Captain from Castile (1947)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay)
Samuel Shellabarger (novel)

Release Date:

January 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Master of Women's Hearts . . . . . . . Conqueror of a New World.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Inquisition | Mexico | Expedition | Spain | Caballero

Awards:

Nominated for 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

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #12051) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

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 20th Century-Fox took her off the picture and gave her the lead in Forever Amber (1947). 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Conquistadors" (2000)

Sweeping is the word that springs to mind!.

The Spanish inquisition and the invasion of Cortez into Mexico..........Henry King style!.

A film firmly split in two halves, Captain From Castile may over stretch its aims on the page at times, but its sweepingly gorgeous texture is quite something to behold. Tyrone Power takes up the lead role of Pedro De Vargas and firmly cements his star status with a wonderful performance, handsome and brave, he carries the film easily on its joyous course from Spain to Mexico, whilst stoic male support comes from Cesar Romero {Cortez}, Lee J. Cobb {Juan Garcia}, and John Sutton {Diego De Silva}. Head female duty falls to a vibrantly young Jean Peters {in her film debut} as Catana Perez, pretty and beguiling, her gorgeous green eyes shining bright in this colourful spectacle, she is the perfect foil to Power's dash and swagger.

Production costs are thought to have been over $4 million, tho the film sadly lost money, the money spent is evident at every turn. Director Henry King wonderfully utilises the panoramic vistas of the Mexican locale and the costumes come right out of the top draw, yet the thing that is most memorable about Captain from Castile is the score from Alfred Newman. Stirring and emotionally hard, it has to rank as one of the best scores to have ever been put together, i strongly recommend the isolated score option on the excellent Region 1 DVD.

It's a far from perfect film for sure, but it's harking back to old historical days of yore, and in that respect the piece delivers handsomely, just like its leading man funnily enough. 8/10