It takes very high winds in Jamaica to have English ranchers Nigel Hawthorne and Isabel Dean to decide to send their children back to England. This hurricane literally rips their ranch apart, and mother Dean is upset by the presence of voodoo in the native servants attempts to stop the storm from increasing. But what the parents don't know is that pirates, disguised as women from a supposedly capsized ship, have taken over, and this puts their children into an uncertain danger, but the pirates become their caretakers, showing that even members of the jolly Roger can have a soft spot. In fact, the pirates seem more civilized than the original crew of the ship who tried to get a monkey drunk so they could cut off his tail.
With a cast lead by Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as the pirate leaders, this is an exciting adventure from start to finish, beginning with a really scary hurricane. Lila Kedrova is reunited with her "Zorba the Greek" co-star, but her role is really a cameo, playing a saloon keeper where the children witness a cock fight. This doesn't have the silliness of "The Pirates of Penzance" or exaggerated special effects like "The Pirates of the Caribbean" series. It's just a very direct adventure, filled with fun for the whole family, a great musical score, fantastic photography and very detailed attention on everything going on. The tale turns dark at the end when the older girl is attacked and ends up on trial. The opening segment of the hurricane is visually horrific as the father struggles to get one daughter (stupidly chasing a frightened cat) back in the house, then their descent into an underground shelter where the voodoo spells are already in progress. Quinn and Coburn make a fantastic team. It's a shame that they only worked in one other movie together, a forgotten 1981 film called "High Risk".
With a cast lead by Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as the pirate leaders, this is an exciting adventure from start to finish, beginning with a really scary hurricane. Lila Kedrova is reunited with her "Zorba the Greek" co-star, but her role is really a cameo, playing a saloon keeper where the children witness a cock fight. This doesn't have the silliness of "The Pirates of Penzance" or exaggerated special effects like "The Pirates of the Caribbean" series. It's just a very direct adventure, filled with fun for the whole family, a great musical score, fantastic photography and very detailed attention on everything going on. The tale turns dark at the end when the older girl is attacked and ends up on trial. The opening segment of the hurricane is visually horrific as the father struggles to get one daughter (stupidly chasing a frightened cat) back in the house, then their descent into an underground shelter where the voodoo spells are already in progress. Quinn and Coburn make a fantastic team. It's a shame that they only worked in one other movie together, a forgotten 1981 film called "High Risk".