Synopsis
Bloodthirsty pirate Henry Morgan (Robert Stevens) is starving Jamaica by seizing almostany ship that tries to make it there. He seems impregnable in his fortress on the island of Tortuga.Privateer Captain Bart (Ken Scott) arrives to find some way to defeat Morgan. His journey to theCaribbean is complicated somewhat by the presence of stowaway Meg (Leticia Roman), aspririted…er… wench… who has dreams of being a lady.
You always thought My Fair Lady would…make a great pirate movie, didn’t you? Ifyou did, then you’ll love this. Everybody else will likely find themselves bored and irritated bythe endless, plot-killing scenes of the insufferable Leticia Roman trying on clothes and beingflirtatious in a manner that cries out for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment.There are also far too many repetitions of the same shot of a model boat motionless in a bathtub(doesn’t look like this thing is sailing at all). This is definitely no Mutiny on the Bounty,but it has a minor appeal as a nostalgic programmer.
Audio
Urgh! Another dreadful 2.0 stereo remix of a mono track. The music doesn’t come off toobadly, but surround dialogue isn’t worth the occasional surround sound effect. There is a fair bitof buzz and distortion, though some slack must be cut for a 1961 film. One is much better offswitching to the original mono, which is perfectly serviceable.
Video
The print is in very good shape, especially since this is hardly a major release crying out forrestoration. There is very little grain, all things considered, and hardly any speckling at all. Thecolours are very bright and cheerful, and the image is sharp. There are a couple of bad shots (oneof the ship has horrible red and blue edges, as if the movie were originally in 3D. The picturecomes in both 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen formats.
Special Features
Nothing here but some trailers, for the feature and A High Wind in Jamaica, TheBlack Swan, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and PrinceValiant. The menu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
Proof that even pirate movies could be dull, and feel a lot longer than an hour and a half.
Special Features List
- Trailers
