Le Capitan
1960 History / Adventure
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Credits
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Summary
In 1616, France is governed by Marie de Médicis and her favourite, Concino Concini,
acting in the name of the young king Louis XIII. Concini’s tyranny is widely
felt and a faction is plotting to overthrow his regime and replace Louis with another
pretender to the throne. A sword master, François de Capestan, finds himself
caught up in this intrigue whilst pursuing a mysterious dark-haired woman who saved his
life during a fight against Concini’s henchmen. In the adventures that follow,
François is allied with a kind-hearted street entertainer, Cogolin.
Review
After the enormous success of Le
Bossu in 1959, director André Hunebelle brought together Jean Marais
and Bourvil for a second time in a similar kind of swash-buckling historical adventure
film. Although the film doesn’t exactly break new ground in its genre (except
for the inclusion of two badly fitting musical numbers sung by Bourvil), Le
Capitan is well-made with some impressive sets and exceptionally well choreographed
fight scenes. The film also features some memorable action stunts, many of
which were performed by Jean Marais himself. With their contrasting personalities
and acting styles, the Bourvil-Marais pairing works well (far better than the De Funès-Marais
pairing in the subsequent Fantômas
films which Hunebelle would later direct). All in all, Le
Capitan is a satisfying period adventure film, of the kind which should appeal
as much to adults as to children.
© James Travers 2004 Write a review for this film... |
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