The Pirates of Blood River (1962)

★ 6.1 1h 27m IMDb
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A group of ruthless pirates attack a 17th Century Huguenot settlement on the Isle of Devon in search of treasure and will stop at nothing to obtain it.

The Pirates of Blood River

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Cast

Kerwin Mathews
Kerwin Mathews as Jonathon Standing Died 2007 · Seattle, Washington, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Three Wo...
Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee as Captain LaRoche Died 2015 · Westminster, London, England, UK Christopher Lee (May 5, 1922 – June 7, 2015) was an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Oth...
Andrew Keir
Andrew Keir as Jason Standing Died 1997 · Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 1926 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especia...
Glenn Corbett
Glenn Corbett as Henry Died 1993 · El Monte, California, USA An American lead actor and supporting actor, rugged and commanding Glenn Corbett's background didn't seem like it would lead to Hollywood stardom. The son of a garage mechanic, Corbett served a hitch...
Michael Ripper
Michael Ripper as First Mate Mack Died 2000 · Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 - 28 June 2000) was an English character actor, fondly remembered for his many roles in the Hammer horror films..
Peter Arne
Peter Arne as Bosu'n Hench Died 1983 · Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Born in Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya, to a Swiss-French mother and an American father, Peter Arne was an actor and an antique dealer who was murdered in 1983. In the late 1940s, Arne and his partner...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 7/10 Nov 26, 2019
I do not count my chickens before I see them, and then I wait until the eggs are hatched out.

Pirates of Blood River is directed by John Gilling and written by Jimmy Sangster. It stars Christopher Lee, Kerwin Matthews, Glenn Corbett, Michael Ripper, Andrew Keir, Oliver Reed, Marla Landi and Peter Arne. Music is by Gary Hughes and cinematography by Arthur Grant.

When Huguenot Jonathan Standish (Matthews) is found guilty of adultery, he is banished from the village and sent to serve hard labour at the penal colony. However, managing to escape, Jonathan is captured by pirates led by Captain LaRoche (Lee) and forced to lead the pirates back to his home village, where, LaRoche is convinced valuable treasure is hidden.

One of Hammer Film Productions pirate ventures, Pirates of Blood River is landlocked but still a whole bunch of piratical fun. Sangster's screenplay dangles interesting carrots that aren't fully unearthed, such as the religious fervour holding the Huguenot village in its grip, and questions of main character's pasts are left unanswered, but cast are very spirited and Gilling, in spite of being brought in late and being a pain in the ass, crafts a fast paced picture of excitement and tension. The small budget and absence of a ship and seafaring malarkey is barely noticed, though this place of plunder doesn't look much like a tropical island. There's good action, especially for the "big" battle at the finale, while it's good to see low cost effects, such as a piranha attack simulated by ripples on the water, actually be very effective for dramatic purpose. Blindfold duelling, too, always a bonus.

Plenty of beards, jolly roger speak, bodily abuse and guerrilla warfare, enough in fact to lift it above its obvious flaws. 7/10

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