Review of The Pirates of Blood River

Part of Hammer Films' expansion into genres other than horror, this swashbuckler is unique and offbeat, yet entertaining and adventuresome. Matthews plays the son of a town elder on a remote island, populated by Huguenots, whose involvement with a married woman results in his being sent to a harsh penal colony. Following a narrow escape, he is rescued by a band of pirates led by black-clad, eye patch-wearing Lee, who want him to lead them to his settlement, ostensibly to use as a home base, but in reality to pillage for alleged treasure. When the pirates have barely made it to the outskirts of town before killing one person and trying to rape two others, Matthews determines how evil they are (what? Pirates evil??) and rejoins his townspeople in an effort to ward them off. The resultant skirmish and the relentless quest for the treasure, which the townspeople deny even exists, lead to bloodshed and destruction. Matthews, one of the cinema's unsung lookers and an underrated actor, gives a very earnest and skillful performance. He's put through his paces with regards to both grime and action sequences. Lee is suave and dangerous, providing just the type of villain a piece like this needs. Corbett, an appealing but generally inexpressive actor with a limited voice, is quite out of place here with his neatly parted, contemporary hair and anachronistic persona. Likewise, Landi, as Matthews' sister and Corbett's love interest, adds precious little to the film. Other cast members include Keir, as Matthews' stern, unyielding father (the actors were the same age, though it doesn't show!), Ripper, as Lee's shiftless, right hand man and Arne and Reed as dueling pirates. Fans of classic 007 films will briefly spot Llewelyn as a farmer. Waterman, who plays a young boy in a tree, grew up to become a noted actor and singer in the U.K. Hampered by budgetary restrictions that forbade the use of a ship or of filming at sea, the screenwriter more than made up for this by including many action scenes. The film clips along at a brisk pace, even with the "Ben-Hur"-esque imprisonment scenes, and features some truly lush foliage with more shades of green than could be counted. Cited by many as playing much like a western, the film does indeed come off that way, which ought to make it pretty accessible to fans of that genre. The title does fit the film, as is revealed at least twice. Matthews, for some reason, keeps his shirt on throughout the movie, though Arne barely has his on at all, adding some welcome beefcake to the proceedings. Lee and Reed would square off a little over a decade later in "The Three Musketeers" with Lee, once again, sporting an eye patch.