En la ruta de los corsarios

Previous comments have said nearly all, but I thought this film was a good effort for 1945. As always with films of this date, I wonder why some of the fit-looking men weren't in the armed services. (I realise that Paul Henreid was an Austrian who had fled his country before the war; and I note a lot of the supporting cast have Hispanic names, suggesting they may have been from countries not directly involved in the fighting.) Though Henreid made a number of swashbucklers, he appears a just a little effete, almost a not-quite-so sensitive version of Leslie Howard. I couldn't quite believe Maureen O'Hara finding him fascinating at first glance (as always, she looks marvellous). Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power would have been more convincing.

The battling ships sequences look good, though it would be churlish to note that the model vessels show no signs of human life. I agree with the comments that Walter Slezak makes a fine villain.

Greatly enjoyed this film from the past with all the actors looking so young and with great careers on the silver screen for many years. Maureen O'Hara, (Contessa Francesca), "The Black Swan", played the role of a sweet charming young lady going to be married to Don Juan Alvarado(Walter Slezak), "Born to Kill", who was a rather over weight and constantly was eating. As Contessa travels on the open seas, she comes face to face with Capt. Laurent Van Horn, (Paul Henreid),"Casablanca", who plays sort of a Robin Hood of the seas and steals from the Spanish. Capt. Van Horn desires to go to America and settle in the Carolina's but Don Juan Alvarado does everything in his power to stop him from interfering with his marriage plans to Contessa Francesda. There is plenty of action with swords and antique pistols and girls who have trouble trying to fire them off. Great Classic film and very entertaining.

I really must say how much i enjoy this movie a great deal. It has the gorgeous Paul Henreid as the romantic hero and Beautiful Maureen O'Hara ( as two reviewers are clearly blind for one, in Hollywood of the 1940's women always looked older due to the amount of makeup and hairstyles they have and for the second, manly Jaw i have yet to see anything manly about Maureen O'Hara in any of her films. Rude just Rude.) I am now finished with my rant only to say how much i adore this movie and Walter Slezak as the baddie he always seemed to play in films of the 4o's.If Swashbuckle films of the 1930's and 1940's are your thing them make sure to check this out.

Paul Henreid apparently wanted his home studio Warner Brothers to make this, but in 1944, that studio was firmly committed to making large -scale war films, and besides, its number one star was Errol Flynn who was (and is) THE swashbuckler. So Henreid took it to RKO and, through a contractual sleight of hand, negotiated his release from Warners to make it at this normally low-budget studio. He should not have bothered.

The main problem with the film is that its central role is miscast. Henreid is both too effete and a bit too old for the part, and next to Miss O'Hara (who as usual, looks ravishing in colour) rather bland and lifeless. He is also clearly doubled in some of the duels.

The music score by Hanns Eisler (a surprising choice) is gestural note-spinning with not one memorable theme to sweep us along. He should have watched The Sea Hawk and listened to Korngold's thrilling score to see how this should be done.

As usual, Walter Slezak effortlessly steal every scene he is in and is a delight. When he is not on screen, the film sags. No wonder he was cast in so many similar roles in the 1940s.

This was RKO's first colour film but most prints I have seen are very poor - either faded, or overly gaudy as a result of the three-strip technicolor separations becoming unstable and running together. It is unlikely to be restored as I doubt the original elements survive.

The ingredients were all there but refused to gel somehow. Maybe if Jack Warner had said yes, it might have been better - and Korngold would have jumped at the chance I am sure! The supporting cast is full of familiar faces (J.M.Kerrigan, Jack La Rue, Curt Bois, Mike Mazurki, Antonio Moreno) and they provide some badly needed substance in this weak entry in the genre.

What's this, Frank Borzage producing commercial popcorn fodder? Indeed yes it is. The Spanish Main is a good old pirate/seafaring romp, the production design is considerably better than the actual plotting, with RKO pushing the boat out (hrr hrr hrr), but as long as you have a kink for such old fashioned genre pictures then there is much to enjoy; and much that's easy to ignore...

Maureen O'Hara, Paul Henreid and Walter Slezak are the draw cards, though each one is short changed by the screenplay. O'Hara isn't called on to rise above being a feisty Technicolor beaut who will inevitably become Henreid's gal. Henreid himself is, in spite of the film very much being his baby, actually miscast and wholly unbelievable in the pirate stakes, while the ever wonderful Slezak is quite simply under used.

However, fans of such fare easily forgive the shortcomings, focusing on having a good time with the extended sword play and naval battle scenes, buying into the romance angle and shouting hooray at film's finale! It's all very conventional on the page, but the smart craft involved in bringing it to life is sometimes all you need to brighten a miserable winter's day. 6.5/10