MASKED MAN AGAINST THE PIRATES, THE

Aka L'uomo mascherato contro I pirati (US)
1964
Italy
Pino Addario for Rio Film, Seven Film
Director: Dean vert [Vertunnio De Angelis]
Story: Dino Sant'Ambrogio
Screenplay: Aldo Barni, Dino Sant'Ambrogio
Cinematography: Antonio Belviso {Eastmancolour}
Music: Felice Di Stefano
Editor: Mariano Arditi
Set design: Demofilo Fidani
Cameraman: Gino Santini
Filmed: Titanus Studios
Release information: Registered 27.06.64. Italy (12.07.64, 87 mins)
Cast: George Hilton (Suarez), Claude Dantes (the Princess), John Warren [John Vari] (Garcia, a pirate), Pietro De Vico, Tony Kendall [Luciano Stella] (Ruiz), Gina Rovere, Lucien Benetti, Lucio De Santis [Lucio De Sanctis], José Torres, Mario Zicavo, Angelo Santiamantini, Paolo Reale, Antonio Bullo, Giorgio Costantini, Pino Musco

The year is 1559. Big, fat, bearded pirate Garcia (who wears a Jolly Roger hat but no parrot) is terrorising the Spanish navy. Whenever frigates return from the New World with a cargo of gold, his speedy vessel 'The Albatross' intercepts them and he claims the booty for his own.

After a particularly daring raid his men capture a number of prisoners including some irritating comedy priests and a Spanish princess (Claudia Dantes), to whom Garcia's second-in-command Suarez (a particularly young looking George Hilton) takes an immediate shine. They are all forced to attend a banquet at which the main entertainment is provided by the sadistic torture of a young officer, Ruiz (a particularly young looking Tony Kendall).

In order to protect her from his erratic captain, Suarez marries the Princess (with whom he has fallen into unreciprocated love), and slowly allows his sympathetic nature to show through. Meanwhile, some geezer wearing a green hood and tights (set off nicely by a charming pair of yellow underpants) is roaming around making mischief, clumping sentries on the noggin and helping Ruiz, who is conveniently presumed dead, to escape.

Before long they have arrived at the brigand's secret island hideaway, where they prepare to hang the prisoners. Except for the ladies, of course, who are to be sold to the devious slave trader Ramirez. However the mysterious masked man (who could it be?) has other ideas.

By all accounts, this diverting if modest adventure film was generally assumed to be Hilton's debut, and he starts as he means to go on by portraying a trademark double-sided character. At one moment the villain and another the hero, there is the feeling that he is playing by the rules of a game that only he knows. If not exactly stretched, he looks as mischievous as always and displays a nice line in suave agility. If he doesn't exactly stand out from the leading men of similar films, it is because he isn't really allowed to display the cool laconicism that was to become his signature.

As for Uomo Mascherato itself, it is a fairly standard pirate drama, fitting nicely alongside such titles as Roberto Mauri's Flag of Death (I Pirata del diavolo, 63) and Don Sharp's Pirates of Blood River (62). Perhaps it is most interesting for displaying many sequences and themes that were to become familiar from the later Spaghetti Westerns in a different setting. There's the 'bandit' chief Garcia (who looks suspiciously Mexican and eats lots of roast meat without cutlery), the hero who infiltrates the gang to destroy it and the ingenious punishment scenes. This was the partner piece to The Black Pirate, which features almost the same cast and crew, but wasn't released until 1972.

There's also the chance to see Tony Kendall dressed up in virtually the same silly costume that he was to don in Gianfranco Parolini's Three Fantastic Supermen (I Fantastici tre supermen, 67).

Matt Blake