The Spanish Main (1945)
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43% of users liked it
(114 ratings)
RKO Radio's first film in the three-color Technicolor process was the standard-issue swashbuckler The Spanish Main. Paul Henried is his usual stoic self as Laurent Van Horn, a Dutch sea captain shipwrecked on the coast of Cartagena, a Spanish-held island. Sentenced to be hanged, Van Horn and his… More RKO Radio's first film in the three-color Technicolor process was the standard-issue swashbuckler The Spanish Main. Paul Henried is his usual stoic self as Laurent Van Horn, a Dutch sea captain shipwrecked on the coast of Cartagena, a Spanish-held island. Sentenced to be hanged, Van Horn and his crew escape from jail and take up piracy as revenge against Spain. Soon afterward, they capture a ship carrying Francisca (Maureen O'Hara), the fiance of Cartagena's corrupt governor Don Alvarado (Walter Slezak). Van Horn vengefully forces Francisca to marry him instead, which causes dissension at the Pirate colony of Tortuga. Naturally, Van Horn and Francisca eventually fall in love with each other, but the bad guys must be vanquished before a happy ending can be realized. Binnie Barnes steals the show as feisty female buccaneer Anne Bonney (who in real life looked less like Barnes and more like Walter Slezak!) The script is a cynical melange of pirate-movie cliches and the performances are generally routine, but The Spanish Main pleased the crowd in 1945, posting a profit of nearly $1.5 million and encouraging future Technicolor adventure films from RKO. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Borzage
- Written By
- George Worthing Yates
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 1, 1945 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
It hardly seems the work of Frank Borzage.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A conventional pirate story that's given a colorful treatment under Frank Borzage's helmsmanship.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Paul Henreid
as Laurent Van Horn
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Maureen O'Hara
as Francisca
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Walter Slezak
as Don Alvarado
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Binnie Barnes
as Anne Bonney
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John Emery
as Du Billar
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Barton MacLane
as Capt. Black
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J.M. Kerrigan
as Pillery
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Fritz Leiber
as Bishop
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Nancy Gates
as Lepita
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Jack LaRue
as Lt. Escobar
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Mike Mazurki
as Swaine
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Ian Keith
as Capt. Lussan
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Curt Bois
as Paree
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Antonio Moreno
as Commandante
- Demetrius Alexis
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Marcelle Corday
as Senora Perez
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Juan de la Cruz
as Major-Domo
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Abe Dinovitch
as Singer
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Norma Drury
as Senora Montalvo
- Chuck Hamilton
- Jamiel Hasson
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Brandon Hurst
as Capt. Salter
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Victor Kilian
as Santa Madre Captain
- Cosmo Sardo
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Dan Seymour
as Jailer
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Ray Spiker
as Bully
- Jean Valjean
- Max Wagner
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Leo White
as Hairdresser
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Jack Wise
as Manicurist
- George Bruggeman
- Al Haskell
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Bob O'Connor
as Master at Arms
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Don Avalier
as Pirate
- Alf Haugan
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Alfredo Sabato
as Sailing Master
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Leo Schlesinger
as Spanish Guard
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Tom Kennedy
as Capt. McLeon
- Ray Cooper
