MARIO GAUCI Having been largely unimpressed by the same director's just-viewed THE LADY AND THE BANDIT (1951), with which it shares stars Louis Hayward and Patricia Medina, I was not exactly enthused by the prospect of watching this – even if its predecessor, FORTUNES OF CAPTAIN BLOOD (1950), had emerged a pleasant surprise; as it turned out, I found myself in agreement with George R. Reis of "DVD Drive-in" who opined that it was actually superior to the 'original' (with which it was paired as an unlikely "Midnite Movie" release!).Ironically, while the first film (not counting, of course, the unavailable 1924 and the popular 1935 versions) was based on novelist Rafael Sabatini's third adventure featuring the protagonist, this cinematic follow-up is ostensibly an adaptation of the literary tale that preceded it! Anyway, Blood has not only married Isabella (the odd diminutive has been sensibly dropped here) but he has given up piracy and returned to medical practice; still, when we first see him, he is aiding escaped black slaves and, before long, he is dragged back (when a buccaneer takes to impersonating him!) to the sea and the raiding of merchant ships. At one point, Medina tries to intercede on his behalf at court by recounting Blood's earlier enslavement and escape to a life of piracy – illustrated on screen via black-and-white footage from FORTUNES… which, as I said before, had shown Hayward already an established buccaneer!The busy plot has the hero locking horns with several equally dangerous and untrustworthy figures: a nobleman (John Sutton) with the unfortunate name of Hilary, a trio(!) of other pirate leaders (including Ted de Corsia), and even a heavy-set female innkeeper! Other characters to be featured here are Viceroy Ian Wolfe and, as Medina's gullible uncle, Maltese character actor Sandro Giglio. As for Blood's band of 'merrie men', they seem largely a different bunch than the ones seen in the previous effort(!) – apart from the bearers of the distinctive nationalities I singled out in that film's review. Thankfully, unlike in his previous effort, Blood is only very briefly (and unsuccessfully) tempted by another exotic girl but has to contend instead with Sutton's unrequited attentions to Medina herself!While, as also mentioned earlier, the colour adds much to the appeal of the movie, it is definitively given an extra edge by full-blooded (pardon the pun) action scenes, especially the ingenious climax as Blood (Hayward having, by now, grown nicely into the part) feigns a defective defense strategy by allowing a number of cannons to be destroyed (while concealing a set of reserves under bushes) and even has his own ship scuttled, so that an approaching enemy vessel ends up wrecked upon its submerged remains! While I will be complementing these two Louis Hayward vehicles with the "Euro-Cult" venture THE SON OF CAPTAIN BLOOD (1962) – starring Errol's real-life offspring, Sean Flynn, no less – I should also point out that I have three more Sabatini-related titles in my unwatched pile, namely the 1924 version of THE SEA HAWK, 1926's BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT and the British-made THE PRISONER OF CORBAL, dating from 1936...

Brian Taggert Notice the billing of Louis Hayward swashbucklers after 1948. While always getting top billing he began getting top solo billing. He was one of the first to get a percentage of the profits of his pictures. They did well and Hayward retired comfortably. Often playing dual roles in his films, the dandy by day and swashbuckler by night, he mutes the dual characterizations in "Captain Pirate" and it is sorely missed. The lifted eyebrow, that haughty Louis Hayward laugh, which made him so unique in "Man in the Iron Mask" and "Pirates of Capri" he tempered in later films. However, with his dash and élan, that velvet voice, his decoration for World War II valor giving him extra gravitas, Captain Louis Hayward is always a joy to watch and "Captain Pirate" is wonderful, innocent fun.

vitaleralphlouis LOUIS HAYWARD was born to play the lead in swashbuckler movies like this one; and 60 years ago when he did movies in modern clothes the public wished he was in a movie like this one.A well made action adventure which relies heavily on character and story -- and less on today's annoying jump-around camera "work" and editing -- without the silliness of Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp -- this was what pirate movies were all about.One thing about CAPTAIN PIRATE is the slavery thing which is not the main focus but is a vital part of the story. The slaves were in Jamaica, and in Martinique, and Santo Domingo, and a lot of other places. England, Spain, Netherlands, France; they all enjoyed the benefits of "live gold" -- but kept their slaves out-of-sight in the Caribbean (and other places). America was the country that ENDED slavery; but all the same we hear bellyaching about it 150 years later -- not just from Blacks but from white liberals and their endless hand-wringing "White Guilt" -- even though nobody's been a slave or owned a slave in a century-and-a-half. Captain Blood did NOT like slavery -- most particularly since he was an ex-slave (oh, yes; white slaves too).This fine movie, as well as the earlier "Fortunes of Captain Blood" are available on DVD. I recommend both. Or either.

mrsolo1 Bland filming of Sabatini's "Return of Captain Blood" has some good players, but lackluster direction, weak script and poor miniatures bring it down. The cyclorama behind many of the ship scenes is wrinkled and the models are not convincing. Certainly not up to the classic Flynn and Power swashbucklers and lacking the wit and sense of fun found in "The Crimson Pirate" released the same year. Louis Hayward is capable in the lead role, but lacks Errol Flynn's charisma. Patricia Medina is lovely but doesn't have much to do. Only George Givot and Ted de Corsia play their characters broad enough to make them classic pirates and Jay Novello stands out as the treacherous Egyptian. Still, it's a competent swashbuckler and is a pleasant way to kill some time.