Captain from Castile (1947)

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

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay), Samuel Shellabarger (novel)

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Spain, 1518: young caballero Pedro De Vargas offends his sadistic neighbor De Silva, who just happens to be an officer of the Inquisition. Forced to flee, Pedro, friend Juan Garcia, and adoring servant girl Catana join Cortez' first expedition to Mexico. Arriving in the rich new land, Cortez decides to switch from exploration to conquest...with only 500 men. Embroiled in continuous adventures and a romantic interlude, Pedro almost forgets he has a deadly enemy...

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | romantic rivalry | mother son relationship | brother sister relationship | homosexual subtext | 

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Taglines:

Conqueror of a New World!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Nahuatl

Release Date:

January 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Capitaine de Castille

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Peters had never acted before this film. She replaced Linda Darnell, who was originally cast in the lead but shortly before production began was taken off the picture and given the lead in Forever Amber (1947), replacing inexperienced lead actress Peggy Cummins. Peters was given the lead in this picture based on a screen test she had taken at Fox just a week before filming began that had impressed the film's producers.

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Goofs

When an announcement is made in the town square in Cuba, it is preceded and followed by an extra who makes a poor attempt at playing a roll on a conga, with one hand tripping over the other. As Cuba is the home of the conga, there were hundreds of local experts who could have played it properly and at three times the speed.

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Quotes

Pedro De Vargas: [finding Botello lying on the ground] Botello, what happened?
Prof. Botello: [groans] What misery! I'm lucky to be alive! Oh, my poor head!
Pedro De Vargas: But what happened?
Prof. Botello: You won't tell on me, Pedro lad?
Pedro De Vargas: Of course not!
Prof. Botello: I was just taking a stroll with one of those Indian ladies - ugly as sin, of course, color of mud, but charming, dear boy, charming.
Pedro De Vargas: You know the penalty for touching an Indian!
Prof. Botello: Now, now, Pedro, you know orders don't apply to a cockroach like me.

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Connections

Featured in 20th Century-Fox: The First 50 Years (1997)

User Reviews

Melodramatic and Romantic Epic Adventure

In the spring of 1518, in Spain, the nobleman Pedro de Vargas (Tyrone Power) helps the Indian slave and his friend Coatl (Jay Silverheels) to escape from the cruel Diego de Silva (John Sutton) and then he rescues the plebeian Catana Perez (Jean Peters) from two men of Diego de Silva. He goes to the inn where Catana works to explain why the sheets are torn up, and Pedro befriends Juan Garcia (Lee J. Cobb), a simple man that made fortune in Cuba.

When he comes home, Pedro finds that Diego de Silva has used his political influence to accuse Pedro and his family of heretics and they are imprisoned. Diego's executioners torture and kill Pedro's twelve years old sister but Juan Garcia and Catana help Pedro and his the family to escape from prison: Pedro's parents go to Italy and Pedro, Juan and Catana go to Cuba and join Cortez' expedition to Mexico. They participate of the fall of the Aztec Empire in the beginning of the Spanish colonization of the New World.

"Captain from Castile" is a melodramatic and romantic epic adventure having the historic conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortez as background. Tyrone Power is excellent in the role of a Spaniard nobleman that joins the first expedition of Cortez to Mexico and is promoted to captain for his loyalty and efficiency. Jean Peters is amazingly beautiful and John Sutton is a great villain. The story is politically incorrect in the present days but is accurate and a great entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Capitão de Castela" ("The Captain from Castile")