CAPTAIN KIDD

US, 1945, 90 minutes, Black and white.
Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Reginald Owen, John Carradine, Gilbert Roland, Sheldon Leonard.
Directed by Rowland V. Lee.

Captain Kidd is an enjoyable pirate yarn. Some of the production looks a bit cheap - perhaps the necessities of 1945. However, the black and white photography is effective, the studio sets are sometimes good, as for the palace and for the cabins on the ship, sometimes weak, as for the models of the pirate ships. There is a rousing score. However, the film stands out because of the performance by Charles Laughton as Captain Kidd. It is a lower-key version of his Captain Bligh from The Mutiny on the Bounty. This is a callous man, quietly spoken yet vicious, greedy and ruthless - with an ironic tone. Laughton obviously enjoys this role. Randolph Scott is a rather stolid period hero. However, there is good support from Reginald Owen as the servant, Gilbert Roland as Lorenzo and John Carradine as Povey. The film was directed by Rowland V. Lee, veteran of a number of period dramas from the '30s and '40s.

1.Enjoyable pirate adventure? The 17th century and the tradition of the pirates? The English and Spanish navies? The plunder? The buried treasure? The cut-throat attitudes of the pirates? The reactions of governments?
2.Black and white photography, studio sets, effects? Making the film credible? The musical score?

3.Charles Laughton's portrayal of Captain Kidd: his career, pirate, the buried treasure, killing his opposition and burying them? The journey to England, his pretence, his humility in the court of William III? Persuasive manner of speech, simplicity? His ambition for the Blaine household and properties? His getting his crew? His reliance on Lorenzo and Boyle? Povey and his arrival, the battle of wits? Taking on Mercy? Shadwell's servant? The voyage, the confrontation with his previous partners? The mission, the taking of the ship, the taking of the treasure, the killing of the ambassador? Kidd and the confrontation with Mercy? Mercy and his fight with Lorenzo, Lorenzo's death? Kidd engineering Boyle's death? The clash, the digging up of the treasure? The punishment of Mercy, his escape on the boat, his disappearance? The lady? Kidd's return to England, the visit to William III, the report about his piracy, Povey's death? The appearance of Blaine and the lady? His last words on the gallows?

4.The sketch of the pirates: Lorenzo and his help to Kidd, his attachment to the lady, the fight with Mercy? Boyle and his indiscretions? Povey and his shrewdness, the bargaining, self-protection? The pirate crew?

5.Mercy, in Newgate Prison, his pirate background, on the boat, the clash with Kidd? His really being Blaine, his sense of mission? the burning of the ship? The lady? The revelation of the truth to her? Shadwell and his assistance? His own servant? The attempts on his life? His escape? The vindication at the end?

6.The lady, the death of her father, in love with Blaine, happy ending? Shadwell and his service, service to Kidd, help to Blaine, his death?

7.The court of England, territories, ships, ambassadors, treasure, justice?

8.The popular ingredients of pirate stories? The legends of the pirates? How enjoyable an example?