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15 out of 15 people found the following review useful: A sadly overlooked gem, 3 July 2001 Author: eunicem (eunicem@netzero.com) from Lake Helen, Florida
One can only be thankful that Disney did not get hold of Richard Hughes' novel. The saccharine sweetness would have made one gag. The only disappointment that I had with the film was that it did not follow the book. Otherwise, this was a superb film in its own right. Anthony Quinn proved that he could play other characters than Zorba, an often overlooked fact.The children were so prim and Victorian "proper" that their conflict with the pirates. or privateers, as they preferred to call themselves, was at time hilarious. My favorite scenes were when the children, who were on the ship for months without any means of amusing themselves other than their own devices, spooked the crew with various innocent or mischievous plays, such as pretending to do a burial at sea, and turning around the head of the ships figurehead so that it faced backwards. The superstitious sailors were terrified by what was really childish mischievous fun.When the ship put into Tampico, where the Captain hoped to leave them behined with the local Madame, played by Lila Kedrova who seemed to have taken acting lessons from Carmen Miranda, the children were spruced up and returned to their clean clothes and with their hair combed. As the crew member doing the grooming explained: "the Captain wants you to look your best for the ladies". "What ladies?" asked the children. Under his breath the seaman muttered "You'll find out." Of course, the local ladies were the ladies of ill repute in a Godforsaken part of the Carribean where anything goes and the law would never set foot.The beauty of the film is that it rises above the mawkish semtimentally that it could have fallen into. The Captain, Chavez, takes to the young girl, Emily, who is as feisty as they come, and she and the other children take to him. A Victorian version of the Stockholm syndrome where the captives idenity with their captors.The story is a tragedy, as the pirates who after all, were simply making a living in the only way they knew. It wasn't even a profitable living, just a traditional, but dying, occupation. Suddenly they were stuck with some ill-disciplined little English children travelling to England to be paced in English boarding schools and "civilised", and neither side really understood the other. It was the misunderstanding that caused the problems and led to the final tragedy.I would recommend this film to people who like to think and ponder over what is right and what is wrong, and from what perspective do we view right and wrong.
9 out of 9 people found the following review useful: a haunting, not by-the-numbers film, 29 April 2002 Author: (sacha_moggy@yahoo.com) from new york, n.y.
I first saw this film as a child, and was surprised that I remembered so much of it over 30 years later. It is an unusual story of children who end up on a pirate ship by a quirk, and their relationship with the pirates, who regard them as unlucky. Which turns out to be true, in an unforeseen way. Anthony Quinn, as pirate captain, is superb, as are all the cast, especially the actress playing Emily, the oldest child.Forget any preconceived ideas you might have about the plot. This is a haunting, unforgettable story.
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: A great adventure film with a strong cast and a surprise ending., 25 June 1999 Author: Phil Leshin (birdbud@bestweb.net) from New York, NY
Having read the book in 1965, I took my (then) 3 young daughters to see the film. They were so stirred and charmed that they made me sit through a second screening. Anthony Quinn and James Coburn were brilliant, lovable rogues and the main little girl was someone my kids could identify with. Gert Frobe as the Dutch sea captain was memorable, and the English cast, director Alexander Mackendrick and the screenwriter(s) should be commended for creating a superb example of the art of cinema. I have but one sad comment: Why isn't this film available on videotape or disk, or at least on cable?
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful: A wonderful lost classic, 3 June 2002 Author: mmarshal
I saw this fantastic movie for the first and only time as a child in a theater when it was first released in 1965. Since then, I've hoped to see it again and share it with others, but it is not available for viewing anywhere. Repeat, ANYWHERE. It never appears on American TV (I've checked, there are several web sources one can use to track whether specific movies are scheduled to run, and I've never seen any of them showing High Wind appearing on any North American station. In fact, the only time any of theses sources showed it being broadcast anywhere was once, on a network in Japan back in 1988). It has never been re-released for theatrical showings, and it has never been released on video. I even regularly check eBay to see if a "black market" copy might be available, but none have ever shown up.Mt gut tells me the reason for this is likely the usual in these sorts situations: some endless (and meaningless) copyright dispute. I don't know if that's the case, but if it is, I wish the opposing parties would wake up and realize that (a) this release -- as great as it is -- is too old and unknown to be a big future money maker for anybody, and (b) that whatever that income might be, because of their arguing neither of them is making ANY money of this film.A great movie, but one lost, in all likelihood because of greed. What a shame.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Definitely worth watching., 31 August 2004 Author: cobram-1 from United States
I had never even heard of this movie before. Probably wouldn't have watched it...but it was on AMC tonight and nothing else was on. I'm glad I didn't miss this one; this movie is very close to what "real" pirates, corsairs and privateers were like in their waning days. Of course there is a bit of artistic license, but the makeup of the crew, the scenes at the Port of Tampico, and the general feel of the film make it good fare, considering the constraints put on motion pictures in the year it was made. Many things implied, and understood behind the PG-rated facade of most scenes. The acting I found very good, the actors showed their contempt, inhumanity, decency, evil etc. (the facial expressions and acting of the madam in Tampico shows the ugliness behind the gilded facade beautifully) without having to "talk down" to the audience. Overall a very pleasant surprise for me, and I won't miss this one the next time it's on.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Evil isn't always found where one expects it to be, 22 June 1999 Author: anonymous from Charlottesville, VA
An excellent adaptation of Richard Hughes' novel. Quinn and Coburn have never been better, and they are well-served by a fine supporting cast. Evil has never been more banal than it is in this fine film.
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Not quite savage enough, 16 October 2006 Author: TrevorAclea from London, England
A major influence on John Milius' The Wind and the Lion (Milius would even cast its leading child actress, Deborah Baxter, in his film), Alexander MacKendrick's film of A High Wind in Jamaica is a little too safe for too much of its running time to really capture the heart of childish darkness of the novel. It starts well with the white family praying to God and their black servants sacrificing a chicken in a voodoo ceremony as they both shelter from a fierce storm in the basement of their plantation building, setting up the conflict not just between different cultures but also the generations with the innocent and indifferent fascination children have with the things their elders find most repellent. Yet when they find themselves accidental hostages of Anthony Quinn and James Coburn's pirates, their childish games driving the superstitious crew ever closer to mutiny and the story closer to tragedy, it's somewhat undermined by the fact that these pirates are a surprisingly passive and well behaved lot. Yet when it finally does move into darker waters, it's surprisingly powerful and effective, and there's a real sense of loss to the ending. If the film occasionally threatens to go all Disney on you and isn't up to the standard of MacKendrick's best work, it does share his understanding of how children really behave with films like Mandy, and it also features a surprisingly beautiful full orchestral score by Larry Adler.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Thank God for the Internet!, 14 October 2004 Author: Claus Krebs (ckrebs@geocities.com) from Santiago, Chile
As many times before, the IMDb has proven to be such a valuable resource. Like others who have written their comments here, I also saw this movie as a child and could never forget it. Besides, I fell completely in love with the little girl's character and somehow retained the actress's name in my memory for over 20 years: Deborah Baxter. In fact, that is how I found the movie again, because I had completely forgotten its title. The only other actor I remembered for sure was Anthony Quinn, so I began looking at the casts of all of his films whose title suggested pirates or ocean, until I arrived here and --to my own astonishment-- discovered that my memory had not failed me: the girl's name actually is Deborah Baxter! It seems that she only ever acted in two movies; what became of her? Anyway, I am happy to announce here that the movie has finally been released on DVD. I'm definitely buying it.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Looking for this film on video, 17 April 2003 Author: Carol Reidy from Bastrop, TX
I was pleased to find this movie on your website and see the comments. This is a film which I loved as a child and have tried to find to purchase. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anywhere, nor have I seen it on TV. As a child I lived in a small town where the theatre played a lot of movies over and over, esp westerns, and I could even watch a movie 2 or 3 times in one sitting if I wanted. This I would do on a Sat or Sun afternoon. I watched this film 3 or 4 times and thought James Coburn and Anthony Quinn were excellent. Didn't remember the other actors and actresses except that I really liked the girl who ended up in the courtroom. I loved the theme song but don't know if it's any more available than the movie. It says something like: When man is young and certain of what he wants to be.....Then fate brings a love to him that hangs him high from the gallow's tree, my friend, high from the gallow's tree. Does anyone know who sang this ballad? I can't remember the rest of the words. Anyway, I agree with everyone else: It's a shame High Wind is not available to us on video or somewhere. It was a great film!
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: There's really no evil, here, 24 February 2001 Author: escoles from rochester ny usa
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
... and that's really the point -- not "evil is banal."To explain what I mean would require a spoiler. Suffice to suggest that if you watch this, you pay close attention to Captain Chavez's face in the courtroom scenes.I do recommend this movie highly, by the way. Coburn and Quinn really are excellent in it, and Hughes's adaptation of his own novel is also excellent. It's a little slower than the standard pirate fare, but much, much more realistic.
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