While there's action and plenty of villainy, the lack of color (both physical and metaphorical) makes this a dull adventure. Charles Laughton, captain at sea in "Mutiny on the Bounty" and pirate of sorts on land in "Jamaica Inn", combines both as the title character, hamming it up to try and enlivening things, and is assisted in nefariousness by John Carradine, but theirs is a flaccid attempt to enliven a lackluster screenplay. Interest wanes as he goes up against the king's plant, Randolph Scott, who of course gets the heroine (Barbara Britton) as he sets out to expose and bring Laughton to justice. By the time Laughton gives a final curse in his broadest thespian manner, you'll have lost interest. Laughton would do better in this role when he got the bumbling team of Abbott and Costello to lighten things up for him.
Review of Captain Kidd
