JOHN PAYNE’S SWASHBUCKLER FILMS

World War Two veteran John Payne appeared in everything from Film Noir to westerns to Miracle on 34th Street. In between he showed up in these swashbuckler movies.

RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1953) – John Payne plays the real-life 1500s pirate Barbarossa (Redbeard) in this fictional version of his exploits. While working as a corsair for the Sultans of the Middle East, the daring and accomplished seadog spends a little too much time with a Sultan’s harem and is sentenced to death.

Barbarossa escapes to sea just ahead of the executioner’s axe, takes over a Spanish slave ship and liberates the slaves. Reaching the Caribbean Islands Barbarossa accepts a French Letter of Marque so he can prey on more Spanish ships as a privateer.

Eventually, during a raid of Tortuga, our hero seizes the incumbent Spanish governor Alida – played by Donna Reed in uncharacteristic spitfire mode – and holds her for ransom. Barbarossa and his crew take on Spanish galleons and Alida’s treacherous betrothed Captain Salcedo (1950s smug jackass Gerald Mohr).

Alida escapes on her own but soon realizes Salcedo’s true nature and helps Barbarossa bring him down to begin a romance of their own. Also starring were Lon Chaney Jr, Anthony Caruso, Claire DuBrey and Frank De Kova of F-Troop. 88 minutes.   

TRIPOLI (1950) – Throw away historical accuracy and pick up a sword and pistol for this wild embellishment of a crucial point in the First Barbary War. The tale is set in April and May of 1805 with John Payne starring as the real-life U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Pressley O’Bannon and Maureen O’Hara as the fictional Countess Sheila D’Arneau.

American diplomat William Eaton (Herbert Heyes) recruits Marines, including O’Bannon, off the USS Essex to lead a force of American troops and international mercenaries to take down the Pasha of Derna, part of the Tripolitan forces opposing the U.S. The Pasha’s brother Hamet is financing the undertaking so he can replace his brother and make peace with America.

The willful and, of course, beautiful Countess D’Arneau engages in a flirtatious battle of the sexes with Pressley O’Bannon as the two reluctantly fall in love. The swashbuckling action takes place at Alexandria, Egypt, in the North African Desert and ultimately in the Tripolitan port city Derna. 

The Pasha and his brother drop their feud and try to destroy the American-led forces, but naturally our heroes prevail and the romantic leads become a couple. Also starring 1776‘s Howard Da Silva, Alan Napier, Grant Withers and Connie Gilchrist. 95 minutes.   

CARIBBEAN GOLD (1952) – In 1728, hunter and produce supplier Dick Lindsay (John Payne) is hunting ducks on a Caribbean Island and covertly watches pirate Cedric Hardwicke burying his latest plunder. Lindsay is captured and put in chains by Hardwicke.

Among his servants, the pirate captain holds the nephew (also played by Payne) of his bitter old pirate enemy, portrayed by Francis Sullivan. Hardwicke agrees to spare the hunter Dick Lindsay’s life and also pay him a fortune in gold if he cooperates in a plan to bring down his archenemy Sullivan.   

Because Hardwicke has held the nephew captive for many years, Sullivan is not familiar with what his nephew Robert looks like anymore. Dick Lindsay agrees to pose as the nephew and claim to have escaped from Hardwicke.

Dick can then covertly assemble information about the monumental defenses of Sullivan’s pirate fortress and get it to Hardwicke, thus enabling him to take the fortress and kill his rival once and for all. 

While carrying out his action-packed mission and infiltrating Sullivan’s pirates, Lindsay falls for Sullivan’s captive – Hardwicke’s daughter Christine, played by Arlene Dahl. We get a mostly happy ending with just a touch of bittersweetness. Woody Strode appears in this flick. 91 minutes.