Fortunes of Captain Blood

Fortunes of Captain Blood
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Produced by Harry Joe Brown
Written by Michael Hogan
Frank Burt
Robert Libott
Starring Louis Hayward
Patricia Medina
George Macready
Curt Bois
Music by Paul Sawtell
Cinematography George E. Diskant
Edited by Gene Havlick
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
 May 19, 1950 (premiere)
June 1950
Running time
 91 min.
Language English

Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) is a pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the original novel and subsequent collections of stories written by Rafael Sabatini, Fortunes was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious swashbuckler. The film is complete with daring sword fights, sensational sea battles, intrigue, and a vivacious love interest. It later spawned a sequel from the same cast and crew only two years later entitled Captain Pirate.

Synopsis

The film follows the standard story about Captain Blood: arrested and sentenced to slavery for his treatment of a wounded rebel during the Monmouth Rebellion, Dr. Peter Blood, with a group of fellow slaves, has escaped and become a feared buccaneer on the high seas. King Charles II of Spain calls upon the Marquis de Riconete, the governor of Rio de La Hacha, to capture the elusive Captain Blood and end his attacks upon Spanish ships.

Blood is safe until he tries to resupply his ship; when a party of his men go ashore, they are betrayed by their supplier and captured by the slave trader George Fairfax, who sells them to the Marquis. After revictualling and rearming at Tortuga, Blood then secretly returns to La Hacha disguised as a fruit seller to find and rescue his loyal crew, who even while being tortured by the Marquis have refused to reveal the location of their captain. During his search, he befriends Pepita Rosados, a beautiful flirt who reveals to Blood that many of Fairfax's slaves are dying. Blood then confronts Fairfax about the deplorable situation, and finds that Fairfax is having troubles with Isabelita Sotomayor, the niece of the Marquis. The Marquis then decides to arrest Fairfax for his supposed involvement with Blood, so his troops secretly follow Isabelita to his house. She pleads with Fairfax to alleviate her boredom with the island, offering him money to carry her to Spain. After their discussion, the troops enter and a fight ensues.

Still disguised as a fruit seller, Blood treats the wounded Fairfax in a nearby tavern and offers Isabelita passage to Spain if she convinces her uncle to pardon Fairfax. She agrees, and using his newfound insider information Blood discovers the seal of the Marquis. Unfortunately, he mistakes the forgery and after revealing his mistaken note to the prison guard a battle ensues. Blood and his men escape, however the Marquis is not willing to abandon his search.

Isabelita is shocked to discover that her uncle plans to torture the local tavern owner to find the captain, so she reveals Blood's location, thinking he has already set sail. Unfortunately, the incoming tide has prevented his escape, and the Marquis confronts Blood at sea. A fiery battle ensues, with the flaming ship of the Marquis ultimately trying to ram Captain Blood. Luckily, Blood and his crew manage to destroy the vessel before the deadly flames could reach them. After the pirates' victory, Blood sails away and Isabelita vows to stay on the island and create a new government without slavery.

Cast

References

  1. ↑ Freese, Gene Scott (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 75. ISBN 9780786476435.
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