***SPOILERS*** One of movie strongman Steve Reeves best and most sensitive performances as the English pirate Henry Morgan. The daring young man who took upon himself to destroy the Spanish Empire with his band of jolly Roger Buccaneers in a series of hit and run battles on land as well as at sea.
Things didn't start off that good for Morgan with him being sold into slavery by the Spanish after capturing him from a sunken English galleon. It was Morgan's Greek-god like physique and good looks that had the daughter of the Governor of Panama's daughter Dona Inez, Valerie Iagrange, fall heads over heels for the big hunk by buying him at a slave auction in town. Put in charge of the royal stable Morgan made the mistake of getting a little too close, like enveloping her with his massive arms, with Dona, a horse lover, when she went to see the latest colt of her prized stallion. Condemmed to a life as a slave rower on a Spanish galleon Morgan starts a mutiny among the slaves on the boat who take it over throwing its Spanish crew overboard. Joing up with the pirates on far off Torluga Island Morgan starts his personal war against the Spanish using them and their ships as his attacking naval task force.
Non stop action with Captain Morgan causing havoc all across the Caribbean for the Spanish with his hit and run tactics that has them or the Governor of Panama Don Jose Guzman, Ivo Garrani, offer as much as 50,000 docket's, pieces of gold, for Morgan's head. During the action Morgan's buccaneers capture the governor's daughter Dona Inez who start to suffer for a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. Thats in Dona falling madly in love with her capture Captain Morgan, whom she was nuts about earlier in the movie before her capture, to the horror of her outraged father Governoer Guzman who want's her boyfriend dead!
In the end Morgan is double-crossed by his fellow Englishman and comrade in arms Sir Thomas Modyford, Givlio Bosetti, who after signing a secret peace treaty with the hated Spanish ratted out Morgan's brilliant battle plan to attack Panama City from the west, Pacific Ocean, not east, Atlantic Ocean, as the Spanish expected him to. With his navy now at the bottom of the Caribbean Morgan whips his men into action by launching a ground attack, with thousands of buccaneers, using the local cattle as human, or animal, shields on the surprise attack on Panama City.
***SPOILERS*** Action packed final with Morgan and his men breaching the Panama City walls and having it out with the Governor's men on their own turf making mincemeat out of them. Morgan himself gets a bonus besides capturing Panama City, the richest city in the Americas, by rescuing Dona who was being held against her will there by her pop "The Gov" or Governor. And later, after the film "Morgan the Pirate was over, Morgan would end up living out his final years as he Governor of Panama City which he and his men captured from the Spanish.
P.S I was at first surprised to see Steve Reeves' clean shaved but he then grew his famous beard back within the first half hour of the movie. It may have been the heat and humidity of the Caribbean that cased Reeves to later again shave off his beard and never has it grow back for the remainder of the film.
Things didn't start off that good for Morgan with him being sold into slavery by the Spanish after capturing him from a sunken English galleon. It was Morgan's Greek-god like physique and good looks that had the daughter of the Governor of Panama's daughter Dona Inez, Valerie Iagrange, fall heads over heels for the big hunk by buying him at a slave auction in town. Put in charge of the royal stable Morgan made the mistake of getting a little too close, like enveloping her with his massive arms, with Dona, a horse lover, when she went to see the latest colt of her prized stallion. Condemmed to a life as a slave rower on a Spanish galleon Morgan starts a mutiny among the slaves on the boat who take it over throwing its Spanish crew overboard. Joing up with the pirates on far off Torluga Island Morgan starts his personal war against the Spanish using them and their ships as his attacking naval task force.
Non stop action with Captain Morgan causing havoc all across the Caribbean for the Spanish with his hit and run tactics that has them or the Governor of Panama Don Jose Guzman, Ivo Garrani, offer as much as 50,000 docket's, pieces of gold, for Morgan's head. During the action Morgan's buccaneers capture the governor's daughter Dona Inez who start to suffer for a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. Thats in Dona falling madly in love with her capture Captain Morgan, whom she was nuts about earlier in the movie before her capture, to the horror of her outraged father Governoer Guzman who want's her boyfriend dead!
In the end Morgan is double-crossed by his fellow Englishman and comrade in arms Sir Thomas Modyford, Givlio Bosetti, who after signing a secret peace treaty with the hated Spanish ratted out Morgan's brilliant battle plan to attack Panama City from the west, Pacific Ocean, not east, Atlantic Ocean, as the Spanish expected him to. With his navy now at the bottom of the Caribbean Morgan whips his men into action by launching a ground attack, with thousands of buccaneers, using the local cattle as human, or animal, shields on the surprise attack on Panama City.
***SPOILERS*** Action packed final with Morgan and his men breaching the Panama City walls and having it out with the Governor's men on their own turf making mincemeat out of them. Morgan himself gets a bonus besides capturing Panama City, the richest city in the Americas, by rescuing Dona who was being held against her will there by her pop "The Gov" or Governor. And later, after the film "Morgan the Pirate was over, Morgan would end up living out his final years as he Governor of Panama City which he and his men captured from the Spanish.
P.S I was at first surprised to see Steve Reeves' clean shaved but he then grew his famous beard back within the first half hour of the movie. It may have been the heat and humidity of the Caribbean that cased Reeves to later again shave off his beard and never has it grow back for the remainder of the film.