Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

jc-osms Highly watchable and entertaining old fashioned actioner directed by one of the best action directors of them all, Raoul Walsh. So don't expect much characterisation or romance, rather you'll get plenty of excitement, camaraderie, duty and danger.There is a touch of romance to be sure, in the person of the lovely Virginia Mayo, an iral's intended bride, who coincidentally ends up on Hornblower's boat and soon enough in his arms, but even here, you sense Walsh is just paying lip-service to the plot device devoting about ten minutes screen time to it and then abruptly providing a rushed and contrived but completely expected finish between the two of them.Better then to consider the remainder, a largely rip-roaring tale of the heroic but humble Hornblower's exploits in the Napoleonic Wars as he dispenses with firstly the Spanish and then the French in quick succession, against all the odds naturally.Walsh demonstrates his age-old flair for battle sequences and crowd scenes, the only let-down being some of the model-work of the ships which occasionally comes across as unconvincing. The acting is fine, Peck excellent as the title character although hardly the most physical of leads, with good from a largely British crew,Stanley Baker and James Robertson Justice prominent amongst them. The navy terminology spoken at length throughout adds credibility and the sets and cinematography add colour add atmosphere to the whole.Some of the narrative turns are predictable and even clichéd and you never truly believe it's true to life but it's great fun and as easy on the eye as it is light on the brain, not quite a swashbuckler but more than just another navy lark.

edwagreen This film could have been even greater had they spent more time with the escape of Horatio and his men from enemy .The first part of the film was often tedious. Some momentum builds with the battle scenes. They really appeared to be quite authentic.Surprisingly, to me, Gregory Peck lacked the stamina for the part of Horatio Hornblower. It is only when the picture progresses that he really takes command of the title role. Virginia Mayo,as his love interest, first appears as if she is a dance hall queen. How surprising it is when Hornblower returns home to find out that he is widowed with a baby boy. There was never any hint whatsoever that he had been married while he cavorted with Mayo on board the ship.Too bad that Errol Flynn was regarded as too old for the part by 1951. While Peck wanted Margaret Leighton for his leading lady, she would have been entirely too regal. Susan Hayward, or Jean Crain should have been brought in. How about Deborah Kerr? After all, she was British.

MARIO GAUCI Though it’s been a staple on Italian TV ever since childhood, for some reason I never got around to watching this seafaring epic – given its popular source material (C.S. Forester penned a series of novels about this fictional British naval hero), not to mention the imposing director and star (Gregory Peck) credentials. Anyway, going through a mini-swashbuckling marathon, it seemed the ideal opportunity to check it out; having said that, this is another film to which the epithet shouldn’t perhaps be attached – due to the fact that cannons are the sole weapons that are adopted during the various sea battles (after all, it’s closer to “Mutiny On The Bounty” than, say, the Errol Flynn vehicles made by the same studio, Warner Bros.)! Unsurprisingly, however, the end result still proved to be extremely typical of its kind and era: a colorful spectacle full of adventure, drama and romance, to say nothing of a stalwart cast. In fact, many a future British star is featured in this Anglo-American production, among them James Robertson Justice (a role he would virtually recreate that same year in another pirate romp, ANNE OF THE INDIES, which I’ve also just watched for the first time), Stanley Baker and Christopher Lee! The film basically resolves itself into a series of vignettes, designed to showcase the many facets of Hornblower’s personality: able navigator, disciplined commander and clever strategist. However, it takes care as well (albeit less successfully) to promote his human side – not merely through the all-too-predictable romantic complications involving the Virginia Mayo character, but the Captain’s rather silly idiosyncrasy of clearing his throat whenever he finds himself at a disadvantage!CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER, therefore, is an incident-packed and generally entertaining ride – albeit longish at nearly two hours; for the record, Walsh and Peck would collaborate on another adventure film with the same milieu – THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS (1952) – while the star had one of his most atypical and challenging roles in the best cinematic adaptation of an equally famed seafaring source, Herman Melville’s MOBY DICK (1956)…

Al I seeing this film when I was about 10 years of age on our black and white telly. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread but had to wait for ages and ages for it to be shown again (no videos in those days!) When it finally came on, there was a bit of a gale blowing and our aerial was blown off the roof half way through the film. You can imagine how I felt. I have seen it many times since and it has stood the test of time,a good old fashioned adventure story with excellent actors, tons of excitement and loads happening from beginning to end. There are no false accents from Gregory Peck or Robert Beatty and we even have Richard Hearne (Mr Pastry, him, people of my age?) as Pecks batman. Stanley Baker, James Robertson Justice, Terence Morgan (He played the lead in the series 'Sir Francis Drake' in the early sixties) and Christopher Lee also make fine appearances. I recommend it without reservation.