July 1588 . In the English channel the British fleet has been battling for two days against the mighty Spanish armada . Badly damaged with half their crews killed , the ships of Spain battle their way on up the channel . And the thickest part of the fighting is one of the smallest Spanish ships , the licensed privateer 'Diablo' . As the damaged privateer deserts the Spanish Armada and makes land for repairs near a village on the British coast , terrorizing the local inhabitants . They have to put it near from a village on the coast for repairs . The place is small and isolated and the Spanish military convince the villagers that the British fleet has been defeated and that they are now their conquerors . The hot-blooded as well as shipwrecked crew of cut-throats is led by Captain Robeles (Christopher Lee) .
Entertaining pirate movie , plenty of action , thrills , exciting sword-play , luxurious costumes , athletic feats , enjoyable score ; all meld together under Don Sharp's right direction . Combination of spectacular ships battle , sword-play and full of villainy , betrayal , swashbuckling and heroism . Hammer Production built a real Spanish pirate ship for the film planning to reuse it on other flicks . The full-sized galleon was built in some sand pits on a steel structure under the water ; although warned not to have too many people on board at once, one day the tea boat was lifted onto a platform level with the water with too many people getting their tea . The ship capsized throwing most of the cast and crew in the water , thankfully no one was drowned or seriously hurt . In the film appears Hammer ordinary actors such as Andrew Keir , Duncan Lamont , Susan Farmer , Philip Latham , Michael Ripper and , of course , the great Christopher Lee . Interesting script by screenwriter Jimmy Sangster , Hammer's usual , he remarked that this movie's basic premise is similar to that of "The Desperate Hours" in which a gang of criminals holds a family hostage . Well produced by Anthony Nelson Keys at Bray studios , England , with nice production design by Bernard Robinson , in fact "village square" set was also used , only slightly altered , in "The Crimson Blade" . Evocative as well as thrilling musical score by Gary Hughes . Colorful cinematography in Hammer style by Michael Reed .
The motion picture was professionally directed by Don Sharp , it premiered in the United States before debuting in Britain and was double-billed with "The Invincible Seven" . In the mid-1960s Sharp was hired by horror specialist Hammer Films and resulted out some well-received thrillers , and horror movies including Kiss of the vampire (1963) , his first for Hammer , Witchcraft (1964) and The curse of the fly (1965) . Don directed Christopher Lee six times , he was his fetish actor . Don worked on a few films as second-unit director , most notably Those magnificent men and the flying machines (1965) and Puppet on a chain (1965) before returning to filmmaking again , and turned out a string of thrillers as The thirty nine steps (1979) , Bear Island (1984) , horror films as Dark places (1974) , Secrets of the phantom caverns (1985) , Guardian of abyss (1988) and comedies . Towards the end of his career he worked in television on mini-series .
Entertaining pirate movie , plenty of action , thrills , exciting sword-play , luxurious costumes , athletic feats , enjoyable score ; all meld together under Don Sharp's right direction . Combination of spectacular ships battle , sword-play and full of villainy , betrayal , swashbuckling and heroism . Hammer Production built a real Spanish pirate ship for the film planning to reuse it on other flicks . The full-sized galleon was built in some sand pits on a steel structure under the water ; although warned not to have too many people on board at once, one day the tea boat was lifted onto a platform level with the water with too many people getting their tea . The ship capsized throwing most of the cast and crew in the water , thankfully no one was drowned or seriously hurt . In the film appears Hammer ordinary actors such as Andrew Keir , Duncan Lamont , Susan Farmer , Philip Latham , Michael Ripper and , of course , the great Christopher Lee . Interesting script by screenwriter Jimmy Sangster , Hammer's usual , he remarked that this movie's basic premise is similar to that of "The Desperate Hours" in which a gang of criminals holds a family hostage . Well produced by Anthony Nelson Keys at Bray studios , England , with nice production design by Bernard Robinson , in fact "village square" set was also used , only slightly altered , in "The Crimson Blade" . Evocative as well as thrilling musical score by Gary Hughes . Colorful cinematography in Hammer style by Michael Reed .
The motion picture was professionally directed by Don Sharp , it premiered in the United States before debuting in Britain and was double-billed with "The Invincible Seven" . In the mid-1960s Sharp was hired by horror specialist Hammer Films and resulted out some well-received thrillers , and horror movies including Kiss of the vampire (1963) , his first for Hammer , Witchcraft (1964) and The curse of the fly (1965) . Don directed Christopher Lee six times , he was his fetish actor . Don worked on a few films as second-unit director , most notably Those magnificent men and the flying machines (1965) and Puppet on a chain (1965) before returning to filmmaking again , and turned out a string of thrillers as The thirty nine steps (1979) , Bear Island (1984) , horror films as Dark places (1974) , Secrets of the phantom caverns (1985) , Guardian of abyss (1988) and comedies . Towards the end of his career he worked in television on mini-series .