''The Even Chance'' is the first of eight Hornblower television adaptations relating the exploits of

Horatio Hornblower 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, radio and television programmes, an ...

, the protagonist in a series of novels and short stories by C.S. Forester. ''The Even Chance'' is the name given to this first film in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, while in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

it is known as ''The Duel''.

Plot

In January 1793, 17-year-old Horatio Hornblower, a newly-appointed midshipman, joins a

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

, HMS ''Justinian''. Hornblower is introduced to his shipmates, including Jack Simpson, a bully who rules the midshipmen's quarters. Hornblower embarrasses himself when he becomes seasick while the ship is at anchor in calm waters. Hornblower considers suicide because of Simpson's persecution, then finds an opportunity to challenge him to a duel, even though Simpson is an experienced duellist. Midshipman Clayton feels guilty that he has not previously stood against Simpson. He knocks Hornblower unconscious, takes his place in the duel and is killed. Simpson is wounded but survives. Hornblower is transferred to the frigate HMS '' Indefatigable'', under the command of Captain Pellew. Midshipmen Kennedy, Hether, and Cleveland go with him, as well as Simpson's old division which, due to Pellew's ire over the duel, becomes Hornblower's. Hornblower's decision to place his trust in them while encouraging them to improve their performance, as well as his conduct in battle, wins him their respect and loyalty. Pellew orders Hornblower to assume command of a captured French ship, ''Marie Gallante''. Hornblower discovers the ship has a hole in the hull beneath the water line and is sinking fast. His men and he, along with the French captain and crew, abandon the ship for a lifeboat. Outnumbered, Hornblower and his men are soon overpowered. The French captain orders Hornblower to hand over his compass and navigation chart. Hornblower surrenders the chart, then tosses the 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 reverse course 180 degrees to return to the French coast, but sails parallel to the coast without ever sighting it. The French crew becomes mutinous, allowing Hornblower and his men to regain control. Shortly afterwards, they are recovered by ''Indefatigable'', where Hornblower receives the accolades of the crew. Simpson joins ''Indefatigable'' (known by her crew as the ''Indy'') after ''Justinian'' is sunk by a French ship, ''Papillon''. Pellew orders a detachment including Hornblower and Simpson to enter the

Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Gar ...

and board and capture ''Papillon''. 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 Kennedy adrift. When Hornblower attempts to lower ''Papillons main topsail, Simpson shoots at him. The bullet grazes his head and he falls unconscious from the mast into the water, where he is rescued by Seaman Finch. ''Indy'' is attacked by three French ships. ''Papillon'', now in British hands, comes under fire from French shore batteries, and Lieutenant Chadd is killed. The senior officer, Lieutenant Eccleston, is mortally wounded, but before he succumbs he orders Hornblower to take command. As the senior midshipman, Simpson attempts to take charge, but Hornblower asserts his new authority and tells Sailing Master Bowles that if Simpson resists, Bowles has permission to shoot him. Simpson is detained under guard while ''Papillon'' sails to ''Indy''s rescue. Hornblower orders ''Papillon''s French colors to remain flying. Through this

ruse of war The French , sometimes literally translated as ruse of war, is a non-uniform term; generally what is understood by "ruse of war" can be separated into two groups. The first classifies the phrase purely as an act of military deception against one's ...

, he launches a surprise assault on the French ships that are attacking ''Indefatigable''. After the British victory, Hornblower accuses Simpson of attempted murder. Simpson issues a challenge, causing Pellew to retract his order that Hornblower not participate in duels. Freed from this constraint, Hornblower accepts. In the duel, Simpson shoots before the command to fire and falsely claims it was an accident. Hornblower is not badly injured and prepares to return fire. Simpson tries to end the proceedings, but the seconds order him to stand his ground and await Hornblower's shot. Simpson begs for his life, revealing himself a coward. Hornblower fires into the air, stating that Simpson is "not worth the powder". Infuriated at this insult, Simpson attempts to stab Hornblower in the back. Pellew who was watching from a nearby rise, uses a rifle to kill Simpson just before he reaches Hornblower. Back aboard ''Indefatigable'', Pellew tells Hornblower how impressed he has been by Hornblower's actions and states that Hornblower has a great career ahead of him if he continues as he has begun.

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the ''Hornblower (TV series), Hornblower'' seri ...

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

* Robert Lindsay as Captain

Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother Is ...

Dorian Healy Dorian Healy (born 11 February 1962) is a British actor, best known for his role as Capt/Maj Kieran Voce in the award-winning drama series ''Soldier Soldier'' (1993–1994). He conceived and co-wrote the TV series ''Masculine Mescaline'' with ...

as Midshipman Jack Simpson * Michael Byrne as Captain Keene *

Robert Bathurst Robert Guy Bathurst (born 22 February 1957) is an English actor. Bathurst was born in The Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. In 1959 his family moved to Ballybrack, Dublin, Ireland and Bath ...

as Lieutenant Eccleston * Duncan Bell as Midshipman Clayton *

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV so ...

Boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervis ...

Matthews *

Sean Gilder Sean Brian Gilder (born 1 March 1964) is an English stage, film and screen actor, he is also a playwright Gilder was born in Brampton, Cumberland, England. He is best known for his portrayal of Paddy Maguire on '' Shameless'' from 2005 to 2010 ...

as Boatswain's Mate Styles * Simon Sherlock as Seaman Oldroyd * Chris Barnes as Seaman Finch

Differences from the novel

This episode does not follow the plot of the corresponding chapter in C. S. Forester's ''

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower ''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'' ...

''. 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 Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...

. 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. 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 ''Indefatigables 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).Forester, C.S., ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower'' (Chivers Press, 1994)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Even Chance, The 1998 television films 1998 films 1990s historical films 1990s war films Films about duels Films based on British novels Films based on historical novels Films based on military novels Films directed by Andrew Grieve Films set in France Films set in the 1790s Films set on ships French Revolutionary Wars films Hornblower (TV series) War television films