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Captain Lightfoot

Play trailer Poster for Captain Lightfoot 1955 1h 32m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 33% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
An Irish swashbuckler (Rock Hudson) woos a rebel leader's (Jeff Morrow) daughter (Barbara Rush) in 19th-century Ireland.

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker Sirk is less interested in swashbuckling than in strategy: he looks at the uprising analytically, noting the bitter ironies of shrewd commanders compelled to restrain audacious warriors for the sake of the long-term struggle. Jun 15, 2015 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It never had enough fire in its belly to make it memorable. Rated: C+ Mar 23, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Captain Lightfoot is a film that I struggle to categorize. It’s sort of an adventure film, but there’s not a whole lot of exciting action moments like you’d expect out of a typical adventure film. It’s a mix of comedy and drama, so you can’t nail it down that way. But whatever genre you want to slap on it, this is an enjoyable movie. It looks great, with lots of vibrant colors popping out at you from the sets and especially the costumes. Douglas Sirk has a strong eye for framing shots as well. There were a couple of scenes in particular that stood out because of the way he used props and other pieces of the set to create memorable images. Rock Hudson took me some time to connect with as the protagonist. He comes off as cocky, although some of that is simply because of the character he’s playing. When he meets up with Jeff Morrow and he’s brought down a peg, I started to see why he was a famous leading man. The two of these guys had a nice back-and-forth that was charming and showed that Lightfoot could take over the duties of Thunderbolt without missing a beat. Also of note was Barbara Rush as a solid leading lady, but her shift from spoiled to sweet was a bit too fast and didn’t totally make sense. The flaw in Captain Lightfoot was the story structure. I wasn’t totally engaged in the adventures of the Irish resistance and sometimes I was confused what they were even attempting to do. In many parts of the film it didn’t even seem like they were doing anything for the resistance and were just dealing with the troubles that came their way. The climax brought the story back around and I was once again invested in their mission. The way everything wraps up surprised me, and I’m always pleased when a film can pull off even a minor twist like this without me catching on. Captain Lightfoot is a solid film that I will gladly watch again. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/13/18 Full Review Audience Member Set in Ireland in 1815, this magnificent Technicolor production is full of romance, intrigue, action and adventure. The three principals in the cast, Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush and Jeff Morrow... The Original Thunderbolt and Lightfoot--This is not really a drama;this is not a story of sound and fury either. Sirk's swashbuckler is a bit tongue-in -cheek, While all along enjoyable, it lacks sufficient substance to make it memorable... A young star flexes his wings!! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Captain Lightfoot

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis An Irish swashbuckler (Rock Hudson) woos a rebel leader's (Jeff Morrow) daughter (Barbara Rush) in 19th-century Ireland.
Director
Douglas Sirk
Producer
Ross Hunter
Production Co
Universal/Universal Int
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Mar 31, 2011
Runtime
1h 32m