The Spanish Main (1945)
Laurent van Horn is the leader of a band of Dutch refugees on a ship seeking freedom in the Carolinas, when the ship is wrecked on the coast of Cartagene, governed by Don Juan Alvardo, a Spanish ruler. Alvarado has Laurent thrown in prison, but the latter escapes, and five-years later is a pirate leader. He poses as the navigator on a ship in which Contessa Francesca, daughter of a Mexican noble, is traveling on her way to marry Alvarado, whom she has never seen. Laurent's pirates capture the ship and Francesca, in order to save another ship, gives her hand-in-marriage to Laurent, who sails her to the pirate hideout. This irks his jealous pirate comrades Anne Bonney and Captain Benjamin Black. They overpower Laurent and send Francesca to Alvarado, and then Mario du Billar, a trusted right-hand man, makes a deal to deliver Laurent to Alvarado.
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Technicolor could take history, alter it to serve its own purpose and still make it palatable. All you had to do was take a supposed law-abiding citizen, make him not only more evil than the band of cut-throats he was out to capture, but also a brute to the leading lady. This made the pirates more sympathetic and forgivable. When the leading pirate is a handsome man and the citizen a portly bureaucrat, it is obvious where sympathy will lie.Maureen O'Hara, whose red hair made her a natural for Technicolor, is superb as the noble woman engaged to aristocratic Walter Slezak (who also played a similar villain in "The Pirate"), yet ends up kidnapped by pirate Paul Heinreid. A rivalry grows between O'Hara and the real life female pirate Anne Romney, played here by Binnie Barnes, and results in a funny scene involving a gun duel. Action packed and exciting, this can't be called reality, but it sure is fun!
Previous comments have said nearly all, but I thought this film was a good effort for 1945. As always with films of this date, I wonder why some of the fit-looking men weren't in the armed services. (I realise that Paul Henreid was an Austrian who had fled his country before the war; and I note a lot of the supporting cast have Hispanic names, suggesting they may have been from countries not directly involved in the fighting.) Though Henreid made a number of swashbucklers, he appears a just a little effete, almost a not-quite-so sensitive version of Leslie Howard. I couldn't quite believe Maureen O'Hara finding him fascinating at first glance (as always, she looks marvellous). Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power would have been more convincing.The battling ships sequences look good, though it would be churlish to note that the model vessels show no signs of human life. I agree with the comments that Walter Slezak makes a fine villain.
What fun!! Get some popcorn (or nachos in this day and age) and just hunker down for a evening of fun and romance. Maureen O'Hara at her red-haired best as the aristocratic lady, and Paul Henreid the swashbuckling pirate have a merry romp in this film. The villainous Walter Slezak is so very good being bad.All in all, for this type of film from 1945, a pleasure to watch. It all comes out in the end with a beautiful sunset, the lovers together and all is well as the music rises. What more can you ask for an hour and a half of your time?
I am a great admirer of all the movies that Maureen O'Hara has starred in. This film represents one more entertaining and absorbing swashbuckler typical of its day wherein you have a Ms O'Hara and Paul Henreid turning in excellent performances. The plot and love interest are easily assimilated and believable. If a movie holds your attention throughout like this one does, there's no question that it's worth the time and popcorn! Movies are made to be enjoyed and appreciated, and I'm sure the public knows what is enjoyable because such old movies are still in circulation, and that speaks for its quality.