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The absolutely gorgeous color cinematography and the Academy Award winning sets are the main reason that you should Frenchman's Creek today. The players definitely take second place to those outstanding features.

The plot at least as it has been altered by the Code is handled with as much skill as the cast can muster covering up some glaring holes. Joan Fontaine is one unhappily married lady of the manor with two small children and a husband who seems more intent on advancing his career in Restoration Great Britain than in her. As was the fashion of that bawdy era husband Ralph Forbes even encourages his wife to pay attention to the courting of his rakish friend Basil Rathbone to Fontaine. When at court many men even pimped their wives for Charles II, this behavior in that era isn't surprising.

Well Fontaine can't stand Rathbone so she and the kids take off for the summer place on the Cornwall coast. There's a servant there with a French accent, Cecil Kellaway and later she learns it's been inhabited discreetly by French pirate Arturo De Cordova. He's quite the charmer, if the film were done at Warner Brothers Errol Flynn would have had the part.

Joan and Arturo as a couple look like they come right out of one of those romance novels. She even takes up the cutlass with him and she proves to be every bit the swordsman he is.

The title of the film comes from a hidden cove near Fontaine's manor where De Cordova's ship lays anchor.

Other more recent versions of the story by Daphne Du Maurier have been made that are closer to the original. I can't reveal it, but the ending makes absolutely no sense at all. And it is NOT as Du Maurier wrote it originally.

Maybe that was part of the reason that Mexican film idol Arturo De Cordova never got stardom north of the border. He appeared in this film, in a supporting role in For Whom the Bell Tolls and another Paramount feature and then went back to Mexico where he was a leading figure in Latino cinema for the next quarter of a century. De Cordova reminds me a lot of his fellow countryman, Gilbert Roland.

Rathbone is a nasty villain and there's also a nice performance by Nigel Bruce as a fatheaded earl who is a Cornwall neighbor. It's the only time that Basil and Nigel did a film together not as Holmes and Watson.

Mitchell Leisen directed this film and did a good job given the Code restrictions he operated under. Leisen early in his career worked on several Cecil B. DeMille films and his photography and sets definitely have a DeMille look to them.

If you like romantic tales, despite the problems, Frenchman's Creek is one for you.

A highborn noblewomen named Lady Dona St Columb , Joan Fontaine , who has two children , falls badly in love for a pirate when she fleeing her spineless husband : Ralph Forbes , heads for her family's state on the Cornish coast . There she finds a Frenchman's ship anchored in a creek off her country state and discovers a dashing French privateer : Arturo de Córdoba is using a nearby cove to anchor his ship while he spies on the English . As the pirate is unfortunately a spy since the Frenchies and the Brits are battling as usual. The Lady and the pirate get very , very close and she decides to help him outwit the authorities and especially the lecherous Lord Rockingham : Basil Rathbone who discovers her secrets , while Lady Dona risks all to rescue him .

The attractive and colourful escapism ensured to make a big hit at boxoffice and profit enough . This fun and entertaining film displays emotion , thrills , swashbuckling , swordplay and romance. Stars Joan Fontaine who is frankly fabulous as the Lady searching for adventure and becomes dazzled by a valiant pirate, but soon she must choose between passion and duty concerning her children. Arturo de Córdoba is agreeable and sympathetic as the brave French pirate. Adding a classy secondary cast , including enjoyable performances from Ralph Bates, Basil Rathbone , Nigel Bruce playing in Watson style and Cecil Kallaway who steals the movie as a likable butler . Bolstered by a great production , it was said to have cost more the 3 million dollar , besides , a colorful and brilliant technicolor by George Barnes and emotive musical score by Victor Young .

Based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier , whose books were also adapted by Alfred Hithcock as Jamaica Inn and Rebecca starred by Joan Fontaine . It was remade for British television in 1998 by Ferdinand Fairfaix with Tara Fitzgerald , Anthony Delon , James Fleet , Danny Webb , Tim Dutton . This old 1944 retelling was nicely directed by Mitchell Leisen , whose speciality in filmmaking was romantic comedy , it was perhaps not the ideal director , but here Leisen gets an amusing and charming pirate adventure .

Arturo de Cordova was not Spanish, he was Mexican. His first language was Spanish, but that does not make him "Spanish." Mexican and Spanish are two different things.

The film aired today on TCM. It was a rare showing of this movie, which I have been hunting down since reading about it in Mitchell Leisen's biography 43 years ago. It was then that I read and never forgot about the sumptuous Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography. I was heartbroken to see it in an extremely washed-out transfer but anything is better than nothing. Would it be possible for Universal to place this on a list of important restorations, given its place in Oscar history?

While a decent swashbuckling film, featuring the lovely Joan Fontaine (not to mention Basil Rathbone & Cecil Kellaway), most of the print aired recently on TCM is so overexposed/"bleached out" as to be difficult to watch. Definitely in need of restoration.

Although it has thematic links with Jamaica Inn and a Cornish setting, Frenchman's Creek has never seemed a typical Du Maurier work to me. It has a more Mills & Boon/Barbara Cartland feel to it than the gothic masterpieces she is rightly remembered for. This 1944 film version has some plusses to it though I didn't enjoy it as much as the British TV adaptation of 1998. The plusses are the sumptuous colour, a dash of swashbuckling and first and foremost, the cast. Joan Fontaine who'd already impressed mightily in Du Maurier's Rebecca in 1940 is strong here as Dona St Columb, combining vulnerability with impish humour and spiritedness. Arturo De Cordova does a good job as the French pirate she falls for though he did not become a major star in Hollywood and Cecil Kellaway is warm and droll as a household servant. Ralph Forbes also does good work as Fontaine's idle, drunken layabout of a husband, though he handles himself well with a sword. Also prominent in the supporting cast are Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, in their only appearance on screen together outside of their leading turns as Holmes and Watson in the Fox then Universal series of films. Rathbone is the villainous Lord Rockingham , who despite his prowess at fencing, doesn't get to use it here, though he has a spirited encounter with Fontaine in one of the film's highlights. Nigel Bruce brings his trademark sense of fun to the dunderheaded Lord Godolphin but is more of a comical rotter here than his usual endearing buffoon.

From the Daphne DuMaurier novel... a 27 year old Joan Fontaine is Dona St. Columb...and for the first 20 minutes, we're not quite sure what is going on. Lady Columb bumps into a pirate, and the flirtation begins. you might notice actors basil rathbone and nigel bruce, who just happened to have played sherlock holmes and doctor watson so many times. and of course, Cecil Kellaway was in so many large films: Postman Always Rings Twice, Guess Who's coming to Dinner, and of course, some Twilight Zones. here, he is William, Dona's butler, who anticipates Dona's needs and wants, and encourages her romance with Aubrey, the pirate. The sound is fine, but most of the film is quite washed out too bright. William is quite playful and impish, but they seem to dress him in clothes which are all WAY too big and too silly. with an even sillier wig. there's a sense of whimsy and comedy all throughout. no-one takes anything too seriously. Dona goes off on an adventure with Aubrey on his ship, but we know there will be recriminations down the line..... this one is just okay. goes on for two hours. silliness. didn't need to be almost two hours... could have done all that in 80 or 90 minutes. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, who seemed to also be quite talented in architecture and costume design. this thing won an oscar ?? really?

Arturo de Córdova is the dashing pirate who sweeps Joan Fontaine off her feet in Frenchman's Creek (1944), a gloriously extravagant Technicolor indulgence! The plot reminds us of the 1945 film The Wicked Lady, but this was a sexually charged bodice ripper that caused controversy on both sides of the Atlantic while Frenchman's Creek is an American swashbuckler in the vein of Captain Blood (1935) or The Black Swan (1942). For the most part its reviews were positive, although with a few caveats. Over all, critics thought Frenchman's Creek a lavish, fun film that could not be taken too seriously. Utterly bonkers... It did not do particularly well at the box office. It was the 9th highest grossing film for the year and it made a respectable $3,500,000. The problem is that with a budget of $3.6 million, Paramount really did not make a profit from the movie. Quite simply, if it had cost a good deal less, it could rightfully be considered a hit. With a budget of $3,600,000, it was the most expensive film that Paramount had made up to that point! Over 46 sets were built, including the Cornish village of Fowey. Well over 2000 props were used. And as might be expected, so lavish a film had to be shot in vivid Technicolor. But as far as swashbucklers go, stick to The Scaramouche, The Duellists, The Prisoner of Zenda and Adventures of Robin Hood.

If you want true life - then maybe you should watch this. However, if you want escapism and the belief that dreams can come true - enjoy watching this posse of actors at, what i believe to be, their best. Basil Rathbone excels as the alter-egotistical villain whilst Arturo De Cordova gives dash and swashbuckling joy to die for! He excels as the dashing Frenchman set lose on the Cornish coastline and Joan Fontaine is delicious as his (almost) tomboy sidekick who is all woman. no remake ever came close to this original costume dramatic effort. What's more, the storyline stays almost entirely true to the original writings of Daphne De Maurier and that can't be a bad thing! . Fantastic, romantic enjoyment at its best!

My favorite pirate film was the "Black Swan" (and I didn't hate "Cutthroat Island", either!), but this is a close second even though there is less sea action and it's more ABOUT a pirate. The sets and acting are wonderful; the use of color is magnificent. This is a very enjoyable film with the gorgeous Joan Fonatine (Olivia deHavilland's estranged sister) acting up a storm and at her peak of pulchritude, and the magnificent Basil Rathbone demonstrating his soaring acting talent. The hilight of the film for me was one of the best fight scenes ever filmed - an all-out battle-to-the-death between Rathbone - and Fontaine!! A classic!

A fun movie to watch. Joan Fontaine was never more beautiful. The sets and costumes are absolutely breathtaking and Basil Rathbone completely steals the show. This film has all the elements of a good adventure yarn.

A wonderful movie with everything a pirate movie should have; beautiful lady, mysterious house, ethereal setting, elegant ship, captivatingly handsome captain. For a quick getaway this is a winner.

I've never seen this fanciful costumer in a theater but a TV broadcast, quite a few years ago, fairly leapt from the screen - the three-strip Technicolor had transferred to video as if it were a pristine print. Paramount obviously spared no expense on this one and, despite some minor objections, I recall being thoroughly entertained by it, especially that absolutely savage battle-to-the-death between Basil Rathbone's quintessentially dastardly villain and a desperately determined Joan Fontaine.

Some years back I somewhere read that, while waiting in full makeup and costumes for the lighting technicians to work their magic, Miss Fontaine rather scathingly queried her costar, Arturo de Cordova, why he was pursuing a career as an actor, apparently with the implication that it was an occupation unworthy of a man. If that's the kind of treatment he had to undergo at the hands of a Hollywood leading lady, one can confidently guess that his much greater success in Latin American cinema left him with few regrets that his Hollywood sojourn never amounted to much.

In the era when pirates and their freebooter crews still held sway upon the ocean and near the coasts with their fast and well armed ships, a beautiful Frenchwoman is trapped in a marriage to a noble buffoon and tries to find relief from him and his obnoxious friends at court by taking her children to the family's summer estate on the coast. The house is beautiful and isolated but everything seems out of place. Clearly something is amiss with the house and servants and the noble lady realizes she needs to find out why. To her surprise it is used by a swashbuckling pirate and his crew as their private and very secret hideaway. The lady is indignant and decides to intervene. How could she know this would change her life, forever? Basil Rathbone is at his best and Joan Fontaine is a classic leading lady. Great sword fight with Holyywood's master swordsman, Basil battling to the death. If you love a swashbuckler with romance and fun, this is it.

In examining this well-done film,I find myself in disagreement with one of the other critics,in terms of regarding the performances of some of the supporting players.Where do we start?

1)Nigel Bruce is doing his usual blundering,obtuse,blithering,pompous oaf,as we have seen in numerous other films.In this picture,however,his character is not as benign as we have witnessed elsewhere.

2.)Cecil Kellaway,as William,is doing a masterpiece.His character is sly,wise,verbally adroit,socially adept,sensitive,and intuitive.This is the sort of fellow we would wish to have as the major-domo,or butler.

3.)Forbes,as Harry,does well in what happens to be an extremely thankless role.Dona's husband is a clod and a buffoon.He is a self-centered,selfish,immature man,who married for all of the wrong reasons(although the right ones for that period.)He wanted to have a beautiful wife,who would provide him with sexual companionship,company,and would handle all of the business aspects while he could go out with his pals and have a good time.He's not only NOT interested in handling his end of the relationship,but he puts her in the way of Lord Rockingham,even though he knows that she finds his attentions repugnant.it's not easy to do this kind of part,but he does carry it off.

This film was shot in Mendocino County and should be in the list of films shot in that area. The creek itself is the Albion River. The boat used in the film was left in the river and was resting on the bottom when I saw it and boarded it in 1944 or 5. My grandparents had an orchard and farm outside the community of Albion. A couple of the crew members stayed at their place when the film was being shot. There were some other locations on the coast that were used as well. The residence was removed and just the leveled field it was situated on and the plants the studio planted to surround the site remained for many years after. This location was outside of Albion near dark Gulch and was just west of highway 1 that runs along the coast in Mendocino and adjacent counties as far south as San Simeon. I have never seen the complete film, so would not to vote on it at this time.

Why don't they make movies like this anymore? I had never seen this movie before and considering the year it was made it was fairly "spicey". Some great acting,especially Bail Rathbone and with his Dr Watson sidekick in the cast, I expected him to put on his deer stalker hat!

I have to applaud the scenery and photography and of course the costumes. The scene where our heroine sees the Pirate Ship for the first time from the cliff top in all it's glory is breathtaking. Having lived in Devon and Cornwall I can't remember a beautiful day and calm seas at any time like that scene. Of course it wasn't shot in Cornwall at all.

Slow start but it got very exciting from the half way point. And the heroine killing the damnable male villain. That's in vogue now. Super heroine before her time.

If only Errol Flynn had played the Pirate lover I would have given it a 10

Yes, this movie is a secret pleasure of mine. I loved the book by DuMaurier--considering it one of my all time favorites--and have read it several times. To have the book brought to life on the screen is rewarding. Yes, the color and acting are great, but I imagine so much more in my fantasies. I wish Hedy Lamarr would have played Dona. She was so beautiful, and I believe, could have carried off the "tomboy" just as well, if not more believably, than Fontaine. (Such as her Samson and Delilah role.) As far as the pirate, I'm OK with Cordova, but his small stature sort of detracts from the fantasy. He's adequate enough, and foreign enough, to carry this film for me. I puzzle over who I would have preferred to play that part. I'm not sure I would have liked Errol Flynn in the part (as suggested). I not familiar with enough foreign actors at that time (1940's) to suggest who. I suppose if it were more recent, possibly Gerard Depardieu would have fit in nicely. All in all, I love this movie. The ending is bittersweet. Basil Rathbone provides a believable menace and Nigel Bruce is perfect in his role as the dithering husband. As I said, a "secret pleasure". I treasure this movie.

This is more lavish and romantic than the 1998 remake, and the colours are more flamboyant here, while the later version was more basic, strict and concentrated, sticking to the point. There are no politics here, King James and King William aren't even mentioned once, there are no Dutch intruders, and the children play no significant part, whereas in the 1998 film politics is given a dominating bearing, and Lady Dona's daughter plays a very significant part. I think I would prefer the Tara Fitzgerald version, she is more realistic and straightforward as a character, always making her point, while Joan Fontaine is too girlish. Both versions are good though, they have different but complimentary qualities, this one is definitely more romantic and dressed up for Hollywood, while the Tara version is more convincing. I think though I would prefer Arturo de Cordova to Anthony Delon, although Delon is more French, while Cordova is hopelessly Mexican, this one was even shot entirely in California, while the English version of 1998 was shot on location. Here are also Basil Rathbone in a typical character of his, but Nigel Bruce as Lord Godolphin is much to be preferred to the modern one.

...or at least women love people who can take them away from a humdrum life ."The Frenchman's creek" could be only just dream.That it was written by Du Maurier is not surprising: "Rebecca"-which featured the same actress- had something dreamlike ,something like a fairy tale with a witch.

A socialite, a distinguished lady of Old England sees time passing her by,with a not-so-handsome husband who is anything but romantic.This lady wants something else ,something more than merely sexual ,or else she would have picked up a young lover in the aristocracy.A revealing scene shows her playing with her children ; ladies from long ago did not do so: their nannies used to do that job.When she sails away with her pirate,it's some kind of game with big children who themselves play -see they them put on the ladies' clothes- or spend most of the time singing obscure French folk songs with a curious Latin accent which is anything but the French accent .

The second part of the movie is a return to a harsh reality ,the well-meaning people ,the society with the laws ,the possessions .The heroine can no longer follow the rules .I was wondering if Milady would wake up from her slumber and discovered she dreamed her life away.

The costumes are lavish,the colors magnificent and Joan Fontaine was never more beautiful: I generally like her sister best but I can't imagine Olivia de Havilland play a tomboy,when the heroine joins the crew.

Olivia de Havilland ,who,in another great movie by Leisen ("Hold back the dawn"),was a simple schoolteacher falling for a mysterious alien ,the same way her sister did here.

Like this?Try these.....

"Moonfleet" (1955) by Fritz Lang "The Spanish Main " (1945) by Frank Borzage "Peter Pan" (1953) by Clyde Geronimi,Hamilton Luske,Wilfred Jackson.

Joan Fontaine was never more beautifully costumed and made up as a lady longing for romance with a dashing pirate to escape her dull marriage--but she never quite convinces she has all the spirit and fire of the heroine. (Evidently, Maureen O'Hara was unavailable). She poses prettily in a number of extravagant costumes but the fantasy escapism of the story seems artificial and contrived. A nice asset is a background score featuring Debussy's 'Clair de Lune' and a properly wicked performance from Basil Rathbone (who gets his comeuppance from the fair lady by having a suit of armor tossed at him.) Cecil Kellaway and Nigel Bruce don't fare as well in rather thankless roles. Unfortunately, the pirate is played unimpressively by Arturo de Cordova, entirely lacking in the charisma required to make his part believable. Women will especially love the idea behind the story--escape with the man of your dreams if only for a day or night of pirate adventure. Nothing deep here, but it's beautiful to look at and justly won an Oscar for Best Color Art Direction and Interior Decoration. For fans of romantic fiction, this one fills the bill.

Unless you're in for real camp, where the men are prettier than the women, especially in their wigs......then pass on this one. I rolled on the floor with laughter at the histrionics....breasts heaving an all (Joan Fontaine's, not mine). Not that I know it was made in 1944, when we were in a horrible war, I can understand why there was so little emphasis on the screen play. Escapist lore at it's funniest: think of one of those little romance novels that high school housewives love to read....that's the level you're looking at.

But hey, it's pretty color. And unconsciously funny.