Captain Pirate (1952)
In 1690, years have passed since Captain Blood was pardoned by the Crown for his daring deeds against the Spanish on the Spanish Main, and he is living quietly on his plantation in the West Indies, practicing medicine and planning his marriage to Isabella. But his peaceful existence is shattered when Hilary Evans arrives and arrests him on a piracy charge. Somebody has been raiding the islands, and making it appear it was Captain Blood. In order to prove his innocence, Captain Blood has to sail again under the "Jolly Roger."
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The Age of Commercialism
Really Surprised!
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Notice the billing of Louis Hayward swashbucklers after 1948. While always getting top billing he began getting top solo billing. He was one of the first to get a percentage of the profits of his pictures. They did well and Hayward retired comfortably. Often playing dual roles in his films, the dandy by day and swashbuckler by night, he mutes the dual characterizations in "Captain Pirate" and it is sorely missed. The lifted eyebrow, that haughty Louis Hayward laugh, which made him so unique in "Man in the Iron Mask" and "Pirates of Capri" he tempered in later films. However, with his dash and élan, that velvet voice, his decoration for World War II valor giving him extra gravitas, Captain Louis Hayward is always a joy to watch and "Captain Pirate" is wonderful, innocent fun.
LOUIS HAYWARD was born to play the lead in swashbuckler movies like this one; and 60 years ago when he did movies in modern clothes the public wished he was in a movie like this one.A well made action adventure which relies heavily on character and story -- and less on today's annoying jump-around camera "work" and editing -- without the silliness of Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp -- this was what pirate movies were all about.One thing about CAPTAIN PIRATE is the slavery thing which is not the main focus but is a vital part of the story. The slaves were in Jamaica, and in Martinique, and Santo Domingo, and a lot of other places. England, Spain, Netherlands, France; they all enjoyed the benefits of "live gold" -- but kept their slaves out-of-sight in the Caribbean (and other places). America was the country that ENDED slavery; but all the same we hear bellyaching about it 150 years later -- not just from Blacks but from white liberals and their endless hand-wringing "White Guilt" -- even though nobody's been a slave or owned a slave in a century-and-a-half. Captain Blood did NOT like slavery -- most particularly since he was an ex-slave (oh, yes; white slaves too).This fine movie, as well as the earlier "Fortunes of Captain Blood" are available on DVD. I recommend both. Or either.
"Captain Pirate" qualifies as a mediocre 85-minute sequel of sorts to actor Louis Hayward's earlier epic "Fortunes of Captain Blood." Not surprisingly, since this studio-bound Columbia Pictures release is based on Rafael Sabatini's swashbuckling novel "Captain Blood Returns," Hayward reprises his role as heroic Captain Peter Blood. The South African native is serviceable enough as Blood, but he lacks the charisma that Errol Flynn brought to the role in the 1935 Warner Brothers picture "Captain Blood." "Lady in the Iron Mask" director Ralph Murphy establishes the setting of "Captain Pirate" with a map of the island of Jamaica behind the opening title credits. As this yarn unwinds, Blood is providing free-of-charge medical attention to a couple of escaped Negro slaves. Blood's nervous pal Angus McVickers (Charles Irwin of "Bomba on Panther Island") warns him that the government has the right to hang him for such treasonable acts. History wise, at the time that this tale takes place, the English were at war with the French. Jamaican authorities arrive at Blood's house and arrest him on charges of piracy for the bloody plunder of Cartagena, a seaport on the northwestern side of Columbia on the Caribbean coast. Everybody recognized Blood from his distinctive blue and silver outfit. Spanish officials are especially upset with Blood because Cartagena is a Spanish port and Spain is one of the Crown's allies. Blood's fiancée Dona Isabella (British actress Patricia Medina of "Botany Bay") is flabbergasted by this turn of events. She rushes to the governor's office and defends Blood. Like the previous Captain Blood movie, this one includes Blood's back story as an imprisoned British subject and his subsequent pardon. Although cinematographer Charles Lawton, Jr. of "The Black Arrow" lensed "Captain Pirate" in color, the flashbacks that accompany Medina's expository dialogue about her future husband consist of black and white footage lifted directly from "Fortunes of Captain Blood." Dona Isabella suspects that Hilary Evans (John Sutton of "Thief of Damascus") of the Royal Africa Company that has a profitable business in slave trading may be behind this ruse to discredit Blood. Later, after she visits briefly with Blood, she sends Angus out to round up Blood's old crew. This brief recruitment episode is presented as a montage with music instead of dialogue. Isabella meets with Hilary once more before he sets sail. Ostensibly, she shows up to apologize for her defiant behavior at the governor's office, but she comes on board largely to distract Hilary so that Blood's men can free their leader. As a result, British authorities later clap Isabella in irons herself and imprison her for her treachery. "Captain Pirate" is one of those buccaneer movies where the hero's reputation is tarnished, and he has to find the rogue who has made his life a nightmare in order to clear his name.Like Medina, several of these thespians appeared earlier in "Fortunes of Captain Blood." While they play essentially the same characters, Medina's Dona Isabella here differs enough from her role as Isabelita Sotomayor in "Fortunes of Captain Blood" that she must have been playing a different character. Altogether this low-budget movie ranks as just another predictable, uninspired, though slightly more complicated pirate saga, bolstered somewhat by Hayward's agreeable performance. Like "Fortunes of Captain Blood," "Captain Pirate" features a surprise scene toward the end where the good guy pirates turn the tables on the bad guy pirates and pay them back in spades. Veteran villain Ted de Corsia of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" has a brief role as a slimy pirate who crosses swords with our hero.The best line of dialogue has Hayward defending his actions to his future wife. He says, "A man cannot live like a man without making enemies."
This is the latest retelling of the film which made Errol Flynn a star. Louis Heyward plays a convincing Peter Blood, a doctor who becomes a pirate when he is convicted unjustly. I enjoyed the movie when I saw it as a kid. I don't know if I will still like it now. I will have a chance to see it again as Sony MGM is planning to release it on DVD on June 27, 2006 as a double program with "Fortunes of Captain Blood". "Captain Pirate" is a loose remake of "Fortunes..." made 2 years later again starring Heyward as Blood and in color this time and written by the same screen writers, Frank Burt and Robert Libott. However, at that time, I found "Fortunes..." to be a better film. Now I'll be able to judge them when the DVD comes out. By the way, my favorite pirate movie of all time, then and now, is still "The Crimson Pirate" with Burt Lancaster.