![]() Most of the second act of the film plays with a series of comedic gags as Kidd tries to lie about his past, but Mercy (who has been recruited for Kidd’s crew) knows his secret. Captain Kidd continues the tradition of utilizing comedy to tell its adventure narrative. Along with the greats like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, Tasker notes films featuring the Keystone Kops as being particularly influential for their use of comedy within chases and fight sequences. As Yvonne Tasker states in her book The Hollywood Action and Adventure Film, action films have often had comedy ingrained in their frameworks since the inception of genre during the silent era. Not only do these opening scenes eloquently reveal the tone of the film, but they also efficiently establish Captain Kidd as a reprehensible antagonist.Īdam Mercy stands up for his fellow prisoners.Īside from the morally black and white character dynamics, another staple of the swashbuckling adventure film that Captain Kidd employs is the use of comedic elements. In the very next scene, Kidd sinfully betrays and kills his first mate to ensure he gets a larger portion of the treasure. Adding to the religious undertones of the scene, a nondiegetic narrator reveals that Kidd has recently plundered another ship called The Virgin Mary. The ship’s name and Kidd’s destruction of it is a clear attempt to suggest Kidd’s wickedness through a Christian context. In the background of the shot, The Twelve Apostles (a ship that Kidd and his crew defeated) is lit ablaze. He dwarfs all other characters on screen and his eyeline points down on them, revealing that he has all of the power in the scene. One of the first shots of the film is Kidd (Charles Laughton) standing proudly on a lifeboat in the foreground. It takes less than thirty seconds after the opening credits finish for Captain Kidd’s writer to reveal to the audience that the titular character is anything but admirable. One of the simplest, yet most effective, ways for an adventure film to convey its message is to have the antagonist act dishonorably while the protagonist fights for the principles that the creators believe is admirable. Rowland V Lee on the set of his adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. The use of morally unambiguous characters, comedic storytelling, and swashbuckling fight scenes within Captain Kidd epitomize the studio-era film industry’s common desire to create simple and fun adventure films during the ubiquitous bleakness of the second world war. This is the same method he used when writing the screenplay for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Captain Kidd’s screenwriter Norman Reilly Raine was aware of these incongruities but decided to focus on retelling the overall legend of William Kidd and not the historical specifics. ![]() Still, there are quite a few historical inaccuracies to be found. The events depicted in the film are roughly based on the historical tales of real-life pirate, William Kidd. With the ship and his new alias, he recruits a crew of prisoners to assist him in stealing more treasure. Lee, 1945’s Captain Kidd tells the story of a conniving pirate who assumes the role of an English captain to steal a ship from the British parliament. Realizing they could frugally reuse many of their sets and props from Douglas Fairbanks’ earlier sea-based adventure films, United Artists put together the relatively low budget Captain Kidd. The United Artists production company found specific interest in the pirate stories of Captain Blood (1935) and The Sea Hawk (1940). and their star Errol Flynn, the early-1940s saw a resurgence of the swashbuckler subgenre across all of Hollywood. Werner Janssen's music for this seafaring adventure received a 1945 Academy Award¨ nomination for "Best Musical Score.Thanks to Warner Bros. Adam Merry (Randolph Scott) and kidnapped noblewoman Lady Ann Falconer (Barbara Britton) help bring Kidd to justice at the end of a rope. He intends to steal the cargo for himself, which he does with the aid of his devious lieutenants (portrayed by Gilbert Roland and John Carradine). Kidd tricks King William III (Henry Daniel) into appointing him the protector of a ship loaded with valuable treasure. Famous 17th century pirate captain William Kidd comes to vibrant life in the hands of Charles Laughton in the high seas swashbuckler Captain Kidd.
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