Le tigre des mers

"Tiger of the Seven Seas" tells the story of Consuelo (Gianna Maria Canale), daughter of a pirate captain everybody calls "The Tiger" (Carlo Ninchi). The old man wants to retire because the crew does not completely trust his abilities anymore. But to whom shall he give the ship? He has no son, and several men are fighting for the leadership already. Then his daughter asks: "why shouldn't a woman become captain?", and thus she gets into a lot of trouble, especially when her father is murdered and cannot help her anymore.

Quite nice, but not really something special! "Tiger of the Seven Seas" is a work of experienced director Luigi Capuano who made 2 Sandokan movies with Ray Danton, "The Lion of St.Mark" also with la Canale and "Zorro and the Three Musketeers". A few shots from "The Lion of St.Mark" are used again here which shows the budget limitation. However, with a good deal of treason and fights, this is perfectly alright for a Sunday afternoon.

Consuelo is the daughter of a famous pirate nicknamed the Tiger. When he feels tired and decides to leave the command of the ship, he chooses to give it to the winner of a challenge among his men, but unexpectedly, Consuelo wins. The same night Tiger is killed.

William is charged with the killing and is due to be executed, but before the sentence could be carried out, the Spaniards of Grand Duke Inigo arrive.

Consuelo and William escape. At first they don't trust each other but Consuelo discovers that William was falsely blamed; they take revenge on the traitor and recover Tiger's treasure.

Gianna Maria Canale waves her trusted cutlass once again as a pirate lady and she is really good with the sword - matter of fact, the sword fights are quite energetic here. It certainly boost this typical pirate tale, though don't expect much sea war fare, it's more landbased, and there's the usual schemes and betrayal. Anthony Steel looks a bit wan and frail as the lover of the pirate who is accused of killing her father. The climax is action-packed for a good fifteen minutes.

Consuelo, is the only one, who can take the command of the 'Santa Maria' after the death of the captain. Now she runs a sharp blade on the rides with the proud ship. But she is not the only one, who wants to have authority on board.

The film contains exciting action, intrigue, romantic adventure, mayhem and a remarkable cast that does a good job. A great action-packed epic with glamorous dresses and luxurious settings set in the Spanish Caribbean. Tigre (Carlo Ninchi) is the captain of the Santa Maria, a pirate ship, but he feels tired and decides to leave the ship's command. Unfortunately he only has one daughter, Consuelo (Gian Maria Canale). So he will leave the command and the ship to the winner of a challenge between his men. Thus a fight takes place between Consuelo and who happens to be her lover, William Scott (the British Anthony Steel imported from English cinema). Unexpectedly, Consuelo wins. The same night Tigre is murdered, William is accused of the murder and sentenced to death, being led to the gallows for hanging. But before the sentence can be carried out, the Spanish troops of the Grand Duke Inigo (Ernesto Calindri) arrive. Consuelo and Scott escape, however, this is only the first move by Inigo's wife (Maria Grazia Spina) to get to the pirates' treasure.

This film "The Tigress of the Seven Seas" by Luigi Capuano is strikingly similar to Mario Costa's "The Pirate Queen" in some ways, the most obvious being the fact that both films use the same lead actress and, to a certain degree, even the same action scenes. In this film, the beautiful Gian Maria Cannale is shown in all her glory. She boasts her predatory charm; seductive and attractive look, including her Hollywood-style butterfly eyebrows and adding her black hair and green almond eyes. This is a classic mid-budget film set at sea, with the typical setting of the time in which it takes place. This is an entertaining pirate film, full of action, excitement, romance, betrayals, castle assaults, and of course, lots of ships and fencing. It's Gian Maria Canale against Andrea Aureli and Maria Grazia Spina, as our co-starring hero Anthony Steel switches sides because of his strong love for the pirate queen. Lavish production by Octavio Poggi with glittering costumes, evocative sets, spectacular sets, wonderful palaces, fine photography by cameraman Alvaro Mancori and a powerful score by composer Carlo Rustichelli. It contains plenty of courtly intrigues, betrayals, battles and ship attacks, plot twists and turns; as well as sword fights and the usual luxurious ballroom dancing. It stars the pretty Italian Gian Maria Canale, who usually starred in genre films and period pieces, generally playing queens or heroines, including adventure, swashbuckling, horror and peplum films, such as: The Avenger of St. Mark (1964), The Lion of Venice (1963), The Adventures of Scaramouche (1963), Clash of Steel (1962), The Slave (1962), Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and Dead Woman's Kiss (1949). She was married to Riccardo Freda who directed her in many films.

The feature was professionally directed by Luigi Capuano. This craftsman made acceptable adventure films such as: "The Lion of St. Mark" and he also made in a similar style "Il boia di Venezia" or "The Executioner of Venice" (1963) also set in Venice and a piece from the same period as the previous one with the "Dux (Doge)" as regent. Capuano was a good professional who made all kinds of genres, and especially adventure films, Spaghetti Westerns and cape and sword motion pictures. Capuano directed Spaghetti Westerns like "Il Magnifico Texano"; Peplum like ¨The Revenge of Ursus¨, "The Revenge of the Gladiators", "Hercules and the Black Pirates" and of course adventures like "Zorro in the Court of Spain", "Zorro, Rider of Vengeance", ¨Zorro and the Three Musketeers¨, "The Tiger of the Seven Seas", ¨The Leopard of Sarawak¨, ¨Sandokan's Revenge¨, and "The Terror of the Red Mask" starring Lex Barker and "The Lion of San Marcos" starring the unforgettable Gordon Scott and ¨The Tigress of the 7 Seas¨ with the majestic Gian Maria Canale. Rating: 5.5/10. Just watch the feature if you like pirate movies, adventures and medium-budget Italian and European peplums from the 1960s, and you'll enjoy some entertaining and funny moments in between.

A pirate ship swashbuckler with a notable role for Gianna Maria Canale as the fiery Consuelo, who takes control of the ship after her father, the captain, is murdered by traitorous foes. This plays out exactly as you'd expect, with foes competing for secret treasure and the usual gamut of fencing duels and low seas action. It's a typical film of its kind.