1961 American film
Pirates of Tortuga is a 1961 DeLuxe Color American swashbuckler film which invented an alternate history for the actual Welsh privateer Henry Morgan. It was released in October 1961 in the United States in CinemaScope.[2]
Plot
A Welsh captain (Ken Scott) and his crew are dispatched to the Spanish-controlled island of Tortuga, where famed privateer Henry Morgan (Robert Stephens) has defected from his support of the English empire and is running a strictly piratical venture, stopping any and all vessels, including British carriers. Since the captain cannot attack the island without incurring the wrath of the Spanish government, he must go one-on-one with Morgan himself.
A comely female (Leticia Roman) inadvertently stows away on the captain's vessel and becomes the de facto central focus of the story (Morgan doesn't appear until the latter half of the film). She is initially deposited on the nearby island of Jamaica, where she makes a halfhearted play for the colonial governor, but eventually readjusts her sights on the captain himself. In the meantime, the captain fully engages in pursuing the pirate Morgan.
Production
The film was made by Sam Katzman's unit at 20th Century Fox. Their first film had been Wizards of Bagdad and this was the second. Robert Webb signed to direct in December 1960.[3] The same month, singer Dave King was signed to play a support role.[4] Robert Stephens was then also under contract to Fox and was put in the cast. So too was Rafter Johnson.[5]
It was the first lead for Ken Scott who had been under contract to Fox for five years.[6]
Reception
The Los Angeles Times called the film "pure costume".[7]
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