Le trésor des Caraïbes

This little ditty is one good little pirate tale.....saw this movie in the early 50s in Detroit and it made the rounds through the 50s and early 60s as a second feature on double bills at the theaters and drive ins....must have seen it about 4 times or so then....John Payne who made his mark in "Miracle on 34th Street" is cast as a hunter named Dick Lindsay in some remote caribbean locale who is hunting ducks when he suddenly comes upon two pirates and a slave who will be digging a hole to bury some pirate loot. Payne is suddenly attacked and taken prisoner on a local pirate captain's boat and sent to the brig....not known to him is the pirate captain (Cedric Hardwicke) is plotting to send an impersonator to another pirate's locale to infiltrate the island and tell Hardwick all of the island's weak points for a future raid.....Francis L. Sullivan, a character actor of the 40s and 50s is the rival pirate captain and slave owner named Andrew McCalister. Payne accepts the job to spy on Sulivan's empire for promise of a large amount of money and freedom.....upon arriving at the island Payne finds the local slaves are badly abused by Sullivan and a foreman/taskmaster named Shively (Willard Parker).... Of course a lovely lady is on the island to tempt Payne, the scorching Arlene Dahl (her and Rhonda Fleming, red headed look alikes)...unbeknowing to Dahl is that she is really the daughter of the rival pirate captain Hardwick....the tale is that Hardwick and Sullivan had a parting of the ways and Sullivan (Andrew McCallister) stole Hardwicke's money, power and position and forced him to be a pirate, all the while taking his infant daughter (Dahl) as his own supposed daughter. Payne appears to be up for this role, usually one that would suit Earl Flynn...in fact this film has a lot of resemblances to Flynn's classic - "Captain Blood"...... On the island Payne must become a bastard part of the McCallister family and plot to overthrow the McCallister empire at the same time. A very good knife fighting duel between Payne and Shively near the end and Payne puts him away....Payne's identify is discovered by the shrewd Andrew McCallister and in the end the pirate captain Barclay (Hardwicke) overtakes the island and puts McCallister, his arch enemy away...in the process Hardwicke is killed and implores Payne at his side never to tell Dahl that she is his real daughter. Arlene Dahl was a staple in these early 50s drama adventures, ala Patricia Medina and also starred with her future husband a year later in the pirate tale "Sangaree" Fernando Lamas....Franicis L. Sullivan played a heavy in "Sangaree" also. All in all this is a very enjoyable pirate/adventure drama.....although Flynn, Fernando Lamas, or maybe Tyrone Power could have handled the role better.

This movie also leaves a lot of loose ends. It's hard to believe that Arlene Dahl would fall so quickly for John Payne. Also, Payne's former life is quickly forgotten. This movie must have been made for kids because it was preposterous to this adult. Payne is a serviceable actor but he doesn't have the charisma for this kind of role. He is rather solemn-faced and this role demands a little more levity. Forget this and look for an Errol Flynn movie instead.

However grim the subject (in this case, the slave trade), a little sense of humor can take off the edge. Unfortunately, "Caribbean" doesn't offer that much needed sense of humor. John Payne makes a surprisingly bland hero, much in contrast to his wonderful turn in Tripoli. Arlene Dahl, gorgeously decorative, really hokes this one up. One can only imagine what Maureen O'Hara or Rhonda could have done with the part. Even the key supporting players fail to impress, with the exception of the extraordinary Cedric Hardwicke, and actor who probably never gave a bad role. One could only imagine how could "Caribbean" could have been with everyone else performing to Hardwicke's fine standards.

The script is episodic and badly paced. The duologue is so forgettable, it might as well have been a silent movie with "matinee cards". Nonetheless, one cannot help but marvel at the gorgeous production values of this superb use of Technicolor, miniatures and costumes. In fact, the beast way to see "Caribbean" is silent, with some really good orchestral music off YouTube. The plot is so predictable and obvious, you wouldn't miss the duologue and you would be spared a musical score more appropriate for a 20s silent film. You'd also miss repeated use of the "N" word, which has become so derogatory, schools have tried to censor it from Mark Twain.

Nonetheless, on the strength of Hardwicke's performance and aforementioned production values, I give "Caribbean" a "6".

Directed by a "home" film maker Edward Ludwig, who, with Lewis R Foster, was specialized in films of this kind, taking place in the South seas, on paradise islands, jungles, deserts, with many natives, serpents, villains, dangers of all kinds, pirates, ships, plenty of action scenes and of course romance intrigues. Here John Payne and Arlene Dahl, also pure "home" actors at Paramount for this kind of films, contribute to add much charm and atmosphere to this colourful adventure movie that will enjoy nostalgia and old times lovers. The topic, plot itself is not that usual,I would say it is elaborate. The John Payne's character finds himself in the middle of a feud between Cedric Hardwicke and Francis Sullivan, more impressive one than the other; a deadly feud Excellent screenplay and also atmosphere, settings - maybe not locations but studio lots - are worth the watching. Great climax. Some elements very close to another Edward Ludwig's film: WAKE OF THE RED WITCH. Treasure hunt in ths South Seas and same kinds of characters.

Pirate captain Cedric Hardwicke is burying treasure and shooting the crew member who wants to kill him when he discovers John Payne. He offer Payne a hundred thousand pieces of eight and his life if he'll do a little favor for him. Many years earlier, Hardwicke had been partners with Francis L. Sullivan. Then Sullivan seized Hardwicke's wife and child, and sold Hardwicke into slavery. Payne is to impersonate Sullivan's nephew and spy out how to invade his personal island, where slaves carry around elephant tusks. There's al Sullivan's daughter, Arlene Dahl, whose haughtiness is indicated by the fact she shouts everything.

This sizable film from the Dollar Bills is a visually attractive thing. Of course, you can say that about any movie with Miss Dahl in Technicolor. In addition, cinematographer Lionel Lindon shoots it like a series of Howard Pyle paintings, just right for the Boy's Adventure this movie is. With revolting slaves, overseers who whip slaves and yearn for Miss Dahl, Williams Pine and Thomas fill out the movie's cast with reliable, inexpensive players like Willard Parker, Dennis Hoey, Woody Strode, and Rosalind Hayes for an entertaining time.