Few seafaring swashbucklers match the high adventure and spectacle of this first rate Errol Flynn film. The story nimbly places the heroes in every predicament native to the genre without slipping into cliches or contrivances. An early battle scene with two ships trading broadsides and men swarming all over is particularly impressive. The plot has privateer (Flynn) working for Queen Elizabeth in times of increasing friction between England and Spain. A plot to make way for war and a Spanish love interest are only some of the complications.