RKO Radio Pictures
Not part of a collection.
The Spanish Main
Loving her . . . taming her . . . called for all his reckless daring!
Laurent van Horn is the leader of a band of Dutch refugees on a ship seeking freedom in the Carolinas, when the ship is wrecked on the coast of Cartagene, governed by Don Juan Alvardo, a Spanish ruler. Alvarado has Laurent thrown in prison, but the latter escapes, and five-years later is a pirate leader. He poses as the navigator on a ship in which Contessa Francesca, daughter of a Mexican noble, is traveling on her way to marry Alvarado, whom she has never seen. Laurent's pirates capture the ship and Francesca, in order to save another ship, gives her hand-in-marriage to Laurent, who sails her to the pirate hideout. This irks his jealous pirate comrades Anne Bonney and Captain Benjamin Black. They overpower Laurent and send Francesca to Alvarado, and then Mario du Billar, a trusted right-hand man, makes a deal to deliver Laurent to Alvarado.
- Original title
- The Spanish Main
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Jul 1, 2022 · via TMDB
This is quite a fun high-seas swashbuckling adventure that pits a rather oddly cast Paul Henreid as "Van Horn" - a Dutch captain whose ship runs aground on the coast of Spanish America. When the local governor - the undoubted star of the film, Walter Slezak - commits them to a life of slavery Henried must conceive of a plan to free them all and avenge themselves. Skip on five years and Henreid is now a feared pirate who manages to capture the typically feisty Maureen O'Hara who is on her way to be the governor's new bride and the path to revenges clear. It's the usual mix of colour, costumes and swordplay with some good old-fashioned romance - and a decent soupçon of jealousy courtesy of another odd casting in Binnie Barnes as the legendary Anne Bonny. I found Henreid a bit hard to take seriously - each time he opened his mouth I expected him to say "Mr. Chipping..." in that gentle Austrian timbre of his but I still enjoyed it. It looks good, and though by no means the best of the genre, is still a decent bit of escapism.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Paul Henreid
Capt. Laurent Van Horn
Maureen O'Hara
Contessa Francesca
Walter Slezak
Don Juan Alvarado
Binnie Barnes
Anne Bonney
John Emery
Mario Du Billar
Barton MacLane
Capt. Benjamin Black
J.M. Kerrigan
Pillery Gow
Fritz Leiber
Bishop
Nancy Gates
Lupita
Jack La Rue
Lt. Escobar
Mike Mazurki
Erik Swaine
Ian Keith
Captain Lussan
Victor Kilian
Santa Madre Captain
Curt Bois
Paree
Antonio Moreno
Commandante
John George
Pirate (uncredited)
Albert S. D'Agostino
Art Direction
Natalie Kalmus
Other
Vernon L. Walker
Special Effects
Frank Borzage
Director
Frank Borzage
Producer
Hanns Eisler
Music
C. Bakaleinikoff
Music Director
Æneas MacKenzie
Original Story
George Worthing Yates
Screenplay
Herman J. Mankiewicz
Screenplay
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Oct 1, 1945
