***SPOILERS*** The movie was filmed around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in and around Key West's famous "Sloppy Joe's Café" that after the first 20 minutes or so has really very little to do with Castro's Cuba. What the movie does have to do with is the explosive revelry between the star and director of the movie Mark Stevens playing the part of the hero Captain James and the unhinged and emotionally unstable Lyle Dennison, Jack Donner, that takes up some like 75% of the movie. It was Captain James who rescued a number of anti-Castro Cubans running the Castro blockade in his engine powered sail boat and brought them to freedom in Key West Florida. It was one of those he rescued the pretty 20 year old Linda Dennison. Linda Gayle Scott, who developed the hot's for the handsomer captain that got her jealous husband Lyle to go off the deep end.
Lyle a gutless coward at heart who bragged about his imaginary exploits in Cuba as a freedom fighter against Communism and the Castro regime, before it came into power, just can't take the sight of his wife Linda making eyes at Captain James and at the same time treating him like the wimp that he is. Conning Captain James to take him by sail to the Bahamas to see his sick sister, that in fact he doesn't have, Lyle in his crazy mind really wants to deep six him and take over his sailboat making Captain James' demise look like a tragic accident. At the same time he can get Linda to come back to him with her lover Captain James no longer around.
***SPOILERS*** Like everything else he did in life the crazy and ridicules plan blows up in Lyle's face with the courageous Captain James after being thrown overboard turning the tables on him and making him look like the 1st class schmuck that he really is. Stranded in the Caribbean sea 100 miles from the nearest land-mass between Key West and the Bahamas due to Captain James sabotaging the boat Lyle in his frustration to do the Captain in slowly loses his mind in the hot Caribbean sun beating down on him. It's after a couple hours drifting aimlessly at sea that Lyle completely cracks up just as Captain James, who was in the water avoiding man eating sharks, comes on board and put his crazy plan to rest together with him. At first Captain James, knowing Lyle's quickly deteriorating mental condition, wanted to get his back to Key West to get medical and psychological treatment for his condition. Instead of being thankful to Captain James for what he's doing for him Lyle instead tried to harpoon the Captain, when his back was turned, which had him not the Captain end up as shark bait.
Lyle a gutless coward at heart who bragged about his imaginary exploits in Cuba as a freedom fighter against Communism and the Castro regime, before it came into power, just can't take the sight of his wife Linda making eyes at Captain James and at the same time treating him like the wimp that he is. Conning Captain James to take him by sail to the Bahamas to see his sick sister, that in fact he doesn't have, Lyle in his crazy mind really wants to deep six him and take over his sailboat making Captain James' demise look like a tragic accident. At the same time he can get Linda to come back to him with her lover Captain James no longer around.
***SPOILERS*** Like everything else he did in life the crazy and ridicules plan blows up in Lyle's face with the courageous Captain James after being thrown overboard turning the tables on him and making him look like the 1st class schmuck that he really is. Stranded in the Caribbean sea 100 miles from the nearest land-mass between Key West and the Bahamas due to Captain James sabotaging the boat Lyle in his frustration to do the Captain in slowly loses his mind in the hot Caribbean sun beating down on him. It's after a couple hours drifting aimlessly at sea that Lyle completely cracks up just as Captain James, who was in the water avoiding man eating sharks, comes on board and put his crazy plan to rest together with him. At first Captain James, knowing Lyle's quickly deteriorating mental condition, wanted to get his back to Key West to get medical and psychological treatment for his condition. Instead of being thankful to Captain James for what he's doing for him Lyle instead tried to harpoon the Captain, when his back was turned, which had him not the Captain end up as shark bait.