Captain From Castile
Starring: Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Antonio Moreno, Thomas Gomez, Alan Mowbray, Barbara Lawrence, George Zucco, Roy Roberts, Marc Lawrence, Ramón Sánchez (II), Estela Inda, Willie Calles, David Cota, John Laurenz, Robert Adler, Robert Karnes, Dolly ArriagaDirector: Henry King
Studio: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Running Time: 130 minutes
DVD Release: May 1st 2007
Buy DVD:
User Reviews
Power Shines in Conquistador Saga... - Rating: 4/5
It's a shame that 20th Century Fox has yet to have released DVD editions of many of the films of the studio's biggest star, Tyrone Power. Almost impossibly handsome, enormously popular, and with excellent acting credentials, Power nearly singlehandedly kept the studio solvent in the traumatic transition years following WWII, with costume epics like "Captain from Castile" showcasing his strengths.
"Castile" echoes Power's earlier films, "The Mark of Zorro" and "Son of Fury", as again he plays a gallant standing against an arrogant aristocratic class, but this time he runs afoul of the Inquisition, and must flee Spain to re-establish his wealth and reputation, accompanied by loyal friend Lee J. Cobb, and a servant girl who secretly adores him (Jean Peters, in one of her best performances). Recruited into the service of the charismatic Hernando Cortez (Cesar Romero, who nearly steals the film), it's off to Aztlan (Mexico, today) with a small army to face the overwhelming but naive Aztec civilization.
While the film frequently drifts into melodrama, shooting on location in Mexico (with the permission and support of the Mexican government), in glorious Technicolor, gives even the most mundane moments a sense of spectacle, and the cast is in top form. Worth singling out is a terrific supporting performance by Thomas Gomez, as a soldier/priest who dispenses common sense as well as religion, and helps Power realize that the woman he truly loves is not on a balcony, in Spain, but beside him, as they march towards their destiny.
Two aspects of the film deserve special recognition; Alfred Newman's score, featuring the vaulting 'Conquest' march, is one of the finest of his long career, and is even more popular today than when the film was released; and Arthur E. Arling and Charles G. Clarke's cinematography is truly magnificent, particularly in the breathtaking finale, as Cortez' forces proudly march across a broad plain, with active volcanoes in the backround. Never has going 'on location' been more justified, as the image is unforgettable!
If any 'Powers that Be' are reading this review, PLEASE offer this film on DVD, soon! And while you're at it, consider Power's other great films of the 40s and 50s; he deserves to be 'rediscovered' by audiences, today...
One of the Great Action/Adventure Films - Rating: 4/5
This is truly one of the great swashbuckling, action/adventure films of all time. All the actors, Tyrone Power, (the gorgeous) Jean Peters and Cesar Romero are at their best. Beautiful color and a generally good script. At one point it was out on LaserDisc, however, there were problems with it. The folks who control such things really ought to put this wonderful film out on DVD now! It is amazing to me how great films such as this languish in vaults, and yet we see piles of worthless junk on DVD counters in every store.
Message to those in charge: We do not need more blood splattering and squirting two-bit horror films. We need classics such as this and many others which have been neglected over the years. Perhaps an executive with good taste would be a welcome change in the DVD manufacturing business.
Response to a review from Mr. Ixta Coyotl of Seattle - Rating: 5/5
Salma Hayek, Cubans and Mexicans actors as Conquistadors? Only a Mexican could write such an idio.ic review. I am a Spaniard myself, in fact legitimately from Castile and Leon, Spain and I am tired not only of seeing how the massive illegal immigration of Mejicans in the United States and even in Europe, also of seeing how they are trying to steal the concept of "Latin" from Western Europeans, to shadow their Mejica ancestry and roots which they seem to be ashamed of. Only in a Mejica mind (as the one of Mr. Ixta Coyotl of Seattle) would a director of such caliber as Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott use actors from Cuba or Mexico to play roles of European Spaniards or conquistadors in a movie, perhaps Robert Rodriguez, another desperate mejica trying to run away from true ancestry and play the role of Western European Latin?
There were only about 500 Spanish soldiers with Cortes in the conquest of Aztlan (not Mexico at that time) and historians have mentioned about 20 million Aztecs without counting all other smaller tribes which in fact Cortes used to attack and defeat the Aztecs. Today, few centuries later, there are about 100 million claimed to be "Latin" "Spanish" relatives in Mexico and about other 200 million in the rest of the Americas... how can it be possible that a few handful of troops from Spain wildly reproduced to the point to create such vast number of descendents?.. LIES!
Just because the actual generations of Mexicans are taller and more Caucasian looking now than in the past doesn't mean they are Spanish. I am 6 foot tall and my parents are 5'5 and 5'3. In fact most of my friends in Spain are as tall as I am or even taller. Generations keep changing and children tend to grow taller and more sophisticated than their parents and grand parents, something that it is happening in Asia as well and nevertheless in Mexico. Having better physical capabilities than your ancestor doesn't mean you are from a foreign origin but just what genetics is naturally doing to your ancestral line.
And I feel bad only for the Aztecs, Incas or Mayas to name a few that are been ignored today and no one from those countries wants to claim or recognize, at least not when they immigrate to the USA. I have to say that in their countries, i.e. Mexico, you can see how people are more decent and honest about their roots and ancestry, just this bunch of liars who've recently immigrated to the U.S. that are embarrassing not only themselves, but also their native countries. They should stand up and take pride in their true indigenous roots instead of claiming some non-existent affiliation and descent from European blood.
Conquest! - Rating: 4/5
Not a great film but one of those films I grew up with and have a great deal of affection for. A piece of pure postwar escapism based on a best-selling novel (or part of it anyway), it has adventure, romance, action, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Cortes expedition to conquer the Aztecs - a historical period sadly neglected by Hollywood. No doubt many of the film's attitudes would be considered politically incorrect today but, at the time, this was entertainment on a grand scale.
Tyrone Power plays the title role (at another studio, it could just as easily have been Errol Flynn) and it is one of the better performances from this star who was not always very animated. But here he is properly noble or romantic or swashbuckling as the occasion demands. Almost acting him off the screen is the fiery and luscious Jean Peters as a passionate gypsy girl. It is worth watching the film for her alone. The rest of the casting ranges from adequate to strange - Lee J Cobb in particular looks lost in a period piece. Cesar Romero makes a larger than life Cortes with a equally large grin.
The style of the film is colorful, well-paced and workmanlike without being burdened with a surfeit of imagination. The early scenes set in Spain look like standard Hollywood back lot/plywood sets stuff. But once the action shifts to Mexico - and this part of the film, unusually for the time, was made on location - it becomes a totally different and visually impressive movie. It really does feel like a New World.
Adding immeasurably to the atmosphere is the music of Alfred Newman - one of the finest scores for a film of this type ever composed. The stirring march from the film's finale - Conquest - has become famous in its own right. But the rest of the score is just as good, especially the haunting Catana love theme - so unlike the usual Hollywood love music and so perfectly appropriate to the mood of this film. For anyone not in love with Jean Peters, Newman's music is another good reason for seeing this picture.
The storyline is fairly routine with the usual predictable complications and one or two nice twists. It doesn't always make sense. Jay Silverheels (TV's Tonto) plays an Indian who, at the beginning of the film, escapes from slavery in Spain and is helped by Tyrone Power. Later, he re-appears in Mexico, re-established as a tribal chief. But I have never been able to figure out how he got there - it's not like there was a regular transatlantic passenger service in those days. But the plot rattles along at a good enough rate so that you don't worry too much about such things.
A bigger budget, a better supporting cast, a more creative director (like, say, Michael Curtiz) and Captain From Castile might have been a great film - maybe even a classic. As it is, it's still pretty good entertainment and an enjoyable example of the type of film that Hollywood used to make all the time but seems to have lost the knack for. I just hope Captain From Castile eventually comes out on DVD in a restored version in all its original glory. Hint, hint...
This is a wonderful movie. - Rating: 5/5
"Captain from Castile" is a wonderful movie.Please release this movie onto DVD.
