Steineded How sad is this?

Executscan Expected more

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

JohnHowardReid Westrex sound System. Associate producers: Clifford Parkes, Tom Pevsner. Producer: John Croydon. Copyright 25 May 1965 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 16 June 1965. U.S. release: 25 May 1965. U.K. release: June 1965. Sydney opening at the Embassy. 9,257 feet. 103 minutes.SYNOPSIS: In 1870 when a ferocious hurricane finally thrashes itself out of the island of Jamaica, Frederick (Nigel Davenport) and Mrs Thornton (Isabel Dean) decide that their five children must be sent to England for an education. They feel that their children's personalities are being effected by the primitive pagan beliefs of the islanders. The Thornton children, along with two Creole youngsters, are entrusted to Captain Marpole (Kenneth J. Warren), whose schooner is sailing for England. A few days out of port, their ship is attacked by a pirate schooner under the command of Chavez (Anthony Quinn), a strange, morose man who is finding it increasingly difficult to stay ahead of the new steam-powered warships and merchant vessels. Chavez dreams of owning a farm, while his first mate, Zac (James Coburn), wants to open a gambling casino in Tampico. The children are taken aboard as part of the booty, and soon they adjust to their bizarre new surroundings. They have been raised with the superficial manners of proper English children in a country dominated by black magic and superstition, and are not surprised by weird contrasts and illogical actions. Unable to perceive the horrible reality of their situation, they are soon terrorizing the pirates with their madcap pranks and juvenile cabals.NOTES: Although the producer claims that his writers never had access to it, a stage adaptation of the Hughes novel opened at Broadway's Belasco Theatre on 15 November 1943. Entitled "The Innocent Voyage". the play was scripted and directed by Paul Osborn. The cast included Oscar Homolka, Herbert Berghof, Dean Stockwell, Guy Stockwell, Abby Bonime, Lois Wheeler and Clarence Derwent. This "dramatic triumph... distinguished in every way" (New York World- Telegram), closed after only 40 performances.COMMENT: A sort of "Lord of the Flies" in reverse, this bizarre tale makes for exciting, if horrifying, viewing. Director Mackendrick is as usual, a whiz with children, but he's also a sufficiently imaginative and skilled artist to bring home the terrible "message" of the book with unerring force. A wholly engrossing piece of film- making, the movie's hypnotic fascination is aided by superb performances, a highly-charged script and the gripping atmosphere provided by the real locations and the meticulously in-period reconstructions.In fact, it's a tribute to the producer's taste and acumen that Hughes' off-beat, if classic novel has been transferred to the screen with such fidelity and power. Quinn gives one of his most convincing portrayals, never once faltering or relaxing his hold on what is actually an extremely difficult role.

ma-cortes Very good adventure , a pure entertainment movie based on a novel written by Richard Hughes , shot in Jamaica and Pinewood studios. In the late XIX , during Victorian time , a hurricane destroys the house of family Thorton and the children are sent England . But their ship is attacked by a pirate galleon captained by Chavez (Anthony Quinn) and the second in command (James Coburn) and they are taken aboard . But the children reveal their basic natures aboard of the vessel and the problems emerge , discovering the innocent savageries of childhood.This enjoyable pirate movie contains sensible moments , wonderful seafare exteriors and thought-provoking theme with psychological studio of childhood . It packs comedy, adventure, drama and tragedy , all of them are ironically balanced by an intelligent screenplay written by Stanley Mann and Ronald Harwood . Excellent main cast as an exceptional Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as good pirates . Good supporting cast as Nigel Davenport , Lila Kedrova , Dennis Price , and brief role for Gert Frobe . Nice musical score directed by Philip Martell and composed by virtuoso harmonica Larry Adler, including some catching songs. Colorful cinematography by Douglas Slocombe in widescreen who reflects splendidly the Caribbean outdoors. The motion picture is stunningly directed by Alexander Mackendrick who directed ¨Sammy going South¨ also about childhood issue . Rating : Well worth watching , better than average . The picture will appeal to Anthony Quinn and James Coburn fans.

mlraymond Superb adaptation of Richard Hughes' novel about a group of British children being sent home to England from Jamaica, and inadvertently ending up as uninvited guests aboard a pirate ship. Set in the period of about 1880, much humor arises from the proper Victorian English children's fascination with their reluctant babysitters. The crew of scalawags is made up of various Latin American and African men, with most of their conversation in untranslated Spanish. The irony of the unexpected situation is due to two factors: the kids' parents had sent them home because their mother was appalled at the way they were growing up wild and uncivilized, absorbing the voodoo superstitions and folk tales of the islanders, instead of being raised as proper English children. The other factor was that the inept pirates had not realized that the children had snuck on board the pirate ship, seeing it as a great adventure, and the buccaneers had sailed away, with no idea that the kids were shut in the ship's hold, having totally forgotten about them.Anthony Quinn is marvelous in a great comic role, as the unwilling father figure to the curious and innocent bunch of kids he's been stuck with. The sight of Quinn chasing some young English children around the ship, hollering " Hey, give me back my hat!", while his crew laughs uproariously, is truly funny. James Coburn is the voice of reason as a sly ,articulate pirate, who stands between the bumbling captain and his restless crew. The presence of the children on the ship becomes more and more problematic, as they inadvertently cause all kinds of problems just by being around, and the men begin to see them as bad luck.SPOILERS AHEAD: A little girl puts a man's coat on backwards, and covers her face with her hair, and stalks toward the terrified sailors, declaring in a spooky voice that she's a Duppy, an evil spirit with its head on backwards. The grown men look scared, and try to hide from this small child, who is fully aware of what she's doing, until Quinn orders her to stop fooling around, because it's bad luck for the ship. An already complicated situation turns deadly ,when the pirates think they will be able to finally safely rid themselves of the kids, by leaving them with a friendly brothel madam in Tampico. One of the older boys sneaks ashore,and is enjoying the sight of rowdy behavior in the street from the vantage point of a high window, but he suddenly falls, and is killed. The tragic situation is made worse by the news that English patrol vessels are looking for them, because it is mistakenly believed that they murdered the children, after the kids didn't return to their outward bound ship, and the English captain and crew assumed the worst.No more of the plot will be revealed here, except to say that an unpredictable series of events causes disaster for all involved. The very ending is one of the most poignant scenes I've ever seen in any film.Direction, acting, shipboard scenes, period detail, script,cinematography ,are all excellent. The children are totally believable, with a standout performance by Deborah Baxter as Emily. This is a wonderful film that should be watched over and over again. Heartbreak and hilarity have seldom been better matched.

Claus Krebs As many times before, the IMDb has proven to be such a valuable resource. Like others who have written their comments here, I also saw this movie as a child and could never forget it. Besides, I fell completely in love with the little girl's character and somehow retained the actress's name in my memory for over 20 years: Deborah Baxter. In fact, that is how I found the movie again, because I had completely forgotten its title. The only other actor I remembered for sure was Anthony Quinn, so I began looking at the casts of all of his films whose title suggested pirates or ocean, until I arrived here and --to my own astonishment-- discovered that my memory had not failed me: the girl's name actually is Deborah Baxter! It seems that she only ever acted in two movies; what became of her? Anyway, I am happy to announce here that the movie has finally been released on DVD. I'm definitely buying it.