A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)

In 1870, a Jamaican colonial family sends its children to Britain for proper schooling but their ship is taken over by pirates who become fond of the kids.

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Writers:

Stanley Mann (screenplay), Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Dennis Price

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Quinn	...	Chavez
James Coburn	...	Zac
Dennis Price	...	Mathias
Lila Kedrova	...	Rosa
Nigel Davenport	...	Frederick Thornton
Isabel Dean	...	Alice Thornton
Kenneth J. Warren	...	Capt. Marpole
Ben Carruthers	...	Alberto (as Benito Carruthers)
Gert Fröbe	...	Dutch Captain (as Gert Frobe)
Brian Phelan	...	Curtis
Trader Faulkner	...	Pirate
Charles Laurence	...	Tallyman
Charles Hyatt	...	Pirate
Dan Jackson	...	Pirate
Viviane Ventura	...	Margaret Fernandez

Storyline

The parents of children living in Jamaica, afraid that the kids are growing up uncivilized, decide to send them to England. But during the voyage, the childrens' ship is boarded by pirates and in the confusion the children wind up trapped on the pirate ship. The children view it as a lark, and one of them, a girl named Emily, develops an unusual bond with Chavez, the pirate captain. The superstitious pirates can't wait to unload the kids at the first port, but a tragedy prevents it, and Emily's relationship with Chavez takes a fateful twist.

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Plot Keywords:

child murders an adult | caribbean sea | child in jeopardy | murder of child | cigar smoking | 

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Taglines:

Piracy and High Adventure on the High Seas!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

4 June 1965 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Sturm über Jamaika

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film had a long and troubled history. Richard Hughes's original novel, published in 1929, is a dark and disturbing story, and James Mason, who greatly admired it, wanted to make a film of it in the 1950s, producing it for Twentieth Century-Fox as well as playing one of the leads. However, the studio saw it as a light-hearted Disney-style pirate adventure aimed at a family audience; several years after Mason's plans had come to nothing, they revived the project along these lines with Nunnally Johnson assigned as writer and producer. When Alexander Mackendrick was approached to direct, he was appalled by the travestying of Hughes's novel, and was able to persuade leading man Anthony Quinn that a more faithful and disturbing version of the book was a better idea. Johnson's script was rejected. Quinn used his (considerable) influence to help Mackendrick and the ensuing film was highly praised; it was, however, cut by the studio by about 25 minutes, which Mackendrick claimed had ruined it. He always insisted subsequently that he should never have attempted the film, which was a box-office failure.

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Goofs

The hurricane at the beginning of the film is rather clearly created with a combination of wind machines and water sprayed onto the set. Despite the torrential downpour there is sun-dappling beneath the tree where Emily is looking for her cat, and blue sky and puffy white clouds are visible in the distance behind her and her father.

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Quotes

Chavez: What kind of man are you? You are a butcher! Why don't you tell us where the money is?

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Connections

Referenced in A Very Curious Girl (1969)

User Reviews

A great adventure film with a strong cast and a surprise ending.

Having read the book in 1965, I took my (then) 3 young daughters to see the film. They were so stirred and charmed that they made me sit through a second screening. Anthony Quinn and James Coburn were brilliant, lovable rogues and the main little girl was someone my kids could identify with. Gert Frobe as the Dutch sea captain was memorable, and the English cast, director Alexander Mackendrick and the screenwriter(s) should be commended for creating a superb example of the art of cinema. I have but one sad comment: Why isn't this film available on videotape or disk, or at least on cable?