Captain Kidd is a 1945 adventure film starring Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott and Barbara Britton. It was directed by Rowland V. Lee and produced by Benedict Bogeaus and James Nasser. The music was conducted by Werner Janssen. The film was released by United Artists. It has entered the public domain because the producers neglected to renew the copyright in 1972. The film is also Lee’s final one before his retirement.

Plot:
In 1699, pirate William Kidd (Charles Laughton) loots and destroys the London galleon The Twelve Apostles. He and three confederates bury the stolen treasure on a remote island. He then presents himself at the court of King William III (Henry Daniell) as an honest shipmaster seeking a royal commission as a privateer after striking his colors to a pirate. The king is persuaded by Kidd that the captain of The Twelve Apostles was that very pirate who has now disappeared with its treasure and grants the commission. Kidd recruits a crew from condemned pirates in Newgate and Marshalsea prisons, promising them a royal pardon at the end of their voyage. Among them is the quarrelsome though cultured Adam Mercy (Randolph Scott), whom Kidd makes his new master gunner because of his claimed prior service with pirate Captain Avery.