En la ruta de los corsarios

Not Maureen Ohara's strongest role but she does play the fem fatal very well.This is a good family movie. Also being the first full color project by R.K.O. a very historical movie and they went with the queen of Technicolor for this very historical movie. Ohara's beauty along with her strong presence alone make this movie a must see for all.The love story love lost and found again makes for mild drama but a good story line. It is a shame that the ending the writer wanted at first could not be done but due to the cost it is understandable but with Ohara and Henreid is this film I feel it would have been Worth while.So sit down with the family with a Good coke and pop corn and watch an original action movie with a worth while story line.

I thought this movie was a lot of fun, with some memorably witty lines (mostly delivered by Walter Slezak) that are referred to elsewhere on this site. I wonder if these were from Herman J Mankiewicz, who co-contributed to the screenplay - he certainly was talented enough.

All of the criticisms of it that are mentioned in other comments are true - it does have a familiar story line, obvious sets / model shots / backgrounds and some clunky dialogue and acting.

However these criticisms to me they don't really matter - it is a movie designed to entertain and provide enjoyment and it succeeds perfectly well at doing this.

By the way - the 'real' shot of the coastline I'm sure I've seen in other movies. Must have been close to Hollywood.

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.

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.