Captain Kidd

The name is synonymous with the idea of a pirate, Captain William Kidd, a supposed pirate tried, sentenced and executed in 1701 for his actions as a pirate on the high seas. Historians debate now whether Kidd was in fact a pirate because much of his actions seemed to correspond more with the idea of a privateer, not a pirate. Nonetheless, his name still conjures up stereotypical pirates with eye patches and parrots on their shoulders. Released in 1945, Captain Kidd is anything but historically accurate no matter who or what the real-life Kidd was like. It's a Hollywood take on his "pirating" years, historical accuracy be damned.

Right in the middle of Hollywood's Golden Era, Captain Kidd was released when high seas adventures were at their most popular. Swashbuckling adventures starring Errol Flynn always went over well with audiences, and the appeal is clear when watching films like these. Traveling across thousands of miles of open water on tall ships does have an air of romanticism even though the life had nothing romantic or glamorous about it. Idealized is a good way to describe the life of a sailor on these ships, but it can be fun just to imagine what the life was like. In this case, Kidd is a very smart, very devious captain, always looking for a way to become rich himself, making promises to anyone who will listen only to turn on them the first chance he gets. Sounds like a good guy, doesn't he?

After looting an English ship off Madagascar, Captain William Kidd (Charles Laughton) and three officers (John Carradine, Gilbert Roland, and Sheldon Leonard) bury piles of treasure taken from the ship. They return to London, no one the wiser of what they've just done. Ever the convincing sort, Kidd manages to acquire a contract as an escort of an English ship traveling from India back to London by way of Madagascar. With a crew of pardoned convicts, Kidd's ship heads south around South Africa looking to meet their future target. Kidd has some ulterior motives though, starting with killing off his three officers who also know the location of the buried treasure. He's suspicious though of one of the crew, Adam Mercy (Randolph Scott), who he believes to be a spy placed on board by the English king to keep an eye on things. What are Mercy's intentions, and what exactly is he up to?

Laughton was no stranger himself to movies on the high seas, starring in 1935's Mutiny on the Bounty as the evil Captain Bligh, pushing his crew to a mutiny. In that role, he plays straight evil, a captain with a mean streak down his back like no other. Playing another historical figure here, Laughton gets to have a little more fun with the part. There's no doubt Kidd is the villain. That's not in questions. He connives and backstabs, betrays and lies, doing anything he can to kill off his rivals for the treasure. But in a weird way, he's got this odd ability to be charming in doing it. Granted, you know nothing good will come of anything he does, but he's able to disarm worries almost at will, an ability that certainly comes in handy when eveyrone around him is suspicious of him.

Above all else, Laughton's performance as Captain William Kidd is the best thing the movie has going for it. Bringing that charm to the character, Laughton makes every scene interesting. He is always up to something and then retreats to his cabin where he keeps a list of all his intended targets. When he does start knocking them off, he slowly draws a line through their name, an evil smile ever present on his face. It also doesn't hurt that Laughton's physical appearance throws you off. He's short and chubby, disheveled hair on his head. He doesn't look evil or even particularly bad. That's the fun though, a villain with a sense of humor, that ever-present mean streak, and a sense of paranoia when things start to go against him.

Looking surprisingly young for someone who was 47 years old at the time, Randolph Scott plays...well, Randolph Scott. His Adam Mercy character delivers a good twist about three-quarters of the way into the movie, but not the one you would think or have been led to believe. He's the strong-willed, silent but very capable character who in a lot of movies would have been the lead. Instead, he gets overshadowed by Laughton's performance. Still, it's Randolph Scott, and he's still cool. Carradine and Roland are unfortunately underused, but just by being there, the story is enhanced. I think Carradine always played the bad guy, and Roland gets a crack at his familiar Latin lover part. Throwing in a love interest, Barbara Britton plays Lady Anne, a woman brought on-board who Scott's Mercy looks out for.

Not as well known as so many other entries, Captain Kidd has lapsed into the public domain over the years. What's that mean? No studio holds rights on the movie so anyone who wants to can distribute the film in any form they so choose. Because of this, the prints aren't going to be that good with a grainy, washed out look. Individual shots are different shades of black and white, one scene much too dark and grainy, the next too bright where things are hard to make out. It's not a deal-breaker, but you can't help but notice it as you watch the movie. All complaints aside though, I liked this movie a lot, thanks in great part to Charles Laughton as the titular character, Captain Kidd. The movie would be just okay without him, but as is, it's moved up a notch. You can watch it at Youtube HERE.

Captain Kidd <---TCM clips (1945): ***/****