![]() “Thus ended the life of Captain Kidd, a man who, if he had entertained a proper regard to the welfare of the public, or even to his own advantage, might have become a useful citizen to society instead of a disgrace to it. The Newgate Calendar goes on to indulge in a little judging of Kidd’s immortal soul: According to the Newgate Calendar, he died “professing his charity to all the world, and his hopes of salvation through the merits of his Redeemer.” He apparently showed up drunk to his own trial, and then on the day of his execution, the rope broke and he had to be hanged twice. The tale of his trial execution is the stuff of legend. On May 23rd, 1701, Captain Kidd was hanged and gibbeted in London. Kidd’s arrest by Lord Bellomont, Governor of New York At that time, piracy was not technically a crime in the colony, so he was brought to England for trial, and he was imprisoned in Newgate Gaol until May of 1701. Historians are sketchy on the details I got this account from A Maritime History of New York.) He then siezed a French vessel, was abandoned by most of his crew, and when he returned to the port of New York, he found himself wanted for murder and piracy on the high seas. (Well, as far as we know, this is more or less what happened. After a year or so of floating around the Indian Ocean with no spoils to speak of, his restless crew mutinied and in the ensuing scuffle, Kidd sort of beat one of his crew members to death with a bucket. Kidd crewed his ship under a “no plunder, no pay” policy, which was exactly what it sounded like. His last voyage, on the Adventure Galley, proved ill fated. His main residence was at 119-21 Pearl Street, which more or less corresponds to the modern intersections of Pearl between Wall and Hanover Streets.įor whatever reason, whether to keep up with the financial demands of keeping his wife and two daughters in society’s trappings and finery or because he merely had “ pangs for the sea,” Captain Kidd obtained a new privateer’s license in 1695 and took to sea again. After he wedded dear Sarah, he would find himself possessed of real estate holdings that would make a modern broker salivate: according to Alexander Winston, author of the pirate history No Man Knows My Grave, Kidd owned properties at 56 Wall Street, 86-90 and 119-21 Pearl Street, 52-56 Water Street and 25, 27 and 29 Pine Street. He didn’t move to the then-British colony of New York until he was well into his 40s, after marrying Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, a wealthy widow. ![]() This is the kind of action-packed movie that, as long as you don't pause to analyze it too closely, provides very good entertainment with a lot of interesting story developments.William Kidd was born in Scotland in 1645, became a sailor early in life, and had a long and successful career as a privateer. It has plenty of interesting detail that sets off the action nicely. The action sequences are good, and they are also interspersed at well-chosen intervals in the main plot. ![]() Reginald Owen also pitches in as something of a wild card character whose loyalties are, for a time, uncertain. The three of them join in an entertaining battle of nerves and wits, with most of the other characters serving as useful pawns in their game. The story setup is nicely conceived, pitting Kidd and his deceitful scheming against some fully worthy adversaries with plots and secrets of their own, with John Carradine enjoyably spiteful as Kidd's long-time untrustworthy partner, and Randolph Scott as a mysterious convict who gets recruited to be Kidd's master gunner. Despite the rather far-fetched nature both of his scheme and of much of the plot as a whole, Laughton's rousing performance and the movie's other strengths carry everything off nicely. The story starts with Kidd having just successfully completed one of his attacks, and using it as a springboard for a more ambitious and daring plan to make himself an English lord. Charles Laughton is in his element as the treacherous, clever pirate captain, and he is given good support from the rest of the cast and from the overall production. There's plenty of good action and intrigue in this fictionalized account of the infamous "Captain Kidd".
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