The Pirates of Blood River (1962)

A group of ruthless pirates attack a seventeenth century Huguenot settlement on the Isle of Devon in search of treasure and will stop at nothing to obtain it.

Director:

John Gilling

Writers:

John Hunter (screenplay), John Gilling (screenplay)

Stars:

Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kerwin Mathews	...	Jonathon Standing
Glenn Corbett	...	Henry
Christopher Lee	...	Capt. LaRoche
Peter Arne	...	Hench - a Pirate
Marla Landi	...	Bess Standing
Oliver Reed	...	Brocaire - a Pirate
Andrew Keir	...	Jason Standing
Michael Ripper	...	Mack - a Pirate
David Lodge	...	Smith
Dennis Waterman	...	Timothy Blackthorne
Jack Stewart	...	Godfrey Mason
Lorraine Clewes	...	Martha Blackthorne
Jerold Wells	...	Penal Colony Master

Storyline

In a village of Huguenot refugees, Jonathon Standing is exiled by his father to a nearby penal colony for his improper relationship with a married woman. This penal colony is then invaded by pirates who force Jonathan to lead them back to his village, convinced that it contains a great treasure.

---

Plot Keywords:

treasure | penal colony | pirate | 17th century | church | 

---

Taglines:

Ransacking a lost tropic island... for a fabulous idol of gold!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aima sto kokkino potami

Filming Locations:

Black Park Lake, Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When approached by Michael Carreras to write a script for a pirate movie, Jimmy Sangster was cautioned by the producer that they couldn't afford a ship. The ship seen from long shot in the beginning was a stock shot.

---

Goofs

During the blindfold fight, the blindfolds appear to be thin gauze that the pirates can see through. At one point, when the pirate hides inside the wooden frame, he glances down at a railing before he places his hand on it.

---

Quotes

Brocaire, a pirate: [Realizes the sword thrust through him is fatal] Oh, Mama...
[He falls over dead]

---

Connections

Referenced in Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood! (1987)

User Reviews

Carribbean action-adventure -Hammer-style

In the seventeenth-century, a young Huegonot (Kerwin Mathews) escapes from a West Indies penal colony and joins forces with a treasure-obsessed pirate (Christopher Lee)...

Action-adventure in the Carribbean, Hammer-style, with not one but two Hollywood flavor-of-the-month hunks -Kerwin Mathews & Glenn Corbett (whatever happened to him?). Plenty of cutlass clashing (including a climactic one between Mathews and Lee), derring-do, and faux French accents but with all the swamp chases, you'd think at least one character would get gobbled up by quicksand. Unfortunately, none did. There were, however, enough saber-stabbings, booby-traps (including a spiked pit), musket skirmishes, and death by piranha (hence the title, "Blood River") to satisfy the easily amused. It was filmed on the back lots of Hammer's Bray Studios and stereotypes abounded from the sexy, nearly iconic Christopher Lee as the black-clad, one-eyed pirate king to a barrel-chested Oliver Reed as one of his lusty mates. The killed-off-all-too-soon Ollie cut a handsome, husky figure as did an earnest Glenn Corbett who's constipated acting made the rather lethargic Kerwin Mathews look like Sarah Bernhardt. Oddly enough (or not), Kerwin didn't have a femme love interest but Glenn did -the lackluster Marla Landi who looked a lot like Madeline Rhue. All in all, an agreeable time-waster, of interest mainly for it's idiosyncratic international beefcake.