My wife and I just finished re-watching THE BUCCANEERS and we enjoyed it even more than we did the first time around. We're big fans of 1950s British historical action-adventure shows and have seen almost all of those currently available. We concur that THE BUCCANEERS is the best of the lot, better even than Richard Greene's more widely known ROBIN HOOD. Both series were produced by Hannah Weinstein for her Sapphire Films productions and were instigated by Lew Grade (years away from becoming entertainment mogul Lord Grade) for his fledgling ITV network. THE BUCCANEERS ran for 39 episodes during 1956-57 and served as the launching pad for Robert Shaw's movie career. It also gave work to a number of blacklisted American writers and technicians banned from working in the U. S.
There are a number of things that distinguish THE BUCCANEERS from other shows of its era. The scripts are consistently above average plot wise which allows for greater character development. The relationship between Robert Shaw as pirate captain Dan Tempest and acting governor Edward Beamish is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the series. Beamish is wonderfully portrayed by Peter Hammond who started out as a comic foil to Shaw but quickly developed into an equal partner though of an entirely different temperament. Unfortunately Hammond left 2/3 of the way through the series (after 26 episodes) to pursue a director's career which was great for him but not so much for the series. As a result TB became more one note with a tiresome love interest for Shaw substituting in his place.
In addition to Hammond, four others among the pirate crew were developed further as the series progressed. Armando, a half Spanish and half Indian character, played by Edwin Richfield in brown make-up and curly wig, Dan Tempest's go to man who was given a central role in over half the episodes. Gaff (Brian Rawlinson) my wife's favorite of the pirates, a big guy with an even bigger heart who acted first and then thought about it later. Taffy (Paul Hansard), a supposed Welshman, the musician of the group who led the crew in rounds of sea shanties (there was always lots of singing) and also joined in the swordplay and fisticuffs present in every episode. And Dickon (Wilfred Downing), a young boy who came of age under the pirates' tutelage. These leading characters interacted with each other excellently and formed a completely likable, believable ensemble.
This series is based on historical fact. It's set in the Bahamas of 1718 where the Governor General was authorized to offer pardons to pirates in exchange for their protection of the islands from the Spanish and other buccaneers like Blackbeard. Like all shows from this time period, THE BUCCANEERS is family oriented. The potential darker sides of the characters are barely hinted at, the violence is bloodless, and it has a catchy theme song ("Let's go a' roving and join the buccaneers") you might find yourself singing along to. Also as with other shows from the 1950s, this series showcases not only up and coming performers like Robert Shaw, Adrienne Corri, Richard Pasco, and Hazel Court but also well known character players like Anthony Dawson, Alex Mango, Sid James, and Roger Delgado.
Like so many of Lew Grade's early ITV / ITC television shows, THE BUCCANEERS, after its initial run in the U. S., existed in substandard second and third generation copies with poor sound and inconsistent video quality. Back in 2006 Mill Creek Entertainment issued all 39 episodes but not in their original order as first shown, which creates a problem with the character development I spoke of earlier. Still the Mill Creek version is to be preferred over the recent several volume set released by public domain specialists Alpha Video, or what's currently available on Amazon streaming. Although more expensive and Region 2, this Network set from 2008 remains THE set to own. All the episodes are on 5 discs and the picture quality and sound are the best available. Just too bad there aren't any subtitles...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
