The Even Chance | |
---|---|
Genre | Action-adventure Costume drama |
Based on | Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester |
Screenplay by | Russell Lewis |
Directed by | Andrew Grieve |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | John E. Keane |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Andrew Benson |
Cinematography | Neve Cunningham |
Editor | Keith Palmer |
Running time | 100 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Budget | £3 million [1] |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 7 October 1998 |
The Even Chance is the first of eight Hornblower television adaptations relating the exploits of Horatio Hornblower, the protagonist in a series of novels and short stories by C.S. Forester. The Even Chance is the name given to the film in the United Kingdom, while in the United States it is known by the alternative title The Duel.
In January 1793, 17-year-old midshipman Horatio Hornblower is assigned to his first posting, the ship of the line HMS Justinian. Hornblower is introduced to his shipmates, including his superior Jack Simpson, a bully quick to single out the young man for abuse and scorn. Hornblower embarrasses himself when he becomes seasick while the ship is at anchor in calm waters, and he finds life under Simpson unbearable.
After contemplating suicide, Hornblower seizes an opportunity to challenge Simpson to a duel. His friend, Midshipman Clayton, feels guilty that he has not previously stood against Simpson. He knocks Hornblower unconscious and takes his place. Simpson, a seasoned duelist, kills Clayton while sustaining only a minor wound to the shoulder. Hornblower arrives just in time to speak with Clayton before he dies.
Hornblower is transferred to the frigate HMS Indefatigable (known by her crew as Indy), under the command of Captain Pellew. Midshipmen Kennedy, Hether, and Cleveland go with him; Pellew's fury over the duel leads him to appoint Hornblower as commander of Simpson's former division. Hornblower's decision to place his trust in them and refusal to permit the laziness and unruly behavior fostered by Simpson, as well as his capability in battle and concern for their wellbeing, wins him the division's respect and loyalty.
When Indefatigable captures the French merchantman Marie Gallante, Hornblower and his division are tasked with sailing the ship to port as a prize. Hornblower soon discovers it is sinking and beyond repair, forcing him to issue the order to abandon ship. In close quarters on the lifeboat, the French captain and his men quickly overpower the prize crew, and Hornblower surrenders his navigational chart, but drops his compass overboard. He later informs Matthews that in anticipation of the French prisoners gaining the upper hand, he deliberately mispositioned their location on the chart. The French captain attempts to sail to France by reversing course, but quickly becomes lost. Hornblower and his men regain the upper hand, and the lifeboat is soon afterward intercepted by Indefatigable, where Hornblower receives the accolades of the crew.
Simpson joins Indefatigable after Justinian is sunk by the French warship Papillon. Pellew orders a detachment to enter the Gironde estuary and board and capture Papillon by moonlight. During the battle, Kennedy is incapacitated by a seizure and left in the boarding party's boat. Simpson takes advantage of the confusion to cut the boat free. When Hornblower attempts to lower Papillon's main topsail, Simpson shoots at him. The bullet grazes his head, and he falls unconscious into the water, where he is rescued by Seaman Finch.
Indy is attacked by three French ships. Papillon attempts to render assistance but comes under fire from French shore batteries. Lieutenant Chadd is killed, and Lieutenant Eccleston is mortally wounded, but before Eccleston succumbs he orders Hornblower to assume command. As senior midshipman, Simpson attempts to take charge, but Hornblower asserts his authority and orders Sailing Master Bowles to detain Simpson and shoot him if he resists. Simpson is held under guard while Papillon sails to Indy's rescue.
Hornblower orders Papillon's French colors to remain flying. By posing as a French vessel, he launches a surprise assault on the fleet attacking Indefatigable and succeeds at driving them off. Hornblower accuses Simpson of an attempt on his life. When Simpson demands his right to a duel to settle the matter, Pellew permits the challenge.
Simpson shoots before the command to fire, then falsely claims it was an accident. Hornblower is not badly injured and prepares to return fire. Simpson begs for his life, revealing himself as a coward. Hornblower fires into the air, stating that Simpson is "not worth the powder". Infuriated at this insult, Simpson pulls a dagger and tries to stab Hornblower in the back. Pellew, who had been watching the proceedings, takes the rifle of one of his marine guards and kills Simpson with a well-aimed shot.
Back aboard Indefatigable, Pellew tells Hornblower how impressed he has been by the young officer's actions and states that Hornblower has a great career ahead of him if he continues as he has begun.
This episode does not follow the plot of the corresponding chapter in C. S. Forester's Mr. Midshipman Hornblower . In the original story, the mathematically minded Hornblower secures himself an "even chance" against a more skilled adversary. As the offended party, he has the choice of weapons. He asks that only one of the duelling pistols be loaded, the combatants having to toss for it and then stand a yard apart and fire at each other at point blank range. As it turns out, the captain has secretly given orders that neither weapon be loaded, the resulting lack of a shot blamed on a misfire, and Hornblower comes out of the duel unscathed. Suspecting the truth, Hornblower proposes to challenge the captain to a duel, only to be told that such a challenge would be unlawful. [2]
The episode also incorporates material from several other stories in Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. Among these are "Hornblower and the Cargo of Rice", for Hornblower's ill-fated command of the Marie Galante, and the chapter "Hornblower and the Man Who Felt Queer", for the section concerning the Indefatigable's expedition against the Papillon. The episode also diverges from the plot of this chapter in several respects, mostly related to the addition of Simpson and Kennedy to the event (in the book, Simpson is not transferred to Indefatigable, and Kennedy does not take part in the expedition). [3]
Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, known by his pen name Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester, was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic Wars.
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films and radio and television programmes, and C. Northcote Parkinson elaborated a "biography" of him, The True Story of Horatio Hornblower.
Hornblower is a series of British historical fiction war television films based on three of C. S. Forester's ten novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Navy officer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother Israel Pellew also pursued a naval career.
Captain Horatio Hornblower is a 1951 British naval swashbuckling war film in Technicolor from Warner Bros., produced by Gerry Mitchell, directed by Raoul Walsh, that stars Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty and Terence Morgan.
Honor Among Enemies is a 1996 science fiction novel by American writer David Weber. It is the sixth book in the Honor Harrington series. In the book, Honor returns to active duty from her political exile on Grayson to command a Q-ship and fight space pirates.
The Captain from Connecticut is a novel, published in 1941, by C. S. Forester, the author of the novels about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower. The Captain from Connecticut is set at the tail end of the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812. It was written at the beginning of World War II. Forester wanted to write a novel where both American and British sailors could be heroic and admirable.
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is a 1950 Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return, was published in 1937.
Hornblower in the West Indies, or alternately Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, is one of the novels in the series that C. S. Forester wrote about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower.
The Examination for Lieutenant is an episode of the British television series Hornblower. It is loosely based on part of the 1950 novel Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester. It was released on DVD in the United States under the title The Fire Ship.
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Grindall KCB was an officer in the British Royal Navy whose distinguished career during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars was highlighted by his presence at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Despite being slow and ungainly, his 98-gun ship Prince was instrumental in the final stages of the battle and especially in the chaotic storm which followed, when many of the British fleet would have been lost but for the efforts of Grindall and other captains of largely undamaged ships.
The Frogs and the Lobsters is an episode of the television program Hornblower. It is set during the French Revolutionary Wars and very loosely based on the chapter of the same name in C.S. Forester's 1950 novel Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and on the actual ill-fated Quiberon expedition of 1795.
Alan Lewrie is the fictional hero and main character of Dewey Lambdin's naval adventure series of novels set during the American and the French Revolutions and the Napoleonic Wars. The series spanned some twenty-five novels with a 26th reportedly in progress at the time of Mr. Lambdin's death in July 2021.
The Duchess and the Devil is the third episode of the British television series Hornblower. The episode first aired on 24 February 1999 on ITV. The television story is loosely based on the chapter "Hornblower, the Duchess, and the Devil" in C. S. Forester's 1950 novel Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.
Mutiny is the fifth episode of the British film series Hornblower. It was released on April 8, 2001. It is based on the 1952 book Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S. Forester. Mutiny was written by T. R. Bowen and directed by Andrew Grieve.
Retribution is the sixth episode of the British film series Hornblower. It was released on 15 April 2001, the week after the fifth episode, Mutiny, of which it is a continuation. It is based on the 1952 book Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S. Forester.
Loyalty is the seventh film of the British TV film series Hornblower, based on the books by C. S. Forester, particularly Hornblower and the Hotspur. It was released on 5 January 2003, nearly four years after the first four films and nine months after the next two films.
Duty is the eighth and final episode of the British TV series Hornblower, based on the 1962 book Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S. Forester. It was released on 6 January 2003, a day after episode 7: Loyalty.
The Hand of Destiny is a short story C.S. Forester wrote about his most popular character, Horatio Hornblower, written in 1940, and published in Collier's magazine. Sanford Sternlicht, author of C. S. Forester and the Hornblower Saga, notes the story has multiple inconsistencies with later stories. He also notes elements of the story that Forester re-used in later stories.
Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hart was a British naval officer and diplomat of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After a brief stint in the East India Company he joined the Royal Navy in 1796 on Sir Edward Pellew's frigate HMS Indefatigable, participating in the action of 13 January 1797 before following Pellew to the ship of the line HMS Impetueux where he experienced a mutiny before taking part in a number of cutting out expeditions and the Ferrol Expedition. At the Peace of Amiens Hart transferred to the ship of the line HMS Foudroyant in the Mediterranean Sea where he was promoted to lieutenant and joined Sir John Gore's frigate HMS Medusa, in which he participated in the action of 5 October 1804 before sailing to India in 1805. There he was reunited with Pellew who made him his flag lieutenant and appointed him to a succession of acting commands, including to that of the frigate HMS Caroline in which he played an important role in the Raid on Griessie in 1807.