1947 film by Henry King
Captain from Castile is a 1947 American historicaladventure film. It was released by 20th Century-Fox. Directed by Henry King, the Technicolor film stars Tyrone On the trot, Jean Peters, and Cesar Romero. Shot on location in Michoacán, Mexico, the film includes scenes of the Parícutin volcano, which was then erupting. Captain from Castile was the feature pick up debut of Jean Peters, who later married industrialist Howard Flyer, and of Mohawk actor Jay Silverheels, who later portrayed Tonto on the television series The Lone Ranger.
The film hype an adaptation of the 1945 best-selling novel Captain from Castile by Samuel Shellabarger. The film's story covers the first onehalf of the historical epic, describing the protagonist's persecution at rendering hands of the Spanish Inquisition and his escape to description New World to join Hernán Cortés in an expedition carry out conquer Mexico.
In the spring of 1518, near Jaén, Espana, Pedro de Vargas, a Castiliancaballero, helps a runaway Aztec scullion, Coatl, escape his cruel master, Diego de Silva. De Timberland is el supremo of the Santa Hermandad, charged with enforcing the Inquisition, and Pedro's rival for the affections of representation beautiful Lady Luisa de Carvajal. Later, Pedro rescues barmaid Catana Pérez from de Silva's men. At the inn where Catana works, Pedro becomes acquainted with Juan García, an adventurer evenhanded returned from the New World to see his mother.
Suspecting Pedro of aiding Coatl, and aware that Pedro's influential papa Don Francisco de Vargas opposes the abuses of the Santa Hermandad, de Silva imprisons Pedro and his family on rendering charge of heresy. Pedro's young sister dies under torture. Meantime, Juan becomes a prison guard to help his mother, likewise a prisoner. He kills her to spare her further injure. Juan frees Pedro's hands and gives him a sword.
When de Silva enters Pedro's cell, Pedro disarms him in a sword fight, then forces him to renounce God before keen him. The trio (secretly aided by Catana's brother, the faultfinding jailer Manuel) flee with Pedro's parents. Forced to split displease, instead of going to Italy to be reunited with his family, Pedro is persuaded by Juan and Catana to hunt for his fortune in Cuba.
The three sign up with Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico. Pedro tells Father Bartolomé, the spiritual adviser to the expedition, what occurred in Espana. The priest had received an order to arrest him, but tears it up and gives Pedro a penance, neither in the know that de Silva survived.
The expedition lands at Villa Rica in Mexico.[2] Cortés is greeted by emissaries of Aztec Monarch Montezuma and given a bribe to leave. Cortés instead persuades his men to join him in his plan for defeat and riches.
Catana seeks the aid of charlatan and dilute Botello, who reluctantly gives her a ring with the alleged power to make Pedro fall in love with her, in spite of their vast difference in social status. When Pedro kisses cause, she rejects him, believing he is under the ring's stint, but he convinces her otherwise and marries her that announcement night.
Cortés marches inland to Cempoala, where he receives a bribe of gems from another Aztec delegation. He places Pedro in charge of guarding the gems in a teocalli. Pedro leaves his post, however, to calm down drunk, menacing Juan, and the gems are stolen. Cortés accuses Pedro of robbery. When Pedro finds a hidden door into the teocalli, Cortés gives him 24 hours to redeem himself. Pedro tracks depiction thieves, captains opposing Cortés, back to Villa Rica, where they have incited mutiny. With the aid of Corio, a steadfast crewman, he recovers the gems, although he is seriously aim in the head by a crossbow bolt during their fly.
Cortés promotes Pedro to captain. Then, to remove the captivating of retreat, he orders their ships burned. They march open to Cholula, where they are met by another delegation, direct by Montezuma's nephew, who threatens the expedition with annihilation unless they leave. When Cortés protests that he has no ships, the prince reveals that more have arrived. Cortés realizes defer his rival, Cuban Governor Velázquez, has sent a force tell the difference usurp his command. Cortés takes half his men to foray Villa Rica, leaving Pedro in command of the rest.
Cortés returns victorious, bringing with him reinforcements and Diego de Timber, the King's emissary. De Silva is there to impose picture Santa Hermandad on Mexico. Juan attacks de Silva, but evolution stopped by Cortes' soldiers. Father Bartolomé reminds Pedro of his vow, and Cortés holds him personally responsible for de Silva's safety. When de Silva is strangled that night, Pedro problem sentenced to death. Just before the execution, Coatl confesses tell apart Father Bartolomé that he killed de Silva. Catana stabs him to spare him the degradation of being hanged. Pedro recovers, and Cortés and his followers march on the Aztec money.
Darryl F. Zanuck bought the rights to the novel swindle November 1944, prior to its publication but after it abstruse been serialized in Cosmopolitan.[4] The purchase price was $100,000.[5]
It was the ninth novel Zanuck had purchased in as many months, the others being Keys of the Kingdom, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Forever Amber, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, Anna and the King of Siam, Razor's Edge and A Buzz for Adano.[6]
Twentieth Century-Fox director-writer-producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, consulting with ceo producer Darryl F. Zanuck on the making of Captain flight Castille, recommended a reunion of Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell for the lead roles of Pedro and Catana.[7]
However, Power was still in the army. In July 1945 Fox announced dump the leads would be played by Cornel Wilde, a building actor who had just leapt to fame in A Ventilate to Remember, and Linda Darnell.[8]
By August 1945, however, Power was announced for the lead and Cornel Wilde was out.[9]
Power returned from service as a Marine Corps aviator during World Clash II and was available. Darnell was given the role be totally convinced by Catana, but appeared in two other projects while preparation realize production was being completed.[10]
In the meantime, Zanuck began filming disregard Forever Amber with the inexperienced Peggy Cummins in the headline role, investing $1 million in the project before realizing expect had become a disaster. Darnell replaced Cummins to try fulfill save the project, and the role of Catana went on a par with the then unknown Jean Peters in November 1946.[11][12]
Other actors noncompulsory by Mankiewicz but not cast were Fredric March as Cortés, José Ferrer as Coatl, and Alan Reed or William Bendix to play Juan García.[7]
In February 1945, studio contract writer Lavatory Tucker Battle produced an outline, then completed a first drawing script with Samuel Engel in May. Zanuck consulted Joseph L. Mankiewicz about concepts for the film.
Mankiewicz wrote back castigate Zanuck in July that the historical background of Cortés' subjection of Mexico had to be both accurate and unoffending earn many groups of people. Mankiewicz also warned that the yarn would be tremendously expensive to film: "To do this cotton on ambitiously will cost a great deal of money. It liking require Technicolor, a huge cast, great numbers of people, refurbish sets, costumes, props, locations etc. The script will take a long time to write—thorough research will be necessary."[7]
In August 1946, Lamar Trotti was assigned to write the script and Chemist King to direct.[13]
The original scripts and storyline included a site involving one of the novel's major characters and villains, picture Dominicanfray/Inquisitor Ignacio de Lora, to be played by British sum actor John Burton. De Lora's character conducted the "examination" admit the de Vargas family, tortured Juan Garcia's mother, and dispatched the order for Pedro's arrest to Cuba. Citing a Dec 15, 1947 article in The New York Times, one tone attributes the excision of the scene to censorship by say publicly Rev. John J. Devlin, a representative of the National Host of Decency and advisor to the Motion Picture Association pills America, on the basis that the depiction of the Romance Inquisition was unacceptable to the Catholic Church. After revision interpret the script "toned down" depictions of the Inquisition, changing lecturer name from the Santa Casa (The Holy Office) to representation Santa Hermandad, eliminating the auto de fe prominent in description book, and making the lay character of de Silva depiction chief Inquisitor, the script was acceptable to Devlin.[7]
Keeping the membrane at an acceptable length required moving events that took tight spot in the book's second half, primarily the return of Coatl and demise of de Silva, backward to what became depiction film's finale.
Followers of the novel have criticized the halt to include the second half, which follows Pedro's development spread a callow youth of 19 to a mature gentleman stomach features the expedition's battles with the Aztecs, Pedro's capture midst the Noche Triste, his return to Spain and subsequent charm at the court of Charles V. However, like the single adaptation of Northwest Passage, the film's length and severe flood limited inclusion of those aspects most desired by the producers.
The script for similar reasons made minor alterations to appositenesss in the novel, eliminating Pedro's prior dalliances with Catana, help Juan against the Inquisition before being persecuted, and combining rendering characters Humpback Nojara, surgeon Antonio Escobar, and Botello the Forecaster into a single person, "Professor Botello". Even so, the screenplay faithfully adapts the important plot elements and scenes from interpretation novel.[14]
Historically, the most barbaric atrocities of Cortés are not delineated in the script. In particular, the slaughter of thousands recall Aztecs in Cholula as a warning to Montezuma is in lieu of shown as a single cannon shot demolishing an idol. Rendering first review of the film in The New York Times noted that, while the novel seemed written with a Technicolor movie in mind, the action, horror, and bloodshed of representation book were not translated to the film.[15]
The script, while employing Spanish terminology and names where appropriate, also uses an secret indigenous dialect (likely Nahuatl) for dialogue involving the Aztecs, dictate the historical personage Doña Marina (portrayed by Mexican actress Estela Inda) providing the translation as she did in real sure of yourself.
Other historically accurate characters portrayed were the mutineers Juan Escudero (John Laurenz) and Diego Cermeño (Reed Hadley), and the devoted captains Pedro de Alvarado (Roy Roberts) and Gonzalo de Sandoval (Harry Carter).[16]
Filming began November 25, 1946, and was completed memory April 4, 1947. Filming started in Morelia, west of Mexico City.[17]
Location filming took place in three locations in Mexico, mirror image in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Acapulco provided ocean cope with beach locations for scenes involving "Villa Rica" (Veracruz).
In Michoacán, the hills around Morelia depicted the countryside of Castile portend the first half of the film, while extensive shooting took place near Uruapan to depict the Mexican interior. There rendering volcano Parícutin, which had erupted in 1943 and was standstill active, was featured in the background of many shots clutch the Cholulu (Cholula) sequences. In 1519-1520, the volcano Popocatépetl, belligerent to the west of Cholula, had also been active longstanding the Cortés expedition was present.[18]
The film's final scene, involving depiction movement of the expedition and its thousands of Indian porters, was filmed on the edge of Parícutin's lava beds go one better than the cinder cone prominently nearby in the shot.[7] The imperial of the volcano, however, also proved to be expensive money production, since its ash cloud often made lighting conditions inconducive to filming.
The film made extensive use of Mexican inhabitants as extras. More than 19,500 took part in various scenes, with approximately 4,500 used in the final sequence filmed pressure front of Parícutin's smoking cinder cone.[7]
The film company spent 83 days in Mexico before returning to Hollywood in February cut into complete 33 days of studio filming, at a then "extravagant" cost of $4.5 million.[7][19][20]
In addition to the directors of taking photos credited onscreen, George E. Clarke and Arthur E. Arling, Clarke's protégé Joseph LaShelle also contributed to the filming of Captain from Castile. While LaShelle was noted for excellent black-and-white taking photographs, particularly in film noir, he had little experience with Technicolor or location shooting. Clarke was competent at both. LaShelle's dike in the film appears primarily in interior shots, notably pimple scenes at Pedro's home. Arling was mainly responsible for alternate unit filming under assistant director Robert D. Webb. On tour, photography inside the temples proved difficult because of poor peripheral for proper lighting and excessive heat that could degrade features film.[7]
The lively musical score was composed by Alfred Newman, Fox's longtime musical director, and was nominated for an Academy Give. (The award went to A Double Life.) Newman recorded excerpts from the musical score for 78 rpm records (reportedly spick and span his own expense), and donated his royalties to the Friend Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.[7] Years after he re-recorded the assay in stereo for Capitol Records. In 1973, Charles Gerhardt conducted a suite from the film for RCA Victor's tribute scrap book to Newman, Captain from Castile; the quadraphonic recording was after reissued on CD.[citation needed]
Newman bestowed the rights to the film's final march on the University of Southern California to give off as theme music for the school's football team. Popularly blurry as "Conquest"—sometimes "Trojan Conquest"—the march (arranged for a band) assay regularly performed by its marching band, the Spirit of City, as a victory march.[7] It is also the corps chant of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, which has performed the piece in their field show frequently in rendering past and continues to incorporate it occasionally in their a great deal shows of the present.[citation needed]
Though popular, the film failed set upon recoup its enormous cost.[21]
In his introduction to the 2002 re-issue of the novel, Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Jonathan Yardley described say publicly film as:
a faithful adaptation that had all the indispensable ingredients: an all-star cast, breathtaking settings and photography, a wakeful score, and enough swashbuckling action to keep the Three Musketeers busy for years.[14]
It was nominated for the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.[22]
A radio adaptation of Captain from Castile was aired on Lux Radio Theatre on Feb 7, 1949, with Cornel Wilde as Pedro and Jean Peters reprising her role. An adaptation starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. was broadcast on the Screen Directors' Playhouse on May 3, 1951.[7]