Lo sparviero dei Caraibi

In the mid-1500s, a ship containing Spanish prisoners being sent to a Spanish penal colony in the Caribbean sinks at sea, but some of the prisoners manage to survive and make it to shore at a nearby island. They organize themselves under the leadership of Juan Olivares (dynamically played by charismatic singer-actor Johnny Desmond), manage to take over a ship with some cargo that they barter for supplies, and eventually are asked to fight on behalf of the Spanish crown against the English... or is the request sincere? That's just part of the plot of this surprisingly good Italian swashbuckling costume adventure. Colorful photography, lots of excellent fencing, an exciting plot with unexpected developments and an unexpected ending (to me, at least), and especially a fine performance by leading man Johnny Desmond in what was his ONLY European film appearance to my knowledge. Desmond sang in the big bands of Bob Crosby and Gene Krupa and may well be best remembered for singing during WWII with Glenn Miller's military band, including singing in foreign languages for the broadcasts to the occupied and enemy nations. He later had some hit recordings as a solo artist after WWII and worked in film and television in the 1950's (I've only seen Calypso Heat Wave, which did not prepare me for this!). Although he is dubbed here, the fact that he CANNOT rely on his fine voice for his "performance" makes the quality of his acting even more evident. He is dynamic, handsome yet tough, convincing in the fight scenes, creates a three-dimensional complex character, and makes me wonder why he did not star in more European adventure films. I could see him handling the same kind of roles Ray Danton did in Europe, although with less self-parody. I had never heard of this film until recently stumbling across a copy, but I recommend it highly to fans of the genre. Also, any big-band fans who like Desmond's singing will definitely enjoy seeing their man starring in a historical adventure (even though he is dubbed).