Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay) &
Ben Roberts (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 April 1951 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

Wherever adventure beckons, you'll find Captain Horatio Hornblower!

Plot:

During the Napoleonic wars, a British naval captain has adventures in Central American waters.

Plot Keywords:

Napoleonic Wars | Frigate | Megalomaniac | British Navy | Fortress

Cast

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	...	Entenza
Michael Goodliffe	...	Col. Caillard (POW escort)
Eugene Deckers	...	French commandant
Ingeborg von Kusserow	...	Hebe (Lady Barbara's maid) (as Ingeborg Wells)
Amy Veness	...	Mrs. McPhee (Hornblower's housekeeper)
Kynaston Reeves	...	Adm. Lord Hood
Ronald Adam	...	Adm. McCartney
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Basil Bartlett	...	Capt. Elliott (uncredited)
Robert Cawdron	...	French mate on 'Witch of Endor' (uncredited)
Diane Cilento	...	Voice of Maria Hornblower (uncredited)
Howard Connell	...	Seaman on 'Lydia' (uncredited)
Patric Doonan	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Richard Johnson	...	Macrae (Surgeon's Mate) (uncredited)
Sam Kydd	...	Seaman Garvin (uncredited)
Peter Morton	...	Hommel - Flogged Seaman (uncredited)
Stuart Pearless	...	Seaman on 'Lydia' (uncredited)
Raymond Sherry	...	Seaman on 'Lydia' (uncredited)
Jack Stewart	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Russell Waters	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Jack Watson	...	Capt. Sylvester (uncredited)
Byron Webster	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Patrick Young	...	Lt. Radot (uncredited)

Directed by
Raoul Walsh

Writing credits
Ivan Goff		(screenplay) &
Ben Roberts		(screenplay) and
Æneas MacKenzie		(screenplay) (as Aeneas MacKenzie)
C.S. Forester		adaptation &
C.S. Forester		novel

Produced by
Gerry Mitchell	....	producer (uncredited)
Raoul Walsh	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Robert Farnon

Cinematography by
Guy Green		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jack Harris

Casting by
Robert Lennard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Thomas N. Morahan		(as Tom Morahan)

Costume Design by
Sheila Graham
Thomas N. Morahan		(as Tom Morahan)

Makeup Department
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Martin	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ken Adam	....	associate art director (uncredited)
Bill Beavis	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harold V. King	....	sound (as Harold King)

Special Effects by
Harry Barndollar	....	special effects
George Blackwell	....	special effects
Arthur Rhoades	....	special effects (as Arthur S. Rhoades)
Cliff Richardson	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Peter Ellenshaw	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Jack Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Gillett	....	electrician (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director

Other crew
Joan Bridge	....	technicolor color consultant
I.T. Clark	....	technical advisor (as Cmdr. I.T. Clark)
David O. Selznick	....	Gregory Peck by arrangement with
Joan Davis	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (as A Warner Bros. First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1951) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1951) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1951) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Germany) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Captain Horatio Hornblower (USA)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Patric Doonan replaced Raymond Sherry.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Hornblower asks whether Lady Barbara is related to the Duke of Wellington. This is in 1807. Sir Arthur Wellesley was elevated to the Peerage after the Battle of Talavera and to a Dukedom in 1814 after the Army invaded France. In 1807 he was still Sir Arthur. The post of Duke of Wellington did not exist.

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Monkees: Hitting the High Seas (#2.12)" (1967)

A Serene Noble Epic, Masterfully Told

I don't know that much about the story of Captain Horatio Hornblower, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of this version. I saw it because I was interested in its director Raoul Walsh, who creates another of his roaring and high-spirited masterworks with this serene, honest, swiftly-paced adventure of the 19th-century British Fleet Captain, from the celebrated three novels by C. F. Forester. Walsh depicts Hornblower, fantastically incarnated by Gregory Peck, as a modest man characterized by a sense of duty and honor. Peck is perfect for the role. Aided by stunning Technicolor scenery and marvellous score, this simple epic on the high seas navigates through several battles in Spain, France, and South America. Walsh's staging of the battle scenes is flawless. But I was really impressed by the romantic moments by Hornblower and Virginia Mayo's Lady Barbara Wellesley. Their love scenes are wonderfully gentle and moving without being forcefully sentimental.

"Captain Horatio Hornblower" is a great timeless classic from a master director.