A ruthless pirate captures the keeper of a lighthouse, in the most southern city in Argentina. His goal is obvious and horrific. He plans to control the lighthouses signals in a way that the passing ships will be crushed on the rocks.
Pirates take over a lighthouse on a rocky island. They then execute a devious plan to cause ships to run aground, pillaging their wrecks. A lone member of the lighthouse crew survives, and he deperately fights their plot. A shipwrecked maiden that avoids the pirates slaughter soon complicates the situation.Written by
John Rutkai <jrutkai@learningtree.com>
The film was made and released about sixty-six years after its source novel "Le Phare du bout du monde" ("The Lighthouse at the End of the World") by French novelist Jules Verne had been first published in 1905. See more »
Goofs
When Kirk Douglas jumps, the dummy's legs flail around, the knees bending in unnatural angles, revealing it to be an obvious prop. See more »
Quotes
Kongre:
Every ship that passes must pay tribute to this rock. A tribute to me, as yours did.
See more »
Alternate Versions
The movie has a published running time of 120 minutes (although the UK DVD has a running time of 122:38) but cinemagoers in Britain were shown a truncated version of the film. MGM had acquired the United Kingdom release rights in the movie and were intent on releasing it in Britain as their major Christmas film for all the family. Unfortunately the British Board Of Film Censors would only grant the film an X certificate, barring all under eighteen years of age from seeing it. What MGM had perceived as a jolly action romp was deemed by the UK censors to be an excessively violent film suitable only for adults. In tandem with the censors MGM made extensive cuts for a lower 'A' certificate. Virtually all of the graphic violence and female assault scenes in the original film were excised and the British release of the movie was not a success. The current UK DVD contains the original full-length print but has a 15 certificate and is missing 35 secs of a scene featuring a horsefall. See more »
One of my favorite films of all-time. Unusual because the pirates depicted in this movie are all too real. None of the romanticizing Errol Flynn or Jack Sparrow stuff. These pirates were shockingly ruthless and a real sense of danger permeates the film. Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas bring intensity to their roles. Brynner as the egotistic sociopath who is the leader of the cutthroats and Douglas as a man who must deal with a desperate situation in a fight for survival. Samantha Eggar as a woman with flawed instincts for her own preservation evokes frustration and pity. From the brutal opening scenes, the message is clear that these pirates don't play. A sense of urgency then takes over until the final outcome. A great movie!
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One of my favorite films of all-time. Unusual because the pirates depicted in this movie are all too real. None of the romanticizing Errol Flynn or Jack Sparrow stuff. These pirates were shockingly ruthless and a real sense of danger permeates the film. Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas bring intensity to their roles. Brynner as the egotistic sociopath who is the leader of the cutthroats and Douglas as a man who must deal with a desperate situation in a fight for survival. Samantha Eggar as a woman with flawed instincts for her own preservation evokes frustration and pity. From the brutal opening scenes, the message is clear that these pirates don't play. A sense of urgency then takes over until the final outcome. A great movie!