Captain Boycott

1947 1h 33m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 10

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 19th-century Ireland, when poverty-stricken tenants dispossessed by greedy landowner Captain Charles Boycott band together to assert their rights, patriotic farmer Hugh Davin leads the rebels. Choosing nonviolent resistance, the villagers ostracise their nemesis, who squanders his fortune to repair his ruined reputation and wagers what's left on a horse race.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Stewart Granger
Hugh Davin
Kathleen Ryan
Anne Killain
Cecil Parker
Capt. Charles C. Boycott
Mervyn Johns
Watty Connell
Alastair Sim
Father McKeogh
Noel Purcell
Daniel McGinty
Niall MacGinnis
Mark Killain
Maureen Delaney
Mrs. Davin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Frank Launder
Writers: Wolfgang Wilhelm, Frank Launder
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Frank Launder, shot by Wilkie Cooper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by William Alwyn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thelma Connell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stewart Granger and Kathleen Ryan and Cecil Parker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039242 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Frank Launder directs. Wilkie Cooper behind the camera. William Alwyn scores. Thelma Connell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
279 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Frank Launder, shot by Wilkie Cooper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by William Alwyn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Thelma Connell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Stewart Granger and Kathleen Ryan and Cecil Parker carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0039242 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Wilkie Cooper
Original score: William Alwyn
Editing: Thelma Connell
Costume design: John Gudenian
Makeup / hair: Betty Baugh
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Captain Boycott (1947)

Also by

Frank Launder

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-07
★ 6/10
This is quite interesting if only for an etymology lesson in the origins of the word "boycott". Cecil Parker is the eponymous gentleman who stokes the hatred of his Irish Tenant farmers in the late 1800s. Charles Parnell (Robert Donat) preaches a more pacifist approach to protest - and so Stewart Granger ("Hugh") encourages his colleagues to down-tools and stop collecting the crops, stop paying the exorbitant rents - and to shun anyone who is prepared to co-operate with this horrendously arbitrary system. Using his agent "Connell" (Mervyn Jones), the Captain has his farmers evicted and this soon leads to conflict between Granger and his love "Anne" (Kathleen Ryan) who has taken over one of the tenancies from an evicted family and earned the scorn of her neighbours... This story is essentially just a vehicle for Granger - his dashing good looks and on-screen charisma shine, as do Parker as the pompous Captain; Mervyn Johns as his really quite weaselly acolyte and Alastair Sim is engaging as the not-so-neutral priest "McKeogh"; but the dialogue is pretty wooden (the star's accent seems a bit confused) and the story of grit and determination lacks any substantial portrayal of either, really. Certainly, it passes 90 minutes easily enough, but maybe just a bit too light and fluffy for the subject matter...

Production companies