The Spanish Main

This article is about the film. For the Caribbean coast, see Spanish Main.
The Spanish Main

Poster
Directed by Frank Borzage
Produced by Frank Borzage
Written by Aeneas MacKenzie (story)
George Worthing Yates
Herman J. Mankiewicz
Starring Maureen O'Hara
Paul Henreid
Walter Slezak
Binnie Barnes
Music by Hanns Eisler
Cinematography George Barnes
Edited by Ralph Dawson
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • October 4, 1945 (1945-10-04) (U.S.[1])
Running time
 100 min.
Language English
Budget $2 million[2]
Box office 2,819,971 admissions (France)[3]

The Spanish Main (1945) is an adventure film starring Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak and Binnie Barnes, and directed by Frank Borzage.[4][5] It was RKO's first all-Technicolor film since Becky Sharp ten years before.

Cinematographer George Barnes received an Academy Award nomination for Best Color Cinematography. Though a box office hit upon its first release, the film is chiefly remembered today for its lavish and intricate score by Hanns Eisler.

Plot

Dutch sea captain Laurent van Horn (Paul Henreid) is shipwrecked off the coast of the Spanish settlement of Cartagena. After being held and sentenced to death, van Horn and his crew manage to escape. Five years later, van Horn has established himself as the mysterious pirate known only by the name of his ship: The Barracuda. After infiltrating the vessel ferrying her to her wedding, they capture Francisca Alvarado (Maureen O'Hara) who has been arranged to marry the corrupt governor (Walter Slezak). Wishing to avoid further bloodshed aboard the escort ship, Francisca offers to marry van Horn if he will spare the escort, to which he agrees. Over time Francisca and van Horn become attracted to each other and set out to defeat the villainous governor Don Juan Alvarado and treacherous pirates Du Billar (John Emery) and Capt. Black (Barton MacLane).

Cast

The film includes the character Anne Bonny (Barnes), in a fictionalized account of the real-life well-known female pirate.

Release

The film was successful and made a profit of $1,485,000.[6][7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "The Spanish Main: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ Variety 12 September 1945 p 12
  3. ↑ French box office of 1948 at Box Office Story
  4. ↑ Variety film review; October 3, 1945, page 20.
  5. ↑ Harrison's Reports film review; October 6, 1945, page 158.
  6. ↑ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 206
  7. ↑ Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016


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