Opening titles:- “July 1588: In the English Channel the British Fleet has been battling for two days against the mighty Spanish Armada….Badly damaged, with half their crews killed, the ships of Spain battle their way on up the Channel. And in the thickest part of the fighting is one of the smallest Spanish ships – the licensed privateer ‘Diablo’.”
Robeles, the pirate captain of the Diablo, puts in for repairs and convinces the local villagers that the English fleet has been defeated….
Production Details
A Hammer film production released by Columbia Pictures
Copyright MCMLXIII Hammer film Productions Ltd. – All rights reserved
MPAA Approved Certificate
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional
RCA Sound Recording
Megascope
Produced at Bray Studios, England
Eastmancolour by Pathe 86 mins
Filming Began: 19th August 1963
UK Release: 9th August 1964
Studio:
Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire
Location:
Maidenhead, Berkshire
Stills from film
Click an image for enlarged slideshow
Cast & Crew
Red = Uncredited
Crew | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Credits | Uncredited | Total Hammer | |
Art Director | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/don-mingaye/# | 35 | 1929 | 8 Nov 2017 | 88 | 28 | 15 | 43 | |
Assistant Director | Bert Batt | 34 | 25 Apr 1930 | 6 Nov 2011 | 81 | 13 | 13 | ||
Assistant Editor | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/chris-barnes/# | 26 | 1938 | 5 Jun 2009 | 71 | 21 | 12 | 33 | |
Camera Operator | Alan Hall | 35 | 1929 | 2012 | 83 | 1 | 1 | ||
Clapper Loader | Anthony B. Richmond | 22 | 7 Jul 1942 | 7.07.1942 | 82 | 4 | 4 | ||
Construction Manager | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/arthur-banks/# | 19 | 29 | 48 | |||||
Continuity | Pauline Harlow (Wise) | 26 | 1938 | 01.01.1938 | 86 | 11 | 3 | 14 | |
Director | Don Sharpe | 43 | 19 Apr 1921 | 14 Dec 2011 | 90 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Director of Photography | Michael Reed | 35 | 7 Jul 1929 | 15 Dec 2022 | 93 | 6 | 2 | 8 | |
Fight Arranger | Peter Diamond | 34 | 10 Aug 1929 | 27 Mar 2004 | 74 | 4 | 25 | 29 | |
Hair Stylist | Frieda Steiger | 60 | 29 Dec 1903 | 19 Aug 1993 | 89 | 28 | 28 | ||
Make-up Artist | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/roy-ashton/# | 55 | 16 Apr 1909 | 10 Jan 1995 | 85 | 36 | 4 | 40 | |
Music Composer | Gary Hughes | 42 | 21 Mar 1922 | 25 Apr 1978 | 56 | 5 | 5 | ||
Musical Supervisor | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/john-hollingsworth/# | 48 | 20 Mar 1916 | 29 Dec 1963 | 47 | 37 | 3 | 40 | |
Producer | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/anthony-nelson-keys/# | 52 | 13 Nov 1911 | 19 Mar 1985 | 73 | 41 | 41 | ||
Production Designer | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/bernard-robinson/# | 52 | 28 Jul 1912 | 2 Mar 1970 | 57 | 45 | 4 | 49 | |
Production Manager | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/don-weeks/# | 59 | 15 Nov 1904 | Mar 1988 | 83 | 30 | 30 | ||
Sailing Master Capt. | R.C.S. Garwood CBE. DSO. RN | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Screenplay | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/jimmy-sangster/# | 36 | 2 Dec 1927 | 19 Aug 2011 | 83 | 65 | 2 | 67 | |
Second Assistant Director | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/hugh-harlow/# | 25 | 17 Jun 1939 | 17.06.1939 | 85 | 5 | 33 | 38 | |
Sound Editor | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/roy-hyde/# | 44 | 15 Feb 1920 | 28 Jun 1985 | 65 | 30 | 1 | 31 | |
Sound Recordist | Ken Rawkins | 46 | 1 Jan 1918 | 1971 | 53 | 18 | 18 | ||
Special Effects | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/les-bowie/# | 50 | 10 Nov 1913 | 27 Jan 1979 | 65 | 30 | 13 | 43 | |
Supervising Editor | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/james-needs/# | 44 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 110 | 1 | 111 | |
Wardrobe Mistress | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/rosemary-burrows/# | 36 | 5 | 41 | |||||
Cast | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Credits | Uncredited | Total Hammer | |
Angela | Suzan Farmer | 22 | 16 Jun 1942 | 17 Sep 2017 | 75 | 4 | 4 | ||
Antonio | Charles Houston | 33 | 1931 | 2006 | 75 | 5 | 5 | ||
Bosun | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/duncan-lamont/# | 46 | 17 Jun 1918 | 19 Dec 1978 | 60 | 7 | 7 | ||
Bragg | Harry Locke | 51 | 10 Dec 1912 | 7 Sep 1987 | 74 | 2 | 2 | ||
Captain Robeles | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/sir-christopher-lee/# | 42 | 27 May 1922 | 7 Jun 2015 | 93 | 22 | 22 | ||
Don Jose | Joseph OConor | 54 | 14 Feb 1910 | 21 Jan 2001 | 90 | 2 | 2 | ||
Grande | Michael Peake | 45 | 13 Oct 1918 | 1 Apr 1967 | 48 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Gustavo | Barry Linehan | 38 | 23 Sep 1925 | 8 Jun 1996 | 70 | 3 | 3 | ||
Harry | John Cairney | 34 | 16 Feb 1930 | 7 Sep 2023 | 93 | 1 | 1 | ||
Jane | Natasha Pyne | 18 | 9 Jul 1946 | 9.07.1946 | 78 | 1 | 1 | ||
Mandrake | Jack Rodney | 48 | 18 Dec 1915 | 20 Feb 1967 | 51 | 1 | 1 | ||
Manuel | Barry Warren | 31 | 12 Jul 1933 | 22 Feb 1994 | 60 | 3 | 3 | ||
Meg | Annette Whiteley | 18 | 28 Jun 1946 | 28.06.1946 | 78 | 1 | 1 | ||
Miller | Philip Latham | 35 | 17 Jan 1929 | 20 Jun 2020 | 91 | 4 | 4 | ||
Mrs Blake | June Ellis | 38 | 1926 | 26 Jun 2011 | 85 | 2 | 2 | ||
Pablo | Johnny Briggs | 28 | 5 Sep 1935 | 28 Feb 2021 | 85 | 2 | 2 | ||
Pedro | Bruce Beeby | 42 | 21 Oct 1921 | 20 Oct 2013 | 91 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Pepe | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/michael-ripper/# | 51 | 27 Jan 1913 | 28 Jun 2000 | 87 | 34 | 2 | 36 | |
Pirate | Bill Brandon | 5 | 5 | ||||||
Pirate | Jack Taylor | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||
Quintana | Leonard Fenton | 38 | 29 Apr 1926 | 29 Jan 2022 | 95 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Sir Basil Smeeton | Ernest Clark | 52 | 12 Feb 1912 | 11 Nov 1994 | 82 | 1 | 1 | ||
Sir Basils Servant | Kenneth Benda | 62 | 3 Jun 1902 | 26 Jul 1978 | 76 | 1 | 1 | ||
Smiler | Michael Newport | 11 | 23 Sep 1952 | 23.09.1952 | 72 | 1 | 1 | ||
The Vicar | Peter Howell | 44 | 25 Oct 1919 | 20 Apr 2015 | 95 | 2 | 2 | ||
Tom | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/andrew-keir/# | 38 | 3 Apr 1926 | 5 Oct 1997 | 71 | 7 | 7 | ||
Villager | Pat Ryan | 48 | 1916 | 1992 | 76 | 6 | 6 |
Original Poster
Click to enlarge
Footnotes
Actor Johnny Briggs has a very small role in this film. He is now well-known to millions of television viewers as Mike Baldwin in Granada TV’s Coronation Street.
Another British soap star appears here – Leonard Fenton. He went on to play Dr Harold Legg in BBC TV’s Eastenders.
Regular Assistant Director Bert Batt joins Hammer with this production. In 1969, he wrote the story (with Anthony Nelson Keys) and the screenplay for Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.
Director Don Sharp made two more films for Hammer – The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) and Rasputin – the Mad Monk (1966). His other credits include Witchcraft (1964, with Lon Chaney, Jr,), The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966, both with Christopher Lee) and Jules Verne’s Rocket to the Moon (1967).
The title boat Diablo capsized during shooting and about 30 people ended up in the water along with camera, sound equipment, props etc. It was caused during a scheduled tea break in shooting, when the tea boat came alongside and everyone rushed to that side of the boat. The Diablo was so badly damaged they decided to set fire to the actual boat in the final scenes, rather than use a model as planned.