captain from castile

It's easy to forget after the rise of Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola, but during Hollywood's golden years it was the producer who was king. The studio system didn't leave much room for individual artistic expression; the recipe for success was mustering the machinery's best resources in service of story that would put all that effort on the screen. And few did it better than Darryl F. Zanuck. Take for example Captain from Castile (1947), a frenetically paced, historical epic that jumps from the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition to the new-world adventures Cortez and his gold-crazy Conquistadores. As a accurate portrayal of actual events, things get a bit whitewashed, but as Hollywood spectacle it's practically a "how-to" demo reel of production savvy from the first frame to the last.

The son of a famous ex-soldier, Pedro De Vargas (Tyrone Power) is stunned when he and his family are accused of heresy and thrown into prison. But he soon realizes they are the victims of a personal vendetta held by Diego De Silva, a wealthy landowner with designs for Pedro's equally wealthy fiancé. An escape plan develops with the help of a friendly mercenary (Lee J. Cobb), but not before Pedro's sister dies on the rack. Swearing vengeance, Pedro strikes down his enemy (or so he thinks) before fleeing Spain aboard the ship of Hernando Cortez (Cesar Romero) bound for the fame and fortune of the Indies.

Providing a convenient narrative intermission of sorts, the second half of the film follows Pedro and his compatriots, including Catana (Jean Peters), a gorgeous peasant girl who pines for his romantic attention despite her unworthy social status, as they follow Cortez across the Mexican continent. But when De Silva makes a surprise appearance in the new world, old animosities come to a head and Pedro soon finds himself right back where he started: condemned to death!

Captain from Castile is so packed with dramatic battles, escapes, rescues and revenge that it's nearly impossible to provide a synopsis that does it justice. In fact, much of the action from the second half of the book upon which the film was based had to be axed just to fit it all in! Screenwriter Lamar Trotti, a frequent Zanuck collaborator, streamlines history in fine fashion, making Pedro De Vargas' personal romances and tragedies just as exciting as the world-changing events unfolding onscreen. For his part, director Henry King packs the frame with as much scenery (and scenery chewing, in some cases) as the budget allows, delivering some truly astonishing Mexican landscapes along with a fortuitously active volcano.

But it's Zanuck's packaging that makes it all work, including a odd mix of known actors (Power's endearingly stiff acting loosens considerably in proximity to Lee J. Cobb's more relaxed approach), new faces (leading lady Jean Peters was a last-minute replacement making her film debut) and an Oscar nominated score by Alfred Newman that is more than a match for all the grandiosity playing out on screen. Captain from Castile pushes the same buttons now as it did in 1947, securing a little slice of Hollywood history all its own.

Twilight Time's 3000-copy limited edition Blu-ray is a real beauty, providing one show-stopping outdoor shot after another. Extras include an isolated music track, audio commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and Nick Redman, two Tyrone Power featurettes, the original theatrical trailer and Julie Kirgo's informative liner notes.