The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd

The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd
Directed by	Derwin Abrahams; Charles S. Gould
Written by	George H. Plympton; Arthur Hoerl (story and screenplay)
Produced by	Sam Katzman
Starring	Richard Crane; David Bruce; John Crawford; George Wallace
Cinematography	William P. Whitley
Edited by	Earl Turner
Music by	Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Color process	Black and white
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	January 1, 1953;
Running time	15 Episodes, 97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) was the 52nd serial released by Columbia Pictures. It is based in the historical figure of Captain William Kidd.

Plot

In 1697, agents Richard Dale and Alan Duncan are sent on an undercover mission by the British Fleet to find and gather information on the notorious pirate, Captain William Kidd. Dale and Duncan soon join Kidd's crew and discover, to their surprise, that the Captain is quite different from what they had expected.

Cast

Richard Crane as Richard Dale
David Bruce as Alan Duncan
John Crawford as Capt. Kidd (Crawford was equally proficient at playing both good and bad characters. His casting added to ambiguity over Captain Kidd's guilt or innocence.)^[1]
George Wallace as Buller
Lee Roberts as DeVry
Paul Newlan as Long Ben Avery
Nick Stuart as Dr. Brandt
Terry Frost as Moore
John Hart as Jenkins
Marshall Reed as Capt. Culliford
Eduardo Cansino Jr. as Native

Production

This was the last costume serial and possibly the most faithful of the rare serial entries in the swashbuckling genre since Pirate Treasure.^[2]

The plot was based on the possibility that the real Captain Kidd was misjudged in an unfair trial.^[1]

Stock footage from feature films allowed the inclusion of seafaring scenes, which would have been too expensive to film on a serial budget. This resulted in, according to Cline, "a unique flavour for which it is fondly remembered."^[2]

Chapter titles

Pirate vs. Man-of-War
The Fatal Shot
Attacked by Captain Kidd
Captured by Captain Kidd
Mutiny on the Adventure's Galley
Murder on the Main Deck
Prisoners of War
Mutiny Unmasked
Pirate Against Pirate
Shot from the Parapet
The Flaming Fortress
Before the Firing Squad
In the Hands of the Mohawks
Pirate Gold
Captain Kidd's Last Chance

_Source:^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Cline, William C. (1984). "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 76. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
^ ^a ^b Cline, William C. (1984). "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 29. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
^ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 255. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

Sources

Cinefania.com

External links

The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd at IMDb

[Nick5-1] Cline, William C. (1984). "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 76. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

[Nick3-2] Cline, William C. (1984). "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 29. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

[3] Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 255. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

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