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Just so...so bad

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

In this exciting, colorful Italian 1960 swashbuckling costume drama, Lex Barker plays Commander Luis Monterrey, a man who is seemingly successful and powerful (although an interesting early scene makes clear that although Monterrey is allowed to attend important social functions and mingle with the rich, he is NOT one of them, and is expected to "know his place" in society), representing Spain as a naval officer in the mid-1500s. You might be expecting a usual captain hero vs. bad pirates plot based on the first twenty minutes, but the film makes an interesting about-face, and then goes in a very different direction, which I won't give away. Barker handles the role convincingly, and is paired against, then with, pirate head Livio Lorenzon. One of Lorenzon's associates is played by Black American expatriate actor John Kitzmiller. The film could use some more swordplay, but overall, it's an exciting, well-played and well-photographed genre-film, for those who like Italian costume adventures. And the charismatic Lex Barker once again shows why he became such a popular actor in Europe in the late 50s and early 60s. This film was once a staple on US local TV twenty years ago, but an internet search should get you a VHS copy if you really want one...and the legit VHS copy, licensed from ZIV Television, that is circulating is of excellent quality.