wes-connors In the late 1600s, dastardly pirate Charles Laughton (as Captain William Kidd) convinces King William III (Henry Daniell) he's above board - but, of course, Mr. Laughton is pulling the King's leg. One of the Captain's seafaring crew of cutthroats, heroic Randolph Scott (as Adam Mercy), poses a threat. Laughton killed Mr. Scott's father, and soon adds the father of beautiful-on-board Barbara Britton (as Lady Anne Dunstan) to his list of victims. Scott falls for the fetching Ms. Britton.Entertaining as always, Laughton makes the most of his role. Scott seems like a fish out of water; and, to varying degrees, so do many in the cast. The interesting crew features "first mate" performances from Reginald Owen (as Shadwell) and John Carradine (as Povey). Smaller roles essayed by Gilbert Roland (as Lorenzo) and William Farnum (as Captain Rawson) are equally satisfying. Alas, the production is rushed and unsatisfying, despite an "Oscar"-nominated score, by Werner Janssen.***** Captain Kidd (11/22/45) Rowland V. Lee ~ Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton

funkyfry It's a very basic story – Laughton plays Kidd, a merchant captain who cons the King of England (Henry Daniell) into allowing him to take to the sea to recover a lost treasure and escort a ship back to London. And old fellow conspirator who he thought dead (John Carradine) and a mysterious young man (Randolph Scott) manage to get on board and cause problems for Kidd.The production values are quite decent actually, but the photography is relatively straightforward (it had also deteriorated a lot in the copy I saw on DVD). Quite a lot of good use is made of the ship sets. The costumes are pretty well done – I'm used to seeing very flamboyant and extravagant costumes in these "period" pictures but this one had some resemblance to what I'd imagine to be real period fashions, even down to Scott's ridiculous (but fitting) Samuel Adams bobbed hairstyle.The cast really makes this one stand out from the pack – Scott is a very sturdy and believable hero, and Laughton just reeks of immorality and that very British concept of "low" birth. Carradine never cut a finer figure than he does here.Only real complaint would be that the direction and the photography were rather quaint – I hadn't seen the date on the print and I really thought I was seeing a film from about ten years earlier than when this one was actually produced. There was even a shot – when Scott and the heroine (Barbara Britton) land on the small island – that I think was probably done with front projection, possibly glass mattes from photographs or paintings. Those are kind of nice touches for the fan, but it speaks to how old-fashioned this film was even at the time of its release. It offers the kind of loose romantic thrills that you would hope it to, and I expected nothing more of the film.

Michael O'Keefe Very good swashbuckler film from the mid 40s. Charles Laughton is at his best...deceitful, scheming and conniving as Captain William Kidd. The ruthless Captain Kidd buries treasure on Madagascar intending to never split the spoils with anyone. And that same treasure may never be found. The infamous pirate tries to pull a scheme on the King of England by offering to give protection to a treasure ship bound from India to England. Kidd will skillfully remove the treasure from the ship he is suppose to be guarding and then blows it to smithereens. But is the notorious scoundrel of the sea smart enough to keep escaping the law? CAPTAIN KIDD features a talented and well respected cast: Randolph Scott, Reginald Owen, Gilbert Roland, John Carradine, Barbara Britton, John Qualen and Sheldon Leonard.

bkoganbing Anyone who's thinking that they will get the story of Captain William Kidd is in for one disappointing viewing. This is not the story of the real William Kidd who in fact some say, may not even have been a pirate, merely a British privateer. There's some controversy raging to this day about whether he left some buried treasure in and around the New York City area. In fact colonial New York is where the captain's base of operations was, though New York gets the barest mention in the beginning of the film.This version of Kidd has him as a cockney with a burning ambition to rise in class. Actually Kidd was born in Scotland in either Aberdeen or Dundee depending on what source you use. He's a clever rogue, after sinking a king's ship and then accusing that noble captain of piracy.Giving that story to King William III of Orange, Kidd gets a ship and he picks a crew of cutthroats and sets sail to do more plunder.Captain Kidd suffers from two faults mainly. It's badly edited, the film clearly begins at a point where some previous action took place explaining some of what we see. Probably something of New York where Kidd began his career. A whole lot of things are left up in the air because of this. Secondly, Randolph Scott is horribly miscast in a part that Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power or Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. should have played. My guess is that none of these gentlemen could be secured for a loan out from their studios. Even Cornel Wilde or Louis Hayward would have been better.But what enjoyment you get in the film comes from Charles Laughton's florid performance as Captain Kidd. Basically what he's done is taken his Horace Prin character from White Woman and set him to sea. Laughton's overacting is nicely counterbalanced by Reginald Owen as a valet he's hired and takes to sea to teach him the fine art of being a gentleman. Laughton overacts outrageously, but I'm sure he realized that without it, the film would have been dull as dishwater.Gilbert Roland, John Carradine, and Sheldon Leonard are all part of Laughton's gang of thieves. Barbara Britton looks properly demure as a heroine caught up among them. And Henry Daniell, the man with the built in sneer in his voice, for once plays a good guy as King William.Charles Laughton fans will love Captain Kidd. And Laughton was even more outrageous when he reprised Captain Kidd when he met up with Abbott and Costello. But that's a whole other movie.