Alex da Silva This is a rather long film that is a bit boring. Tyrone Power (De Vargas) has a rivalry with the Spanish Inquisition in the form of John Sutton (De Silva). Both want to see each other dead. The film begins in Spain, moves to Cuba and then ends up in South America as the Cortez Expedition begins its annihilation of the Aztec culture. This, of course, is glazed over as it is Hollywood. Instead, the film curiously ends with the blood-thirsty Spanish pirates marching on to carry out their criminal pillaging of Mexican culture whilst we get an American message of how the good and great are just around the corner. What an offensive load of nonsense! A few reviews have described this as some sort of swashbuckling epic. No, it's not. There is one sword fight at the beginning of the film and that's it. It does contain the funniest moment of the film, however, when Tyrone flicks Sutton's hat off with the tip of his sword. Cool move.The cast are all fine and if Caesar Romero had been given a larger part as the invading leader Cortez, he would have walked away with the film as his star power seems to project itself more than main man Tyrone Power. I'm not sure why they went to the trouble of filming this in colour – it just doesn't seem worth it. The most memorable thing about the film is the smoke bellowing out of a volcano in the background. And there you have it – the background is the best thing about the film. A pretty bogus state of affairs.

sinful-2 The movie starts out with Pedro De Vargas getting into a conflict with the Spanish Inquisition. Very interesting start really. And to escape he joins conquest of the new world. I had no problem so far and it was interesting.But what was fast showed was that Pedro (Tyrone) did actually not really have a problem with the inquisition. Only if it was his own family that was the target. There was no problem for him treating the Indians the same way.The movie was more a love story where Jean Peters did the best effort in the movie and was the only really likable person. Unfortunately the movie also started to drag or show no sense of direction.In the end the movie just fizzles out without any grand battle or true conquest or even tying the Inquisition story or conquest story together.I would not recommend this movie as none of the aspects in the movie besides the Romance is really followed through.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Samuel Shellabarger' novel was very good and also very long. The films follows well part of the book, but it ends abruptly, which is understandable considering its runtime of 140 minutes.Cortes's conquest of the Aztecs is very hard to accept by today's standards, virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed, not counting the natives being killed by the thousands fighting canons with bows and arrows, spears and stones. Nevertheless the hero Pedro De Vargas (Tyrone Power) is a loyal soldier of Cortes, and his real enemy is the Inquisition, the horror of which is well described by the film. For those like me, who miss a disappearing genre, the swashbuckler film, in which Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power and Douglas Fairbanks were the great names, this film is a pleasure to see from beginning to end. Jean Peters, beautiful, has her best role and the sensual dance number with her and Power is superb. Cesar Romero is great as Cortes in this mega budget film with great colors, directed by the excellent Henry King.

Terrell-4 If Captain from Castile is remembered much today it probably is because of one of the most rousing marches a Hollywood composer ever wrote. The "Conquest" theme is heard only three times, and the first two are brief but effective scene setters. We have to wait until the movie is almost over and Hernan Cortez is setting out on his march to the Aztec capital of Tenochititlan for the full treatment. The music, by Alfred Newman, embraces the moment, with hundreds of soldiers, the priests, the natives, the hangers-on spreading out before us, the horizon lightening and a single volcano smoking in the distance. The theme is inspiring, martial, emotional, uplifting and memorable. It's enough to make most movie goers want to sign up and most historians queasy. In less than a generation a civilization of between 2 million and 6 million people was obliterated, ground into quickly fading memories under the heels of soldiers, landowners and priests, with nearly all Aztec records burned, nearly all Aztec structures torn down, and nearly all natives, allies and enemies of the Spanish alike, turned into ignorant serfs under slave conditions that would make most American slave owners either blanche or be envious. But enough about reality, a foolish expectation when Hollywood deals with history. Captain from Castile is a Tyrone Power swashbuckler made under the shrewd eye of Darryl F. Zanuck. Considering that the book by Samuel Shellabarger was a huge best seller, well written and stuffed full of history, the movie seems to me to be almost as dull at times as a Spanish onion, especially during the first half hour. Here, in Spain, we learn about how noble is young Pedro de Varga (Power), how noble his father and mother are, how noble the serving wench Catana (Jean Peters) is, how noble Juan Garcia (Lee J. Cobb) is...and what a piece of self- serving vomit is the local head of the Inquisition, Diego de Silva (John Sutton). Once we're in the prison with Pedro, his family and Juan, where de Silva has put them for heresy, things pick up. After Pedro and Juan escape with Catana's help and when the three reach Cuba, things pick up even more. And after an hour, when we finally reach the coast of Mexico along with Cortez and his raggedy army of about 600 soldiers, the movie actually starts. Pedro may be fleeing the Inquisition, but now he has a chance to prove himself, to help Cortez conquer an empire, to realize his growing love for Catana even though he is of aristocratic birth and she is but a peasant, and finally to ride along side Cortez for the fateful meeting with Moctezuma II. His friend Juan is with him. His new wife Catana, carrying their baby son, is in the crowd, and he has his friend and confessor, the wise and understanding Father Bartolomeo (Thomas Gomez), to nag about human rights. Pedro has survived false accusations, sword thrusts and knife wounds. He has proved his worth to Cortez, has foiled plots and, finally, has been promoted in Cortez' army to captain. The captain from Castile is on his way to being a contented conquerer of the Aztecs. Two first-rate performances are worth mentioning. One is by Lee J. Cobb. After seeing Cobb so powerful in movies like Thieves' Highway, On the Waterfront and Twelve Angry Men, it's a jolt to see him in this earlier costume caper. Still, he manages to give a strong performance, in spite of the tights he has to wear. The other outstanding performance is by Cesar Romero as Cortez. Romero roars through the movie with charisma, high spirits and shrewdness. It's an expert job with no hamminess, and is one of the few performances in the movie that has energy. We pay attention whenever Romero shows up. Captain from Castile is a great example of a big Hollywood spectacle from the Forties, and I don't mean that as a criticism. On many levels it's fun to watch. At the same time, it seems to me to be a film which is too solemn for its own good. For those who enjoy a good historical read, Shellabarger's novel still has its merits. For an engrossing, exciting and often gruesome picaresque novel about the Aztecs just before, during and just after the Spanish conquest, try Gary Jenning's Aztec.