''Pirates of Tortuga'' is a 1961 American

swashbuckler film A swashbuckler film is characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. While morality is typically clear-cut, heroes and villains alike often, but not always, follow a code of honor. Some swashbuckle ...

which invented an alternate history for the actual Welsh

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

. It was released in October 1961 in the United States in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

Plot

In the 17th century, a Welsh captain (

Ken Scott Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is an English record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Davi ...

) and his crew are dispatched to the Spanish-controlled island of Tortuga, where famed privateer Henry Morgan (

Robert Stephens Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was an English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. Early life Stephens was born in Shirehampton, Bristol, in 1931, the eldest of three children of shipyard ...

) has defected from his support of the English empire and is running a strictly piratical venture, stopping any and all vessels, including British carriers. Since the captain cannot attack the island without incurring the wrath of the Spanish government, he must go one-on-one with Morgan himself. A young woman (Leticia Roman) inadvertently stows away on the captain's vessel and becomes the de facto central focus of the story (Morgan doesn't appear until the latter half of the film). She is initially taken to the nearby island of Jamaica, where she briefly makes a play for the colonial governor, but eventually sets her sights on the captain himself. In the meantime, the captain engages in pursuing the pirate Morgan.

Cast

Production

The film was made by Sam Katzman's unit at

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Com ...

. Their first film had been '' The Wizard of Baghdad''. He did this under a verbal agreement with

Buddy Adler E. Maurice "Buddy" Adler (June 22, 1906 – July 12, 1960) was an American film producer and production head for 20th Century Fox studios. In 1954, his production of '' From Here to Eternity'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture and in 1956, h ...

then in September 1960 Robert Goldstein signed him to a three-picture contract. These were to be ''Gentlemen Pirates'' written by Mel Levy, a film about Mississippi gamblers written by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Pat Silver, and ''Cypress Gardens'' by Lou Morheim. In the end he wound up making only one movie at Fox, ''Pirates of Tortuga'' (1961). Robert Webb signed to direct in December 1960. The same month, singer Dave King was signed to play a support role.

was then also under contract to Fox and was put in the cast. So too was Rafer Johnson. It was the first lead for Ken Scott who had been under contract to Fox for five years. Filming started 11 January 1961. The film was shot entirely on the Fox backlot in Los Angeles, using the water tank that had been created for the TV series ''Adventures in Paradise''. Johnson later recalled filming scenes of steering the boat "as a lot of fun, as were the scenes of fencing and hand to hand combat."

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the film "pure costume".'Explosive Generation' Overly Superficial Stinson, Charles. Los Angeles Times 28 Oct 1961: 13.

References

External links

*
''Pirates of Tortuga'' at AllMovie

''Pirates of Tortuga''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

Pirates of Tortuga
at BFI *
''Pirates of Torutga''
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{Sam Katzman 1961 films 20th Century Fox films Pirate films CinemaScope films Films set in Haiti Films directed by Robert D. Webb Films set in the 17th century Cultural depictions of Henry Morgan 1960s historical films American historical films Films scored by Paul Sawtell Films scored by Bert Shefter 1960s English-language films 1960s American films Films produced by Sam Katzman English-language historical films