Pretty Good

Overrated and overhyped

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Just one the many adventures of the legendary pirate Barbarossa. This fearless swashbuckler is played aptly by John Payne. Barbarossa stages a mutiny and commanders the ship for his own. He convinces the freed Spanish prisoners to stay on as his crew. He plans to kidnap a Spanish noblewoman, Alida(Donna Reed); to obtain a large ransom and destroy what he can of the Spanish war fleet. In the process, the pirate falls in love with the beautiful countess and has to contend with the officer she is supposed to marry. Very appealing scenery and plenty of action and adventure. Payne seems a bit throttled, but still shows Barbarossa to be pompous and fearless. Reed seems reserved, but so pretty and demure. Lon Chaney Jr. is notable as the pirate's aide, Peg-Leg. And young Skip Torgerson is a useful Datu. The supporting cast includes: Frank DeKova, Gerald Mohr, Anthony Caruso and Claire Du Brey.

My fourth trip to the Maltese sexton who's been an avid film buff/collector/projectionist all his life provided me with the opportunity to watch this solid seafaring adventure (albeit opening rather incongruously in a Moroccan Sheik's harem!) which, in the words of the award-winning lyricist friend who (as usual) set up the screening, was very popular locally in its day among schoolboys and is still fondly remembered today among people of his generation. Although perhaps not one to be mentioned in books on film history (much less criticism) – I don't think I've ever come across it in essays I've read specifically dealing with the swashbuckler genre – the title itself has a familiar ring to it and, actually, I do recall catching a glimpse of it in the early days of Cable TV.Another reason for the film's relative neglect over the years is the fact that it was not a major studio effort (Global Productions but released theatrically through United Artists) and has second-league stars (John Payne and Donna Reed) as leads. Furthermore, the film-makers behind the low-budget studio-bound RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS may not have had the required dough to erect the necessary sets but at least proved savvy enough to shoot it in Technicolor – by pioneering color cinematographer W. Howard Greene, no less – for added vividness (even though the print I saw screened theatrically boasted the tell-tale signs of aging via a constant reddish hue for most of the film's first half). Having said that, this negative aspect is ironically suited to the material at hand since Payne stars as legendary Pirate Barbarossa (Red Beard) with his hirsute attributes appropriately colored in that fashion (even when posing as a beggar in his nemesis' household, which begs the question of why he wasn't suspected at all); wondering why Payne seemed to drop off the cinematic radar in the late 1950s, I learned from his IMDb biography that he had suffered facial scars in a terrible car accident in 1962! For the record, I have obtained (and have further access to) several John Payne movies of late – although, regrettably, not his other Technicolor pirate yarn CARIBBEAN (1952).Anyhow, to get back to the film proper: no self-respecting pirate goes without a genial sidekick by his side and Lon Chaney Jnr. (as the one-legged old sea dog Peg-Leg) fits the bill here and in turn has a resourceful kid to take care of. Perhaps thankfully, however, we are spared the would-be comic relief characteristics that usually pervade both these personalities in similar fare and, in truth, it must be said that RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS has an admirably somber tone throughout that is atypical for pirate adventure pictures. Indeed, having Peg-Leg murdered by a duplicitous member of their gang (Anthony Caruso) and the awaiting folk – including, so we are told, women and children – mercilessly wiped out at their hide-out by the villainous Spaniards (Gerard Mohr and Henry Brandon) gives the whole an unexpectedly Shakespearean tragedy feel a' la "Henry V"! It also goes without saying that Reed is, at first, understandably miffed that Payne has abducted her from her pampered surroundings to his island hideaway and that she bribes Caruso to set her free but, what is also unusual here is that Payne's predictable love for Reed actually seems to cloud his judgment and make him see red {sic} with jealousy whenever she's around Caruso and, if that wasn't enough evidence of his true feelings for her, he gives up the gold ransom he had been paid for her freedom! Director Sidney Salkow – who was an old hand at this type of thing, including a Sterling Hayden/Rhonda Fleming swashbuckler called THE GOLDEN HAWK (1952) which, happily, also proudly forms part of the above-mentioned projectionist's collection – doubled as a co-writer/producer here but, at least from this one preliminary viewing, it's rather unfortunate that, for all its incidental pleasures and uncommon ingredients, RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS lacks the requisite number of memorable sequences or characters (perhaps even strong musical backing would have sufficed) which might have made it a much-better known film of its type – rather than being relegated to the hazy recollections of an age-old theatrical visit in their childhood days of an appreciative few.

The light-hearted nature of this pirate adventure is immediately evident as the film opens with Barbarosa (Payne) being discovered romancing some harem ladies whereupon he's furiously chased by soldiers. He manages to reach the seacoast and swims out to the nearest ship. This is the best part of the film as he surreptitiously climbs aboard and rather than becoming a galley slave, he persuades the crew to mutiny and then to piracy with him as their chief!From then on it's pretty standard pirate movie fare. Henry Brandon and Gerald Mohr are surprisingly effective as wealthy but dishonest Spanish schemers, but their modern haircuts don't go very well with their elaborate 17th century court costumes. Donna Reed looks good, but is not convincing as the haughty daughter of a Spanish governor. The film comes alive only when John Payne is on screen, but nevertheless manages to entertain.

First, the good news. This movie is only 4 minutes and 23 seconds old before John Payne takes off his shirt, revealing a V-shaped torso which, unlike many of his earlier unveilings, is gloriously unshaven and only a few years past its prime. Now the bad news. It's all downhill from here. Even fans of pirate B-movies will find this concoction an anemic affair which lacks energy and style and which, due to a tight budget, has a disappointingly studio-bound quality. Throwing in an "adorable" child actor only accentuates the vapidity of the proceedings.John Payne manages to get by without serious damage to his reputation, aided, of course, by that bare-chest scene, but adding a reddish dye to his dark hair tends to make him look more silly than rakish. Donna Reed doesn't have the fire and flash needed for her part but, to be fair, no one could do much with lines such as: "I will enjoy (your company) even more when you are stretched to the four winds on a torture-rack!"A better grade-B pirate movie from this era is "Prince of Pirates" with John Derek and Barbara Rush.