film had its worldwide premiere in the presence of Princess Margaret at the Warner Theatre, Leicester Square, London on 12 April 1951. The premiere was in aid of King George's Fund for Sailors and the "Foudroyant" appeal (the presently restored frigate renamed afloat in the Historic Quay, Hartlepool, UK). Bosley Crowther, critic for The New York Times, said it has "plenty of action ... It may be conventional action, routine in pattern and obviously contrived, with less flavor [of the books] in it than of the workshops of Hollywood. However, it should please those mateys who like the boom of the cannon and the swish of the swords." Bob Thomas said it "is excellent adventure stuff ... the dialogue and action can be stilted at times. But there is enough eye-catching excitement and color to offset that." TV Guide wrote that "Walsh's direction has no time to linger. Guy Green's camerawork and Robert Farnon's jolly score are helpful." According to Warner Bros' accounts, the film earned $2,598,000 domestically and $2,735,000 foreign. It was the studio's most expensive film of the year but also their most popular. It was the 9th most popular film at the British box office that year. The film has been well received by modern critics. The film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives it 7.3 out of 10 and a 100% "fresh" rating. Other versions Peck and Mayo recreated their roles on a one-hour Lux Radio Theater program broadcast on 21 January 1952, which is included as an audio-only feature in the film's DVD release. Home media On 6 March 2007 Warner Home Video released the film on DVD in its original aspect ratio of 1:37:1. References External links Captain Horatio Hornblower review at DVD Journal Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) review at Decent Films Guide 1951 films 1951 romantic drama films 1950s historical action films 1951 war films 1950s adventure drama films British historical action films British romantic drama films British war drama films Films shot at Associated British Studios 1950s English-language films Films based on British novels Films based on historical novels Films based on the Hornblower series Films based on military novels Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Raoul Walsh Films set in 1807 Films set in Central America Seafaring films War adventure films Warner Bros. films 1950s British films