Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)

Crappy film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

An agreeable as well as decent John Payne swashbuckler about the Pirate Barbarossa, a real personage against the Spanish Main. This classic story of romantic adventure come to life enriched by Technicolor photography and adapted rightly to the screen. Since man's earliest venturings upon the oceans ..into the icy breakers of the North.. or the warm waters of the golden gulf have come down wondrous tales of Raiders of the Seven Seas . Barbarossa was one of them , sailing recklessly through the seventeenth Century , from India's Ocean to the Caribbean islands , today he still lives in hundreds of legends . This is one : It begins in Morocco , in the palace of the Sultan , where Barbarossa (John Payne) flees . As Barbarossa takes over a Spànish ship called Santa Margarita and frees a bunch of prisoners and makes them his crew , as his aide Peg-Leg (Lon Chaney) and deputy Renzo (Anthony Caruso) , among others . As a corsair captain and a crew of escaped convicts plundering for loot and revenge . On a raid, he takes as a prize a Spanish countess (Donna Reed) , Alida , governor's daughter . He has fallen in love with her by the time he manages for her ransom by the captain Salcedo (Gerald Mohr) who was to marry her . Meanwhile, Barbarossa goes to Santo Domingo and Turtle Island . Exposing her intended as a liar and a coward , he goes to ask for her hand but she has fled , and Barbarossa believes she is the one who murdered his assistant . Barbarossa encounters dangerous situations while trying retrieve his lover , as he is double-crossed and after that , he attacks La Habana , Cuba , where is the residence of the governor general and his officer , Captain Goiti (Henry Brandon).Amusing pirate movie , plenty of action , thrills , colorful cinematography and luxurious costumes . Although the story has been told before , tight filmmaking and nice acting win out . Overwhelming battle ships , sword-play and full of villainy , romance , swashbuckler and heroism . The picture is fast-moving , exciting and thrilling right up to the almost balletic climatic confrontation between John Payne and Gerald Mohr . Average-budgeted film by United Artists Pictures , using appropriate ship shots and miniature sets when possible . Nice acting by John Payne as a famous pirate who uses all kind of shrewdness in order to penetrate a well-defended stronghold on La Habana . Payne starred various swashbucklers and classic adventures such as ¨Tripoli¨ with Mauren O'Hara , ¨Captain China¨ by Lewis R. Foster , ¨Caribbean¨ by Edward Ludwig with Arlene Dahl , ¨Crosswinds¨ by Lewis Foster with Rhonda Fleming , among others . ¨Raiders of the seven seas¨ results to be one of John Payne's swashbuckling best though hasn't achieved a classic status . There appears the gorgeous Donna Reed as a hot-tempered countess moll who swoons over Payne ; furthermore , an enjoyable support cast such as Gerald Mohr as Captain Jose Salcedo , Lon Chaney Jr as Peg Leg , Anthony Caruso as Renzo , Henry Brandon as Captain Goiti and Frank DeKova as Captain Romero .United Artists took advantage of the unused as well as left sets from other A-movies by scripting and shooting a hastily assembled B-picture . This is a good-natured Technicolor romp with glamorous cinematography by Howard Greene and evocative musical score by Paul Sawtell. The motion picture was professionally produced and directed by Sidney Salkow , a craftsman who had already filmed other adventures . He realized all kind of genres such as routine westerns (Sitting Bull , The great Sioux massacre , Pathfinder) , Adventures (Prince of Pirates , Sword of the avenger) , war films , Sci-Fi (The last man on Earth) , Terror (Twice-told tales) and melodramas (City without men) . Salkow first worked for Republic, after joining Universal . At Columbia , he handled , among other assignments, four installments of the popular Lone Wolf series . After 1953, Salkow was primarily active as director of episodic television . Rating : 6 , acceptable pirate movie , entertaining stuff . It will appeal to John Payne and Donna Reed fans .

Raiders Of The Seven Seas looks like a project that would have fit Tyrone Power a whole lot better than John Payne. Even though the two looked similar and I've always believed that Payne was signed by 20th Century Fox to take Power's place in musicals, Payne just doesn't quite have the proper élan to be a swashbuckling pirate.The story has Payne escaping from the Barbary Coast and taking over a slave ship that was sitting idle in calm waters. The cargo of would be slaves provide a very willing crew as they were to be sent to the Spanish West Indies as plantation help. Payne goes there too and builds himself quite a little pirate fleet and gets himself involved with Donna Reed who is scheduled to marry Captain Gerald Mohr. Mohr himself has a nasty rivalry with a soldier sent from Spain played by Henry Brandon. Mohr's rivalry with Brandon and his jealousy of Payne prove to be his undoing.Three other roles deserve mention, Payne's treacherous second in command Anthony Caruso, his loyal pilot Lon Chaney, Jr., who plays your typical peg-leg pirate in the style of Long John Silver, and young Spud Tergerson who is a kid in the crew. What he was doing there other than to attract a juvenile audience, God only knows.Despite a miscast Payne, Raiders Of The Seven Seas is a pleasant enough average adventure drama. It will never take the place of such swashbuckling classics as Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, or The Black Swan.

Just saw 7 seas movie. I did not hate it at all. the scenery is adequate and the color was alright. Some scenes were a little hard to swallow but the actors made the film believable. Was fun to see sexy John Payne is something else different from Twentieth Century Fox musicals. Mr.Payne can really show emotions when especially he is mad...watch his forehead and his eyes.Donna reed i simply adore...she has a face that you cant forget. Reminds me a lot of my all time favorite MISS PAULETTE GODDARD. The supporting cast is all recommended and the plot is simple but effective. Really worth a watch. You no what.....todays movies may be advanced and up to date.....id rather see JOHN Payne as a pirate anytime compared to Johnny Depp who has everything handed to him on a silver platter. Yester years actors really worked and sweated to give the best performance ever...and they didn't have much help like the actors of today have.

The light-hearted nature of this pirate adventure is immediately evident as the film opens with Barbarosa (Payne) being discovered romancing some harem ladies whereupon he's furiously chased by soldiers. He manages to reach the seacoast and swims out to the nearest ship. This is the best part of the film as he surreptitiously climbs aboard and rather than becoming a galley slave, he persuades the crew to mutiny and then to piracy with him as their chief!From then on it's pretty standard pirate movie fare. Henry Brandon and Gerald Mohr are surprisingly effective as wealthy but dishonest Spanish schemers, but their modern haircuts don't go very well with their elaborate 17th century court costumes. Donna Reed looks good, but is not convincing as the haughty daughter of a Spanish governor. The film comes alive only when John Payne is on screen, but nevertheless manages to entertain.