Los cañones de la bruja negra

Great title, right? But it was poorly dubbed, and the plot was confused, though there were some good action scenes. I also recall that the ship of the title, the Black Witch, was hardly even mentioned in the storyline, and that tells me that this film was likely a lot better in its original version, which translates out to "The Terror of the Seas". Somewhere this film is still out there, and if it becomes available in subtitles, see it.

In the early 1960s Italian film directors were churning out sword and sandal Hercules/Goliath type "epic" films made with slim budgets and cheesy special effects. All that was needed was an American actor like Steve Reeves or Mark Forrest with bulging pecs and biceps to get the attention of action fans. Every once in a while the directors would change the era and the historical time. Thus some pirate movies like "Morgan the Pirate" with Reeves and "Guns of the Black Witch" were made. "Guns of the Black Witch" is a pretty good saga itself, a pretty strong pirate tale. American actor Don Megowan, who made a lot of westerns and horror films in the US has the lead of the pirates who fight their Spanish warlords tooth and nail. Some very good looking Italian women, namely Silvana Pampanini complement the cast and provide some good eye candy. Megowan as a boy was roughed up by Spanish leaders and is hell bent on revenge as he gets older and turns into a man. The ever present Livio Lorenzon, a staple with his bald head and mean demeanor of all those Italin Hercules movies is the bad guy and he duels Megowan to a fighting finish. The story mainly concerns two brothers who must come together and fight the Spanish and Megowan of course courts a Spanish beauty, who is the king's daughter no less. This of course complicates things as she must remain loyal to her Spanish father. Never worry, love conquers all and at the end Lorenzon is disposed of and Megowan sets off with his lady to conquer new horizons. Not as good as "Morgan the Pirate" with Reeves but still a solid pirate tale. Wonder why the producers had to use the exact same sound track as "Goliath and the Barbarians" though with Reeves??? Go figure....must have wanted to save some money. Worth seeing.

The beginning sequences, about how the abuse of the Spanish led the buccaneers to organize to defend themselves, give this early 60s Italian swashbuckler an interesting spin and help to get things moving and create motivation and sympathy for buccaneer leader Don Megowan (first seen played by a child, depicting the childhood incidents that led him to become what he did). Director Domenico Paolella helmed fine peplum, spy, western, and giallo films and this little-known film is another feather in his cap. Star Don Megowan, an American best known for roles in Westerns and science fiction films in the late 50s and early 60s (he seems to have made only two films in Europe--this one and another called road of the giants/valley of the doomed, which I need a copy of!), cuts a strong, tough figure and was an excellent choice for the role (it's a shame he made no Italian westerns). Other faces such as Phillipe Hersent and Livio Lorenzon will be familiar to any fan of Italian early-60s genre films. This actually received an American theatrical release, and according to the AFI it was released in color and in widescreen. Unfortunately, the copy circulating among collectors is a panned and scanned b&w print no doubt made for TV. Also, the European release is listed as 13 minutes longer than the American release. I would imagine the film would be much better in color and in widescreen and I only hope that with the growing market for 1960s European genre films on DVD in their original format will cause someone to restore and release GUNS OF THE BLACK WITCH in its full glory. Until then, and I don't expect that time will be soon, the film is worth watching for fans of the genre. The director's next film was WOMEN OF DEVIL'S ISLAND, starring Guy Madison (and prior to GUNS, Paolella worked with Lex Barker--after Devil's Island, he worked with Richard Harrison on Avenger of the Seven Seas). Color, scope 35mm prints of this must be out there somewhere from the film's US release. Let's hope someone finds one and transfers it.