''Captain Lightfoot'' is a 1955 American

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war f ...

starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular film stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades, and was a prominent figure in the G ...

Barbara Rush Barbara Rush (January 4, 1927 – March 31, 2024) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. In 1954, she won the Golden Globe Award for most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film ''It ...

and Jeff Morrow and is Sirk's adaptation of a book by W. R. Burnett written in 1954. The movie is set in the early 19th century with the hero and his brother-in-arms becoming highwaymen, robbing the wealthy around the foothills of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Captain Lightfoot falls in love, and the ensuing drama threatens everyone's safety. The movie was filmed around

Clogherhead Clogherhead () is a fishing village in County Louth, Ireland. Located in a natural bay on the east coast it is bordered by the villages of Annagassan to the north and Termonfeckin to the south. It has a population of 2,145 according to the 2 ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

, Marlay Park in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, and in the Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

Slane Castle Slane Castle () is located in the village of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century, on land first purchased in 1703 by ...

in Slane County Meath was used as the exterior of Ballymore Castle. Director/writer

Michael Cimino Michael Antonio Cimino ( , ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. He achieved fame as the director of ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture and ...

utilized the nicknames of Martin and Doherty for the main characters in his debut feature film, ''

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' is a 1974 American crime comedy film written and directed by Michael Cimino in his directorial debut, and starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis. The film follows John "Thunderbol ...

'' (1974).

Plot

In 1815, Michael Martin, member of an Irish revolutionary society, turns highwayman to support it, and soon becomes an outlaw. In Dublin, he meets famous rebel "Captain Thunderbolt" and becomes his second-in-command, under the name "Lightfoot." They give off a sense of pleasure

Cast

as Michael Martin, aka "Lightfoot" *

as Aga Doherty * Jeff Morrow as John Doherty, aka "Capt. Thunderbolt" * Kathleen Ryan as Lady Anne More *

Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He rec ...

as Callahan * Denis O'Dea as Regis Donnell *

Geoffrey Toone Geoffrey Toone (15 November 1910 – 1 June 2005) was an English actor and former matinee idol. He was born in Ireland to English parents. Most of his film roles after the 1930s were in supporting parts, usually as authority figures, though he ...

as Captain Hood *

Hilton Edwards Hilton Edwards (2 February 1903 – 18 November 1982) was an English-born Irish actor, lighting designer, and theatrical producer. He co-founded the Gate Theatre in Dublin with his partner Micheál Mac Liammóir and two others, and has been re ...

as Lord Glen * Sheila Brennan as Waitress * Harry Goldblatt as Brady * Charles B. Fitzsimons as Dan Shanley * Christopher Casson as Lord Clonmell * Philip O'Flynn as Trim

References

Tony Tracy, "''Captain Lightfoot'' (1955): Caught between a Rock (Hudson) and a Rapparee," ''Screening Irish America'' (ed. Ruth Barton), (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2009)

External links

* 1955 films 1950s adventure drama films American historical adventure films Films directed by Douglas Sirk Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films scored by Herman Stein 1950s historical adventure films Films set in the 1810s Films based on American novels Films based on works by W. R. Burnett Films produced by Ross Hunter Films shot in Ireland Films set in Ireland American adventure drama films Universal Pictures films CinemaScope films 1955 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language adventure drama films English-language historical adventure films {{1950s-US-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links