Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)

During the Napoleonic wars, a British Navy Captain has adventures in Central American waters.

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay), Ben Roberts (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Capt. Entenza

Storyline

In 1807, Captain Horatio Hornblower leads his ship the HMS Lydia on a perilous voyage around Cape Horn and into the Pacific. The men, even his officers, don't know exactly where he is leading them. England is at war with Napoleon and everyone wonders why they have been sent so far from the action. They eventually arrive on the Pacific coast of Central America where the HMS Lydia has been sent to arm Don Julian Alvarado, who is planning an attack against France's Spanish allies on the North American continent. The hope is that Alvarado's forces will require the French to divert some of their military resources to North American defense in the aid of their Spanish allies. He arrives to learn that a Spanish Galleon is en route and he no sooner captures it and hands it over to Alvarado that he learns the Spanish are now England's allies and he must take it from Alvarado. He also gets a very comely passenger in the form of Lady Barbara Wellesley, sister of the Duke of Wellington. The ...

---

Plot Keywords:

napoleonic wars | naval battle | navy | soldier | british | 

---

Taglines:

A great picturization of C.S. Forester's famous novel of romance and adventure!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

10 April 1951 (UK)

Also Known As:

Captain Horatio Hornblower

Filming Locations:

Mediterranean Sea

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo re-created their roles for a January 21, 1952 broadcast of radio's "Lux Theater".

---

Goofs

When Lady Barbara Wellesley introduces herself to Capt. Hornblower, he is startled and blurts out, "You're not related to the Duke of Wellington!"

It's supposed to be the year 1807, so technically, this is a goof, since her brother, Sir Arthur Wellesley, was not made Duke of Wellington until about 1814. Indeed, he was not even a peer of any level until 1809. He was just "Sir Arthur". However, as a dramatic device for the movie's story, it does quickly establish Lady Barbara as a very important person.

---

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... headed north again into the Pacific. For seven months, she ...

---

Connections

Edited into The Story of Mankind (1957)

User Reviews

Raoul Walsh shows how an excellent adventure movie must be...

Raoul Walsh shows how an excellent adventure movie has to be made: Take two Hollywood stars (Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo), send them to Eng- land, take British character actors for the supporting roles (Robert Beatty, James Robertson Justice) and take finally a good English stunt team. For me it is one of the best adventure movies at all, with excellent battle sequences, visual effects and a good cinematography by Oscar-winner (for GREAT EXPECTATIONS, 1946)Guy Green (1913-2005). I recorded that movie from the TV, and I was not pleased about removing the clips, so I'm asking: When will the DVD in Germany appear? Regards, Hans-Dieter