The sight of two directorial chairs with the names Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder on their back amounts to a guarantee - to me - that I am about to watch something worthwhile. CAPTAIN BOYCOTT keeps to that parameter, even if I do not rate it one of that famous duo's finest efforts.
Cecil Parker plays Captain Boycott, a callous and dictatorial British land owner stripping local Irish farmers of their homes and all property with the backing of British police. Parker is convincing enough in his malice until he decides to act as jockey in a race in which he uses the horse he forcibly removed from Stewart Granger, a local lad who does not want to turn violent but can see that the whole situation in Ireland rests on a powder keg. Kathleen Ryan, who would soon have her finest hour in ODD MAN OUT, does not appear very much here, other than playing the part of Granger's love interest.
Parker is just too plump and un-athletic to pass off as jockey - he provides an unintentionally ludicrous image in the process, that somehow detracts from the seriousness of impending rebellion without providing any actual comic relief.
Pretty boy Granger is simply not a good enough actor for his part.
Mervyn Johns credibly plays the part of informant and stirrer for the British, Noel Purcell that of Irish crowd stirrer, Alastais Sim as the Catholic priest with a thick Irish brogue who finds a new meaning for the name Boycott and helps restore social and emotional balance as man of God, but the show really is stolen by the great Robert Donat in a very short part, indeed a brief speech, on how to use shunning to enact passive resistance and isolate perceived offenders.
Solid cinematography by Wilkie Cooper and engaging script by Launder and Wilhelm.
Definitely worth a watch. 7/10.
Cecil Parker plays Captain Boycott, a callous and dictatorial British land owner stripping local Irish farmers of their homes and all property with the backing of British police. Parker is convincing enough in his malice until he decides to act as jockey in a race in which he uses the horse he forcibly removed from Stewart Granger, a local lad who does not want to turn violent but can see that the whole situation in Ireland rests on a powder keg. Kathleen Ryan, who would soon have her finest hour in ODD MAN OUT, does not appear very much here, other than playing the part of Granger's love interest.
Parker is just too plump and un-athletic to pass off as jockey - he provides an unintentionally ludicrous image in the process, that somehow detracts from the seriousness of impending rebellion without providing any actual comic relief.
Pretty boy Granger is simply not a good enough actor for his part.
Mervyn Johns credibly plays the part of informant and stirrer for the British, Noel Purcell that of Irish crowd stirrer, Alastais Sim as the Catholic priest with a thick Irish brogue who finds a new meaning for the name Boycott and helps restore social and emotional balance as man of God, but the show really is stolen by the great Robert Donat in a very short part, indeed a brief speech, on how to use shunning to enact passive resistance and isolate perceived offenders.
Solid cinematography by Wilkie Cooper and engaging script by Launder and Wilhelm.
Definitely worth a watch. 7/10.