Capitaine Scarlett

Captain Scarlett is a very entertaining and enjoyable swashbuckler, I was shocked to see the low ratings (4.7/10!) as I thought it great fun.

Richard Greene is perfect as the fast talking Captain Scarlett, with an equally quick blade along with the lesser known Leonora Amar as Princess Maria (the love interest) and Nedrick Young as Pierre DuCloux (the sidekick), they both do good jobs in their roles and have good chemistry with Greene.

The plot's the usual swashbuckler standard, although there are a few interesting points such as subverting the damsel in distress trope with Princess Maria initially rejecting Captain Scarlett's less than subtle advances, and he even teaches her to swordfight remarking that "I've always wondered why Princesses weren't taught something useful like duelling". Excitingly a lot of the film is action based with many swordfights and it's only 75 minutes long so little time to get bored, whilst the swordfighting isn't as good as Errol Flynn or the like it's still well choregraphed with good sound effects, and more to the point is entertaining.

7/10: A good swashbuckler, I suggest finding the colourised version. A joy for Richard Greene fans

most probably will not. Many will no doubt be disappointed by the overall predictable quality of this film, its lackluster acting & direction and worst of all its disappointing sword fights and extended chase scenes. Despite all of that I did find myself enjoying Richard Greene's performance as the dashing Captain Scarlett and even more his interactions with the lovely Leonora Amar who plays Princess Maria.

Set in France in the years following the fall of Napoleon, Captain Scarlett seems to have been very much inspired by the legends of Robin Hood and Zorro. Captain Scarlett (Greene) returns to France to discover that his lands have been seized by an unscrupulous nobleman. After saving Princess Maria (Amar) and being joined by a man named Pierre (Young) who has also lost his lands, the group proceeds on a series of adventures in the fight for justice.

Sadly, "Captain Scarlett" is a highly flawed film. Its villains are incompetent bumblers, the music score is often out of place, the fight scenes often poorly done, and acting generally weak. Some scenes shot on soundstages are particularly poorly done. Overall, the film is mediocre at best. Nevertheless, die hard fans of classic adventure films and swashbucklers might want to give this one a chance. Be warned, however, that "Captain Scarlett" has the feel of a comic book and that plausibility is largely lacking.

I really do not know if the commentator who gave this joint of ham 10/10 had seen the same film as the rest of us or was indulging in a strong piece of "ironic narrative". My views accord mostly with the comments of all the other reviewers. Richard Greene makes a passable central figure/hero, (in fact, given the time the film was made - just three years before Greene began the long-running British TV series, "The Adventures of Robin Hood", starring in the central role himself, of course, - I felt at times that I was almost watching a 'dress rehearsal' for the TV series and wondering if there was any connection between the two, e.g. did Lew Grade's talent scouts see this film and think of Greene for the green tights role as a result?)Unlike another commentator, I also found the sword fight scenes quite well done, (again conjuring up visions of 'Robin Greene' swashbuckling with the Sheriff of Nottingham's 'baddies'), and the Technicolour could not be any 'lusher' at all. That is as far as it goes, though. The 'plot', (if you can find it), is less than you would have got in any weekly comic of the period, the rest of the acting is somewhere between insipid and atrocious and, in particular, the music score must be one of the worst ever composed/inflicted on a cinema audience. A shame, really. Some improvements in any of the latter regards would have made the film reasonably enjoyable and worth a second viewing. On the other hand, if someone worse than Greene had been in the lead, it would have had a very good chance indeed of being rated as a truly toe-curling, cringe-inducing 'Golden Turkey' of all time. As it is, one for viewing while ironing on a windy winter afternoon and then forgetting.

"Following the defeat of Napoleon, France was in a state of unrest. Many of the Royalists who had fled to England returned to exact vengeance for their real and fancied wrongs. Some turned the situation to their personal advantage...becoming Tyrants and Petty Dictators...."

Set in France but filmed in Mexico, Captain Scarlett is a hum-drum swashbuckler short on thrills, spills and originality of story. Richard Greene stars as the titular Scarlett, who sets about righting wrongs as he gathers supporters and catches the eyes of the babes. It's a sort of low rent Robin Hood, the Gallic version, Greene is dandy as usual, the costuming pleasing and with it running at just 75 minutes it moves along fast enough and doesn't outstay its welcome. But it's all pretty stale and way down on the list of swashbucklers to see before you die. 4/10