Not even bad in a good way

A different way of telling a story

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

I thought this movie was a lot of fun, with some memorably witty lines (mostly delivered by Walter Slezak) that are referred to elsewhere on this site. I wonder if these were from Herman J Mankiewicz, who co-contributed to the screenplay - he certainly was talented enough.All of the criticisms of it that are mentioned in other comments are true - it does have a familiar story line, obvious sets / model shots / backgrounds and some clunky dialogue and acting.However these criticisms to me they don't really matter - it is a movie designed to entertain and provide enjoyment and it succeeds perfectly well at doing this.By the way - the 'real' shot of the coastline I'm sure I've seen in other movies. Must have been close to Hollywood.

I had foolishly missed out quite recently on this one on late-night Italian TV and, consequently, was very glad now to get acquainted with it (albeit via a slightly washed-out print on DivX) – especially since I was surprised by its quality, making the film an underrated entry in the swashbuckling genre. Borzage was an unusual choice for this type of film – despite being a distinguished Oscar-winning director, he has become with time a largely forgotten figure but his reputation has deservedly soared of late among film connoisseurs and is now generally comparable to that of Douglas Sirk. To be sure, he is more renowned for movies like THREE COMRADES (1938) and THE MORTAL STORM (1940) rather than fluff pieces like THE Spanish MAIN, but that only goes to show how versatile he was, equally capable of handling personal projects and genre pictures.Equally unlikely was the film’s choice of leading man: Paul Henreid, playing an honest man who turns buccaneer in the face of injustice, his character is similar to that of Captain Blood (in spite of an obvious lack of emphasis on the actor’s agility) but also to Henried’s signature role of French Resistance leader Victor Laszlo in CASABLANCA (1942). This alone makes it interesting viewing but, thankfully, they’re supported by solid talent on both sides of the camera (the actors – Maureen O’Hara in her prime, an unusually but effectively cast Binnie Barnes as a hardened lady buccaneer and O’Hara’s romantic rival, splendid villainy from Walter Slezak, John Emery and Barton MacLane being equally dastardly, J.M. Kerrigan, Curt Bois and Mike Mazurki as Henreid’s sidekicks, a script co-written by CITIZEN KANE [1941]’s Herman J. Mankiewicz, magnificent color photography by George Barnes, etc).While the plot offers no real surprise or undue complexity – coming at the tail-end of WWII, it must have provided just the right dose of escapism – it’s professionally-handled entertainment (at which Hollywood excelled during its golden age) of the kind ‘they don’t make anymore’…despite the best intentions of today’s exponents!

The studio sets and models are not too bad although the matts are visible in some shots. The action is a bit lacking. There is the obligatory duelling galleys in the early part of the movie but you don't really get the feel that these are men fighting for their lives.The lack of action is not made up for by the story. There are some amusing bits of dialogue, most of the good bits are on IMDb.Maureen O'Hara looks terribly mature for a 25 year old but plays her role well but the film lacks a strong central role such as Robert Newton.More a sailing than a pirate movie.

I saw this on TV TCM today and will always enjoy the exciting story of the Spanish Main; with beautiful musical score and scenes rather well staged. Maureen O'Hara and Paul Henried are great! The scene stealer of course is that great character actor Walter Slezak, who plays a mean egocentric governor, but who gets it in the end. The duelling scenes are particularly good, and Paul Henried does a good job duelling. Binnie Barnes, who I remember so well in early films was especially great as a woman pirate