Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Horatio Hornblower, an officer in the British Royal Navy, was created by C. S. Forester, who featured the character in 11 novels and 5 short stories. Hornblower first appeared in The Happy Return (U.S. title: Beat to Quarters), published in 1937. Gregory Peck stars as Captain Horatio Hornblower which adapts The Happy Return, A Ship of the Line (1938), and Flying Colours (1938) in director Raoul Walsh’s thrilling, seafaring swashbuckler.
Buy Captain Horatio Hornblower from Movie ZyngSet in the year 1807, Hornblower commands the 38-gun frigate HMS Lydia on a secret mission around the horn of Africa to Central America. Under him serve officers and crew members, some of the latter chose working on the ship over going to prison. As supplies wear thin over seven months, they question Hornblower’s judgment. However, the ship reaches its destination.
Hornblower offers support to the crazy Don Julian Alvarado (Alec Mango in terrible brownface makeup), a rebel leader fighting the Spanish authorities, who are allied with France. The Spanish ship, the 60-gun Natividad, is nearby, intending to squash the rebellion. Hornblower leads an attack that captures the Natividad, turning the ship over to Don Julian and taking the officers prisoner, including its captain (Christopher Lee, also in brownface and his voice dubbed).
Soon after, Hornblower is told an alliance has formed between Spain and Britain and now Don Julian is an enemy, requiring Hornblower to retrieve the Natividad, which has twice the guns and men. Further complicating matters and against his wishes, Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo) requests transport for herself and her maid. As the sister of the 1st Duke of Wellington, Hornblower can’t deny her.
The execution of the ship-battle sequence between the Lydia and Natividad by the production team is impressive, cutting between the actors and stunt men on sets and the ship miniatures on water. Hornblower proves a brilliant tactician. Although triumphant, the battle takes its toll on Hornblower’s ship and men. Barbara helps care for the wounded.
During the months to return home, Hornblower and Barbara are attracted to each other. Although engaged to Rear Admiral Leighton (Denis O’Dea),she confesses her love, but Hornblower reveals he is married. After parting ways, Hornblower returns to home to find his wife died in childbirth. He also gets a promotion to lead the 74-gun French vessel, Sutherland, under Leighton’s command.
Leighton is tasked with a naval blockade against France. When four ships break through, Leighton thinks they are headed to the Mediterranean, but Hornblower believes they are headed to reinforce the French military. Leighton approves of Hornblower patrolling the French coast, but assuming Hornblower is seeking glory and treasure, he orders Hornblower to wait for the squadron to engage.
Of course, Hornblower is proved right but he doesn’t wait to attack. Taking advantage of his French ship, he passes the fort and gets close to Napoleon’s ships. Though heavily outgunned and outmanned, Hornblower makes use of all his resources to damage the ships and trapm them in a harbor, leading to the capture of him and his men. Hornblower is sent to Paris to be tried and executed, but he is just as resourceful on land, and eventually returns to England triumphant.
Gregory Peck’s Hornblower is a heroic figure. He is brave, intelligent, and he doesn’t put anyone in his charge in more danger than he is willing to face. His successes make him appealing to the audience, in part because of how well the action is created by the production crew.
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The colors by Technicolor come through in strong hues and other shades as the some of the sailors’ uniforms are properly faded colors, as would be expected for men who stood in the sunshine for months on end. The image has great clarity. Fine texture details are apparent as is depth within the frames, on both sets and locations. Film grain is light.
The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. Dialogue is clear, even during warfare. Cannons blast with solid booms. Composer Robert Farnon’s heroic score comes through with good fidelity of the orchestra.
The Special Features are:
- My Country ‘Tis of Thee (20 min) – A swift re-telling of a sanitized version of America’s history.
- Lux Radio Theater (audio, 60 min) – Gregory Peck and Virgina Mayo reprise their roles in this radio adaptation of the film that first aired on January 21, 1952.
- Captain Hareblower (7 min) – Bugs vs. Yosemite Sam on the high seas. If the matchbook gag looks familiar, Friz Freleng also used it earlier in Buccaneer Bunny.
- Trailer
For those who enjoy swashbucklers and their heroes heroic, Captain Horatio Hornblower is an entertaining adventure. One would be right to say they don’t make them like that anymore and it’s a shame Peck didn’t get to return to the role. The high-definition presentation delivers exquisite video and satisfying audio. Would have liked features examining the production.
