It has been a long time since I've seen this film, over 20 yrs in fact, but there were bits of detail that made it stick in my mind this long. For instance, the character named PeeWee had a distinctive style of sword fighting: he had the rapier or saber in the right hand but he wore a black glove on his left. After some research, I found the glove was used to bat away the blade and acted as a main gouche. Those types of details kept me watching the screen and firmly seated it in my memory. It was a typical pirate movie with the usual stereotypical roles, but it was fun to watch and little bits of the unusual peeked out here and there. I wish I had a chance to watch it again.
18 Reviews
Doesn't fly, but it floats
Danimal-714 August 2007
Sea captain Bart Paxton has a thankless task from the King of England. Henry Morgan, erstwhile ally of the crown, has set up a kingdom on Tortuga, whose buccaneers are robbing English ships at will and strangling the island of Jamaica. The Royal Navy can't attack Tortuga without igniting a new war with Spain, so the King is sending Paxton as a secret privateer to put an end to Morgan's depredations. And Meg, the young hellion who has stowed away on Paxton's ship, isn't making his job any easier.
Unlike its predecessor The Black Swan or its contemporary Morgan the Pirate, Pirates of Tortuga casts Henry Morgan as a villain, the correct and natural role for that treacherous, rapacious, and brilliant man. The one difficulty is that the historical Captain Morgan died rich, contented, and even respectable, a most unsatisfying end for a movie villain. The movie deals with this problem straightforwardly, by constructing a sort of alternate history that shows what might have happened if Morgan had not chosen to answer King Charles's summons to England after his raid on Panama in 1671, with its very real attendant risk of imprisonment and execution, but instead had followed the course many of his fellow buccaneers did by raiding and looting indiscriminately. It would have been well within Morgan's power to set up the "buccaneer kingdom" on Tortuga that the movie shows.
The plot is bare-bones, but serviceable: Paxton finds Morgan, Paxton poses as partner of Morgan to spy out Morgan's fortress, Meg flirts with the governor of Jamaica, but ultimately decides her heart truly lies with Paxton, Paxton defeats Morgan. But the denouement is a major disappointment: unimaginative, perfunctory, and implausible at once, and moreover, it fails to tie up Morgan's end of the story.
Bart Paxton's part is well-written, a potentially dashing commander with real brains and imagination, but Ken Scott is unable to bring anything to the role but heroic blandness. Letitia Roman is certainly fetching as Meg, especially in her sailor's togs, and her bare-legged wriggling in Paxton's bed is a clear sign of the sexual revolution's tsunami roaring toward the beach of the Hayes Code. But looking beyond her physical charms, Meg's personality really has nothing to recommend her: she's not smart, brave, loyal, honest, or even charming.
Robert Stephens' Henry Morgan is interesting, but ultimately ineffective. Stephens plays Morgan as a full-blown alcoholic, complete with the shakes. His Morgan is greedy (his eyes almost bug out when Paxton presents him with a chest full of guineas) and cruel, but credulous and unintelligent. He is fun to hate, as a good villain should be, but he lacks the frisson of menace that emanated from Rathbone's Levasseur or Newton's and Heston's Long John Silver.
The supporting cast comes to the rescue, particularly Dave King as PeeWee and Stanley Adams as Montbars. King is appealing, dashing, and sometimes very funny, while Adams' Montbars is pure, unbridled appetite, fat and greedy and bullying, a perfect pirate.
Visually, the movie is outstanding. The shots of the sailing ships are sublime, the colors are sumptuous, and the islands and cliffs are magnificent. The movie is fun to watch, and while it won't stay with you long, it avoids the gratuitous absurdity of many pirate movies.
Rating: ** ½ out of ****.
Recommendation: Worth a rental after it leaves the new release shelves.
Unlike its predecessor The Black Swan or its contemporary Morgan the Pirate, Pirates of Tortuga casts Henry Morgan as a villain, the correct and natural role for that treacherous, rapacious, and brilliant man. The one difficulty is that the historical Captain Morgan died rich, contented, and even respectable, a most unsatisfying end for a movie villain. The movie deals with this problem straightforwardly, by constructing a sort of alternate history that shows what might have happened if Morgan had not chosen to answer King Charles's summons to England after his raid on Panama in 1671, with its very real attendant risk of imprisonment and execution, but instead had followed the course many of his fellow buccaneers did by raiding and looting indiscriminately. It would have been well within Morgan's power to set up the "buccaneer kingdom" on Tortuga that the movie shows.
The plot is bare-bones, but serviceable: Paxton finds Morgan, Paxton poses as partner of Morgan to spy out Morgan's fortress, Meg flirts with the governor of Jamaica, but ultimately decides her heart truly lies with Paxton, Paxton defeats Morgan. But the denouement is a major disappointment: unimaginative, perfunctory, and implausible at once, and moreover, it fails to tie up Morgan's end of the story.
Bart Paxton's part is well-written, a potentially dashing commander with real brains and imagination, but Ken Scott is unable to bring anything to the role but heroic blandness. Letitia Roman is certainly fetching as Meg, especially in her sailor's togs, and her bare-legged wriggling in Paxton's bed is a clear sign of the sexual revolution's tsunami roaring toward the beach of the Hayes Code. But looking beyond her physical charms, Meg's personality really has nothing to recommend her: she's not smart, brave, loyal, honest, or even charming.
Robert Stephens' Henry Morgan is interesting, but ultimately ineffective. Stephens plays Morgan as a full-blown alcoholic, complete with the shakes. His Morgan is greedy (his eyes almost bug out when Paxton presents him with a chest full of guineas) and cruel, but credulous and unintelligent. He is fun to hate, as a good villain should be, but he lacks the frisson of menace that emanated from Rathbone's Levasseur or Newton's and Heston's Long John Silver.
The supporting cast comes to the rescue, particularly Dave King as PeeWee and Stanley Adams as Montbars. King is appealing, dashing, and sometimes very funny, while Adams' Montbars is pure, unbridled appetite, fat and greedy and bullying, a perfect pirate.
Visually, the movie is outstanding. The shots of the sailing ships are sublime, the colors are sumptuous, and the islands and cliffs are magnificent. The movie is fun to watch, and while it won't stay with you long, it avoids the gratuitous absurdity of many pirate movies.
Rating: ** ½ out of ****.
Recommendation: Worth a rental after it leaves the new release shelves.
Your mission, go fishin' for Henry Morgan
bkoganbing23 November 2018
Pirates Of Tortuga has Captain Ken Scott who is a privateer on a special mission
from the Admiralty. He's been told that Henry Morgan the pirate king with whom they had a deal with when Great Britain was at war with Spain has gone
rogue again and set himself in grand style living on Tortuga Island as a pirate
king. His living of course is the commerce of the merchant fleet of the West
Indies. He's been so good at it that Jamaica is close to starvation.
Scott's mission is relieve Jamaica first then get Morgan. Not so easy, but with his picked crew of buccaneers he's confident that they'll get the job done.
Going along for the ride is stowaway Leticia Roman, a cut purse from London who Scott feels sorry for. She's trouble at first, but proves her worth.
Olympic track star Rafer Johnson has a small part in Pirates Of Tortuga and Robert Stephens plays a dastardly Morgan.
Pirates Of Tortuga was done on the cheap with ample stock footage from such 20th Century Fox classics as the Black Swan and Anne Of The Indies.
Pleasant afternoon viewing for action/adventure fans.
Scott's mission is relieve Jamaica first then get Morgan. Not so easy, but with his picked crew of buccaneers he's confident that they'll get the job done.
Going along for the ride is stowaway Leticia Roman, a cut purse from London who Scott feels sorry for. She's trouble at first, but proves her worth.
Olympic track star Rafer Johnson has a small part in Pirates Of Tortuga and Robert Stephens plays a dastardly Morgan.
Pirates Of Tortuga was done on the cheap with ample stock footage from such 20th Century Fox classics as the Black Swan and Anne Of The Indies.
Pleasant afternoon viewing for action/adventure fans.
How bad can a film get ...?
milliefan21 December 2009
Oh my. 20th Century Fox must have burned with shame and embarrassment at this wretched turkey being released under their aegis. I enjoy almost all old movies, and up until viewing Pirates of Tortuga had never seen a film that was ALL bad, without any redeeming qualities or entertainment value at all ... but this is the one. Pirates is so very inept in every respect that it can't even be enjoyed as one of those "so bad it's good" pictures. The direction is almost non-existent, with scenes that drag on as is a first rehearsal had been filmed, and filmed before it had even been blocked. This plodding footage is interspersed with stock shots and, in cases, entire scenes lifted from earlier (and MUCH better) movies, and the inserts are glaringly obvious, particularly in the first battle at sea (thirty or so background extras listlessly waving swords at each other as if half asleep, never varying their position, suddenly interrupted by a genuinely action-packed insert from The Black Swan!). The cast is headed by lacklustre Ken Scott, who had lent his wooden presence to other Fox productions (his supporting role in Stopover Tokyo helping to sink that particular dud). John Richardson looks fabulous, but has no technique, looks somewhat lost, and after this film went back to virtual extra status until his breakthrough a few years later in She and One Million Years BC. Worst of all, in fact the worst performance I have ever seen by a leading lady in a studio production, comes from Leticia Roman, a pretty but spectacularly untalented Italian girl playing a cockney and spouting lines like "lord love a duck" and "you ain't ever treated me like a lay-dee" in a voice that's a cross between Monica Vitti and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. I am in danger here of making Pirates of Tortuga sound like something worth sitting through in order to have a giggle, but believe me it is NOT!
B-grade pirate flick
Blueghost23 February 2009
I saw this film quite a few times growing up on independent TV stations. I didn't think it was anything too spectacular then, but hey, it was a pirate flick, and you can't go too wrong... right? Well, before the days of corporate run focus groups and test market screenings for films, the studio moguls, banking on what they believed would sell, would ride movie trends like the corporates do today. Back then Westerns and Pirate flicks were all the rage, and in 1961, hoping to revitalize a waning market, 20th Century Fox invested in this thing.
They must've done it on the cheap. Recycleing old studio props and sets, it looks like they cast bit part players in supporting roles. That and the cinematography is pretty bland, though not too far from b-movie standards at the time.
It's a market driven film. No standards or rules are being bent or pushed. There's a few social messages snuck in here and there, but nothing too shocking by contemporary American social standards.
There's nothing really innovative or impressive about this film, but it does offer two hours of pirate escapism. Take it for what it is.
They must've done it on the cheap. Recycleing old studio props and sets, it looks like they cast bit part players in supporting roles. That and the cinematography is pretty bland, though not too far from b-movie standards at the time.
It's a market driven film. No standards or rules are being bent or pushed. There's a few social messages snuck in here and there, but nothing too shocking by contemporary American social standards.
There's nothing really innovative or impressive about this film, but it does offer two hours of pirate escapism. Take it for what it is.
Guttersnipe lands a sea captain and nearly a governor.
weezeralfalfa21 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Tortuga is a small , mostly rocky, island, off the north coast of Haiti. During the 'Golden age of piracy', it was a notorious hangout for pirates, continuously fought over by the Spanish, French and British. In this tale, there are basically two questions that constitute the plot 1) Is Captain Paxton(Ken Scott) going to be successful in his mission to destroy Captain Morgan's recent pirate empire, centered on Tortuga, that has brought the British colony of Jamaica to its knees? 2)What will be the ultimate fate of the accidental stowaway barefoot wildcat Meg(Leticia Roman). Dealing with her antics is the centerpiece of the first half of the film, during the transatlantic crossing to Jamaica. It's clear this flirtaceous street urchin lacks the graces of a traditional lady. Various of the crew try to instruct her on some of the graces of a lady, with mixed success. Fortunately, Paxton has a stock of lady's garments in a chest in his cabin, which keeps Meg, as well as the crew, entertained, seeing how she looks as a lady. The captain even gives her an heirloom necklace, having belonged to his mother. When the ship arrives at Jamaica, it's reluctantly agreed that she will disembark to find her fortune there, or somewhere else. However, fate soon brings her to the attention of the governor, who believes she is a lady, by her dress, and becomes accustomed to her as she recuperates in his mansion. He even proposes marriage to this young thing, and she accepts initially. But, eventually, it comes out that she was not raised as a lady, and in fact is enamored with Paxton, who seemingly hasn't yet made up his mind about her.....After overtaking the crew of one of Morgan's pirate ships, by trickery, Paxton pretends to make a partnership with Morgan, in which he will sell Morgan's large stash of booty in Jamaica and give half the profit to Morgan. However, Paxton then makes a deal with the governor, in which the governor will supply a number of warships and men for an invasion of Morgan's compound. This is immediately put into action. A complex plan of attack is organized, with Paxton going alone to infiltrate to the munitions room. He finds the barrels of gunpowder and lights a fuse to one. But before he can escape, Morgan, himself, enters and they have a sword fight, while the fuse is burning. Unfortunately, the powder explodes before they are finished, and essentially destroys the fort. Strangely, at the same time, the cannons on the wall explode! Seethe film(available at YouTube) to learn the unlikely and incomplete finale......The production values are good, if some of the events are unlikely. The inclusion of Leticia, as a frequently present character, is a definite plus, spicing up an otherwise humdrum story.
This has an ASL of 9.5 seconds you know...
JoeytheBrit16 September 2008
This is a fairly ordinary boys' pirate adventure memorable only for the over the top performance from Leticia Roman as the reluctant stowaway aboard Ken Scott's galleon embarked for the Caribbean and a battle of wits with Captain Henry Morgan (Robert Stephens) who has returned to his buccaneering ways after briefly working for the King of England.
Roman acts as if she's just downed a pint of strong black coffee, and no doubt most self-respecting sailors would have thrown her overboard after having had their way with her. Somehow, though, not only does she make it intact all the way to Jamaica but she also manages to get Scott's insipid Captain Bart to fall in love with her.
Robert Stephens as a slightly unhinged Morgan given to smacking the rump of his ever so slightly raddled lady companion is the highlight of the film, although he doesn't receive the amount of screen time he deserves. Curious to see British comedian Dave King appearing as one of Scott's swashbuckling sidekicks too. Other than that there really isn't a lot to say about this flick.
Roman acts as if she's just downed a pint of strong black coffee, and no doubt most self-respecting sailors would have thrown her overboard after having had their way with her. Somehow, though, not only does she make it intact all the way to Jamaica but she also manages to get Scott's insipid Captain Bart to fall in love with her.
Robert Stephens as a slightly unhinged Morgan given to smacking the rump of his ever so slightly raddled lady companion is the highlight of the film, although he doesn't receive the amount of screen time he deserves. Curious to see British comedian Dave King appearing as one of Scott's swashbuckling sidekicks too. Other than that there really isn't a lot to say about this flick.
An amiable diversion
neil-47618 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Bart Paxton, an English captain with a distinct American accent, is assigned to take piratecHenry Morgan out of commission by being a more efficient pirate, leaving the authorities with plausible deniability. Things get complicated when a floozy stows away.
Like many British movies of the time, this one aimed to getvsome US marketability by headlining an American star. In this case, they went with Ken Scott. Yes, that's what I thought, too.
For all that it's cheap and cheerful, this isn't bad and, by dint of judicious used of pilfered footage from elsewhere, colourful cinematography, good sets and decent minatures, not to mention a plot with some interesting if irrelevant digressions, it makes its small budget go a long way. So thanks to Youtube!
Like many British movies of the time, this one aimed to getvsome US marketability by headlining an American star. In this case, they went with Ken Scott. Yes, that's what I thought, too.
For all that it's cheap and cheerful, this isn't bad and, by dint of judicious used of pilfered footage from elsewhere, colourful cinematography, good sets and decent minatures, not to mention a plot with some interesting if irrelevant digressions, it makes its small budget go a long way. So thanks to Youtube!
despite some good action and great looking color photography it all isn't that compelling
dbborroughs10 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Captain and his crew just returning to England are forced to go back out to take on the villainous Captain Morgan who is based in Tortuga . He once had a deal with the Brits but things have gone sour and he's raiding every British ship he can come across. Add to the mix a stowaway wench who has eyes for the captain and you're in for a rather superficial evening at the movies. Sue me the film never clicked with me. Its not that the action is bad, its not, its just that the plot doesn't really hold your interest. At times it's too much talk and not enough action, especially in the early going. Worse still is the cast who while adequate, are never really engaging and it's not really a wonder that I never really recall seeing any of them in anything else. I never really cared and despite the film looking good I allowed my attention to wander to other things.
PIRATES OF TORTUGA (Robert D. Webb, 1961) **
Bunuel19767 April 2008
One of the myriad cheapies churned out by independent film producers (here Sam Katzman) under the aegis of a major Hollywood studio (20th Century Fox) and which revolves around the exploits of a notorious pirate figure (Sir Henry Morgan). Despite being fully aware of the film’s non-reputation even among others of its type, I was still taken in by the relatively decent cast (Robert Stephens, Leticia Roman and John Richardson) and the promise of colorful entertainment (brought on by my recent spate of similar superior outings).
Unfortunately, PIRATES OF TORTUGA falls far short of earlier movies about Morgan – THE BLACK SWAN (1942) or even the contemporaneous MORGAN, THE PIRATE (1961) – and proves to be a lackluster affair with a poverty of imagination on display that is quite dispiriting. To start with, Morgan (an over-the-top Stephens) himself only appears half-way through with the result that we are left largely in the company of a truly overbearing gypsy of a leading lady (Roman), a listless hero (Ken Jones) and his puerile cronies (Richardson and Dave King). Add to that the intermittent usage of action stock footage lifted from earlier Fox seafaring productions, the uncharacteristic popping up of modern slang in the dialogue and the sheer predictability of the whole venture and it’s small wonder that very little time has elapsed before the film starts to sink…right out of one’s memory!
For the record, director Robert D. Webb had much earlier won an Oscar as an assistant director (in one of the few times these awards where handed out) on IN OLD CHICAGO (1937) and had also guided Elvis Presley through his first film LOVE ME TENDER (1956); incidentally, I might get to check out six(!) of his other directorial chores in the future: not just two notable Westerns WHITE FEATHER (1955; with Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Wagner, which I have in my DVD collection) and THE PROUD ONES (1956; with Robert Ryan and Jeffrey Hunter again, which I intend to acquire) but also a few more available at local DVD rental outlets: BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF (1953; which I haven’t watched in ages), the aforementioned LOVE ME TENDER, THE CAPE TOWN AFFAIR (1967; a remake of Samuel Fuller’s PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET [1953]) and THE JACKALS (1967; featuring Vincent Price and a remake of William A. Wellman’s YELLOW SKY [1948], which I own and intend to watch presently as part of my ongoing Richard Widmark tribute).
Unfortunately, PIRATES OF TORTUGA falls far short of earlier movies about Morgan – THE BLACK SWAN (1942) or even the contemporaneous MORGAN, THE PIRATE (1961) – and proves to be a lackluster affair with a poverty of imagination on display that is quite dispiriting. To start with, Morgan (an over-the-top Stephens) himself only appears half-way through with the result that we are left largely in the company of a truly overbearing gypsy of a leading lady (Roman), a listless hero (Ken Jones) and his puerile cronies (Richardson and Dave King). Add to that the intermittent usage of action stock footage lifted from earlier Fox seafaring productions, the uncharacteristic popping up of modern slang in the dialogue and the sheer predictability of the whole venture and it’s small wonder that very little time has elapsed before the film starts to sink…right out of one’s memory!
For the record, director Robert D. Webb had much earlier won an Oscar as an assistant director (in one of the few times these awards where handed out) on IN OLD CHICAGO (1937) and had also guided Elvis Presley through his first film LOVE ME TENDER (1956); incidentally, I might get to check out six(!) of his other directorial chores in the future: not just two notable Westerns WHITE FEATHER (1955; with Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Wagner, which I have in my DVD collection) and THE PROUD ONES (1956; with Robert Ryan and Jeffrey Hunter again, which I intend to acquire) but also a few more available at local DVD rental outlets: BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF (1953; which I haven’t watched in ages), the aforementioned LOVE ME TENDER, THE CAPE TOWN AFFAIR (1967; a remake of Samuel Fuller’s PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET [1953]) and THE JACKALS (1967; featuring Vincent Price and a remake of William A. Wellman’s YELLOW SKY [1948], which I own and intend to watch presently as part of my ongoing Richard Widmark tribute).
Viewed as a comedy, it is very entertaining. Taken seriously, nothing special. 6 stars. 10 stars to balance loser reviews.
Bababooe9 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This was an entertaining movie. And isn't that what it's all about. Nothing original, or exceptional acting. But it was fun.
Letícia Román is clearly a foreign actress (Italian). I thought her lines were dubbed. And it may have been. She did a fine job. All the other actors were fine.
I don't care about using footage from other movies. It was done well.
Rating is a 5 or 6 stars for entertainment. Nothing to go out of your way to seek out. If it's on tv, watch it as a comedy and it will work.
Letícia Román is clearly a foreign actress (Italian). I thought her lines were dubbed. And it may have been. She did a fine job. All the other actors were fine.
I don't care about using footage from other movies. It was done well.
Rating is a 5 or 6 stars for entertainment. Nothing to go out of your way to seek out. If it's on tv, watch it as a comedy and it will work.
Not a Bad Swashbuckler For a Katzman Production
boblipton9 November 2018
Ken Scott and a mass of little-known actors perform in a Sam Katzman sea-faring fest, with never an eyepatch, arrgh or yo-heave-ho among them. They've been ordered to head to the Caribbean Sea, to deal with Henry Morgan, who's exceeding his authority or something. Letícia Román has snuck onboard for reasons that are never clear.
It's actually a visually handsome movie, thanks to cinematographer Ellis Carter, and handsome sets and costumes. It definitely falls into the seen-one-seen-them-all category, and several screenwriters, including Jesse Lasky Jr. never produce anything interesting. However, Hortense Petra is credited down the cast list, and for a name like that, I'll pronounce this a decent time-waster: a triumph for Katzman.
It's actually a visually handsome movie, thanks to cinematographer Ellis Carter, and handsome sets and costumes. It definitely falls into the seen-one-seen-them-all category, and several screenwriters, including Jesse Lasky Jr. never produce anything interesting. However, Hortense Petra is credited down the cast list, and for a name like that, I'll pronounce this a decent time-waster: a triumph for Katzman.
Waste of an hour-and-a-half of your life.
hrnsly21 June 2019
Weak, light; mildly enjoyable, but that's all
I_Ailurophile5 February 2023
A contemporary review by the Los Angeles Times seems to have remarked that the production was "pure costume." I wonder if that sentiment wasn't a bit generous. The first act is almost entirely a sea-faring variation on 'My fair lady,' and that slant continues to be a dominant thrust for the remainder of the runtime, to the point that the narrative we're initially led to believe is the primary thrust of the picture (set-up as such from the start) actually becomes the B-plot. Meg's tale could be a worthy one to explore in and of itself, but when a feature is called 'Pirates of Tortuga' and bills itself as a swashbuckler, one rather expects more swashbuckling. In fairness, we do get fights and action, cheeky humor, and ale-swilling "yo ho!"-ing, and it's not like this isn't entertaining. Yet it's only mildly entertaining, and is this the movie one anticipates from the outside looking in? Not so much.
More to the point, I don't think the screenwriters truly had a clear focus. There were two concurrent stories they wanted to tell, converging in time - but they are both poorly imbalanced, and hasty at the tail end, and the portion chronicling the strife with the titular renegades was not developed well. It also is mostly relegated to the last act, and very weakly resolved for that matter, and Meg's journey takes precedence. For what it's worth, Letícia Román surely gives the best performance of the film; her co-stars are mostly just kind of lingering there, adrift in the same way the storytelling is. Robert D. Webb's direction is fine, I suppose, and it's suitably well made from a technical standpoint. Still, the title is so light on substance, and so indifferent to it, that if not for the contributions of those behind the scenes, this would be pure flotsam on the ocean of cinema.
The costume design really is splendid, and both the production design and art direction are eye-catching. The hair and makeup work is quite well done, and any effects that are employed look pretty swell. Action sequences are a bit of a loose grab bag, but they serve their purpose. All this is well and good. A film cannot be sold on visuals alone, however, and there's no real anchor for 'Pirates of Tortuga.' Without compelling acting, and especially without solid plot, the feature is doomed to just meekly coast along wherever the winds take it. There were good ideas in the writing, but the fact remains that it's so thin and flimsy that the end result doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. It's still passably amusing for a lazy day if you happen to come across it, but even if you're a huge fan of swashbucklers or someone involved, this is a cruise that is not essential by any means.
More to the point, I don't think the screenwriters truly had a clear focus. There were two concurrent stories they wanted to tell, converging in time - but they are both poorly imbalanced, and hasty at the tail end, and the portion chronicling the strife with the titular renegades was not developed well. It also is mostly relegated to the last act, and very weakly resolved for that matter, and Meg's journey takes precedence. For what it's worth, Letícia Román surely gives the best performance of the film; her co-stars are mostly just kind of lingering there, adrift in the same way the storytelling is. Robert D. Webb's direction is fine, I suppose, and it's suitably well made from a technical standpoint. Still, the title is so light on substance, and so indifferent to it, that if not for the contributions of those behind the scenes, this would be pure flotsam on the ocean of cinema.
The costume design really is splendid, and both the production design and art direction are eye-catching. The hair and makeup work is quite well done, and any effects that are employed look pretty swell. Action sequences are a bit of a loose grab bag, but they serve their purpose. All this is well and good. A film cannot be sold on visuals alone, however, and there's no real anchor for 'Pirates of Tortuga.' Without compelling acting, and especially without solid plot, the feature is doomed to just meekly coast along wherever the winds take it. There were good ideas in the writing, but the fact remains that it's so thin and flimsy that the end result doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. It's still passably amusing for a lazy day if you happen to come across it, but even if you're a huge fan of swashbucklers or someone involved, this is a cruise that is not essential by any means.
Why, captain, you've never looked lovelier !
myriamlenys3 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Decades ago I was in England during the Christmas period. On an impulse, I attended an amateur panto for a charitable cause. The panto proved to be a ramshackle but rambunctious affair, filled with enough drag, innuendo and short-for-Richard jokes to last a nightclub a lifetime. The second act, if that's the word, contained a gag which went like this. A curvaceous brunette, announcing her intention to enlist as a sailor in His Majesty's Navy, asks her landlady for help. The landlady, who is the widow of a sailor, says : "I've kept on to all of my husband's things, including his sea chest. Do rummage around, dear, you'll be sure to find something useful." So the brunette disappears into another room in order to look for suitable clothes. Three minutes later she emerges, dressed in tiny slippers, a voluminous ballgown and half a dozen glistening necklaces. Cries the widow, overcome by emotion : "Just like my own sweet Ned !"
If you, dear reader, are wondering why I tell you this anecdote, then it's clear that you haven't seen "Pirates of Tortuga" yet. Otherwise you'd know that the movie - an action/adventure yarn of the seafaring variety - contains a scene in which a saucy baggage hides away in a captain's cabin. As our stowaway looks through the man's belongings, she finds ever more eye-catching silks and jewels. (Later on the same wardrobe will yield complete ladies' outfits.)
It's the kind of scene that throws an intriguing though possibly disquieting light on Great-Britain's nautical traditions. Just how did these hardy sailors while away the long and monotonous evenings ? ("Another year has come full circle and we all know what that means - yes, friends, it's the tenth of July again ! Prepare yourself for our annual rat gymkhana, followed by a 'Walk the plank' contest and an all-you-can-eat buffet. Sadly our 'Elect the most stylish midshipman' event will have to be postponed until Wilkins and Rutherford recover from those shark bites.")
If one disregards these tantalizing hints about captains walking around in gorgeous silks, then "Pirates of Tortuga" turns into a classic seafaring tale about a hand-picked team tasked with cleaning up a dangerous pirate nest. As a swashbuckling movie it's serviceable enough, but it lacks the kind of polish, depth or fire that would lift it up to another level. The happy ending feels very "deus ex machina". Actress Leticia Roman provides most of the charm, with a spirited double performance as a feisty stowaway and an aristocratic lady.
Unsurprisingly, this is not the movie you want to watch if you're interested in a profound discussion about colonization, slavery, the class system and so on. The movie doesn't dwell too much on the concept of state-supported piracy either.
Whether it is wholly advisable to blow up a fortress at the exact moment your friends and allies are assaulting it, is a question I leave to the military tacticians among us.
If you, dear reader, are wondering why I tell you this anecdote, then it's clear that you haven't seen "Pirates of Tortuga" yet. Otherwise you'd know that the movie - an action/adventure yarn of the seafaring variety - contains a scene in which a saucy baggage hides away in a captain's cabin. As our stowaway looks through the man's belongings, she finds ever more eye-catching silks and jewels. (Later on the same wardrobe will yield complete ladies' outfits.)
It's the kind of scene that throws an intriguing though possibly disquieting light on Great-Britain's nautical traditions. Just how did these hardy sailors while away the long and monotonous evenings ? ("Another year has come full circle and we all know what that means - yes, friends, it's the tenth of July again ! Prepare yourself for our annual rat gymkhana, followed by a 'Walk the plank' contest and an all-you-can-eat buffet. Sadly our 'Elect the most stylish midshipman' event will have to be postponed until Wilkins and Rutherford recover from those shark bites.")
If one disregards these tantalizing hints about captains walking around in gorgeous silks, then "Pirates of Tortuga" turns into a classic seafaring tale about a hand-picked team tasked with cleaning up a dangerous pirate nest. As a swashbuckling movie it's serviceable enough, but it lacks the kind of polish, depth or fire that would lift it up to another level. The happy ending feels very "deus ex machina". Actress Leticia Roman provides most of the charm, with a spirited double performance as a feisty stowaway and an aristocratic lady.
Unsurprisingly, this is not the movie you want to watch if you're interested in a profound discussion about colonization, slavery, the class system and so on. The movie doesn't dwell too much on the concept of state-supported piracy either.
Whether it is wholly advisable to blow up a fortress at the exact moment your friends and allies are assaulting it, is a question I leave to the military tacticians among us.
No ladies aboard. They really spoil the soirees at sea.
mark.waltz18 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
That becomes very clear when ships Captain Ken Scott finds temperamental stowaway Letícia Román aboard his ship, hired by the British navy to find and stop Captain Henry Morgan (Robert Stephens) from interfering in their efforts to land at trading posts. She's furious every time she's locked below, not realizing that every time that happens, he's doing it for her safety. She's even more furious that he barely gives her the time of day, considering her a nuisance for having that left the ship when she was supposed to. Scott knows what they are up against, but Román needs a few lessons before she can find the bravery and know-how of what to do when the ship and everybody's life aboard is in danger.
This is less taming of the shrew and more training of the shrew, showing that when a woman like Román is put in a situation that requires brains and bravery, she really can make a difference. In that retrospect, this is unique for a film of its time because she seems like a nuisance at first, but eventually, she begins to prove her value for being in a situation otherwise would have not been wise.
Colorful photography, believable costumes and scenery aids this into becoming a pleasant, jovial atmosphere, making this action adventure film well worth a trip down to Jolly Roger territory. Under the thumb of B grade programmer producer Sam Katzman, this looks pretty lavish, yet outside of its advanced view of a woman in a man's world being quite able, it seems like it could have been a film with Maureen O'Hara or Yvonne De Carlo from the 1940's. Those women you couldn't imagine being as flighty as Román starts off to be here, and it took me sometime to see that she wasn't going to be your typical pretty distraction and nuisance. It's also far to clean to really represent the time in which it is set. So enjoy it as a decent time filler but don't expect it to be up-to-date with the time that it was made in.
This is less taming of the shrew and more training of the shrew, showing that when a woman like Román is put in a situation that requires brains and bravery, she really can make a difference. In that retrospect, this is unique for a film of its time because she seems like a nuisance at first, but eventually, she begins to prove her value for being in a situation otherwise would have not been wise.
Colorful photography, believable costumes and scenery aids this into becoming a pleasant, jovial atmosphere, making this action adventure film well worth a trip down to Jolly Roger territory. Under the thumb of B grade programmer producer Sam Katzman, this looks pretty lavish, yet outside of its advanced view of a woman in a man's world being quite able, it seems like it could have been a film with Maureen O'Hara or Yvonne De Carlo from the 1940's. Those women you couldn't imagine being as flighty as Román starts off to be here, and it took me sometime to see that she wasn't going to be your typical pretty distraction and nuisance. It's also far to clean to really represent the time in which it is set. So enjoy it as a decent time filler but don't expect it to be up-to-date with the time that it was made in.
A Pirate Film Lacking in Excitement and Grandeur
Uriah4320 March 2023
This film essentially begins with an English navy vessel just pulling into port with cargo they wish to sell. It's then that the captain of the ship, "Ken Scott" (Bart Paxton) is immediately summoned for a meeting with his navy superiors and is told that, after selling his merchandise, he is to set sail once again-this time for the island of Tortuga where a pirate by the name of "Captain Henry Morgan" (Robert Stephens) has established as his home base and is strangling all commerce that ventures into that area. To that effect, his plan is to masquerade as a pirate himself in order to infiltrate Henry Morgan's operation. What he doesn't know, however, is that a young woman by the name of "Meg" (Leticia Roman) has secretly snuck aboard his ship and--upon being detected--becomes a big distraction during the entire voyage there. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I was a bit disappointed with this movie because it lacked the grandeur and excitement often found in films of this type. Likewise, although the acting wasn't bad necessarily, I think the film would have certainly benefited from a better cast as well. In any case, while viewers looking for a grade-B pirate movie could probably do worse, I wasn't really impressed with it and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.
A real stinker under sail.
senob8 August 2022
A movie I wish I had not watched, on a par with Transylvania 6-5000 for poor movie making. The acting was atrocious from the start but was eclipsed by the extremely poorly written script and storyline.
I think any twelve-year-old child after attending Treasure Island could write a better storyline before they went to bed. This is probably the best example of everything wrong with Hollywood TV movies.
I think any twelve-year-old child after attending Treasure Island could write a better storyline before they went to bed. This is probably the best example of everything wrong with Hollywood TV movies.
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