Emboscada na Baia Sinistra

Writer/producer/director John Gilling's story is set in 17th-century Cornwall when fishermen were hit by heavy taxes and turned to smuggling in order to supplement their income. Here, the village squire Trevenyan (Peter Cushing) puts together an army in order to wipe out smuggling from his community. However, the town is terrorised by a group of cut-throats lead by Black John (Bernard Lee) who force ships to land at Smugglers Bay and then ruthlessly murders their crews for the sake of their cargo. Unfortunately, Black John has a hold over Trevenyan and as a result, poor fisherman Francois Lejeune (George Coulouris) is charged for the shipwrecking as well as the smuggling he has done and is to be deported to a foreign colony. The squire's son Christopher (John Fraser) is in love with Lejeune's daughter Louise (Michele Mercier) and teams up with local highwayman known simply as the Captain (William Franklyn) in order to run Black John out of town and to prevent Lejeune's deportation.

All in all, FURY AT SMUGGLERS' BAY, is well enough done and entertaining enough while its on. I mean who could resist a film with such interesting credits. Bernard Lee as Black John who was soon to become famous as "M" in the Bond series, Peter Cushing as Squire Trevenyan and William Franklyn as the Captain. In addition, there's one of Britain's best known cameramen Harry Waxman behind the camera and John Gilling (an interesting British director who made such classics as THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and THE VOICE OF MERRILL) is on hand to direct. Yet somehow after one's seen the film, the next morning there's nothing to remember.

Despite the presence of John Gilling as director and Peter Cushing as the main lead, this is not a Hammer film. If you check the production companies, you will notice something very strange.... A very independant movie which looks like - maybe because it is precisely the case - a very good film, splendidly made as were also the other British films showing cloak and sword plots, and made during this early sixties and late fifties period; for instance PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER or HELLFIRE CLUB. Superb settings, photography, production design. This movie proves that John Gilling is a director who deserves to be discovered again, he not only shone in horror films, but also thrillers and here as a very efficient adventure - cloak and sword - film maker. Maybe not the Fritz Lang's MOONFLEET, but still quite effective.

While far from perfect, this is one of those films that's good for a hanging around kind of day, where you need something to fill the time.

It was also nice to see Peter Cushing play someone other than Dr. Van Helsing and battling smugglers rather than vampires. Though he could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had confessed his secret, rather than submit to blackmail. (It's funny, how back then - 18thc - it would have been a real scandal, whereas today no one would blink an eye. But is that really progress?)

It's not a bad drama/adventure film, (with some romance thrown in), as long as you don't expect too much.

With swashbucklers currently all the rage on British TV the native cinema was sure to follow.

John Gilling anticipated the sort of hokum he'd soon make for Hammer Films with this rollicking nonsense set in Cornwall; which had the advantage over the Hollywood model of having the use of authentic British locations.

To that end he staged a turf war with highwaymen v. Smugglers in the style of cavaliers v. Roundheads; the former led by William Franklyn - looking very smooth in a tricorn hat - whose bit on the side was a busty barmaid played by Liz Fraser. (Peter Cushing as a thin-lipped local magistrate with a penchant for flogging and transportation inevitably - SLIGHT SPOILER COMING - proves to be in league with the pirates.)

This entertaining adventure drama about smuggling in late 18th century is somehow betrayed by its low budget, more evident in the ship wrecking scenes, under furious storms. It tells the story of a British coastal town laden with taxes, where almost everybody has turn to smuggling to make ends meet. The action never stops with good rhythm and precise dialogue, and the enjoyment is evident in the actors' faces. All the cast is very effective, with Peter Cushing as a magistrate with a secret that haunts him, Bernard Lee as the villain before playing M to Sean Connery's James Bond, John Fraser as a dashing young swordsman and William Franklyn as a highwayman that becomes a hero. With pretty Michèle Mercier as the love interest, June Thorburn as Cushing's daughter and Liz Fraser in one of her best early roles as waitress-spy, this is one of John Gilling's best contributions to period drama.