"Pirates of Tortuga" is a low-budget swashbuckling flick, released in 1961. It is not particularly memorable, but can provide some good fun as long as the viewer doesn't think too much about classic pirate movies with the likes of Errol Flynn, Burt Lancaster or Tyrone Power. It would also be unfair to compare it to last year's big-budget smash, "Pirates of the Caribbean".
The plot is simple. Captain Bart and his crew have just docked their ship in London harbour after a long voyage. However, British Admiralty has an urgent assignment for our hero. He is asked to deal with the notorious pirate, Henry Morgan, who is terrorizing the Caribbean Sea, blocking sea-lanes and plundering ships. Recruiting some old ship-mates, our hero sets sail with his crew. To complicate matters--and add some romance and pulchritude for the viewer--an "actress" stows away on the ship, in order to escape the law--it seems she was picking too many pockets ! The rest of the movie is fairly predictable, with decent action and the inevitable "tempestuous relationship" between our Captain and the larcenous young lady.
With American actor, Ken Scott, top-lined as the Captain, you can see that this is not exactly a "star-studded" epic. Scott is a handsome, capable actor, but lacks the charisma and physical agility that would have given this film an extra boost in excitement. Leading lady, Leticia Roman, is vivacious and attractive, but over-acts outrageously--then again, this isn't "Hamlet" ! Famous athlete, Rafer Johnson, may get second billing to Scott on the DVD cover, but his role as a crewman is minor--whatever physical feats he was capable of are sadly not used in this movie. Dave King, a popular English singer/comedian, registers as "Pee Wee", the crew's amusing fencing instructor. Finally, Morgan the pirate is played by noted stage actor, Robert Stephens, obviously having fun baring his teeth and grinning maniacly.
The DVD gives you the option of wide or full screen. I found the colour to be impressive--of course, the sound is mono. The extras consist of a trailer for the film, and trailers for other "nautical" films on Fox.
On the whole, "Pirates of Tortuga" is lovely to look at, and good family entertainment, as long as your expectations are as modest as the film's budget. It is also good news that Fox--and hopefully other studios--are releasing lesser-known movies like this one on DVD, rather than re-issuing blockbusters over and over.
Great Action...Great Story...not a Classic..
In the world of Pirate movies this one falls a little short. The action scenes are well choreographed and the story is allright. This film just can't seem to catch momentum, and at times drags on. The female lead is annoyoing, but cute. If adventure is your thing than give this movie a shot....If your looking for something more classic check out "the sea hawk", or "the Adventures of Robin Hood"
I first watched this movie when I was a young girl. I have watched this movie at least 20 times and I am now purchasing the DVD for my grandkids.
This movie does not have the Hollywood glam that can ruin a movie. I cry each time I watch this movie and I am still moved by the story line. Anthony Quinn and James Coburn are at their bests. People who do not like this movie are usually too young to remember when movies were made without special effects and the scripts had to carry the movie, this script does that very well. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Alexander Mackendrick DVD Release Date: Released the 20 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Cartoonist Hal Foster's medieval hero, the Scandinavian Prince Valiant, comes to the screen in all his Dutch-bob-haircut glory in this 1954 film directed by Henry Hathaway (Kiss of Death). Robert Wagner plays the title role and does a bang-up job of it, convincingly portraying the heroic prince as he enters the court of King Arthur (Brian Aherne) in England and becomes (with some tutelage from Sir Gawain, played by Sterling Hayden) a Knight of the Round Table. Determined to restore his dethroned family to their proper seat back home, Valiant takes on the Black Knight (James Mason), who plans to do away with Arthur and then finish his misdeeds back in Scandia. Under such pressure, the prince, quite understandably, falls in love with Princess Aleta (Janet Leigh). Hathaway proves to... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Henry Hathaway DVD Release Date: Released the 11 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"Blackbeard the Pirate" was one of the films that really freaked me out as a kid. This is not because this 1952 film is anywhere near a great film but because of the way that Blackbeard (Robert Newton) meets his fate at the end. That might be the first genuinely scary thing I ever saw in a movie on a Saturday afternoon (after the transformation of Elvira Gulch into the Wicked Witch of the West). You would expect more from director Raoul Walsh ("Captain Horatio Hornblower," "They Died With Their Boots On," "High Sierra," "Battle Cry") but this film is subverted by the over the top, eye rolling, leering performance by Newton. Come up with the most extreme seafaring pirate accent you can come up with ("Aarrr") and you will still fall short of what Newton uses in "Blackbeard the Pirate" (and... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Raoul Walsh DVD Release Date: Released the 01 July 2003 Usually ships within 3 to 5 weeks
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The up-and-down career of director John Milius had no finer moment than The Wind and the Lion, a dandy adventure tale. It's based on fact: An American (played by Candice Bergen) and her two children were kidnapped in 1904 Morocco by a Berber tribe, an international incident settled by President Theodore Roosevelt's "big stick" military muscle. The film's sweep and swagger are unabashedly old-fashioned, even as Milius occasionally pokes fun at the grand characters. Some of the peripheral material is sloppy, but as long as Milius keeps his sights locked on the two powerful protagonists, he's dead-on: Brian Keith makes a gutsy Roosevelt, and Sean Connery is in splendid form (with Scots accent in place--got a problem with that?) as the dashing Berber chieftain. Perhaps overshadowed... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sean Connery - Candice Bergen Director(s): John Milius DVD Release Date: Released the 06 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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