The devil pirates
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The devil pirates |
| Original title | The Devil-Ship Pirates |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 84 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Don Sharp |
| script | Jimmy Sangster |
| production | Anthony Nelson Keys |
| music | Gary Hughes |
| camera | Michael Reed |
| cut | James Needs |
| occupation | |
| |
The Devil's Pirates is a 1963 British adventure and pirate film from the Hammer Films production with Christopher Lee in the lead role.
action
The action takes place in 1588: After the fall of the Armada , the Spanish crown lost the war against England, and only a few Spanish ships make the sea area around the English south coast unsafe. Among them is the "Diavolo", which as a pirate ship under the leadership of Capitán Robeles wants to at least catch prey. Once the crew was lured on board with the promise of big booty. The captain knows that he is doomed to success for several reasons: firstly, he has to keep his grumbling people happy, and secondly, the “Diavolo” was damaged in battle and urgently needs a general overhaul. Therefore Robeles absolutely has to call at the English coast in order to be able to carry out the necessary repairs in a hidden harbor, otherwise a journey home to Spain will be impossible.
Capitán Robeles lands in the marshland of the sparsely populated English coast, but is watched by the young Englishwoman Jane, who immediately raises the alarm among the villagers. Robeles and his people then use a trick to make the residents submissive: isolated from the world, the provincials here do not know who won the sea battle. Robeles claims that he is the vanguard of the Spanish occupation forces and that the capitulating British have to surrender. Since the news of the actual English victory has not gotten to this point, the leaders of the community, the mayor and the local church representatives, see no reason to doubt the statements of the captains and condemn their fellow citizens to cooperate with the occupiers. Robeles and the Spanish grandee Don Manuel Rodriguez de Savilla must now try to let their undisciplined pirate troop act as a credible occupation army for at least a few days. But not all villagers are ready to collaborate: Jane's father, the village blacksmith Tom, and Harry, another resident, are already organizing an anti-Spanish resistance. There will soon be an open revolt and a violent confrontation seems inevitable ...
Production notes
The Devil Pirates (presumably) premiered in the USA in May 1964 and first shown in Germany on June 26, 1964. The British premiere took place in August 1964.
The film structures were created by Bernard Robinson , which had already been built for the hammer pirate film The Scarlet Blade .
Reviews
"Conventional adventure entertainment that combines the usual historical arc of images with the tumult of battle and battle."
The Movie & Video Guide thought this was "a good little film".
Halliwell's Film Guide thought this was "lackluster sailor's thread with not too much plot and some elements of hammer horror."
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Devil Pirates. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed September 11, 2018 .
- ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 332
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 270
Web links
- The vicious pirates in the Internet Movie Database (English)