Leofwine_draca THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, a 1962 swashbuckler from Hammer Studios, is one of their lesser outings. You can put this down to Jimmy Sangster's lacklustre story and the lack of a decent budget, which substitutes British locations for the tropics and doesn't even include a pirate ship (apart from in an opening stock shot).Of course, those of us who enjoy B-movie fare will no doubt enjoy the spectacle of some nondescript British woodland standing in for a more exotic locale - adding a single fern leaf into the shot and a couple of pot plants isn't doing much to fool the viewer! At least it helps take the viewer's mind off the plot, which after a decent first half hour soon descends into repetitive inanity.Kerwin Matthews (THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD) stars as the youthful, romantic hero figure who's sent to a penal colony after falling foul of his puritan elders. He escapes just in time to help his villagers defend themselves from the clutches of a group of dastardly pirates looking for treasure.One of the problems with the production is the lack of a sense of menace. The pirates just don't seem to be particularly villainous and the script resorts to them fighting between themselves to supply the action. It doesn't help any when all the best actors play the pirates either: Christopher Lee, Michael Ripper, Peter Arne and Oliver Reed are all having a ball, supplying endless energy, while the villagers (including Dennis Waterman as a kid and an extra-dour Andrew Keir) are a bore.Still, it's as colourful as ever for a Hammer romp, and I'm predisposed towards this genre so that it held my attention from beginning to end. But with a little more imagination, it could have been a whole lot better and more like the above-average DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES that Hammer made a couple of years later.

Woodyanders Dashing young Jonathan Standing (a solid and likable performance by the handsome Kerwin Mathews) is exiled to a nearby penal colony for his relationship with a married woman. Jonathan manages to escape from said colony, but runs afoul of a gang of pirates led by the cunning, ruthless, and formidable Captain La Roche (the always excellent Christopher Lee). La Roche forces Jonathan to take him and his men back to his village in order to find a great treasure that's rumored to be hidden there. Ably directed by John Gilling, with a constant brisk pace, an absorbing script by John Hunter and Jimmy Sangster, a flavorsome evocation of the period, crisp widescreen cinematography by Arthur Grant (the occasional use of artful dissolves is especially striking and impressive), a serious tone, some rough'n'ready fisticuffs, a jaunty and stirring score by Gary Hughes, plenty of thrilling action (a fierce sword fight between two blindfolded men over a fair damsel rates as a definite tense and gripping highlight), beautifully verdant rural countryside scenery, and a colorful bunch of rowdy, scruffy, and deadly pirates, this movie makes the grade as one hugely entertaining and satisfying romp. Further kudos are also in order for the capable acting from the sound cast, with stand-out contributions by Andrew Kier as devout and resolute town elder Jason Standing, Michael Ripper as the hearty Mack, Marla Landi as Jonathan's loyal sister Bess, Oliver Reed as surly, ill-tempered brute Brocaire, and Peter Arne as hard-nosed first mate Hench. An immensely fun film.

Alan Freshwater I saw this film once in 1967. My young friends and I had barely left the movie theatre and we had forgotten the plot of this movie. Apparently we got to see scenes that were cut when released elsewhere so it should have made more sense, but I remember in less than a week we argued over what had happened, and why. Since then we have forgotten almost everything about it, except for two things which we still laugh about today. One; the skeleton rising from the river after its flesh had been stripped from it by piranhas (why would a skeleton rise up? the don't float),and the terrible continuity gaffe of the potted palm tropical forest; one minute the trees were green and lush, in the next scene dry and brown, then back to green again. But it was a Hammer film, and we loved Hammer films back then. Still do. Aah nostalgia. But there is a lot to be said for production values and a budget.

bensonmum2 Pirates of Blood River has to be the only pirate movie I can remember watching that takes place entirely on land. Okay, there is a shot of a random ship at sea, but that's it – no raising the sails, no skull and cross bones atop a mast, no walking the plank, no cannons firing at the King's galley, no shark infested waters, etc. I suppose you could argue that some of the action does take place in a river, but to my way of thinking, a four foot deep spit of water that the cast spends less than five minutes in hardly qualifies. This being Hammer, it's a pretty safe bet that a full-fledged pirate ship would have cost more coin than the studio was willing to put up. However, even if these aren't your traditional pirates, that doesn't mean the movie isn't enjoyable, because I had quite a good time with it. Screenwriters John Hunter and John Gilling have thrown just about everything you can think of into the movie. The plot is all over the place and never gets old or tiring. The story involves a band of pirates that attack a Puritan-like village in search of gold. In addition to this rather simple outline, the movie includes a hard labor penal colony complete with emaciated old guys with sledge hammers and wagon loads of rock, a river full of piranha, a father who finds his son guilty of adultery and all but condemns him to death, two pirates fighting with swords while blindfolded, and a series of booby traps the villagers spring on the pirates. Gilling, who is also the director, keeps things moving at a nice pace. It's a lot of fun from start to finish. The cast is first rate – in fact, it's one of the best casts Hammer ever assembled, especially given the film's modest budget. Christopher Lee is as menacing as ever in the role of pirate chief LaRoche. I really got a kick out of his French accent. Kerwin Matthews is the male lead on the good guys side. He's more than capable in the role. Badass Oliver Reed is also on hand, though his role is limited. Also in the cast are Hammer regulars Andrew Keir and Michael Ripper, James Bond regular Desmond Llewelyn, Glen Corbett (easily the weakest link in the cast), Peter Arne, Marla Landi and other recognizable faces. Overall, Pirates of Blood River is miles from Hammer's normal output, but in this case, that's not such a bad thing. I'll give it a 7/10.