TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Bill Slocum Any Charles Laughton vehicle involving the actor playing an outrageous villain holds definite promise. More the shame that any treasure here is consigned so quickly to Davy Jones' locker.History suggests the historical William Kidd was either an ethically challenged but decent-for-his-day privateer or a traduced innocent. Laughton dispenses with subtleties and portrays him as a fiendish scoundrel, bent on gold and glory any way he can get it. To that end, he enlists inmates of Newgate Prison, including chained-up Adam Mercy (Randolph Scott), as his crew, wanting a company of cutthroats while telling the king they will be motivated by the promise of a pardon."Between their conduct and mine, your majesty, there will be little to choose," he assures King William III (Henry Daniell).Such a mordant sensibility speaks well for the approach taken by director Rowland V. Lee and writer Norman Reilly Raine, accomplished studio veterans both. With Laughton chewing the scenery in his enjoyably hammy way, you might reasonably expect a decent comic adventure to unfold. But things fall apart once Kidd sets sail with his new crew.A big problem for the film is the suffocating performance of Scott, a fine actor when the part suited him, which it doesn't at all here. The Virginia accent is only the surface issue. Deeper still is the fact his character is supposedly a crafty one playing a part, which is more than can be said for Scott himself, hitting his marks and saying his lines with dull efficiency. There's no energy, no reactive spark, rendering his performance deadweight in any film but more so with Laughton playing his part with eye-blinking, lip- smacking glee. They don't belong in the same film.The film makes matters worse by keeping nearly all the action inside Kidd's vessel, as he does away with dim lackies and crosses them off a list he keeps in a secret desk compartment, so even the slowest viewers can keep track. "People have such an awkward habit of getting in my way," he sneers. As other reviewers here note, there's little in the way of swordfights or sea battle to distract you from the rote story.Kidd's big play involves sailing up to a Royal vessel transporting valuable cargo, stealing said cargo, and blowing up the ship, something he seems to think he can get away with even with the captain's daughter, beautiful love interest Lady Anne (Barbara Britton) along for the ride as an honored passenger. A better film would show some real plotting. Lee just gives us close-up after close-up of the ruthless captain curling his lips. We get it already; he's a bad, bad guy.At least in the first half his comic possibilities are decently teased out. Kidd tries his hand at gentlemanly behavior with the huffy tutoring of a valet (Reginald Owen) and exchanges veiled threats with John Carradine as the one subordinate not so foolish as to trust him. Laughton even endures a few fat jokes. A royal aide scoffs at Kidd's play for nobility: "The fellow treats of a title so lightly he must be bursting with noble blood…though I confess he keeps it well-hid."But the more the film goes on, the lazier it gets. Kidd kills with ridiculous ease. Mercy's heroism is presented so squarely Scott with his unpiratey mien and silly wig begins to look like George Washington come off Mount Rushmore. Occasionally he exchanges stage whispers with a valet (John Qualen), detailing a ludicrous backstory about seeking to redeem and avenge his father.The ways Mercy keeps ahead of Kidd's wrath likewise cry plot convenience, except in this case the plot is so thin already it can't bear any strain. The finale is so rushed and nonsensical that it seems clear that everyone associated with "Captain Kidd" was ready to call it a day.That is, except Laughton, who gets to deliver one final soliloquy. Like the character he plays, his tragedy in this film is failing to notice his ship has long since sailed.

Robert J. Maxwell A black-and-white pirate yarn with Laughton as the treacherous Captain Kidd and Randolph Scott as the aggrieved son of a nobleman, looking for revenge. Barbara Britton is the beautiful hostage.First, what a cast. Every character actor in Hollywood must have a part in this production. Second, Charles Laughton is sweaty, plump, and relishes his villainy like Richard III. He turns evil into a joke.The dialog is stilted, flowery, and a little intricate, which, I guess, is the way we think ordinary people used to speak in 1666, but it's fun to listen to. "More wine, you waddling toad" -- that sort of thing, but better. The whole movie is kind of fun, including the musical score which is definitely not by Eric Wolfgang Korngold, but rather less tuneful and with more dissonance.If you're looking for a romantic swashbuckler, this isn't it. See "Captain Blood" or "The Sea Hawk" instead. This is more of a fictionalized passage from the life of William Kidd, terror of the high seas, liar compleat, and wily slob. Since Kidd is played by Charles Laughton, Captain Kidd does not swing from ropes.

Spikeopath Captain Kidd is directed by Rowland V. Lee and adapted to screenplay by Norman Reilly Raine from a story by Robert N. Lee. It stars Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton and John Carradine. Music is scored by Werner Janssen and cinematography by Archie Stout.The late 17th century and ruthless pirate Captain William Kidd (Laughton) is the scourge of the seas and attempts a double cross of King William III (Henry Daniell). His dastardly scheming, however, is in danger of falling apart when he hires ex-convict Adam Mercy (Scott) to be his master gunner. For Mercy has a secret and he also has his own mission to complete.The most ruthless of them all, Captain William Kidd.Forget history and try to enjoy Captain Kidd for its light hearted piratical touches. Running at 90 minutes the film is surprisingly short on blood pumping action, with much of the screenplay given to draggy verbose passages. But there is an overriding sense of fun throughout, with a cast of highly watchable actors making it very much an acting 101 picture. Particularly striking is Laughton who seems to be enjoying himself royally as he gets to pout, stomp and dally in villainy. However, there's not enough of the excellent Daniell and the very pretty Barbara Britton is a token offering who is reduced to a near walk on part late in proceedings. Janssen's score is suitably full of high seas bluster, and plot has enough skullduggery, back stabbing and treasure plundering to at the least keep one interested to the finale. 6/10

MartinHafer If you care about history at all, you might want to know that practically everything about this film never actually happened. I know this because I taught history and even did unit on pirates and how they relate to American history--and we learned A LOT about the real life pirates. Unfortunately, of all the famous pirates, William Kidd was perhaps the most inept pirate and his life is, in a sad way, rather humorous--though not if you are Kidd! The real life Kidd was a captain for the Royal Navy sent to capture pirates and only resorted to piracy AFTER his crew mutinied and demanded he either be their pirate leader or they'd kill him! And, this just happened to coincide with a time when the British decided that something needed to be done about piracy and they unleashed their forces against the pirates. Kidd was unlucky enough to be captured (not all that long after his career began) and gained fame only because he told wild tales about hidden treasure to try to buy his way out of the gallows. But, in line with his previous failures, this appeal came to nothing and he was soon executed. BUT, this would not make an entertaining film, so the film makers decided to use his name...and almost nothing else from the real life character! This is why IMDb takes the unusual step in describing this as "the unhistorical adventures of Captain Kidd"! Charles Laughton plays the famed captain. To me, this is an odd choice--the doughy Laughton playing a scary pirate (not that Kidd was all that scary in real life--but since it's all fiction, why not have him played by a scarier actor?!). Laughton also was very English--and Kidd was a Scot. In this ridiculous version of his life, Kidd was already a pirate when he took the commission as a captain for the British navy. He was evil, conniving and feared--whereas the real Kidd was scared to death of his disloyal crew. But, in the film, Laughton planned on PRETENDING to be loyal to the navy because of some complicated and confusing reason. And, if you think about it, this makes absolutely no sense. Nor does the entire rest of the movie--especially when the secret agent (Scott) manages to join the crew and this leads to Kidd's undoing. Yeah, right.So let's ignore the historical accuracy then and only focus on the film for entertainment value. As I said above, much of the film makes no sense thanks to Laughton being cast in the lead. However, the supporting cast is quite nice--with Randolph Scott, John Carradine, Henry Daniell and Gilbert Roland on hand to lend support. As for the plot, well, it's pretty dull and considering it's a supposed to be a pirate film, it lacks action. All in all, a bit of a waste of time and sure to give history teachers like me migraines! By the way, although he was not nearly as successful as pirates such as Henry Morgan or Captain Cheng (not a household name but arguable among the most successful), the life of Blackbeard WOULD make a nice film. Unlike other real life pirates, Blackbeard was feared by his men and cultivated an image of himself as a living demon--accentuated by tying lit slow-burning fuses into his beard before going into battle!