Fortunes of Captain Blood

Posted by Under The Black Flag Fortunes of Captain Blood, movies 5:18 π.μ.

Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) is a pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the novel by Rafael Sabatini, Fortunes was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious swashbuckler. Complete with daring sword fights, sensational sea battles, intrigue, and a vivacious love interest, Douglas breathed new life into this successful remake of the 1935 Captain Blood that starred Errol Flynn. It later spawned a sequel from the same cast and crew only two years later entitled Captain Pirate.

The film follows the standard story about Captain Blood. An Irishman banished for his treatment on a wounded rebel during the Monmouth Rebellion, Dr. Peter Blood has become a feared buccaneer on the high seas. King Charles II of Spain (Curt Bois) thus calls upon the Marquis de Riconete to capture the evasive Captain Blood and end his attacks upon Spanish ships. Blood is safe until he docks to resupply his crew; while his men are out they are betrayed by their supplier, the slave trader George Fairfax. Once captured, the pirates are tortured by the Marquis to find Blood's whereabouts. Blood then disguises himself as a fruit seller to find and rescue his loyal crew, who have not revealed the location of their beloved captain. During his search he befriends Pepita Rosados (Patricia Medina), a beautiful flirt who reveals to Blood that many of Fairfax's slaves are dying. Blood then confronts Fairfax about the deplorable situation, and finds that Fairfax is having troubles with Isabelita Sotomayor, the niece of the Marquis. The Marquis then decides to arrest Fairfax for his supposed involvement with Blood, so his troops secretly follow Isabelita to his house. She pleads with Fairfax to alleviate her boredom with the island, offering him money to sail to Spain. After their discussion, the troops enter and a fight ensues. Still disguised as a fruit seller, Blood treats the wounded Fairfax in a nearby tavern and offers to Isabelita a trip to Spain if she convinces her uncle to pardon Fairfax. She agrees, and using his newfound insider information Blood discovers the seal of the Marquis. Unfortunately, he mistakes the forgery and after revealing his mistaken note to the prison guard a battle ensues.

Blood and his men escape, however the Marquis is not willing to abandon his search. Isabelita is shocked to discover that her uncle plans to torture the local tavern owner to find the captain, so she reveals his location, thinking he has already set sail. Unfortunately, the incoming tide had prevented his hasty exit, and the Marquis confronts Blood at sea. A fiery battle ensues, with the flaming boat of the Marquis ultimately trying to ram Captain Blood. Luckily, Blood's crew managed to destroy the entire vessel before the deadly flames could reach them. After the pirates ensured their victory, Blood sails away and Isabelita vows to stay on the island and create a new government without slavery.