Load of rubbish!!

Am I Missing Something?

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

As a history teacher, I generally avoid film depictions of Christopher Columbus because they bear little similarity to real life. The biggest problem is that although he became famous, little is actually known about the man--especially before his famed voyages to the New World. So, much of the 'fact' in the film is fiction. In addition, the films also perpetuate myth--stories often retold so many times people just assume it to be true. THe sad fact is that we have no idea what he looked like and aren't even positive about where he was born. When the film begins, it says that during Columbus' time people assumed the world was flat--something practically no sane person at the time thought! They could see that the Earth had a curved horizon and the reason few traveled across the Atlantic had to do with a previous lack of navigational tools as well as it being completely unknown. People just did NOT think they'd fall off the world--a myth perpetuated by a mostly fictional history book by Washington Irving that purported to be a biography of the man.Today we are in an age of deconstruction of Columbus. Whereas in 1949, he was practically depicted as super-human, today he's seen as a genocidal maniac. Neither depiction is quite correct. There is a lot to admire as well as dislike about the man--and it's a darn shame that no film I know of even tries to give a balanced account of what we know about this skilled sailor.So why, then, did I watch this film? Well, I like Frederic March and think he's a bit underrated as an actor. Even a second-rate film (which this clearly is) with March is worth watching. There are some nice qualities about the film--the costumes and sets are reasonably accurate. As for the acting, it is a bit stilted and dull. Perhaps they talked this way back then, I am no expert on this, but the people seemed a bit too constricted and formal throughout. There were a few exceptions--the jolly fat guy was pretty cool. But even with a few decent performances, nothing can change the fact that the film is wildly inaccurate and rather dull. Plus, it perpetuates the idea that Columbus discovered America--omitting the fact that natives had discovered it first and the Vikings had been there several centuries earlier. Of course, there are several other possible expeditions that MIGHT have made it there before Columbus as well, but there just isn't enough space here to discuss the recent Chinese claim or other ideas that most likely will never be proved.By the way, the print shown on Turner Classic Movies is strongly sepia-toned. I am not sure if this was intentional--it might just need restoration!

SPOILER ALERT!!!! COLUMBUS "DISCOVERS" NEW WORLD AT THE END!!! Just saw this on TCM and was laughing and laughing and laughing. I swear,it was almost as if the Coen brothers had traveled back in time and made this movie. There are so many awful treasures in this well-made horrible movie I don't know where to begin. First: Frederic March's 1940's typical American Joe accent is priceless. Just picture Joe Biden playing Columbus. Did they even have casting directors back then? The filmmakers also take copious liberties with the story, my favorite one being that they paint Columbus as this maverick who sasses the Spanish court judges commissioned to approve or deny his voyage. He was this close to lighting a cigarette, popping his collar, hopping on a motorcycle and riding into the sunset. I could go on and on, but you get the drift. Batten down your brain cells and set sail to Over-Acting Island.

I'm not sure what compelled Fredric March and Florence Eldridge to do this British film for J. Arthur Rank based on the life of Christopher Columbus. Or at least an interpretation of that life as come down in popular culture. It didn't add much to either of their reputations, but I suppose did no harm.March is in the title role of the intrepid Genoese sea captain who is credited with the discovery of America. By America of course we mean the western hemisphere and not the USA. Columbus never did make it in any of his four voyages to the lower 48. One thing that is a weakness of this film for American audiences is that this it is not made clear that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were joint rulers, she was not just a consort Queen. Earlier in Spanish history, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married and that marriage unified Spain as a nation. But both were monarchs in their own right. It's clear to me, but I fear not to others as to why Florence Eldridge as Queen Isabella can in fact act independently as she does. Francis L. Sullivan is Count Bobadilla who became Columbus's enemy at court and he plays it in the grand and florid Sullivan manner. He's always a joy to watch in any film, no matter how good or bad it is.The greatness of Columbus lies in two things, the fact that he had an idea about sailing west in an effort to find a shorter route for trade with the Orient. He was in fact, wrong as you can be on that score. He based his calculations on the fact that he thought the earth much smaller than it really was. But he persisted and eventually sold the notion to the Castilian Queen.Secondly though, whatever else he was, Columbus was one incredibly good sea captain. In a voyage into unknown territory he kept his crew together for about two months until land was sighted in what is now the Bahamas. The film itself has quite a few dry patches. It's dull retelling of an exciting adventure. For their time, the special effects are good, but are pretty dated now. It's obvious the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria are all models in a tank.A couple of films were done in time for the 500 anniversary of the first voyage that were more accurate in the detail. You probably are better off seeing either of them.

I'd always pictured CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS as an adventurous young man, but here he's played by the very stoic FREDRIC MARCH in the prime of middle-age. Why is it March always seemed too old for all of his major roles, beginning with ANTHONY ADVERSE.This is a very respectable version of the Columbus story, but a bit plodding and dull when it should come to life with more vigor. There's an almost textbook quality about the script that takes forty-five minutes to set Columbus on his voyage after much confrontational verbal exercises at the Spanish court with Queen Isabella (FLORENCE ELDRIDGE) and FRANCIS L. SULLIVAN as a nobleman who opposes the voyage. Strangely enough, this portion of the film is the most interesting.Production values are splendid but there's a muted quality to the color of the TCM print I viewed. FREDRIC MARCH is competent in the title role, but never quite assumes the mantle of the courageous and determined leader of men with his daring new ideas. It's easy to see why his crewmen become skeptical and suspicious midway during the voyage. Their growing doubts are understandable after so many days at sea.Summing up: Interesting enough but would have been a more successful film with a more vital performer in the title role rather than the uninspired portrayal of its tired looking leading man whose work here is rather pallid.For all the attempts to bring it to life, it remains a "flat" version rather than a fully rounded one.