Yankee Buccaneer

"Yankee Buccaneer" is a variation on the demented Arabian Nights fetish that Universal Pictures seemed to have in the late '40s and early '50s, the difference being that this one doesn't take place in the days of Ali Baba. It's the 1840s, and a U.S. Navy ship is ordered to disguise itself as a merchant vessel and sail to the waters off North Africa to put a stop to pirates preying on American ships. The action scenes are handled well, Jeff Chandler fits the part of the dashing American naval officer, the women are fetching, the cast is full of familiar faces (including Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto in the "Lone Ranger" series), the story doesn't venture past the realm of possibility and it moves along at a good clip. All in all, a neat little B picture--not the best of the lot, but far from the worst.