Pirates, shipwrecks, and talking pictures collide in cinema's first all-talking ocean epic.
Captain Black and his motley crew of pirates are shipwrecked on a South Sea island, where they hold several shanghaied sailors captive. Black observes the ship commanded by Hurricane Martin approaching and conspires to get his men aboard the vessel and seize the cargo.
Practical Effects
Real ship locations and storm sequences
Acting
Hobart Bosworth's commanding silent-era gravitas
Production
Ambitious location shooting for 1929
Director
Ralph Ince
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Universal's answer to MGM's successful sound transition, rushed into production to capitalize on the talkie craze.
The 'shanghaied sailors' plot casually depicts the brutal practice of forced maritime labor that plagued Pacific ports until the 1940s.
US
