O Pirata dos Sete Mares

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 had foolishly missed out quite recently on this one on late-night Italian TV and, consequently, was very glad now to get acquainted with it (albeit via a slightly washed-out print on DivX) – especially since I was surprised by its quality, making the film an underrated entry in the swashbuckling genre. Borzage was an unusual choice for this type of film – despite being a distinguished Oscar-winning director, he has become with time a largely forgotten figure but his reputation has deservedly soared of late among film connoisseurs and is now generally comparable to that of Douglas Sirk. To be sure, he is more renowned for movies like THREE COMRADES (1938) and THE MORTAL STORM (1940) rather than fluff pieces like THE Spanish MAIN, but that only goes to show how versatile he was, equally capable of handling personal projects and genre pictures.

Equally unlikely was the film’s choice of leading man: Paul Henreid, playing an honest man who turns buccaneer in the face of injustice, his character is similar to that of Captain Blood (in spite of an obvious lack of emphasis on the actor’s agility) but also to Henried’s signature role of French Resistance leader Victor Laszlo in CASABLANCA (1942). This alone makes it interesting viewing but, thankfully, they’re supported by solid talent on both sides of the camera (the actors – Maureen O’Hara in her prime, an unusually but effectively cast Binnie Barnes as a hardened lady buccaneer and O’Hara’s romantic rival, splendid villainy from Walter Slezak, John Emery and Barton MacLane being equally dastardly, J.M. Kerrigan, Curt Bois and Mike Mazurki as Henreid’s sidekicks, a script co-written by CITIZEN KANE [1941]’s Herman J. Mankiewicz, magnificent color photography by George Barnes, etc).

While the plot offers no real surprise or undue complexity – coming at the tail-end of WWII, it must have provided just the right dose of escapism – it’s professionally-handled entertainment (at which Hollywood excelled during its golden age) of the kind ‘they don’t make anymore’…despite the best intentions of today’s exponents!

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

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 saw this on TV TCM today and will always enjoy the exciting story of the Spanish Main; with beautiful musical score and scenes rather well staged. Maureen O'Hara and Paul Henried are great! The scene stealer of course is that great character actor Walter Slezak, who plays a mean egocentric governor, but who gets it in the end. The duelling scenes are particularly good, and Paul Henried does a good job duelling. Binnie Barnes, who I remember so well in early films was especially great as a woman pirate