Wenn die Ketten brechen

A colorful, light adventure that plays like a classic swashbuckler, the Ross Hunter production "Captain Lightfoot," is entertaining Hollywood hokum from a screenplay by W.R. Burnett and Oscar Brodney, which was loosely based on Irish history. The casting of Rock Hudson as Mike Martin, aka Captain Lightfood, undercuts any pretense to historical accuracy, despite a supporting cast of Irish players. Although hired more for his looks and marquee value, than his aptness for the role, Hudson nevertheless is amiable, and he attempts a slight brogue that gets slighter as the film progresses. While his good-natured performance is an asset to the movie, Hudson lacks the confidence and bravado that a Burt Lancaster would have brought to the part.

Martin was a bold highwayman in early 19th century Ireland, who worked for a revolutionary society in support of Irish independence. An Irish Robin Hood, Martin stole from the English oppressors to aid the cause and to feed the poor. An Irish rebel patriot, Captain John Doherty, hears of Martin's exploits and enlists him to be his second in command; brought to Dublin by Doherty, Martin is dubbed Captain Lightfoot by Doherty's saucy headstrong daughter, Aga, after a fumbled dance with him. Known as Captain Thunderbolt, Doherty runs a gambling establishment that fleeces the English to fund the independence struggle. Like a boys' adventure movie, "Captain Lightfoot" is often exciting fun. During duels and escapes, fights and chases, robberies and romance, director Douglas Sirk maintains a steady pace.

Barbara Rush provides the requisite love interest as Aga, although the predictable romance between her and Hudson is of the clichéd "hate at first sight" variety, and viewers know the outcome from the first scene. Jeff Morrow, who plays Aga's father, Doherty, arguably gives the film's best performance; he is strong, authoritative, and convincing as a rebel leader. "Captain Lightfoot's" technical credits are also good. Shot on location in Ireland, the scenery is lush and beautiful, and the music, supervised by Joseph Gershenson, is rousing. While undemanding fun, the movie does not rise to memorable, despite the presence of a young Rock Hudson at the cusp of stardom. For Hudson fans, the film is essential viewing, for others, light escapist fun.

Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, and Jeff Morrow came over from America to appear with a cast of Irish players starring in Captain Lightfoot. It's a story of Ireland in the post Napoleonic era with the dashing Captain Thunderbolt looking for a successor to carry on with banditry and villainy all in the cause of a free Ireland.

Morrow is the legendary Thunderbolt getting on in years and when in the guise of a parson spots young Rock Hudson taking on a British dragoon. That was it, Morrow has found his man.

He also finds his son-in-law as well as his daughter Barbara Rush eventually falls for Hudson who after a period where she thinks of him as a country bumpkin, starts falling for him. She names his Lightfoot because of lack of ability on the dance floor. There relationship is not approved of by Morrow and first and Rush is a spitfire. There's a lot of borrowing from The Taming Of The Shrew here.

Hudson seems a bit ill at ease in a part that a young Errol Flynn would have gone to town with. Also if you've seen Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in The Fighting O'Flynn with that kind of élan Fairbanks brought to the part it was a shame he was about 15 years too old for the role.

Rush and Morrow are great and the Irish locations and the talents of the supporting cast, many of them members of the Abbey Theater really do make the film a visual treat and a treat for the ears. The finale involving storming the castle at Ballymoor is well staged.

He wasn't well cast, but the role did no harm to the rising career of Rock Hudson.

When I started watching "Captain Lightfoot", I was taken aback when I saw that Rock Hudson was playing an Irish highway man! But, after getting over the shock, I realized that Hudson wasn't 100% terrible...at least when he remembered to use his Irish accent! But, as I just noted...he often sounded like Rock Hudson and only sometimes remembered the accent. I really don't blame him so much....it was the director's job to notice these sorts of things. Amazingly, it was directed by the very well respected Douglas Sirk....who made some of Douglas' best films. It also was a big budget production...filmed on location in Ireland and in color.

When the story begins, Michael Martin (Hudson) is a cheap and rather dim highwayman along with his friend. But they aren't very good at it and soon end up in really serious trouble with the law when one of their victims pulls Michael's mask off. So, he needed to go into hiding and is rescued by a traveling priest....or at least someone PRETENDING to be a priest. The man turns out to be the infamous Captain Thunderbolt (Jeff Morrow)...a combination Irish patriot, gambler and highwayman. But unlike Michael, he has class and common sense and soon Thunderbolt dubs Michael 'Captain Lightfoot' and makes him his second in command.

A bit later, Thunderbolt is shot and injured during one of his incursions. While in hiding and recovering, he asks Lightfoot to take command of his gambling house AND his household...including his headstrong daughter, Aga (Barbara Rush). You just KNOW that this means sooner or later, the pair will become lovers (I am referring to Aga and Lightfoot, not Thunderbolt and Lightfoot). What's next for these folks? See the film.

Despite being about highwaymen and crime, this film turned out to be a costume drama. Much of the time, folks are wearing colorful fancy outfits, dancing and living in luxury...not the sort of thing you might expect in a film about Irish patriots/bandits. Again, you could see that Universal really pulled out the stops with this one...with a large budget and lots of gloss.

So is it any good? Yes...very good...but not great. The acting is generally good (apart from a few missing accents...not just from Hudson), the locations lovely and the story engaging.

Universal in the early Fifties was a decidedly second rate studio in desperate need of a star of their own. Director Douglas Sirk spotted Rock Hudson in a bit role and sensed star potential. Sirk almost single handedly coached and groomed Hudson towards stardom, which was achieved with the wildly successful "Magnificent Obsession" (1954). They would make eight movies together, "Captain Lightfoot" being the fourth, and the first in which Hudson would appear as an established star.

Hudson's newfound stardom is palpable throughout the movie. He exudes a boyish confidence as yet unseen in his work making this the joyful romp that Sirk intended. He is matched by a feisty Barbara Rush who played opposite him in the inferior "Taza, Son of Cochise" and supported by an cast of Irish players vastly superior to the bit players Universal would have supplied had the movie not been shot in Ireland.

Sirk's Hollywood career can be divided into three phases. First, the early years in a new country, finding his feet with some solid, if unexciting movies. The middle period was characterized by light weight comedies and trying his hand at different genres such as the western, the costume and historical dramas. Finally, would be his golden period of the melodramas for which he became famous. "Captain Lightfoot" signals the end of the middle period.

While extremely enjoyable, it lacks sufficient substance to make it memorable. Sirk fans would naturally not want to miss this, but Rock Hudson fans in particular should seek this out. He seldom seemed to be truly having such a good time as here when flexing his new grown wings of stardom.

Splendidly shot in the Green Erin - Ireland - this beautiful, magic adventure movie is my own favorite from director Douglas Sirk, who was mostly specialized in melodramas; certainly not adventures and westerns. Which he also gave us from once in a while. As an Universal Pictures stuff, you could hardly avoid Rock Hudson - or it could have been Tony Curtis or Jeff Chandler, other "home" stars. It is an enchanted film, I forgive the naive side of this story that could have also been written for a sword and sandal or even One Thousand and One nights tale, set in Arabian desert or palace. I have great tenderness for this beautiful film.