The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd

Only the first episode of this 15-chapter serial has been included on Columbia’s “Icons Of Adventure” 2-Disc Set…which is just as well, since watching 25 minutes of this Sam Katzman cheapie is tolerable enough – but six hours of it would have been positively mind-numbing!

The historical figure of Captain Kidd has been popular with film-makers (he was twice played by Charles Laughton, for instance), particularly during the heyday of the swashbuckler genre; here, he’s played by a younger, leaner actor and is depicted as a one-dimensional villain (at least, judging solely by this first episode). In fact, his brief appearances throughout are seen via flashbacks recounted to the hero (appointed by the British Admiralty to infiltrate Kidd’s gang) by former associates of the notorious pirate. Incidentally, the little seafaring action we get to see is mostly comprised of stock footage – amusingly accompanied by the occasional studio-shot insert of Kidd shouting orders to his men!

To get back to what I said initially, I can’t imagine sitting through this in its entirety (and I usually enjoy vintage serials, mind you – actually, I’ve a handful of them still to go through)…given that even a mere sampling of it proved nothing more than utterly bland and instantly forgettable!