Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998) on Netflix
Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower must pass his lieutenant's exam, but Spanish attacks leave the Gibraltar fleet short of food. Sent to Oran for supplies, he finds plague in the town.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on Prime
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb8.0/104,959 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes80%
Trailer
Plot summary
Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower serves aboard HMS Indefatigable in the British fleet at Gibraltar. Captain Sir Edward Pellew puts him forward for the lieutenant's examination, warning that failure will return him to the midshipmen's ranks. Spain, now at peace with France, lets Spanish ships attack British supply ships, and the fleet is reduced to half-rations. Sailors including Bunting question whether the officers share their hunger. Hornblower studies between duties. Indefatigable sails to Oran in Algeria to buy grain and cattle. A diplomat, Tapling, goes ashore with Hornblower, and they discover plague in the town. Everyone who landed must be quarantined. Hornblower takes command of the transport schooner Caroline, carrying food and cattle with a quarantined crew. When Bunting tries to escape in the longboat, Hornblower catches him and offers him a chance to prove himself.
Cast
- Chris Barnesas Finch
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The events of the episode are drawn, with some alterations, from two chapters of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower: the cattle and quarantine section from "Noah's Ark", and the exam and the fire ship from "The Examination for Lieutenant".
- The adaptation leaves out the book's chapter in which Spain goes over to the French and Hornblower earns the rank of acting-lieutenant, and the subplot involving Bunting does not appear anywhere in the book at all.
