sol ***SPOILERS*** One of movie strongman Steve Reeves best and most sensitive performances as the English pirate Henry Morgan. The daring young man who took upon himself to destroy the Spanish Empire with his band of jolly Roger Buccaneers in a series of hit and run battles on land as well as at sea.Things didn't start off that good for Morgan with him being sold into slavery by the Spanish after capturing him from a sunken English galleon. It was Morgan's Greek-god like physique and good looks that had the daughter of the Governor of Panama's daughter Dona Inez, Valerie Iagrange, fall heads over heels for the big hunk by buying him at a slave auction in town. Put in charge of the royal stable Morgan made the mistake of getting a little too close, like enveloping her with his massive arms, with Dona, a horse lover, when she went to see the latest colt of her prized stallion. Condemmed to a life as a slave rower on a Spanish galleon Morgan starts a mutiny among the slaves on the boat who take it over throwing its Spanish crew overboard. Joing up with the pirates on far off Torluga Island Morgan starts his personal war against the Spanish using them and their ships as his attacking naval task force.Non stop action with Captain Morgan causing havoc all across the Caribbean for the Spanish with his hit and run tactics that has them or the Governor of Panama Don Jose Guzman, Ivo Garrani, offer as much as 50,000 docket's, pieces of gold, for Morgan's head. During the action Morgan's buccaneers capture the governor's daughter Dona Inez who start to suffer for a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. Thats in Dona falling madly in love with her capture Captain Morgan, whom she was nuts about earlier in the movie before her capture, to the horror of her outraged father Governoer Guzman who want's her boyfriend dead!In the end Morgan is double-crossed by his fellow Englishman and comrade in arms Sir Thomas Modyford, Givlio Bosetti, who after signing a secret peace treaty with the hated Spanish ratted out Morgan's brilliant battle plan to attack Panama City from the west, Pacific Ocean, not east, Atlantic Ocean, as the Spanish expected him to. With his navy now at the bottom of the Caribbean Morgan whips his men into action by launching a ground attack, with thousands of buccaneers, using the local cattle as human, or animal, shields on the surprise attack on Panama City. ***SPOILERS*** Action packed final with Morgan and his men breaching the Panama City walls and having it out with the Governor's men on their own turf making mincemeat out of them. Morgan himself gets a bonus besides capturing Panama City, the richest city in the Americas, by rescuing Dona who was being held against her will there by her pop "The Gov" or Governor. And later, after the film "Morgan the Pirate was over, Morgan would end up living out his final years as he Governor of Panama City which he and his men captured from the Spanish.P.S I was at first surprised to see Steve Reeves' clean shaved but he then grew his famous beard back within the first half hour of the movie. It may have been the heat and humidity of the Caribbean that cased Reeves to later again shave off his beard and never has it grow back for the remainder of the film.

ma-cortes Henry Morgan (Steve Reeves) is an English slave who's bought by the Panama governor (Ivo Garrani)'s daughter named Ines (Valerie Legrange). They fall in love and then he's condemned . When he finds himself in a galleon , there bursts a rebellion and he becomes pirate . Meanwhile , Ines is kidnapped in island of Turtle , but she's freed . Then , Morgan decides to take the city of Panama , the location strongest fortified from Spanish empire . As the notorious pirate raids up and down the Caribbean, battling the Spanish, the English and other pirates .The film is a nice pirate-adventure movie , being lavishly produced . This classic story of romantic adventure come to life enriched by Technicolor cinematography in charge of Tonino Delli Colli (usual cameraman of Sergio Leone and Pier Paolo Pasolini) and adapted magnificently to screen . Overwhelming battle ships and sword-play and full of villainy , romance , swashbuckler and heroism . Usual dancing scenes in charge of a gorgeous and erotic Chelo Alonso . Steve Reeves is cool as the pirate hero who encounters dangerous situations while trying to retrieve his lover . Reeves acted as a corpulent hero in several movies , starring historic and legendary characters , such as ¨Romulus¨ in Romulus and Remo ; ¨Phillipides¨ in Giant of Marathon ; ¨Eneas¨ in The war of the Trojan and The horse of Trojan ; ¨Glaucus¨ in The last days of Pompei and ¨Hercules¨ in Hercules the Queen of Lydia . The motion picture was well directed by Andre De Toth and Primo Zeglio . Andre De Toth is a classic director , Western habitual (Indian fighter, Man in the saddle , Ramrod , Last of Comanches , The stranger wore a gun) , but also made Péplum (Gold for the Caesar , The Mongols).The film is partially based on historical events , as Henry John Morgan (born Welsh 1635, dead Port Royal, Jamaica 1688) was a known corsair , at death of pirate Edward Mansfield was appointed chief by the buccaneers . He conquered Providence island or Saint Catalina . Later on , he sacked the city of Panama , violating the truce between Spain and England . For that reason was imprisoned , but king Charles II freed him and named him governor of Jamaica .

MARIO GAUCI Steve Reeves wasn't as fitted to the swashbuckler genre as he was to the epic, and certainly not this historical character (who even has two females, Governor's daughter Valerie Lagrange and peasant-girl Chelo Alonso, sparring for his attention) - unforgettably incarnated on the screen by Laird Cregar in the exhilarating classic THE BLACK SWAN (1942)! This alone dropped its credibility factor by a few notches; taken on its own merits, it's not too bad - though still nothing more than an ordinary costumer (in spite of De Toth's involvement) with plenty of action but little real excitement (since the plot is streamlined to serve its low-brow nature and the meager budget). That said, it's handsome enough (particularly in the French print I watched) and Franco Mannino's score is quite good as well.

ptb-8 I saw this in 1962 when I was 7 years old at a kids matinee in our local crummy cinema THE EMPIRE in the suburb of BOTANY in SYDNEY AUSTRALIA. It made me the man I am today, with a completely mesmerising afficianado for old cinemas and the use of colour in old films.Years later it was re run with hilarous voice overs at late shows but the film still was such good fun and quite well made that even making fun of it didn't detract. It is actually quite good.