Back to browse
65% Critic Match
The Spanish Main
“Loving her . . . taming her . . . called for all his reckless daring!”
6.5 / 10• 1945• 1h 40m•NR• English
AdventureDramaRomance
Storyline
Laurent van Horn is the leader of a band of Dutch refugees on a ship seeking freedom in the Carolinas, when the ship is wrecked on the coast of Cartagene, governed by Don Juan Alvardo, a Spanish ruler. Alvarado has Laurent thrown in prison, but the latter escapes, and five-years later is a pirate leader. He poses as the navigator on a ship in which Contessa Francesca, daughter of a Mexican noble, is traveling on her way to marry Alvarado, whom she has never seen. Laurent's pirates capture the ship and Francesca, in order to save another ship, gives her hand-in-marriage to Laurent, who sails her to the pirate hideout. This irks his jealous pirate comrades Anne Bonney and Captain Benjamin Black. They overpower Laurent and send Francesca to Alvarado, and then Mario du Billar, a trusted right-hand man, makes a deal to deliver Laurent to Alvarado.
Cast & Crew
Paul Henreid
Capt. Laurent Van Horn
Lead
Maureen O'Hara
Contessa Francesca
Walter Slezak
Don Juan Alvarado
Binnie Barnes
Anne Bonney
John Emery
Mario Du Billar
Barton MacLane
Capt. Benjamin Black
J.M. Kerrigan
Pillery Gow
Fritz Leiber
Bishop
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Frank Borzage's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. The Spanish Main is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
