Captain Kidd

Captain Kidd
$7.98
Captain Kidd (1945) The always interesting Charles Laughton takes on the title role, one he played at least one other time (in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd). This time though it's a little more serious as the wily pirate captain lies, cheats, steals, and murders his way through a big portion of the supporting cast, all in the pursuit of being recognized as a nobleman by English king Henry Daniell. Luckily, wronged nobleman's son Randolph Scott has managed to join Kidd's crew and plans to put a stop to the pirate's nefarious doings. Laughton is terrific here, playing Kidd as a lower class Britisher whose yearnings to go up in station lead him to all sorts of wicked deeds. He is ably supported by a fine cast, including the always welcome Daniell, my fave John Carradine, and Barbara Britton, absolutely luscious as the damsel in distress. Scott may be the only wrong note in the cast as he is a little too old for his part and a little miscast, but he provides star power and I'm glad he got to get away from the Westerns for a while. Director Rowland V. Lee (Son of Frankenstein) was obviously working with a relatively low budget, and while there is no big sweeping action in this movie, with hundreds of pirates swarming over enemy ships, there are a couple of good swordfights, and the ships are realized through some charming miniature work. If you like a good old fashioned movie with smatterings of drama, action, suspense and romance, I recommend this one, me hearties!

The Lost Treasure of Captain Kidd
$9.95
My kids loved this book and so did I. Lots of adventure, some history and good lessons about the dynamics of friendship and what greed can do. I'm thrilled that my kids enjoyed this book so much, and it was able to pull them away from television and into another, more engaging world.

Long John Silver/Captain Kidd
$9.99
Marengo Films is proud to announce that we have found two fabulous prints and replaced our previous films. Long John Silver Returns is now in LETTERBOX format. Both prints were put though a scene for scene color correction, sound design and re-mastered. WE GUARANTEE THESE ARE NOW THE BEST QUALITY PRINTS OF THESE TWO FILMS ON THE MARKET.

MARENGO FILMS

Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates
$24.50
Ritchie does an extremely able job of refocusing the story of Captain Kidd away from being a personal drama. Instead, he builds an image of the world where Kidd was one of many trying their luck at this (then) semi-legal trade. Piracy was the only place left for a sailor who loved the sea but not the navy.

As a reader, it was interesting to see Kidd transformed from the pirate figure of legend into a semi-competent adventurer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in British history. Ritchie also provides a fascinating look at the 17th-18th century justice systems.

Ritchie is less of a writer than a historian, unfortunately. There were a number of places at the beginning of the book where I felt lost as to where he was trying to go. However, as another reader notes, this improves later on in the book.

Recommended for readers with a particular interest in pirates.