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 | child | child murderer | pirate | pirate captain | 

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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

James Mason had tried to set it up as part of his producer / director deal with Fox. He had planned to make it more about the children, and he would have starred alongside Stephen Boyd and Hayley Mills.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

User Reviews

Definitely worth watching.

I had never even heard of this movie before. Probably wouldn't have watched it...but it was on AMC tonight and nothing else was on. I'm glad I didn't miss this one; this movie is very close to what "real" pirates, corsairs and privateers were like in their waning days. Of course there is a bit of artistic license, but the makeup of the crew, the scenes at the Port of Tampico, and the general feel of the film make it good fare, considering the constraints put on motion pictures in the year it was made. Many things implied, and understood behind the PG-rated facade of most scenes. The acting I found very good, the actors showed their contempt, inhumanity, decency, evil etc. (the facial expressions and acting of the madam in Tampico shows the ugliness behind the gilded facade beautifully) without having to "talk down" to the audience. Overall a very pleasant surprise for me, and I won't miss this one the next time it's on.