The Pirates of Blood River

The Pirates of Blood River
UK quad poster
Directed by	John Gilling
Screenplay by	John Hunter John Gilling
Story by	Jimmy Sangster
Produced by	Michael Carreras
Starring	Kerwin Mathews Christopher Lee Glenn Corbett Peter Arne Marla Landi Andrew Keir Oliver Reed
Cinematography	Arthur Grant
Edited by	Eric Boyd-Perkins
Music by	Gary Hughes
Production company	Hammer Film Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	31 July 1962 (1962-07-31) (United Kingdom) August 1962 (1962-08) (United States)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Pirates of Blood River is a 1962 British swashbuckler film directed by John Gilling and starring Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed.

Plot

While in a penal colony, Huguenot Jonathan Standing is captured by pirates led by Captain LaRoche who force him to lead them back to his home village to retrieve a treasure supposedly hidden there.

Cast

• Kerwin Mathews as Jonathan Standing
• Glenn Corbett as Henry
• Christopher Lee as Captain LaRoche
• Peter Arne as Hench, a pirate
• Marla Landi as Bess Standing
• Desmond Llewelyn as Tom Blackthorne
• Oliver Reed as Brocaire, a pirate
• Andrew Keir as Jason Standing
• Michael Ripper as Mack, a pirate
• David Lodge as Smith
• Dennis Waterman as Timothy Blackthorne
• Jack Stewart as Godfrey Mason
• Marie Devereux as Maggie
• Lorraine Clewes as Martha Blackthorne
• Jerold Wells as Penal Colony master
• Diane Aubrey as Maggie (uncredited)

Production

The film was produced at Bray Studios, Berkshire. Location shooting took place at Blackpark Lake, Black Park Country Park, Black Park Road, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK (Blood River); Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, England, UK (jungle); Callow Hill Sandpit, Virginia Water, Surrey, England, UK (penal colony).

Reception

Box office

The film was issued on a double bill with Mysterious Island (1961), Britain's biggest grossing double bill of the year. According to Films and Filming it was the tenth most popular movie in Britain for the year ended 31 October 1962.

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Stodgy, two-dimensional costume piece. Blood flows freely against colourful locations, but most schoolboys are likely to wish that the pirates had stayed out at sea."

Leslie Halliwell said: "Land-locked blood and thunder for tough schoolboys"

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This Hammer swashbuckler is a colourful, action-packed adventure. ... There are wenches and scurvy knaves galore, but only tantalising vestiges of the X-rated bloodbath intended, as the film was reduced to U certificate derring-do for the school holidays after long sessions at the censor's office"

External links

• The Pirates of Blood River at IMDb