Pirates of Tortuga

Pirates of Tortuga
by Robert D. Webb

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Movie Reviews of Pirates of Tortuga

Movie Review: Average Pirate Opus
Summary: 3 Stars

The plot is simple. Captain Bart and his crew have just docked their ship in London harbour after a long voyage. However, British Admiralty has an urgent assignment for our hero. He is asked to deal with the notorious pirate, Henry Morgan, who is terrorizing the Caribbean Sea, blocking sea-lanes and plundering ships. Recruiting some old ship-mates, our hero sets sail with his crew. To complicate matters--and add some romance and pulchritude for the viewer--an "actress" stows away on the ship, in order to escape the law--it seems she was picking too many pockets ! The rest of the movie is fairly predictable, with decent action and the inevitable "tempestuous relationship" between our Captain and the larcenous young lady.

With American actor, Ken Scott, top-lined as the Captain, you can see that this is not exactly a "star-studded" epic. Scott is a handsome, capable actor, but lacks the charisma and physical agility that would have given this film an extra boost in excitement. Leading lady, Leticia Roman, is vivacious and attractive, but over-acts outrageously--then again, this isn't "Hamlet" ! Famous athlete, Rafer Johnson, may get second billing to Scott on the DVD cover, but his role as a crewman is minor--whatever physical feats he was capable of are sadly not used in this movie. Dave King, a popular English singer/comedian, registers as "Pee Wee", the crew's amusing fencing instructor. Finally, Morgan the pirate is played by noted stage actor, Robert Stephens, obviously having fun baring his teeth and grinning maniacly.

The DVD gives you the option of wide or full screen. I found the colour to be impressive--of course, the sound is mono. The extras consist of a trailer for the film, and trailers for other "nautical" films on Fox.

On the whole, "Pirates of Tortuga" is lovely to look at, and good family entertainment, as long as your expectations are as modest as the film's budget. It is also good news that Fox--and hopefully other studios--are releasing lesser-known movies like this one on DVD, rather than re-issuing blockbusters over and over.

Summary of Pirates of Tortuga