jacobs-greenwood Director Richard Wallace co-produced this action adventure seafaring film with Grover Jones, who based his screenplay on the Kenneth Roberts novel. Executive producer Hal Roach was evidently trying to capitalize on Warner Bros. successful Errol Flynn pirate films like The Sea Hawk (1940), which had been released earlier in the year. Unfortunately, he didn't have the lead nor character actors to rise above its B programmer status, though Elmer Raguse did receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound, Recording. The cast includes Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo, Bruce Cabot, Robert Barrat, Vivienne Osborne, Roscoe Ates who plays a stuttering crewman, and Alan Ladd (among others).The time period is August, 1812 when war rages between England and the United States, with France involved in the mix. Mature plays Dan Marvin, who'd been rescued as a boy by American Captain Dorman (Barrat) on his ship the Olive Branch. Marvin had therefore grown up with Dorman's daughter Corunna (Platt). Now that both are of age, they're on the brink of consummating their relationship with an adult romance, but each is a little too feisty and neither is willing to relinquish any 'power' to the other. In fact, Corunna is so strong willed that she dubs Dan "Captain Caution" when he'd rightly surrenders the ship to the British after her father was killed; she vows revenge as a privateer. The Olive Branch had been at sea so long no one aboard even knew that there was a war going on. Three of the prisoners aboard the English ship are Frenchman Lucien Argandeau (Carillo), his wife Victorine (Osborne), and another American Lehrman Slade (Cabot), who had been a prisoner about Argandeau's ship the Formidable for slave trading before the British had commandeered it.With help from the ladies, who are given quarters above decks by the British, the prisoners below decks get some small arms (knives and a pistol) which enables them to join the action when an American ship attacks them; the British are overwhelmed and their ship is sunk. The freed Olive Branch is then commanded by Corunna assisted by Slade, who has charmed his way into her confidence. Victorine comforts Dan, who Corunna & Slade has made stay a prisoner. Mrs. Argandeau and her husband Lucien are on the outs because of his affairs with other women. Meanwhile, Dan has 'adopted' the English drummer boy Travers (Clifford Severn) he'd saved during the conflict. Of course, Slade is untrustworthy and, once they make port in France, he crosses the channel back to England where he blackmails another slave trader into capturing the Olive Branch for his own purposes.Again, Dan and Lucien find themselves imprisoned in the bowels of a British ship. This time, with the help of Newton (Ladd), who ends up killing the corrupt captain, and several others who'd been treated like slaves, 'forced' to operate the ship, they're able to escape, re- attack their captors, and rescue the Olive Branch for (a finally grateful) Corunna. A shirtless Mature was called into action as a gladiator to fight a large brute in order to distract the crew such that the other American prisoners could swim to a nearby ship to escape. Naturally, Corunna no longer thinks her nickname fits Dan, and they embrace before the closing credits.

wes-connors This misty, seafaring film looks and sounds very beautiful, and atmospheric. I just couldn't get involved with the story; and found the acting fantastically uneven. I can imagine the direction given to Victor Mature before he enters the French tavern - "Enter left and look startled!" - The ship had a sort of "beatnik/hippie" type character on board. The French waitress was cast against type, I though. The characters really treat her poorly! I wonder, is the film's message that women are "bad luck"? It's a fair film - probably, kids in theaters would have enjoyed spending an afternoon in the theater on the "Captain Caution" ship. If I was a 10-year-old kid boy the '40s, I would have liked this movie more. **** Captain Caution (1940) Richard Wallace ~ Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo

xredgarnetx An early Victor Mature effort, CAPTAIN CAUTION tells the tale of a merchant vessel assaulted by the British at the start of the War of 1812. The vessel's captain is killed and his daughter (so-so actress Louise Platt) assumes command. She decides to pursue the British and is given the choice of Mature or Bruce (KING KONG) Cabot for first mate. The spot goes to Cabot, who turns out to be a privateer in the employ of the highest bidder, in this case the British. He convinces her to head for France rather than America, and once in port, the ship is taken. She unwisely stays with Cabot, who is now planning to sail for America, while Mature and his loyal followers are held prisoner. With the help of a very young Alan Ladd, Mature and the boys escape and pursue Cabot's ship. As you can imagine, the action never stops and the battle scenes are eye-popping even in black and white. Taken from a Kenneth Roberts novel, CAPTAIN CAUTION is a forgotten mini-masterpiece that only falls down whenever the leading lady takes center stage. But the young Victor Mature is pretty impressive in his two-fisted role and Cabot plays his traitor role just subtly enough to convince even the most jaded moviegoer. Plus the wonderful Leo (CISCO KID) Carillo is aboard for comic relief. Too bad the film wasn't shot in color.

bkoganbing Kenneth Roberts, newspaperman and writer of some marvelous historical novels about early America, got lucky in 1940 when two of his best selling novels were adapted into film. The first was Northwest Passage which MGM gave the A treatment with Spencer Tracy. And then there was this film adaption of Captain Caution which takes place in the opening weeks of the War of 1812.Roberts's novels are long and complex and I got the feeling that a lot of character development was sacrificed for action. Certainly the action sequences were well done and Victor Mature in one of his earliest films made a dashing hero. And the film got an Oscar nomination for Best Sound recording.Yet things seemed to move a little too quick. MGM when dong Northwest Passage wisely decided the novel was too long to make an entire film out of it. They concentrated on the first part about Roger's Rangers and their contribution to the French and Indian War. There were plans for a sequel, but they eventually came to naught. But they had a complete film in just what they used.I got the feeling in Captain Caution that they tried to get the whole book in and did a slipshod job in adapting it. It's not a bad film, but it could have been a whole lot better.Louise Platt was fresh from her triumph in Stagecoach and plays the lady owner of an American merchant vessel that gets attacked by a British navy frigate. The Americans don't know they're at war and get attacked by surprise. Louise's father, Robert Barrat, is killed and she develops an understandable case of anglophobia. And she's put out quite a bit that her intended Victor Mature isn't all fired up to turn their merchant vessel into a privateer. She gravitates towards the villainous Bruce Cabot who has his own ideas and they don't necessarily mesh with Louise's.Alan Ladd has a small bit role as an American who was impressed into the British Navy. That was done quite a bit right before the War of 1812. He's a prisoner because he resisted the idea. I'm sure the folks at Paramount must have noticed this part because two years later, Ladd made his break out film for Paramount in This Gun for Hire.I look at Captain Caution and wonder what might have happened if it had been done at MGM the way Northwest Passage was done.