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

According to an article written by Hedda Hopper in The Los Angeles Times (July 7, 1961), producer Jerry Wald had signed John Mills and his daughter Hayley Mills for this movie. Wald died in July 1962 and the project did not materialized.

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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

Looking for this film on video

I was pleased to find this movie on your website and see the comments. This is a film which I loved as a child and have tried to find to purchase. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anywhere, nor have I seen it on TV. As a child I lived in a small town where the theatre played a lot of movies over and over, esp westerns, and I could even watch a movie 2 or 3 times in one sitting if I wanted. This I would do on a Sat or Sun afternoon. I watched this film 3 or 4 times and thought James Coburn and Anthony Quinn were excellent. Didn't remember the other actors and actresses except that I really liked the girl who ended up in the courtroom. I loved the theme song but don't know if it's any more available than the movie. It says something like: When man is young and certain of what he wants to be.....Then fate brings a love to him that hangs him high from the gallow's tree, my friend, high from the gallow's tree. Does anyone know who sang this ballad? I can't remember the rest of the words. Anyway, I agree with everyone else: It's a shame High Wind is not available to us on video or somewhere. It was a great film!