Upper-class Dona St. Columb (Joan Fontaine) has had enough of her cloddish, uncarring husband (Ralph Forbes) and his cad of a friend (Basil Rathbone), so takes off to Cornwall with her two children. There she is taken care of by William (Cecil Kellaway), a servant who’s cleverer than expected and has a secret. She also runs into her neighbor, Lord Godolphin (Nigel Bruce), who warns her of pirates. She is not worried, but fantasies about a manly pirate, and soon-after meets one in the dashing Jean Benoit Aubrey (Arturo de Córdova). That is the beginning of adventure and romance.
Costumes, pirates, and swords—one would expect a Swashbuckler, but Frenchman’s Creek is more Harlequin romance. I imagine 1944 theaters filled with middle-aged housewives all-a-flutter. Dona is bold, but not to bold. She’s rich, but dreams of excitement. And Jean is one of those many well know bad boy pirates who is absolutely good. They trade nearly hidden innuendos and her bosoms heave to the extent allowed by the production code. It is a full fifty-five minutes before there is any pirating, and then it is quite peaceful and more about our plucky heroine running around dressed as a boy. Cannons and gunshots and thieving is just the greatest of larks.
While action is hard to find, there’s no such problems in finding rich colors, extensive sets, and beautiful costumes. This is an attractive film. No Swashbuckler outside of The Adventures of Robin Hood look better. It won the Oscar for art direction and it was deserved. The acting is good or bad depending on what you think it should be. If you are looking for realistic behavior, then this is a disaster. If, however, you are looking for stylized romance, with a touch of mustache-twirling, it isn’t bad at all. Fontaine makes a fine stand-in for the women whose fantasy this is supposed to be.
I found Frenchman’s Creek slow and a bit silly, and if I was requiring it to live up to the standards of a Swashbuckler, I’d rate it very low. But I’m not the intended audience. For someone looking for a Harlequin romance on film, I doubt there is better to be found.