of production values and quality, in spite of it being made 10 years later. Overall, it's something of a disappointment.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1945 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Le capitaine Kidd

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Benedict Bogeaus Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1