Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure

Gives you a good idea of how challenging the risky journey was

In September-November 1620, the Mayflower carries 102 passengers plus 25-30 crewmembers from southwest England to the cape in what is now Massachusetts. Anthony Hopkins plays the captain while Richard Crenna is on hand as the leader of the Pilgrims, a group of Calvinist Puritans who chose to separate completely from the Church of England and were thus dubbed Separatists.

"Mayflower: The Pilgrim’s Adventure" (1979) is a television production criticized as ‘the Love Boat without a shuffleboard’ due to some romantic subplots, but it works well enough to help you see what the daring historical adventure was like. Besides, as the enlightening Epilogue blurb points out, Priscilla Mullins (Jenny Agutter), John Alden (Michael Beck), Myles Standish (David Dukes) and Rose Standish (Trish Van Devere) were all real-life people.

Jenny was already a minor celebrity due to “Logan’s Run” and “The Eagle Has Landed” from a few years earlier (not to mention “Walkabout” from the early 70s). Meanwhile Michael Beck was notable for just starring in “The Warriors.”

Hopkins had gained great momentum with his previous movie, “Magic,” and easily carries this one (in a performance he could probably do in his sleep). And Crenna assists with aplomb.

The obvious problem with productions like this is that it’s a confined-setting movie wherein 62 minutes of the runtime take place on the small vessel (just over two-thirds of the runtime). The proceedings are dramatically mundane with the occasional real-life challenge. It goes without saying, people who need an explosion every ten minutes and a flashy guy with a cape saving the day should stay away.

It runs about 1 hour, 32 minutes.

GRADE: B-/B