The Pirates of Blood River
| The Pirates of Blood River | |
|---|---|
 UK quad poster | |
| Directed by | John Gilling |
| Screenplay by | John Hunter John Gilling |
| Story by | Jimmy Sangster |
| Produced by | Michael Carreras |
| Starring | Kerwin Mathews Christopher Lee Glenn Corbett Peter Arne Marla Landi Andrew Keir Oliver Reed |
| Cinematography | Arthur Grant |
| Edited by | Eric Boyd-Perkins |
| Music by | Gary Hughes |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Pirates of Blood River is a 1962 British swashbuckler film directed by John Gilling and starring Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed.[1]
Plot
[edit]While in a penal colony, Huguenot Jonathan Standing is captured by pirates led by Captain LaRoche who force him to lead them back to his home village to retrieve a treasure supposedly hidden there.
Cast
[edit]- Kerwin Mathews as Jonathan Standing
- Glenn Corbett as Henry
- Christopher Lee as Captain LaRoche
- Peter Arne as Hench, a pirate
- Marla Landi as Bess Standing
- Desmond Llewelyn as Tom Blackthorne
- Oliver Reed as Brocaire, a pirate
- Andrew Keir as Jason Standing
- Michael Ripper as Mack, a pirate
- David Lodge as Smith
- Dennis Waterman as Timothy Blackthorne
- Jack Stewart as Godfrey Mason
- Marie Devereux as Maggie
- Lorraine Clewes as Martha Blackthorne
- Jerold Wells as Penal Colony master
- Diane Aubrey as Maggie (uncredited)
Production
[edit]The film was produced at Bray Studios, Berkshire. Location shooting took place at Blackpark Lake, Black Park Country Park, Black Park Road, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK (Blood River); Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, England, UK (jungle); Callow Hill Sandpit, Virginia Water, Surrey, England, UK (penal colony).[citation needed]
Reception
[edit]Box office
[edit]The film was issued on a double bill with Mysterious Island (1961), Britain's biggest grossing double bill of the year.[2] According to Films and Filming it was the tenth most popular movie in Britain for the year ended 31 October 1962.[3]
Critical
[edit]The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Stodgy, two-dimensional costume piece. Blood flows freely against colourful locations, but most schoolboys are likely to wish that the pirates had stayed out at sea."[4]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Land-locked blood and thunder for tough schoolboys"[5]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This Hammer swashbuckler is a colourful, action-packed adventure. ... There are wenches and scurvy knaves galore, but only tantalising vestiges of the X-rated bloodbath intended, as the film was reduced to U certificate derring-do for the school holidays after long sessions at the censor's office"[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Pirates of Blood River". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Marcus Hearn, The Hammer Vault, Titan Books, 2011 p55
- ^ British films are tops at box office Author: Douglas Marlborough Date: Monday, Dec. 10, 1962 Publication: Daily Mail p 3
- ^ "The Pirates of Blood River". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 83. 1 January 1962. ProQuest 1305831287 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 800. ISBN 0586088946.
- ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 722. ISBN 9780992936440.
External links
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- 1962 films
- British action adventure films
- British historical films
- Columbia Pictures films
- Hammer Film Productions films
- Pirate films
- Films directed by John Gilling
- 1960s action adventure films
- 1960s historical films
- Films set in the 17th century
- Films shot at Bray Studios
- Films with screenplays by Jimmy Sangster
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s British films
- English-language action adventure films
- English-language historical films
- Adventure film stubs
- Historical film stubs