Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950)

Director:  Gordon Douglas

Writers:  Rafael Sabatini, Michael Hogan, Robert Libott, Frank Burt

Composer:  Paul Sawtell

Starring:  Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, George Mcready, Alfonso Bedoya, Dona Drake, Lowell Gilmore, Wilton Graff, Curt Bois, Lumsden Hare, Billy Bevan, Harry Cording, Duke York

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  Sabatini's famous buccaneer in swashbuckling adventure...exotic romance!

Plot:  When some of his crew are captured by the Spaniards in Rio De La Hacha, pirate Captain Peter Blood enters the city in disguise in order to free his men from Marquis De Riconete's prison.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Nah.

Here's a solid pirate adventure that ticks off the boxes of what you'd expect, delivering some swashbuckling action, intrigue, romance, ship battles but no buried treasure.  That's OK because what's here is fun, fast and entertaining.  The performances hit all the right beats and there's not an actor you could say was the weakest link.  They all do a fine job, especially Dona Drake as the fire-y barmaid, Pepita Maria Rosados.  She's great.  Hayward does a great job as Captain Blood.  As long as you don't compare him to Errol Flynn you'll be just fine.  The story almost couldn't be simpler; Captain Blood goes to an Island to rescue jailed members of his crew.  That's it, but there's enough side business going on that it fills the time nicely and without feeling like it's just busy work.  There's plenty of sword fighting to satisfy that itch.  It's beautifully shot in B&W, there are a few laughs (intentional) and the pacing moves lickety-split.  Before you know it your 90 minutes is up and your appetite for pirate adventure has been sated. 

The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)

Director: Rowland V. Lee

Writers: Alexandre Dumas, Philip Dunne, Dan Totheroh, Rowland V. Lee

Composer: Alfred Newman

Starring: Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn, O.P. Heggie, Irene Hervey, Georgia Caine, Walter Walker, Lawrence Grant, Luis Alberni

More info: IMDb

Tagline: An Eye For An Eye...But Three Lives Must Pay For Mine!

Plot:  After greedy men have Edmound Dantes unjustly imprisoned for 20 years for innocently delivering a letter entrusted to him, he escapes to get his revenge on them.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Nope.

It's OK.  It's got that stagy quality you'd sometimes get from epics of this era where the acting is sometimes melodramatic to a fault.  The sets and costumes look great, though.  The picture was never dull so it's got that going for it.  It's not a very rousing rendition of the classic Dumas story but I couldn't help but think that if this picture were handled by Warner Bros. instead of United Artists and then putting some better actors in the leads (like Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains), then you'd have a much more enjoyable movie.  Donat does OK but he's not bringing the vigor and charisma I think this character needs.

The Buccaneer (1958)

Director: Anthony Quinn, Cecil B. DeMille

Writers: Harold Lamb, Jesse Lasky Jr., Jeanie Macpherson, Edwin Justus Mayer, Bernice Mosk, Lyle Saxon, C. Gardner Sullivan

Composer: Elmer Bernstein

Starring: Yul Brynner, Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer, Inger Stevens, Henry Hull, E.G. Marshall, Charlton Heston, Lorne Greene, Ted de Corsia, Robert F. Simon, Woody Stode

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Mighty Movie Screen Brings You La FITTE...Man or Devil?

Plot: During the war of 1812, Louisiana buccaneer Jean Lafitte assists the Americans in defending New Orleans against the attacking British war fleet.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

It's funny that in the first few minutes of watching this I couldn't help but think that I'd seen this before until I realized that I saw THE BUCCANEER (1938) a few years ago (also directed by DeMille).  I like this remake for different reasons but the '38 picture is better and more fun.  The word around the campfire is that DeMille (who directed the previous one) took ill while shooting this and let his son in law, Quinn (who had a small role in the previous one), take over.  It's a good film with some fine performances and it looks great in color and in widescreen.  Brynner is fun but it's hard getting past that toupee.  And what's with that big white hair on Heston's noggin'?

(That's Heston on the right - har har)

Two performances bugged me and that's the guy seen right after the nearly 3 minutes of opening credits.  He's the sentry Jackson (Heston) confronts for not doing his job.  He's annoying (and that accent...geesh).  The other is Ezra Peavey (Hull).  He's also annoying, so much so that I'm surprised Jackson didn't have him drowned.  Walter Brennan, who played him in the '38 film, was much more enjoyable.  There are some good action scenes and intrigue.  It's not a home run by any means but it is enjoyable.  It helps to be fond of some of the cast going into it.  I expect I'll watch the '38 picture a couple of times before coming back to this one. 

Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954)

Director: Lew Landers

Writers: Aubrey Wisberg, Jack Polloxfen

Composer: Paul Sawtell

Starring: Anthony Dexter, Eva Gabor, Alan Hale Jr., James Seay, Richard Karlan, Noel Cravat, Lyle Talbot, Sonia Sorel, Michael Ross, Jack Reitzen, Robert Long, William Cottrell, William Tannen, John Crawford, William Schallert

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Swords Unsheathed! Love Untamed!

Plot: Captain Kidd, presumed dead, escapes the gallows and sails the seas once again but this time he's going to dig up his hidden treasure to buy a pardon from the king.  The trouble is, there are plenty of others that want that booty for themselves.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

What this picture might lack in some areas, it doesn't lack in action and pacing.  It's lickety split right from the get go.  The acting isn't that bad but Gabor shows enough range (from bad to acceptable) to let that slide a little.  Dexter does a good job as our titular pirate hero and it's nice to see Hale Jr. as his sidekick just as his pop was for so many of Errol Flynn's pictures.  He's great.  I've never seen him otherwise.  The music is rousing and there's lots of locations, although it would've been nicer to see more outdoor shooting.  The biggest problem, if I have one, is that most of it is filmed in a studio and even the sets sometimes look clumsy (there were a couple times I saw them move unexpectedly).  Oh, and then there's Dexter's facial hair that looks like it was done with a marker.

That's OK because I don't have the hots for him.  I've now got it bad for Sonia Sorel as pirate Captain Anne Bonney!

Man, that broad was smokin' hot!  I missed my chance with her.  She died in '04 in her 80s.  She's the mother of Keith & Robert Carradine and Michael Bowen.  You know who Bowen is, right?  Remember in KILL BILL Vol. 1 (2003) and the line "...sometimes this chick's cooch will get drier than a bucket of sand."?  He's Buck and he likes to fuck.

The Black Archer (1959)

Original title: L'arciere Nero

Director: Piero Pierotti

Writers: Giorgio Costantino, Giacomo Gentilomo, Piero Pierotti

Composer: Tarcisio Fusco

Starring: Gerard Landry, Federica Ranchi, Livio Lorenzon, Carla Strober, Nino Marchesini, Franco Fantasia, Tom Felleghy, Andrea Fantasia

More info:  IMDb

Plot: A mysterious archer who dresses in black is out for revenge against the bandits who killed his father.

The Black Archier (1959) from Surf Film on Vimeo.


My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

This Italian Zorro-ish swashbuckler wants to hang with the big dogs of the Hollywood adventures.  I'll give the filmmakers points for trying, though.  It looks pretty darn good.  The English dub isn't bad but it does hurt the film somewhat.  I would have preferred the original Italian dub but you take what you can take.  They're not trying to re-invent the swashbuckling costumer wheel but they do a fairly good job at making one.  There's a bad guy to hiss at (complete with a bad leg and a bad arm, plus he's nearly bald and has facial hair that says he's up to no good) and a good guy to root for.  It helps to see this in widescreen.  The print was decent enough to enjoy.  Landry makes a capable hero but he isn't the dashing good looking guy you usually see in these kinds of pictures.  He looks a bit older than you'd expect, too.  I suppose if he were a fun and familiar face this would fare better.  As it is, it's not too bad but it's not good enough to be memorable. 

Tiger of the Seven Seas (1962)

Original title: La Tigre dei Sette Mari

Director: Nino Battiferri, Luigi Capuano, Arpad DeRiso, Ottavio Poggi

Composer: Carlo Rustichelli

Starring: Gianna Maria Canale, Anthony Steel, Maria Grazia Spina, Andrea Aureli, Carlo Ninchi, John Kitzmiller, Ernesto Calindri, Carlo Pisacane, Nazzareno Zamperla, Pasquale De Filippo, Giulio Battiferri, Renato Giomini, Renato Izzo, Bruno Arie, Piero Pastore

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A pirate's daughter takes on the entire Spanish fleet in a tale of heroism and treachery.

Plot: Tigre is the skipper of the Santa Maria, a pirate-ship, but he feels tired and decides to leave the command of the ship. Unfortunately he has only a daughter, Consuelo. So he will leave the command and the ship to the winner of a challenge among his men. Unexpectedly Consuelo wins. The same night Tigre is killed, William is charged with the killing and is sentenced to death. But before the sentence could be executed the Spaniards of Grand Duke Inigo arrives. Consuelo escapes, however this is only the first move of Indigo's wife to get to the pirates treasure.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

There's one thing you can't deny and that's that this flick looks outstanding.  The location shooting is gorgeous.  The color, cinematography, costumes and so on pop out of the screen like a classic painting.  The story has enough going on to keep things busy enough without getting too bogged down in filler but it does drag a little.   Fortunately there are little bits of action sprinkled in that try to alleviate any boredom.  The English dub was well done.  I'm not sure where I have an issue with this movie.  It's hard not to like on a base level because it includes a lot of what you'd expect and want in a high seas adventure pirate movie and it looks amazing. The swordplay runs the gamut from sloppy hack and slash to skilled and impressive.  I'd figure it out if I watched it a second time but that's not going to happen.  I really admire the Italian film industry from the 60s.  They focused a lot on high adventure between these types of pictures, the Sword & Sandal (Peplum) and Spaghetti Westerns.  I recommend this one but don't expect a hidden gem.  It's good but not great.

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Director: Randall Wallace

Writers: Alexandre Dumas, Randall Wallace

Composer: Nick Glennie-Smith

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche, Edward Atterton, Peter Sarsgaard, Hugh Laurie, David Lowe, Brigitte Boucher

More info: IMDb

Tagline: For the honor of a king. And the destiny of a country. All for one.

Plot: The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother who he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I hate to say it but this is the first version of this story that I've seen.  I really should hit the earlier versions.  This one, though, was better than I expected.  It was fun.  The cast does a fine job, the pacing is good and the movie looks great.  I liked it well enough but I feel like seeing it once was enough.  At the very least it's got me anxious to see some of the more popular, earlier versions going back to the Douglas Fairbanks 1929 picture.

Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)

Director: Sidney Salkow

Writers: John O'Dea, Sidney Salkow

Composer: Paul Sawtell

Starring: John Payne, Donna Reed, Gerald Mohr, Lon Chaney Jr., Anthony Caruso, Henry Brandon, Skip Torgerson, Frank DeKova, William Tannen, Christopher Dark, Claire Du Brey, Howard Freeman, Anthony Warde

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A CORSAIR CAPTAIN...A CREW OF ESCAPED CONVICTS...Plundering for Loot and Revenge!

Plot: Barbarossa, a pirate, frees a group of Spanish prisoners and makes them his crew. On a raid, he takes as a prize a Spanish countess, Alida. He has fallen in love with her by the time he arranges for her ransom by the officer who was to marry her. Exposing her intended as a coward and a liar, he goes to ask for her hand but she has escaped, and Barbarossa thinks she is the one who killed his aide, Peg-Leg.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I honestly don't get my hopes up for the off-the-beaten-path, lower budget pirate flicks of the 50s and 60s.  The genre's heyday was the 30s and 40s and it seemed that after the wind left their sails that the majority of them were relegated to Saturday matinee kiddie fare...which is fine if you're a kid or you're looking for something to fill the mindless escapism.  It's not really as bad as all that but it's close.  RAIDERS has an OK story with less than OK dialogue, OK performances and the low budget effects like ship models and whatnot. 

Payne does an admirable job as Barbarossa (AKA Red Beard, although his beard is nothing more than a really short goatee) but it's clear by him and a few others that getting a better script with better actors would've helped immensely.  It's funny but I never really thought about Donna Reed (here as Alida) in movies prior to her TV show in the late fifties even though I'd seen her in some.  I'm on record as not really liking Lon Chaney Jr.'s work but I thought he served this picture well as the one-legged friend to Barbarossa, Peg Leg. Including a young boy in the cast (Skip Torgerson as Datu) indicates (and justifies) that this is aimed at that young boy, Saturday crowd mentioned earlier.  Had I seen this sixty years ago and as a boy his age I would have eaten this up and come back for seconds.  Fans of swashbuckling swordplay will be disappointed as there's only a little bit and the choreography is sometimes clumsy.  Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone these cats are not.

As an adult who has seen a large number of these pirate pictures, many of which are the best the genre has to offer, I look forward to each and every one of these but I realize that I've probably seen the best and everything else is just leftover cake from the party last week.  Still, I enjoyed it despite it's limitations in the budget and the production.  No one knew they were aspiring to make a great film but they easily succeeded in making an entertaining one nonetheless.  

Crossed Swords (1954)

Original title: Il Maestro di Don Giovanni

Directors: Milton Krims, Vittorio Vassarotti

Writer: Milton Krims

Composers: Alessandro Cicognini, Gino Marinuzzi Jr.

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Have You Seen Gina? Italy's Marilyn Monroe...The Hottest New Screen Discovery in Years!

Plot:  Flynn plays a Don Juan-like adventurer named Renzo, who fights and romances his way through all sorts of Italian court intrigue. His principal foe is the wicked coucillor (Lupi) of the Duke of Sivona (Tordi), who intends to oust the Duke and claim Sivona for himself. In between the usual sword duels, Renzo dallies with the Duke's buxom daughter (Lollobrigida).

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

A couple of years ago I watched Flynn in THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE (1953) and his performance was tired.  He was only 44 years old at the time yet he moved like he at least 20 years older.   A year later with this picture, he's got the energy spirit of the man he was a decade earlier. I don't know what happened in that year but here, he's on top of his game and he's as charming, clever and dashing as ever (at least this late in his life).  I thoroughly enjoyed this picture.  The quality of the print was poor, looking like a VHS fullscreen rip. It's a crime this hasn't been released on DVD and in the proper widescreen format.  It's a great little swashbuckling costumer with Flynn trying to bed every single woman he comes across.  I'd like to think this was how he was in real life (during his younger years, I'm sure).  And with that, this movie is hilarious.  Flynn is full of life and vigor as he jumps out of ladies' chamber window after window.  The dialogue is clever and funny and there's lots of swashbuckling action.  This is a highly entertaining romp much like the ones he used to be in during the 30s and 40s and it's refreshing to see Flynn smiling and thrilling and having a blast once again.  Good music score, too. Santa Claus needs to bring me a beautiful widescreen print.

Tower of Screaming Virgins (1968)

Director: Franz Antel

Starring: Teri Tordai, Jean Piat, Uschi Glas, Veronique Vendell, Marie-Ange Anies

More info: IMDb

Tagline: There's no second time around when you enter the...Tower of Screaming Virgins

Plot: When the corpses of young men are found in the vicinity of the 'Tower of Sin,' the local peasants believe it's the work of 'The Witch of the Tower'--'First she makes love to them, then she kills them!' Actually, the 'witch' turns out to be none other than the Queen of France (?!) who is seen stalking her prey bareass naked except for a scarlet hood.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

How awesome is that title? What's better is that this is a pretty good swashbuckling horror adventure. I really dug it. The action is good, the performances are fun, especially from our hero, Captain Bouridan (played with gusto by Jean Piat), the story is good and unusually intricate and there are people fighting each other with swords! It's a mild Eurosleaze costume drama action swashbuckler!!!


I was shocked that it was so good. So often movies of this type are OK at best but I found myself giving this one a lot more of my attention. I have a fuzzy widescreen print that's far from perfect but I see that there's a fan dub of a beautifully crisp DVD transfer that now has an English soundtrack. I would normally prefer the original language but the English dub is exceedingly well done. I'm so happy I watched this. So far I'm only a couple of days into my month of 1968 and every film is a winner. This can't possibly last.

Robin Hood (1973)

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Starring: Roger Miller, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas, Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris, Andy Devine, Carole Shelley, Pat Buttram

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The way it REALLY happened...

Plot: With King Richard (Ustinov) off to the Crusades, Prince John (Harris) and his slithering minion, Sir Hiss (Thomas), set about taxing Nottingham's citizens with support from the corrupt sheriff (Buttram) -- and staunch opposition by the wily Robin Hood (Bedford) and his band of merry men.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe in another 30 years.

I've been on a kick this week revisiting some movies from my childhood. Here's another. Plus, this adds one more to the Summer of Swashbuckling movie list. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw this in the theater when it came out. If not, then maybe in re-releases. See, for those of you not old enough to remember the days before home video (pre-VHS days before the early 80s), movies would get re-releases. STAR WARS (1977) did it at least once before EMPIRE came out and Disney did it all the time with their earlier animated features. Anyway, I always liked this one, being a Robin Hood fan, but largely because of Phil Harris. As a kid, I dug him because he was Baloo in THE JUNGLE BOOK (1967), my all-time favorite animated Disney picture. As an adult, he cracks me up after listening to countless hours of THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM. He was one cool cat.

ROBIN HOOD Doesn't come close to THE JUNGLE BOOK but it's still kinda fun. Naturally, it's geared toward little kids so I'm not diggin' it nearly as much as I did when I was 6 but that's not surprising. I didn't have the appreciation of Charles Bronson then that I do now so what the fuck did I know way back when, right? The humor is hit and miss and the songs are OK but are nowhere near the level of any of Disney's previous efforts which is the film's biggest weakness. I'd probably give it a lower rating if it weren't for the voice casting, the above scene and my nostalgia.