''Fortunes of Captain Blood'' is a 1950 pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the original 1922 novel and subsequent collections of stories written by

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...

, ''Fortunes'' was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

. 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''.

Plot

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 prisoners, has escaped and become a feared

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...

on the high seas. King

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

calls upon the Marquis de Riconete, the governor of

Rio de La Hacha Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach waterfr ...

, 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 human trafficker 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 prisoners 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 unfree labor.

Cast

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...

as Capt. Peter Blood *

Patricia Medina Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955). Early life Medina was the daughter of Laure ...

as Isabelita Sotomayor *

George Macready George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated ...

as Marquis de Riconete *

Alfonso Bedoya Benito Alfonso Bedoya y Díaz de GuzmánSan Antonio Light, Dec. 17, 1957, p. 20 (April 16, 1904 – December 15, 1957) was a Mexican actor who frequently appeared in U.S. films. He is best known for his role in ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ...

as Carmillo *

Dona Drake Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. Drake was mixed race by ancestry. She often presented herself as Mexican and went by the names ...

as Pepita Maria Rosados *

Lowell Gilmore Lowell Gilmore (20 December 1906 – 31 January 1960) was an American stage, film and television actor. Life and career Lowell Gilmore first worked as a stage manager on the 1929 Broadway play ''The First Mrs. Fraser'', but got his chance as a ...

as George Fairfax *

Wilton Graff Wilton Graff (born Wilton Calvert Ratcliffe; August 13, 1903 – January 13, 1969) was an American actor. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Graff, he was born Wilton Calvert Ratcliffe in St. Louis, Missouri, US. He graduated ...

as Capt. Alvarado *

Curt Bois Curt Bois (born Kurt Boas; April 5, 1901 – December 25, 1991) was a German actor with a career spanning over 80 years. He is best remembered for his performances as the pickpocket in ''Casablanca'' (1942) and the poet Homer in ''Wings of Desi ...

as King Charles ΙΙ *

Lumsden Hare Francis Lumsden Hare (17 October 1874 – 28 August 1964) was an Irish-born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer. Early years Hare studied at St. Dunstan's College in London. Career Hare appeare ...

as Tom Mannering *

Billy Bevan Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 American films between 1916 and 1950. Career Bevan was bo ...

as Billy Bragg (as William Bevan) *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Will Ward *

Duke York Duke York ( Charles Everest Sinsabaugh; October 17, 1908January 24, 1952), was an American film actor and stuntman who appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952. He was also known as Duke Owl. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd ...

as Andrew Hardy * Sven Hugo Borg as Swede *

Martin Garralaga Martín Garralaga (10 November 1894 – 12 June 1981) was a Spanish actor who worked in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was married to opera singer and actress Rosa Rey. Biography Garralaga first came to the United States whe ...

as Antonio Viamonte *

James Fairfax James Oswald Fairfax (27 March 1933 – 11 January 2017) was an Australian company director, philanthropist, and a member of the Fairfax family, an Australian family prominent in the newspaper publisher industry. Biography Fairfax was born in S ...

as Nat Russell * Charles Irwin as Smitty *

Terry Kilburn Terence E. Kilburn (born 25 November 1926), known for his acting work prior to 1953 as Terry Kilburn, is an English-American actor. Born in London, he moved to Hollywood in the U.S. at the age of 10, and is best known for his roles as a child ac ...

as Kenny Jensen * Alberto Morin as Miguel Gonzales (as Albert Morin) * Nick Volpe as Papa Rosados

Production

''The Fortunes of Captain Blood'' was a collection of six stories by Rafael Sabatini published in 1936, the year after the release of the 1935 film ''Captain Blood'' starring Errol Flynn. In July 1949 Columbia announced they would make ''The Fortunes of Captain Blood'' produced by Harry Joe Brown. Louis Hayward was linked to the project that month. Filming was meant to start 1 October 1949 but was pushed back. H. B Humberstone was the original director announced. However on 21 October Gordon Douglas took over. FIlming eventually began in November.Jane Greer Gets Wish for Comedy; Patricia Medina Signs for 'Blood' Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 1 Nov 1949: 21.

References

External links

* * (Includes a trailer) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortunes Of Captain Blood 1950 films Films based on British novels Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Gordon Douglas Films set in the 1680s Pirate films Seafaring films American historical films 1950s historical films Films scored by Paul Sawtell American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films