My wife and I just finished re-watching THE BUCCANEERS and we enjoyed it even more than the first time. We’re big fans of the 1950s British historical action-adventure shows and have seen almost all of those that are currently available. We concur that THE BUCCANEERS is the best of the lot, even better than Richard Greene’s much better known ROBIN HOOD. Both series were produced by Hannah Weinstein for her Sapphire Films productions and were instigated by Lew Grade (years away from becoming entertainment mogul Lord Grade) for his fledgling ITV network. THE BUCCANEERS ran for 39 episodes during 1956-57 and served as the launching pad for Robert Shaw’s movie career. It also gave work to a number of blacklisted American writers and technicians who were banned from working in the U.S.
There are a number of things that distinguish THE BUCCANEERS from the other shows of its era. The scripts were consistently above average plot wise which allowed for more character development. The relationship between Robert Shaw as pirate captain Dan Tempest and acting governor Edward Beamish was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the series. Beamish was wonderfully portrayed by Peter Hammond who started out as a comic foil to Shaw but quickly developed into an equal partner though of a completely different temperament. Unfortunately he left 2/3 of the way through the series (after 26 episodes) to pursue a director’s career which was great for Hammond but the series suffered as a result as it became more one note with a tiresome love interest for Shaw.
In addition to Hammond there were four others among the pirate crew whose characters were expanded as the series progressed. There was Armando, played in brown make-up and curly wig by Edwin Richfield, who was half Spanish and half Indian. He was Dan Tempest’s go to man and played a central role in over half the episodes. My wife’s favorite was Gaff (Brian Rawlinson), a big guy with a good heart who fought first and thought later. Then there was Taffy (Paul Hansard) who was supposed to be a Welshman. He was the musician of the group who led the sea shanties (there was always lots of singing) but he also joined in the swordplay and fisticuffs that were in every episode. Finally there was Dickon (Wilfred Downing), a young boy who came of age under the pirates’ tutelage.
The series was actually based on historical fact. It was set in the Bahamas of 1718 where the Governor General was authorized to offer pardons to the pirates there in exchange for them protecting the islands from the Spanish and other buccaneers like Blackbeard. Like all of the shows from this time period, THE BUCCANEERS was family oriented. The potential darker sides of the characters were barely hinted at, the violence was bloodless, and it had a catchy theme song (“Let’s go a’ roving and join the buccaneers”). Also like the other shows from the 1950s, this series showcased not only up and coming performers like Robert Shaw, Adrienne Corri, Richard Pasco, and Hazel Court but also well known character players like Anthony Dawson, Alex Mango, Sid James, and Roger Delgado.
Like so many of Lew Grade’s early ITV / ITC television shows, THE BUCCANEERS, after its initial run in the U.S., existed in substandard second and third generation copies that had poor sound and inconsistent video quality. Back in 2006 Mill Creek Entertainment issued all 39 episodes but they were not in the original order that they were first shown and that creates a problem with the character development that I spoke of earlier. Still this set is to be preferred over the recent several volume set released by public domain specialists Alpha Video or what is currently available on Amazon streaming. Although it is more expensive and is Region 2, the Network set from 2008 remains THE set to have. All the episodes are on 5 discs and the picture and sound are the best available. Too bad there are no subtitles.
The Capsule Critic 