Le Capitan (1960) - film review

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.

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

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