Captain Horatio Hornblower is a 1951 British-American adventure film. The film stars Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo, and was directed by Raoul Walsh. It was based on C.S. Foster’s Horatio Hornblower book series.
Director: Raoul Walsh
Production Company: Warner Bros.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Cast: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty, James Robertson Justice
US Box Office: $6,495,000 ($117,200,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Technicolor
Genre: Adventure, War
Release Date: April 10, 1951 (UK); September 13, 1951 (US)
Plot Summary: During the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Horatio Hornblower (Gregory Peck) commands the HMS Lydia in South American waters. While there he meets Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo) and needs to transport her back to England. On the voyage back the two fall in love, but Lady Barbara is engaged to an Admiral, and Horatio has a wife at home (who he does not know has died). Will the two end up together?
Production: In the 1940s, Warner Bros acquired the rights to make a film based on C.S. Foster’s first three Horatio Hornblower novels. The novels adapted by Warner Bros. included The Happy Return (1937), A Ship of the Line (1938), and Flying Colours (1938). Foster himself was one of the credited writers on the film. Warner Bros. studio head Jack Warner had originally planned on casting Errol Flynn as Captain Hornblower, but this would not come to pass. Flynn’s previous swashbuckling film Adventures of Don Juan (1948) was not successful and WB found that Flynn was becoming increasingly difficult to work with.
Warner also considered casting Burt Lancaster was Hornblower. However, WB had built up Lancaster as their new swashbuckling star, and thought that his “anti-hero” persona would be unfitting for a British captain. Warner Bros ultimately decided on Gregory Peck for the part, who was loaned to the studio by David O. Selznick. A few high profile British actresses were considered for the part of Lady Barbara, including Margaret Leighton, but they all turned down the part. Jack Warner ultimately chose American actress Virginia Mayo for the role because of her beauty.
Captain Horatio Hornblower was primarily filmed in England, with some location filming also taking place in France. The HMS Lydia was mainly portrayed by the ship Hispaniola, which had been built for the Walt Disney film Treasure Island (1950), and was located on a massive sound stage in England. In Treasure Island the background moved horizontally to simulate the ship’s movement, but in Captain Horatio Hornblower the ship itself was rocked back and forth, which caused problems for the crew and filming equipment. Battle scenes and extreme long shots of the ships were filmed in the Mediterranean Sea. The scene where Hornblower and Lt. Bush (Robert Beatty) talk to the Admiral was filmed on the HMS Victory, an actual ship of the line that served in the Napoleonic Wars and was docked at Portsmouth, England.
Fun Facts and Trivia: Captain Horatio Hornblower features several British actors in supporting and bit-parts who would become well-known. Christopher Lee plays the Spanish Captain, and was presumably chosen for the part because of his sword fighting skills (however he is dubbed over by a Spanish actor to hide his British accent). The film also featured actor Stanley Baker in a minor role, Baker would later become best known for his role Zulu (1964). In her film debut, Diane Cilento, best known for her role in Tom Jones (1963) and being Sean Connery’s first wife, provides the voice of Hornblower’s deceased wife.
Reception: Captain Horatio Hornblower premiered at Warner Theatre in Leicester Square, London on April 10, 1951. Princess Margaret attended the premiere. Captain Horatio Hornblower was Warner Bros’ most expensive film of the year, however it was also very successful for them. The film was a big hit in the United States and was one of the top ten highest grossing films at the British box office that year. Peck and Mayo reprised their roles in a Lux Radio Theater adaptation of Captain Horatio Hornblower broadcast on January 21, 1952.
Captain Horatio Hornblower received generally mixed-to-positive reviews from critics at the time. Bob Thomas of the Associated Press praised the film for being an “excellent adventure,” though he was more critical of the dialogue. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times similarly thought that the plot was less interesting than the plot of Foster’s book series, but he noted that people who liked adventure would enjoy the film’s action. Jay Carmody of The Washington Star praised the performances of Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo. Captain Horatio Hornblower has received generally positive reviews from modern critics. TV Guide praised Robert Farnon’s film score, Guy Green’s cinematography, and Raoul Walsh’s direction. Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid, and Carol Cling of the Las Vegas Review-Journal also gave the film positive reviews.
Why You Should See It: Captain Horatio Hornblower is a top notch adventure film with a great cast. The film has a good pace and features many excellent navel battle scenes. Walsh also does a good job adding emotion and light-hearted moments to the film. Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo are both good in their leading roles, and James Robertson Justice is memorable in his supporting role as Quist. Captain Horatio Hornblower celebrates military service to country, and the British navel tradition. Captain Horatio Hornblower is a very strong adventure film, that I would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.