The Spanish Main main backdrop
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The Spanish Main

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6.3/10 • 31

1945-10-011h 40m

AdventureDramaRomance

Loving her . . . taming her . . . called for all his reckless daring!

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.

Directors
Frank Borzage
Editors
Ralph Dawson

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Paul Henreid

    Paul Henreid

    Capt. Laurent Van Horn

  2. Maureen O'Hara

    Maureen O'Hara

    Contessa Francesca

  3. Walter Slezak

    Walter Slezak

    Don Juan Alvarado

  4. Binnie Barnes

    Binnie Barnes

    Anne Bonney

  5. John Emery

    John Emery

    Mario Du Billar

  6. Barton MacLane

    Barton MacLane

    Capt. Benjamin Black

  7. J.M. Kerrigan

    J.M. Kerrigan

    Pillery Gow

  8. Fritz Leiber

    Fritz Leiber

    Bishop

  9. Nancy Gates

    Nancy Gates

    Lupita

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 1, 2022

6/10

This is quite a fun high-seas swashbuckling adventure that pits a rather oddly cast Paul Henreid as "Van Horn" - a Dutch captain whose ship runs aground on the coast of Spanish America. When the local governor - the undoubted star of the film, Walter Slezak - commits them to a life of slavery Henried must conceive of a plan to free them all and avenge themselves. Skip on five years and Henreid is now a feared pirate who manages to capture the typically feisty Maureen O'Hara who is on her way to be the governor's new bride and the path to revenges clear. It's the usual mix of colour, costumes and swordplay with some good old-fashioned romance - and a decent soupçon of jealousy courtesy of another odd casting in Binnie Barnes as the legendary Anne Bonny. I found Henreid a bit hard to take seriously - each time he opened his mouth I expected him to say "Mr. Chipping..." in that gentle Austrian timbre of his but I still enjoyed it. It looks good, and though by no means the best of the genre, is still a decent bit of escapism.

Media

  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster
  • The Spanish Main poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
cannonswordplayarranged marriagepirate gangbeautiful womanpiratecannonballdouble crossswashbucklercaribbean seasword duelsea battlepirate shipforced marriagegalleoncorrupt governorfemale piratetortugajailbreakrefugeespirate captainspanish galleon