The king's admiral
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The king's admiral |
| Original title | Captain Horatio Hornblower |
| Country of production |
United States , United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1951 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Raoul Walsh |
| script |
Ivan Goff , Ben Roberts , Æneas MacKenzie |
| production | Warner bros. |
| music | Robert Farnon |
| camera | Guy Green |
| cut | Jack Harris |
| occupation | |
| |
The King's Admiral (Original Title: Captain Horatio Hornblower ) is an American adventure film directed by Raoul Walsh from 1951 with Gregory Peck , Virginia Mayo and Robert Beatty in the lead roles. The film was directed by the production company Warner Bros. produced. The film is based on the three novels The Happy Return (1937, German: The Captain ), A Ship of the Line (1938, German: On Spain's coasts ) and Flying Colors (1938, German: Under waving flag ) from the series of novels around the fictional sea hero Horatio Hornblower by Cecil Scott Forester , who also advised on the script and film.
action
In 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars , Captain Horatio Hornblower, captain of the British Navy , was sent on a secret mission to the Pacific Ocean with the frigate Lydia , a warship of the 5th rank . After seven months at sea, the ship is in a doldrums with no land in sight , supplies are running out and the crew and officers are restless. Hornblower explains to First Officer Lieutenant William Bush that he expects wind and that the secret destination will be reached the next morning, which is not entirely convincing.
Contrary to all skepticism, the wind actually does come up, and the next morning the target is sighted, the fortress of Prince Don Julian Alvarado, who turns against the Spanish colonial empire and is supposed to supply the Hornblower with weapons and ammunition in order to tie up Spanish forces. To Hornblower's displeasure, Alvarado turns out to be a madman who likes to torment people and calls himself El Supremo (the Almighty). When Alvarado is reported that a Spanish liner , the Natividad , is approaching the port, Hornblower hijacks it in a night operation without much blood loss. Since he has the order to support Alvarado, he has to give him the ship against his will, with which Alvarado wants to destroy and burn down Central American ports and cities under Spanish rule.
When Lydia meets a Spanish lugger a short time later , Hornblower learns that England and Spain have formed an alliance against Napoleon and that Hornblower must now stop Alvarado. The double decker Natividad has 60 cannons , the Lydia only 38 and is far inferior to the ship Alvarados. Lady Barbara Wellesley, the sister of the later Duke of Wellington , is crossing from the Spanish Lugger to the Lydia and wants to be brought back to England by Hornblower, because the yellow fever has broken out in the area . Hornblower reluctantly accepts her on board. A fierce battle ensues between the Lydia and the Natividad , which Hornblower can win thanks to the better maneuverability of his ship and the high level of training of his crew. The Lydia is the beginning of the sea battle two wide sides of the Natividad from without can fire back them. The Natividad eventually sinks with the entire crew.
Then the Lydia sets course for England; Repair work is being carried out on the Lydia at sea . Lady Barbara falls ill with mala fever , which has the same course as yellow fever in the first three days. Since the on-board doctor died in the battle with the Natividad , Hornblower Lady Barbara nurses three days after reading medical books until the fever begins to subside and it is clear that the illness is not yellow fever acts. After the illness, Hornblower and Lady Barbara overcome their distance and come closer. When Barbara, engaged to Rear Admiral Sir Rodney Leighton, confesses her love to Hornblower, he explains that he is married, which hurts her deeply. After several months at sea, the Lydia arrives in England. Leighton picks up Barbara and blames Hornblower for the dangers to her. At home, Hornblower learns that his wife died in childbed and that he has a son.
Shortly afterwards he received a ship of the 3rd rank in the squadron of Leighton, the double-decker ship of the line HMS Sutherland equipped with 74 cannons , a hijacked Dutch ship of French design. When it became known that four French ships of the line had broken the English blockade off Brest , Leighton decided to intercept the ships on their way to the Mediterranean. Hornblower, however, assumes that the ships will bring French troops to Spain to stab in the rear of the British army in Spain under the Duke of Wellington. Leighton rejects this theory, but lets Hornblower take a corresponding course. However, he orders not to attack the ships, but to report them to him as soon as they are sighted.
Hornblower intercepts a French merchant brig who is supposed to bring goods to the port of La Teste on the southern French Atlantic coast . They are intended for the ships of the line that, as Hornblower suspected, are supposed to bring troops to Spain. Hornblower sends Leighton a message, but immediately goes to La Teste to attack the ships so they cannot escape. From the brig he learns the French identification signal . Sailing under the French flag and with the detection signal, he can outsmart the crew of the protecting fortress and get into the port entrance. When attacking the ships, he caused great damage, especially to the rigging , so that they were no longer maneuverable. Since his ship is also badly damaged, he sinks it in the port entrance to prevent the four damaged ships from leaving. Then he and his team are taken prisoner. After the attack by Leighton's squadron on the fortress, Hornblower and the injured first mate Bush, along with the sailor Quist, who came along voluntarily for his care, are brought in a carriage to Paris, where they are to be executed as pirates.
They manage to escape and come down the Loire unrecognized to Nantes . There you will find the English cutter Witch of Endor , equipped with ten cannons, which was driven to the French coast by a storm and made afloat again by the French. They steal the uniforms of three Dutch customs officers. With a group of English prisoners of war forced to do heavy dock work, they manage to take over the Witch of Endor and sail to England. When they arrive in Plymouth , Hornblower is greeted with joy and learns from the port admiral on the triplane HMS Victory that Leighton has fallen at La Teste. Bush is promised a promotion to captain. Hornblower is supposed to go to London. The port admiral suspects that his appointment as (counter) admiral (in the original the knighthood ) is planned. Hornblower visits his son beforehand and meets Lady Barbara, who is now unbound.
production
Warner Brothers produced the film in Elstree Studios near London . Like other Hollywood companies at the time, they were able to use their assets frozen in Great Britain and, since it was British material, cast the supporting roles with British character actors. The scenes of the Lydia mission were filmed at Villefranche-sur-Mer from late July to early October 1950 . In five months of work, the sailing ship Lydia was built from an old hull , which could sail under winds of up to 18 knots . Two fully rigged ships and three more almost complete ships were used for the film. Ken Adam was mainly involved in building the ships . Replicas of various ship decks were used for filming on the ships. Cecil Scott Forester , the author of the novel, also worked on the script, so that his novels could be implemented true to the original . He also provided advice during the filming. This gives the film a high level of historical authenticity and attention to detail. Errol Flynn was initially planned for Captain Hornblower . As the actor, producer and director Raoul Walsh could not agree, the choice fell on Gregory Peck .
Reviews
“The sea and land adventures of a daring English naval officer in Napoleon's time. After victories against France and Spain, he finally wins the beloved woman. Lush, romantic colossal film. "
“Episodes from the life of the fictional but nevertheless great British sea hero Captain Hornblower as a colorful historical spectacle. Raoul Walsh staged the romantic banter with sailing ship collisions and saber fights. The 'Hornblower' novels by CS Forester are the finest adventure books and this is a peppy adventure film. "
“One of the most elaborate and best monumental films by Warner Studios, produced in England, with spectacular sea battles and exciting episodes from the time of the Napoleonic Wars staged by Raoul Walsh. The only theatrical adaptation of the eleven novels by the author CS Forester (1899–1966) about the adventures of the naval hero Horatio Hornblower, who depict life on board British ships between 1794 and 1823. The first three novels (1937/38) of the internationally popular Hornblower cycle served as a template. "
“Colorful spectacle with the usual sailing ship crashes, saber fights and melodramatic sailor love between Captain Hornblower (modeled after the historical Lord Nelson), who cruises against Napoleon's sea fleet in 1807, and Lady Barbara, the niece of the Duke of Wellington. Perfect entertainment, exciting waves. "
DVD
The film was released on DVD on April 12, 2007 . As a bonus, the short film My Country 'Tis of Thee , the Bugs Bunny cartoon Capitan Hareblower and the original cinema trailer were included.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack Captain Horatio Hornblower to the film The King's Admiral with music by composer Robert Farnon was released in 1960 as an LP on the Delysé label number DS-6057. In 1992 a CD with the number Reference RR-47 was released with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as a new recording under the direction of Robert Farnon.
Web links
- Captain Horatio Hornblower in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Information about film and shooting
- The King's Admiral in the German synchronized file
Individual evidence
- ↑ The King's Admiral. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ The King's Admiral. In: prisma.de. prisma-Verlag , accessed on September 17, 2017 .
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz: Lexicon "Films on TV" (extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 438
- ↑ Soundtrack for "Captain Horatio Hornblower" in: Soundtrackcollector