Ferdinado Baldi's spectacular and glimmer adventure features impressive duels , elegant costuming , functional production design , loads of action and full swashbuckling . This moving pirate film in Italian style is starred by Dean Reed in Paella/Pasta ways; being filled with action , adventure , thrills , intrigue, spectacular fighting and hilatious touches. This is the attractive tale of a buccaneer who takes over a ship of corsairs and wreak havoc on the high seas. After the death of her father, the gorgeous Isabella (Annabella Incontrera), the viceroy of a small Caribean island, her kingdom is in a big danger. Her cousin, crafty duke of Burt (Alberto de Mendoza) wants to grab the power on the isle, and he is determined to get rid of her. Fortunately then comes a bunch of pirates stranded after a shipwreck. Their leader is the brave and bold Alan Drake (Dean Reed). Isabelle is adviced by Sir Hasley (Tomás Blanco) to be helped by the team of pirates. Then Drake is imprisoned, but later he is freed and assigned to retrieve a document that proves Isabella's the only heiress.
This is an enjoyable entertainment juvenile romp, displaying noisy action, swordplay , fistplay and drops of humor with tongue in cheek. Stars a valiant buccaneer , a philander adventurer named Alan Drake: Dean Reed, who's hired to protect Isabella from her evil cousin who's decides to eliminate her and then the adventure starts. Aboard the ship, Drake undertakes his mission along with other underlings: Tito García, Paolo Gozlino, Sal Borgese, Paca Gavaldón.
This release has some nice moments here and there and even likeable fights and swording with a lot of extras struggling and swashbuckling . The adventure is flamboyant with an impressing finale, as the pirates attempt to conquer an unassailable castle, but consistently superficial - the hero has no depth and only thinks of gold, although he ultimately allows himself to be convinced that freedom is better than money. It follows the wake of other pirate movies at the time: ¨Antonio Mollica's El corsario¨ (1970) with Robert Woods or ¨José Luis Merino's Pirates of Blood Island¨ (1972) with Stan Cooper. Los corsarios(1971) is made in a limited budget film , but it has more budget than the previous ones. Stars the always likeable Dean Reed who shows his athletic skills playing a dashing adventurer pirate who delivers peace and justice . He's in his most agile and deft style and performs his own stunts. Dean Reed had some successful appearances as a good-looking hero in a number of Spaghetti Westerns he played in the decades of the Sixties and Sixties .Dean was a successful singer and activist. His politics moved to the left but he never joined the Communist party . He was deported from Argentina in 1966 and ended up in Rome , where he made "spaghetti westerns" , such as : ¨Adios Sabata¨, "Buckaroo: The Winchester Does Not Forgive" , "God Made Them... I Kill Them" , "Challenge of the Golden Fist" , "Robin Hood, Arrows, Beans and Karate" for several years. He continually got into trouble with US State Department for protesting Vietnam War and attending International Peace Conferences . He moved to East Germany (GDR) in 1973, made numerous albums, starred in several films such as : ¨Sing cowboy sing¨, ¨Blutsbruder¨ , ¨Kit and Co¨ and wrote and directed his own . But in 1986 , Dean Reed's body was found in the lake near his home outside of East Berlin . Many close to him suspected suicide ; his family and friends in America believed he was murdered. Being a Spanish/Italian coproduction , here shows up Spaniard support actors , such as: Tito García, Tomás Blanco, Paca Gabaldón, Florinda Chico and Italians: Paolo Gozlino, Sal Borgese. This swashbuckler packs passable action sequences ordinarily staged with stylish and vitality , adventure , fights in Hill/Spencer style , romance , final dueling and being entertaining but average. There are some decent action sequences including the the thrilling ending fencing on the castle between Drake against the nasty duke in a thrilling fencing , in the main climax of the film .
It contains colorful and sunny cinematography, shot on tthe Spaghetti Westerns locations in Almería, Alcazaba, Tabernas, Almeria, Andalucía, España. As well as catchy and lively musical score by Nico Fidenco. The motion picture was mediocrely and professionaly directed by Ferdinando Baldi, though is entertaining and amusing enough. Direction by Ferdinando Baldi is well crafted, here he is more cynical and inclined toward humor and packs too much action . Baldi makes a nice camera work with clever choreography on the duels on the beach and at the castle and adding bemusing scenes . Baldi was a craftsman who directed all kind genres but especially Western such as "Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket" , "Django, Prepare a Coffin" , ¨Adios Texas¨ , ¨Rita in the West¨ and of course ¨Il Pistolero dell'Ave Maria" or USA original title "Forgotten Pistolero" at his best , furthermore the successful The treausere of the for crowns and thrillers as ¨Sicilian Connection¨ and wartime as : ¨Missione finale¨ , War bus , Un maledetto soldado¨. Rating : 5/10 , average . Only for Dean Reed fans and Italian/Spanish co-productions or Euro-trash enthusiasts. This exploitation adventure material is worthy of some attention after all these years.
