Caribbean (1952)

Great Film overall

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

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

Recently I watched CARIBBEAN, a 1952 Paramount production starring John Payne. It's on Amazon Prime. Not sure what I expected, but it was much better than a Technicolor swashbuckler/melodrama almost has any right to be. The performances were very good. John Payne is a handsome, dependable lead across a variety of genres but we usually don't think of him in the way that we think of Brando or other much-lauded actors. Yet he does some of his best work here, giving a very honest, sensitive and touching portrayal of a prisoner caught between two madmen waging war on an unnamed Caribbean island. What makes the story even more interesting is that Payne's character falls for a young woman who is the daughter of both men. Yes, that's what I said. Watch the film and you'll see what I mean.The female lead is played by Arlene Dahl, and she gives what I think is her best performance in any film. She's beautiful, feisty and vulnerable. At the end, she is caught in a scene of domestic violence and the story ends without her knowing the truth about her two fathers. Most actresses would have a tough time with this sort of story, but she excels.Back to the two dads for a minute. One of them is played by Cedric Hardwicke. He did a variety of roles in his long stage and screen career. So he comes to CARIBBEAN with vast amounts of experience. He easily could chew the scenery with the type of part he's playing here, but he keeps it all very dignified. He takes what is basically a cold-blooded killer and makes us sympathize with him. I have never liked a villain so much in a movie as I did with him here. That's a testament to Hardwicke's gifts as a dramatic interpreter of this material. The other paternal figure in the story is portrayed by robust Francis L. Sullivan. He could have turned his character into a cartoonish nincompoop, but he infuses just the right amount of edginess and civility. Even when he is ordering two prisoners to fight each other to the death with knives before a crowd of spectators, as if it were an everyday event (maybe it was for him). The film has quite a number of things going for it. The direction is precise throughout, the Technicolor visuals are well photographed and there is a great subplot involving the slaves on the island that seems very much ahead of its time.

Pirate Sir Cedrick Hardwick is seeking revenge on fatso who ruined him and took his young daughter 21 years ago so he outfits John Payne to impersonate fatso's nephew and ingratiate himself with him so Hardwick can invade his island fortress and run him through and reclaim his daughter, the feisty redhead Arlene Dahl. Payne does so and in the meantime Dahl falls for him even tho she knows him to be her first cousin. Oh well, its the days of yore and what the heck, first cousin or no, she's got the hots. The native slaves on the island are in an uproar as well, so Payne helps them to revolt, Harwick lands and does in fatso but then Dahl does in Hardwick; she doesn't know Hardwick is her real father and Hardwick makes Payne promise to never tell her and so Dahl and Payne walk off into THE END. This movie has terrible direction and even worse editing, but it is in living Technicolor and fatso has great duds so its OK. And it's not really a high seas pirate movie, it's more like a soapy drama taking place during pirate times with pirate ships and cannons and rubber swords.

This little ditty is one good little pirate tale.....saw this movie in the early 50s in Detroit and it made the rounds through the 50s and early 60s as a second feature on double bills at the theaters and drive ins....must have seen it about 4 times or so then....John Payne who made his mark in "Miracle on 34th Street" is cast as a hunter named Dick Lindsay in some remote caribbean locale who is hunting ducks when he suddenly comes upon two pirates and a slave who will be digging a hole to bury some pirate loot. Payne is suddenly attacked and taken prisoner on a local pirate captain's boat and sent to the brig....not known to him is the pirate captain (Cedric Hardwicke) is plotting to send an impersonator to another pirate's locale to infiltrate the island and tell Hardwick all of the island's weak points for a future raid.....Francis L. Sullivan, a character actor of the 40s and 50s is the rival pirate captain and slave owner named Andrew McCalister. Payne accepts the job to spy on Sulivan's empire for promise of a large amount of money and freedom.....upon arriving at the island Payne finds the local slaves are badly abused by Sullivan and a foreman/taskmaster named Shively (Willard Parker).... Of course a lovely lady is on the island to tempt Payne, the scorching Arlene Dahl (her and Rhonda Fleming, red headed look alikes)...unbeknowing to Dahl is that she is really the daughter of the rival pirate captain Hardwick....the tale is that Hardwick and Sullivan had a parting of the ways and Sullivan (Andrew McCallister) stole Hardwicke's money, power and position and forced him to be a pirate, all the while taking his infant daughter (Dahl) as his own supposed daughter. Payne appears to be up for this role, usually one that would suit Earl Flynn...in fact this film has a lot of resemblances to Flynn's classic - "Captain Blood"...... On the island Payne must become a bastard part of the McCallister family and plot to overthrow the McCallister empire at the same time. A very good knife fighting duel between Payne and Shively near the end and Payne puts him away....Payne's identify is discovered by the shrewd Andrew McCallister and in the end the pirate captain Barclay (Hardwicke) overtakes the island and puts McCallister, his arch enemy away...in the process Hardwicke is killed and implores Payne at his side never to tell Dahl that she is his real daughter. Arlene Dahl was a staple in these early 50s drama adventures, ala Patricia Medina and also starred with her future husband a year later in the pirate tale "Sangaree" Fernando Lamas....Franicis L. Sullivan played a heavy in "Sangaree" also. All in all this is a very enjoyable pirate/adventure drama.....although Flynn, Fernando Lamas, or maybe Tyrone Power could have handled the role better.

This movie also leaves a lot of loose ends. It's hard to believe that Arlene Dahl would fall so quickly for John Payne. Also, Payne's former life is quickly forgotten. This movie must have been made for kids because it was preposterous to this adult. Payne is a serviceable actor but he doesn't have the charisma for this kind of role. He is rather solemn-faced and this role demands a little more levity. Forget this and look for an Errol Flynn movie instead.