Waste of time

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

To be perfectly honest, I was not expecting a lot from this one – I was under the impression it would be a remake of the seminal Michael Curtiz/Errol Flynn CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935), but Rafael Sabatini did actually pen a novel bearing its title – since neither the film under review, nor the sequel CAPTAIN PIRATE (1952; whose own viewing would follow presently), have much of a reputation within the genre concerned!; still, their Rafael Sabatini pedigree and the presence of swashbuckling regular Louis Hayward ensured my interest regardless. For better or worse, the fact that both are now available in virtually pristine (if non-anamorphic) editions is due to the massive box-office takings of the recent overblown "Pirates Of The Caribbean" saga!Anyway, I had already watched Hayward's previous buccaneer venture – namely Edgar G. Ulmer's THE PIRATES OF CAPRI (1949) – and, frankly, was wary of his making a convincing Peter Blood (truth be told, even Flynn's star-making turn had been somewhat overrated!); given that he usually tends to play fops harbouring a revenge agenda, the narrative contrives to put the actor in his element by having the former doctor don a South American disguise for a sizeable part of the duration! Plot-wise, it is – admittedly – no great shakes: a handful of Blood's gang are ambushed when they go ashore and put in chains, so he determines to free them. In the course of the 90-minute duration, he is helped and hindered (often both) by a number of other characters: a bartender, a saloon-girl, a prison warden enamoured of the latter (Alfonso Bedoya), a shifty nobleman, his girlfriend (leading lady Patricia Medina – clumsily named Isabelita!), and the obligatory chief villain (played by the ubiquitous George Macready). Blood's brawny crew, then, typically encompasses all sorts – from Scots to Swedes…and, perhaps mercifully, I only counted two negligible instances of comic relief on their part throughout!While it may appear half-hearted in black-and-white (especially in comparison with the glowing Technicolor afforded the sequel), director Douglas was practiced enough at this sort of thing (for the record, he had already guided both Hayward and Macready through the monochromatic paces of the R.L. Stevenson adaptation THE BLACK ARROW {1948} and, involving Macready yet again, would follow this with the colourful ROGUES OF SHERWOOD FOREST {1950}) to render the essence of the material via the modest means at his disposal. With this in mind, amid the sheer amount of fun to be had, it was possible to include such striking images as a hanging body casting a sinister shadow over a wall, a guard being set ablaze during the mass prison escape and, in the exciting seafaring climax, a bloodied Macready at the helm of the hero's own vessel "Avenger"(!); interestingly enough, Hayward will be forced to blow up his ship again in the sequel! By the way, I had been led to believe this involved the English King Charles II, but the royal by that name here (appearing in the guise of Curt Bois at the start of the film) actually presides over the French court!

Mostly landlocked follow up to the Errol Flynn movie and based on another novel in the series concerns Louis Hayward trying to rescue a number of his crew who have been captured by an evil governor and forced into slavery as pearl divers. Most of the film has Hayward disguised as a fruit merchant attempting to get information that will help him free his men...while flirting with several women and fighting off bad men.A mindless swashbuckler this is perfect Sunday afternoon fare, far from taxing it will simply put you into a place far away from all your troubles.7 out of 10

A Columbia Pictures' release, "The Fortunes of Captain Blood" (1950) neither boasts the epic scale nor the lavish quality that Warner Brothers' poured into its classic 1935 Errol Flynn original with Erich Wolfgang Korngold's exhilarating orchestral score. Essentially, this thoroughly routine black and white swashbuckler confines itself largely to intrigue on land rather than adventure on the high seas. The budgetary constraints no doubt forced veteran director Gordon Douglas to stage only two less than spectacular sea battles that take place at the outset and during the finale. These lackluster clashes occur with the opposing ships miles apart rather than hull to hull. You won't see any pirates with cutlasses clenched in their scrofulous teeth as they swing from the rigging of their ship to board the enemy vessel.The pompous Hispanic monarch, King Charles II (Kurt Bois of "The Desert Song"),warns the Marquis de Riconete (George Macready of "Knock On Any Door")that unless he captures lawless Irish buccaneer Captain Blood (Louis Hayward of "Captain Pirate"), the king will strip him of all his wealth and position. Charles II also places a bounty of 50-thousand pieces of eight on Blood's head. Blood has has been devastating Spanish galleons in the West Indies. Blood and his ship the Avenger lie off the island of La Hacha, the most important Spanish possession in the West Indies. They are awaiting a signal from the mainland to pick up supplies and ammunition from a trusted merchant. Unfortunately, it's a trap, and the Marquis bags a boatload of Blood's men. Although we never see them once they wind up behind bars, we learn from the expository dialogue in the loquacious screenplay by Frank Burt of "Barbary Pirate," Michael Hogan of "Tall in the Saddle," and Robert Libott of "Captain Pirate," that these poor souls are forced to dive for pearls in shark-infested waters with slim chances of survival. Captain Blood refuses to tolerate this unhappy situation. He remembers his own days as a prisoner and he ventures ashore against the advice of his second-in-command to free his men. Masquerading as a harmless fruit peddler, Senor Morales, so that he can have open access to the town, he sets out to rescue his enslaved sailors. Along the way, he encounters a hot-blooded little tomato, Pepita Maria Rosados (Dona Drake of "Road to Morocco"),who takes a shine to him. Pepita's boyfriend is the Prison Overseer, Carmilio (Alfonso Bedoya of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," who uttered the famous line of dialogue from the Humphrey Bogart classic: "We don't need no stinkin' badges!")."The Fortunes of Captain Blood" contains few surprises or revelations during its trim 90 running time. A clean-shaven Louis Hayward makes an adequate Captain Blood, but he sorely lacks the charisma of an Errol Flynn. Consequently, Hayward seems somewhat wooden in the role. In his defense, Hayward doesn't perform any feats of valor like Flynn did because the scenarists give him nothing in the way of grandstanding heroics. On the other hand, George Macready doesn't make your blood boil as the villainous Marquis. As the Marquis' relative Isabelita Sotomayor, beautiful Patricia Medina of "Mr. Arkadin" spends more time off-screen than on-screen. Eventually, Captain Blood gets around to wooing Isabelita, but he devotes more time to spunky Pepita so he can befriend Carmilio and orchestrate the release of his men. However, since there is no suspense, Blood has few close calls with his adversaries and rarely appears in jeopardy. The miniature ships look fine, but the back projection aboard the ships when the heroes and villains weight anchor is obvious. The sword fighting choreography is strictly second-rate with the combatants never moving far from where the fight started. The last scene before the final ship battle when Blood and his men switch ships and capture a Spanish warship anticipates the future cinematic antics of Captain Jack Sparrow against the British.

I was in love with Louis Hayward and there is no more ardent love than a seven year old for a Pirate. I saw every film with Louis Hayward that came to the local cinema and I imagined I was the heroine of course! We had American friends and they had a home cinema and I saw this film and thought it was wonderful. 53 years later, what would I think - I hope it would transport me back over the years when the handsome Louis Hayward would be as dashing and romantic as he was when I first saw him. Good swashbuckling adventure. Must have made an impression when I remember it after 53 years. I know Errol Flynn was the original "Peter Blood" in talking movies but Louis Hayward was the actor whom I saw in the 1950's in glorious colour. Yes, the colours in those movies in the 1950's were wonderful breathtaking after so many black and white movies.