The Spanish Main (1945)

42% of users liked it
(102 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

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Frank Borzage
Written By: George Worthing Yates
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance

In Theaters: Oct 1, 1945 Wide

Critic Reviews

Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
It hardly seems the work of Frank Borzage.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A conventional pirate story that's given a colorful treatment under Frank Borzage's helmsmanship.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Cast

            Paul Henreid as Laurent Van Horn

            Maureen O'Hara as Francisca

            Walter Slezak as Don Alvarado

            Binnie Barnes as Anne Bonney

            John Emery as Du Billar

            Barton MacLane as Capt. Black

            J.M. Kerrigan as Pillery

            Fritz Leiber as Bishop

            Nancy Gates as Lepita

            Jack LaRue as Lt. Escobar

            Mike Mazurki as Swaine

            Ian Keith as Capt. Lussan

            Curt Bois as Paree

            Antonio Moreno as Commandante

            Demetrius Alexis
            
            Marcelle Corday as Senora Perez

            Juan de la Cruz as Major-Domo

            Abe Dinovitch as Singer

            Norma Drury as Senora Montalvo

            Chuck Hamilton
            
            Jamiel Hasson
            
            Brandon Hurst as Capt. Salter

            Victor Kilian as Santa Madre Captain

            Cosmo Sardo
            
            Dan Seymour as Jailer

            Ray Spiker as Bully

            Jean Valjean
            
            Max Wagner
            
            Leo White as Hairdresser

            Jack Wise as Manicurist

            George Bruggeman
            
            Al Haskell
            
            Bob O'Connor as Master at Arms

            Don Avalier as Pirate

            Alf Haugan
            
            Alfredo Sabato as Sailing Master

            Leo Schlesinger as Spanish Guard

            Tom Kennedy as Capt. McLeon

            Ray Cooper
            
See full cast

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