Captain Kidd (1945)

In 17th century England, the pirate William Kidd (Charles Laughton) manages to finagle funding from the English court to meet a ship in Madagascar and escort her safely back to Great Britain. In reality, he intends to steal the ship's riches, blow the ship up and return to England in the hopes of being made a Lord by the King (Henry Daniell). There was a real pirate by the name of William Kidd of course but this film bears no resemblance to the historical facts. It's a rather routine pirate movie, serviceable but innocuous. One would think that Laughton would sink his chops into a part like the notorious Captain Kidd but he's rather reserved here. Also, the 46 year old Randolph Scott as the ship's gunner is a wee bit long in the tooth for the film's nominal swashbuckling hero. A distinctly minor effort in the pirate genre. The film's underscore by Werner Janssen isn't particularly memorable but it received the film's sole Oscar nomination. Directed by Rowland V. Lee. With Gilbert Roland, John Carradine, Reginald Owen, John Qualen and as the film's demure romantic interest, Barbara Britton.