Captain Kidd (1945)

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writers:

Robert N. Lee (story)
Norman Reilly Raine (writer)

Release Date:

1946 (Austria)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure

Tagline:

Adventure on the high seas!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Pirate | King | Buried Treasure | Secret Compartment | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

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

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Benedict Bogeaus Production

Trivia:

Four years before this movie was made, Charles Laughton co-starred in It Started with Eve (1941), In that film, Laughton's character, Jonathan Reynolds Sr., is said to have been born two centuries too late. The assistant newspaper editor comments that he could have been "Captain Kidd himself".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Lady Anne Dunstan's father is about to be knocked off ship by a swinging treasure chest, and just after he is knocked off deck, a large vertical seam between two of the background flats is clearly visible.

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.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)

Good Action & Intrigue

There's plenty of good action and intrigue in this fictionalized account of the infamous "Captain Kidd". Charles Laughton is in his element as the treacherous, clever pirate captain, and he is given good support from the rest of the cast and from the overall production.

The story starts with Kidd having just successfully completed one of his attacks, and using it as a springboard for a more ambitious and daring plan to make himself an English lord. Despite the rather far-fetched nature both of his scheme and of much of the plot as a whole, Laughton's rousing performance and the movie's other strengths carry everything off nicely.

The story setup is nicely conceived, pitting Kidd and his deceitful scheming against some fully worthy adversaries with plots and secrets of their own, with John Carradine enjoyably spiteful as Kidd's long-time untrustworthy partner, and Randolph Scott as a mysterious convict who gets recruited to be Kidd's master gunner. The three of them join in an entertaining battle of nerves and wits, with most of the other characters serving as useful pawns in their game. Reginald Owen also pitches in as something of a wild card character whose loyalties are, for a time, uncertain.

The action sequences are good, and they are also interspersed at well-chosen intervals in the main plot. It has plenty of interesting detail that sets off the action nicely. This is the kind of action-packed movie that, as long as you don't pause to analyze it too closely, provides very good entertainment with a lot of interesting story developments.