Captain Pirate (1952) User Reviews

Hayward swashbucklers always a joy to watch

[brianwt · 7/10 · 27 April 2009]

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.

Captain Blood's Identity Theft Problem

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 4 January 2009]

Harry Cohn must have wanted to do Captain Pirate and it's predecessor Fortunes of Captain Blood very bad because he had to have shelved out some big bucks to Jack Warner for that footage he used in a flashback sequence in this film. Might have been interesting had he gotten Errol Flynn along with the movie.

Not that Louis Hayward is a bad Captain Blood. Hayward definitely has the swashbuckling élan for the part. But he's up against a rather routine script that's concerned with a case of identity theft.

Somewhere along the line Blood ditched the Olivia DeHavilland character from the Warner Brothers classic and in the Fortunes Of Captain Blood wooed and won the daughter of Spanish don, Patricia Medina. Now wedding bells are ringing, but when one of His Majesty's representatives, John Sutton, who also has a hankering for Pat brings news that Blood has led a raid on Cartagena and among other things stolen some valuable jewelry, it looks like Hayward is back to his old pirate ways.

In fact that becomes something of a wish fulfillment for Sutton, because Hayward in order to prove his innocence has to round up his old crew and steal a ship, Sutton's ship to be precise, and roam the Caribbean in search of the impostor. During the search he uncovers some treason as well. Great Britain and Spain were allies at this time during the 1690s and the French would like nothing better than to tear this alliance apart.

Hayward and Medina make a beautiful pair of hero and heroine. Hayward's Blood is not as dashing as Errol Flynn's, but he does make up for it with being very cunning. Still the results are rather predictable and if you haven't figured out who the bad guys are, you haven't seen too many pirate movies.

CAPTAIN PIRATE (Ralph Murphy, 1952) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 23 March 2014]

Having been largely unimpressed by the same director's just-viewed THE LADY AND THE BANDIT (1951), with which it shares stars Louis Hayward and Patricia Medina, I was not exactly enthused by the prospect of watching this – even if its predecessor, FORTUNES OF CAPTAIN BLOOD (1950), had emerged a pleasant surprise; as it turned out, I found myself in agreement with George R. Reis of "DVD Drive-in" who opined that it was actually superior to the 'original' (with which it was paired as an unlikely "Midnite Movie" release!).

Ironically, while the first film (not counting, of course, the unavailable 1924 and the popular 1935 versions) was based on novelist Rafael Sabatini's third adventure featuring the protagonist, this cinematic follow-up is ostensibly an adaptation of the literary tale that preceded it! Anyway, Blood has not only married Isabella (the odd diminutive has been sensibly dropped here) but he has given up piracy and returned to medical practice; still, when we first see him, he is aiding escaped black slaves and, before long, he is dragged back (when a buccaneer takes to impersonating him!) to the sea and the raiding of merchant ships. At one point, Medina tries to intercede on his behalf at court by recounting Blood's earlier enslavement and escape to a life of piracy – illustrated on screen via black-and-white footage from FORTUNES… which, as I said before, had shown Hayward already an established buccaneer!

The busy plot has the hero locking horns with several equally dangerous and untrustworthy figures: a nobleman (John Sutton) with the unfortunate name of Hilary, a trio(!) of other pirate leaders (including Ted de Corsia), and even a heavy-set female innkeeper! Other characters to be featured here are Viceroy Ian Wolfe and, as Medina's gullible uncle, Maltese character actor Sandro Giglio. As for Blood's band of 'merrie men', they seem largely a different bunch than the ones seen in the previous effort(!) – apart from the bearers of the distinctive nationalities I singled out in that film's review. Thankfully, unlike in his previous effort, Blood is only very briefly (and unsuccessfully) tempted by another exotic girl but has to contend instead with Sutton's unrequited attentions to Medina herself!

While, as also mentioned earlier, the colour adds much to the appeal of the movie, it is definitively given an extra edge by full-blooded (pardon the pun) action scenes, especially the ingenious climax as Blood (Hayward having, by now, grown nicely into the part) feigns a defective defense strategy by allowing a number of cannons to be destroyed (while concealing a set of reserves under bushes) and even has his own ship scuttled, so that an approaching enemy vessel ends up wrecked upon its submerged remains! While I will be complementing these two Louis Hayward vehicles with the "Euro-Cult" venture THE SON OF CAPTAIN BLOOD (1962) – starring Errol's real-life offspring, Sean Flynn, no less – I should also point out that I have three more Sabatini-related titles in my unwatched pile, namely the 1924 version of THE SEA HAWK, 1926's BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT and the British-made THE PRISONER OF CORBAL, dating from 1936...

worth your while

[the_japanese_visiter · 8 May 2002]

One shouldnt miss this or its kind, because it's a pirate film we have very few of them these days,and if any,they are so bad as Cutthroat Island. I dont remember very well,but its a well made program picture,and much fun to see.

Pirate movies now aren't as good as they used to be

[robylim · 6/10 · 18 April 2006]

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.

Innocent Cinema

[jromanbaker · 7/10 · 19 August 2022]

I love what I term as ' innocent cinema. ' It flourished in the early 1950's and lasted for a few years until Hollywood decided that more brutality, ' serious ' subject matter and more sexuality was needed. It had its stars like Alan Ladd, Fernando Lamas and many other male actors who pleased childlike hearts of all ages. It had too Ann Blyth, Jane Powell, and many more including the enticing Patricia Medina. Along with Louis Hayward who was nearing the end of his popularity ' Captain Pirate ' sees the return of Captain Blood and this time in good technicolour and plenty of action. It it has to be honest so much plot that many a child in the audience would just enjoy the rattling of swords, pirates raiding ships and a swashbuckling fight at the end that left even me in my later years gasping with pleasure. And of course as in most of innocent cinema boy gets girl and all ends well with none of the lead actors left dead. This fine example also dealt with slavery, and countries are named and some of the less innocent in the audience may have paused and felt a sense of shame that slavery used to be ' normal, ' but then the excitement on screen would return with force. Many of these treasures would be lost if it was not for YouTube, and you can certainly find ' Captain Pirate ' there fresh as if it was filmed yesterday the copy is so good.

Reasonable swashbuckler

[Marlburian · 6/10 · 3 February 2015]

I guess the previous reviews have said most of it. I watched this film without having seen "Fortunes of Captain Blood", and it was OK. Good colour, and the battle scenes, including the inevitable closing duel, were well mounted, if one makes allowances for model ships devoid of crews.

The plot progressed at a good pace, though there were several occasions when I thought "How on earth did (s)he know that", and the King of Spain's offer of a pardon for Dona Isabella arrived very quickly indeed.

There was quite a parade of colourful characters who had a few minutes of screen time.

Lively swashbuckler

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 6 May 2021]

Captain Blood (Louis Hayward) is pardoned by the Crown for his crimes against Spain on the Spanish Main. By 1690 he is living in the West Indies on his plantation where he practices medicine and is to be married to Isabella ( Patricia Medina. His new life is put in danger when he is arrested on a piracy charge after somebody raids the island making him look guilty. To prove otherwise he has to sail again to unearth the truth.

Based on the 1931 Rafael Sabatini novel Captain Blood Returns, Captain Pirate is a standard yet lively swashbuckler that is well-paced with some energetic and well-choreographed sword fighting - the stirring finale of cannon fire and a sword fight rounds up the decent programmer. Hayward, like usual, performs with elan and charisma and Patricia Medina sizzles.

A Mediocre 85-minute Sequel of Sorts to "Fortunes of Captain Blood."

[zardoz-13 · 4/10 · 25 July 2007]

"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."

Captain Pirate

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 1 November 2023]

Whilst this isn't a patch on "Captain Blood" (1935), it still makes for a fun sort-of sequel with Louis Hayward swashing and buckling for ninety minutes. This time, he must convince the authorities that he is being framed for a series of daring pirate raids on shipping by a man impersonating him. When they try to arrest him, he takes to his old ways to prove his innocence. We have seen all of this before, and to be honest much of it is a bit flat and derivative; Hayward hasn't the glint in his eye of many of his more mischievous, engaging, earlier performances and it really misses a decent baddie - a foil for his character to fence with. It's still an enjoyable film to watch, the costumes are suitably sumptuous and there is cannon fire a-plenty, but somehow it just falls a bit short.

The Bland Pirate

[mrsolo1 · 5/10 · 9 February 2007]

Bland filming of Sabatini's "Return of Captain Blood" has some good players, but lackluster direction, weak script and poor miniatures bring it down. The cyclorama behind many of the ship scenes is wrinkled and the models are not convincing. Certainly not up to the classic Flynn and Power swashbucklers and lacking the wit and sense of fun found in "The Crimson Pirate" released the same year. Louis Hayward is capable in the lead role, but lacks Errol Flynn's charisma. Patricia Medina is lovely but doesn't have much to do. Only George Givot and Ted de Corsia play their characters broad enough to make them classic pirates and Jay Novello stands out as the treacherous Egyptian. Still, it's a competent swashbuckler and is a pleasant way to kill some time.

Pirate Movies in 1952 were MUCH BETTER than in 2006-2008!

[vitaleralphlouis · 8/10 · 19 August 2008]

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.

The framed Captain Blood Returns-the sequel!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 17 July 2023]

If the readers may permit a little advice, as it's a sequel if you have de first Fortunes of the Captain Blood, you shall start watching the first one, if you haven't stay cool in this sequel has a short recap over the last happening on first, Captain Pirate was B-movie from Columbia easily notice by ultimate restoration displaying a lousy wooden sets, a lot of ship's miniatures also fortress on the shore, just the wardrobe is worthwhile a mention, on too many flaws it's somehow underplays this fine picture.

All happenings took place on 17th century where the slavery was at the height, now a Dr. Peter Blood (Louis Hayward) now fully pardoned by British crow living peaceful life at West Indies assisting those wounded runaway slaves at your house by steady, when appears the bleak Captain Hilary Evans (John Sutton) who has a strong evidence that Captain Blood Attacked Cartagena, thus Dr. Perter Blood will sending to British Islands to be judge for practice of piracy, his former crew is quietly gathered to joining him as old days, also aiding by his Spanish fiancé Dona Isabella (Patricia Medina) he sets free taken the ship and now becomes Capitan Blood again, his task is clean your name, he must find out who perpetrated such attack on Cartagena at your name.

Helped by a Spanish buccaneer Captain Tomas Velasquez (George Givot) who gave some worth hints who is behind of Cartagena's raid, Captain Easterling (Ted de Corsia), then Captain Blood understood that whole thing is a plot conceived by the own British Captain Hilary Evans that want take the power for himself betraying his country, a final battle will be on Spanish ground allied of the British.

Asides as flaws and little mistakes Captain Pirate is fully enjoyable swashbuckler pirate adventure, on technicolor improves too much into a stunning visual on shinning outfits, a colorful characters also is the main reason of the success, as the Irish Angus (Charles Irwin) as second in command of Captain Blood, the Egyptian (Jay Novello) sadly uncredited and finally the Captain Coulevain (Maurice Marsac) stayed out of the main casting, the battle at sea over the galleons are made by many miniatures, even well-crafted all them are discernible as mere scale models instead a full seize real galleon, it somehow don't scratches the picture whatsoever.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25.

It Was Okay

[ldeangelis-75708 · 5/10 · 9 February 2023]

That's really all I can say about this movie. It's not a bad action/adventure film, but it can't compete with the spectacular "Captain Blood". While Louis Hayward does a good enough job as the famous doctor-turned-pirate (turned doctor-turned pirate, turned...), he's no Errol Flynn, just as leading lady Patricia Medina is no Olivia de Havilland. To be honest, I found her acting to be rather flat, lacking any real emotional depth. I also didn't feel there was any chemistry between them, at least nothing like what Errol and Olivia had.

The whole mistaken identity thing, with him having to take to the seas again to eventually prove his innocence, just seemed to lack something. Like I said, it's an okay film, but that's all.

Colorful characters, all of them, but far too many.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 4 November 2023]

Sometimes you can enjoy a film yet find it flawed and not easily decipher why. I had that feeling early on in this, and as it went on realized why. Too much of everything. Too much back story, too many different sides, and just as you got used to one supporting character or plot development, it's sidelined and something else is brought in.

Colorful for certain, and filled with many gorgeous pastels, surrounding a lush set and great locations. But often that leads the viewer's eyes to wander and be off the plot or the main focus of a scene. I've had that issue in museums where something caught my eye, but a minute later saw something else that stole my attention. It's an embarrassment of massive riches, too much to capture.

In his second visit to the role of Captain Blood, Louis Hayward is perfectly cast, and he's surrounded by a great cast, from Patricia Medina as his devoted wife trying to protect him from new accusations by the crown and Ted de Corsica as another pirate Captain he encounters while in battle. John Sutton and Rex Evans are good as his enemies, and Robert McNeeley is adorable as the young servant boy.

Battle scenes are abundant and exciting, but a black and white flashback from other "Captain Blood" scenes just ends up being confusingly inserted. A cafe singer with an odd voice had me pressing the fast forward button immediately. After a while, I just let what plotline I could pick up on pass out of my head and became accustomed to viewing it from an artist's eyes and not caring much about the story anymore since it no longer seemed to matter.

Pardon me and my sassy lassie with a classy chasis.

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 17 April 2018]

Intrigued as to the selection of the title for this mostly superior pirate adventure story. Perhaps it is meant to convey that several(4 to be exact) pirate captains, as well as the captain of a slaver, will play a significant role in this tale. John Sutton plays Evans, captain of the slaver, He is the chief villain, in blaming a recent attack on the Columbian city of Cartagena on Doctor Blood(Louis Hayward), former slave and scourge of the Caribbean, recently reformed into exercising his skill as a medical doctor. Evans' primary motive for getting rid of Blood seems to be to eliminate his chief rival for the hand of Dona Isabella, arrived from Spain. Sutton was an imposing, handsome, fellow with an aristocratic bearing and lingo. Although occasionally playing the romantic lead(as in "Hudson's Bay"), he was mostly type cast as an oily villain or 'the other man'. Evens' partner in his scheme was French pirate Coulevain, who reportedly claimed he was Blood, in his one recent raid, on Cartagena, where it was eventually deduced that he stole an especially valuable jewelry collection, featuring large high quality emeralds.(Columbia has most of the world's premier emerald deposits). Coulevain would eventually pay for his impersonation and theft...... On the way to Tortuga, Blood encountered the friendly pirate captain Tomas Velasquez , who had just come from Tortugo, where he acquired his latest mistress: Celeste(Genevieve Aumont), who makes a play for Blood while they are alone in the captain's cabin. Blood notices that she is wearing emerald earrings that fit the description of those stolen. Asked where she got them from, she refuses to give a straight answer. However, later, Tomas answers that she stole them from Pirate captain Easterling, while he was drunk and asleep. Easterling then becomes the prime suspect in the impersonation of Blood. According to Tomas, he is probably in Martinique, to which Blood sets sail. Incidentally, George Givot, who played Tomas , was easily the most charismatic character in the film, with his booming friendly voice and manner. Easterling enters the tavern where Blood is talking to Easterling's favorite mistress, Amanda((Malu Gatica). He's not pleased, but keeps quite. The next morning, Blood goes to her address to accompany her to his ship. However, he finds her murdered, and her expensive stolen emerald necklace missing. Blood soon has an altercation with Easterling and his aid, the Egyptian. Eventually, Easterling reveals that he obtained the necklace from the pirate captain Coulevain, whom he claims has a ship large enough to attack Cartagena alone, whereas he himself doesn't have such a ship. Easterling directs Blood to Santo Domingo as the likeliest place to find Coulevain. Upon arrival, Blood goes to Madame Duval's tavern, where he finds information about Coulevain. By trickery, Blood gets into Coulevain's room and sea chest, where he finds an emerald-studded tiara, similar to the one described as stolen. Blood and Coulevain independently head for the Panamanian port of Puerto Bello(Porto belo). Blood gets there first and, posing as the new military advisor to the new Viceroy there, has the cannons from his ship placed in front of the fort, aimed in a particular direction. Serendipitously, he meets Isabella, who is a prisoner there, for her involvement in a Blood takeover of Evan's ship, a while back.....When Coulevain attacks the fort at Porto belo, his ship gets stuck right where Blood planned, in the line of fire of his shore cannons, and his ship is pulverized. He claims he is Blood, thus confirming his guilt as the impersonator of Blood. Blood is pardoned of wrongdoing, as is Isabella......I found the story and characterizations superior to the previous related film, "The Fortunes of Captain Blood"(1950), which also starred Hayward and Medina, but was shot in B&W as opposed to the Technicolor of the present film. However, I did miss Dona Drake, as the extra-flirtaceous tavern wench Pepita. In the present film, Celeste, more or less her equivalent, wasn't nearly as enticing to me.