Captain Kidd (1945): watch the full film free, legally

Kidd’s false commission

Captain Kidd is a 1945 American adventure film directed by Rowland V. Lee and released by United Artists. Charles Laughton stars as William Kidd, with Randolph Scott and Barbara Britton also starring. Benedict Bogeaus and James Nasser produced the film, and Werner Janssen conducted its music. It was Lee’s last film before his retirement.

The action begins in 1699 near Madagascar, where Kidd and his confederates loot and destroy the English galleon The Twelve Apostles. They bury its stolen treasure on a remote island. Back in London, Kidd hires a gentleman’s gentleman and presents himself to King William III as an honest shipmaster who has struck his colours to a pirate. He claims that the captain of The Twelve Apostles was the pirate, now vanished with the treasure. The King accepts the account and grants Kidd a royal commission as a privateer.

A voyage toward Madagascar

Kidd fills the Adventure Galley with condemned pirates from Newgate and Marshalsea prisons, offering royal pardons after the voyage. One recruit is Adam Mercy, a quarrelsome but cultured man who claims earlier service with Captain Avery. Kidd makes him master gunner. The King orders Kidd to sail near Madagascar, meet the Quedagh Merchant, and escort it home to England.

The Quedagh Merchant carries Lord Fallsworth, the King’s ambassador to the Grand Mughal, Fallsworth’s daughter Lady Anne Dunstan, and a chest of treasure intended for King William. Kidd persuades Fallsworth to transfer ships with Lady Anne and the cargo by telling a story about fighting pirates nearby. His navigator, Jose Lorenzo, lights a candle in the ship’s magazine just as the transfer occurs, and the Quedagh Merchant explodes. Kidd then arranges a fatal accident for Lord Fallsworth, leaving Lady Anne frightened and alone.

Lady Anne initially turns to Shadwell, Kidd’s servant, for help. When she mentions the supposed battle with pirates, Shadwell tells her it never happened and advises her to trust Mercy. On the return voyage, Kidd plans to remove his close associates so that he will not have to divide the booty, while also suspecting Mercy of being a spy. Mercy is the son of Admiral Lord Blayne, the captain of The Twelve Apostles, whose name was slandered.

Casting, score and recognition

Charles Laughton’s casting was announced in December 1944. He said that he had long wanted to play Kidd and welcomed the chance to show his versatility. Rowland Lee was signed to direct, and Randolph Scott signed in January 1945 to play the romantic male lead. Filming began on 25 January at the General Service Studio. The production used a boat built for The Black Swan and previously used for The Princess and the Pirate. Reginald Owen was borrowed from MGM.

Captain Kidd received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score at the 18th Academy Awards. The producers did not renew its copyright in 1972, and the film entered the public domain. In his memoirs, Nikita Khrushchev wrote that it was one of Joseph Stalin’s favourite films and that Stalin identified with the mischievous captain.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Captain Kidd (film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.