The Pirates of Blood River – 1962

A Hammer film production released by Columbia Pictures Copyright MCMLXI Hammer Film Productions β All rights reserved
MPAA Approved Certificate
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the names characters or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional
RCA Sound Recording
Made at Bray Studios, England
Eastmancolour 84 mins
A Hammerscope production photographed in Megascope
Storyline
Opening titles:- βAt the end of the seventeenth century, men, women, and children voyaged far from their mother country seeking some haven from persecution. They were known as Huguenots. They found their haven and called it the Isle of Devon and gave thanks to God for their deliverance. But in the years to come, the just laws of the Colony began to yield to greed and tyranny. Happiness became an echo of the past. Freedom β just a memory.β When he escapes from the prison compound, Jonathan Standing runs into a gang of bloodthirsty pirates led by the cunning La Roche, who is convinced that the little community is hiding a treasure in gold.
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Crew
Function | Credited | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
Click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Art Director | Don Mingaye | 33 | 1 Jan 1929 | 8 Nov 2017 | 88 | 26 | 14 | 40 | |
Ast. Director | John Peverall | 31 | 1 Jan 1931 | 3 Oct 2009 | 78 | 21 | 21 | ||
Camera Operator | Len Harris | 46 | 19 May 1916 | 21 Feb 1995 | 78 | 52 | 1 | 53 | |
Casting | Stuart Lyons | 34 | 1 Jan 1928 | 23 Feb 1998 | 70 | 8 | 8 | ||
Continuity | Tilly Day | 59 | 1903 | 1994 | 91 | 13 | 1 | 14 | |
Director | John Gilling | 50 | 29 May 1912 | 22 Nov 1984 | 72 | 21 | 21 | ||
Director of Photog. | Arthur Grant BSc | 47 | 1915 | 1972 | 56 | 30 | 30 | ||
Editor | Eric Boyd-Perkins | 45 | 1 Jan 1917 | 4 Dec 2014 | 97 | 10 | 10 | ||
From a story by | Jimmy Sangster | 34 | 2 Dec 1927 | 19 Aug 2011 | 83 | 65 | 2 | 67 | |
Hair Stylist | Frieda Steiger | 58 | 29 Dec 1903 | 19 Aug 1993 | 89 | 28 | 28 | ||
Horse Master and Master at Arms | Bob Simmons | 40 | 31 Mar 1922 | 21 Oct 1987 | 65 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Make-up Artist | Roy Ashton | 53 | 16 Apr 1909 | 10 Jan 1995 | 85 | 36 | 4 | 40 | |
Music Composer | Gary Hughes | 40 | 21 Mar 1922 | 25 Apr 1978 | 56 | 5 | 5 | ||
Musical Supervisor | John Hollingsworth | 46 | 20 Mar 1916 | 29 Dec 1963 | 47 | 36 | 2 | 38 | |
Producer | Anthony Nelson-Keys | 50 | 13 Nov 1911 | 19 Mar 1985 | 73 | 41 | 41 | ||
Production Designer | Bernard Robinson | 50 | 28 Jul 1912 | 2 Mar 1970 | 57 | 46 | 3 | 49 | |
Production Manager | Clifford Parkes | 35 | 1927 | 2014 | 87 | 12 | 12 | ||
Screenplay | John Gilling | 50 | 29 May 1912 | 22 Nov 1984 | 72 | 21 | 21 | ||
Screenplay | John Hunter | 50 | 22 Aug 1911 | 8 Sep 1984 | 73 | 4 | 4 | ||
Sound Editor | Alfred Cox | 37 | 1925 | 2005 | 80 | 21 | 4 | 25 | |
Sound Recordist | Jock May | 57 | 1 Jan 1905 | 8 Jan 1991 | 86 | 30 | 1 | 31 | |
Special Effects | Les Bowie | 48 | 10 Nov 1913 | 27 Jan 1979 | 65 | 32 | 11 | 43 | |
Supervising Editor | James Needs | 42 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 110 | 1 | 111 | |
Wardrobe Mistress | Rosemary Burrows | 36 | 5 | 41 | |||||
Wardrobe Supervisor | Molly Arbuthnot | 53 | 19 Dec 1908 | 31 Oct 2001 | 92 | 48 | 4 | 52 | |
Uncredited | |||||||||
Charge-hand Props | Peter Allchorne | 37 | 1925 | 98 | 9 | 9 | |||
Clapper Loader | Alan McDonald | 24 | 1938 | 85 | 14 | 14 | |||
Construction Manager | Arthur Banks | 18 | 29 | 47 | |||||
Focus Puller | Harry Oakes | 41 | 16 Jan 1921 | 11 Dec 2012 | 91 | 53 | 53 | ||
Focus Puller | Trevor Wrenn | 26 | 1 May 1936 | 87 | 2 | 2 | |||
Seymour | Richard Bennett | 26 | 29 Mar 1936 | 24 Dec 2012 | 76 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Special Effects Ast. | Terry Schubert | 24 | 1938 | 85 | 6 | 6 | |||
Special Effects Ast. | Brian Johnson | 23 | 29 Jun 1939 | 84 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
Cast
Character | Actor | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
Click link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Bess | Marla Landi | 29 | 16 Apr 1933 | 89 | 2 | 2 | |||
Blacksmith | David Lodge | 40 | 19 Aug 1921 | 18 Oct 2003 | 82 | 10 | 10 | ||
Brocaire | Oliver Reed | 24 | 13 Feb 1938 | 2 May 1999 | 61 | 9 | 9 | ||
Godfrey Mason | Jack Stewart | 49 | 22 Mar 1913 | 1 Jan 1966 | 52 | 4 | 4 | ||
Hench | Peter Arne | 41 | 29 Sep 1920 | 1 Aug 1983 | 62 | 1 | 1 | ||
Henry | Glenn Corbett | 28 | 17 Aug 1933 | 16 Jan 1993 | 59 | 1 | 1 | ||
Jason Standing | Andrew Keir | 36 | 3 Apr 1926 | 5 Oct 1997 | 71 | 7 | 7 | ||
Jonathan Standing | Kerwin Matthews | 36 | 8 Jan 1926 | 5 Jul 2007 | 81 | 2 | 2 | ||
La Roche | Christopher Lee | 40 | 27 May 1922 | 7 Jun 2015 | 93 | 22 | 22 | ||
Mac | Michael Ripper | 49 | 27 Jan 1913 | 28 Jun 2000 | 87 | 34 | 2 | 36 | |
Martha Blackthorne | Lorraine Clewes | 44 | 12 Nov 1917 | Dec 1996 | 79 | 1 | 1 | ||
Penal Colony Master | Jerold Wells | 54 | 8 Aug 1908 | 19 Jul 1999 | 90 | 4 | 4 | ||
Timothy | Dennis Waterman | 14 | 24 Feb 1948 | 8 May 2022 | 74 | 3 | 3 | ||
Uncredited | |||||||||
2nd Settler | John Roden | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Carlos | Don Levy | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Kemp | Michael Peake | 43 | 13 Oct 1918 | 1 Apr 1967 | 48 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Lance | John Collin | 33 | 18 Oct 1928 | 25 Feb 1987 | 58 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Maggie Mason | Marie Devereux | 21 | 27 Nov 1940 | 30 Dec 2019 | 79 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Margaret Blackthorne | Diane Aubrey | 23 | 1 Jan 1939 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
Martin | Michael Mulcaster | 50 | 3 Oct 1911 | 10 Aug 1984 | 72 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
Old Townsman | Bert Sims | 67 | 29 Oct 1894 | 18 Apr 1972 | 77 | 1 | 1 | ||
Penal Colony Guard | John Bennett | 34 | 8 May 1928 | 11 Apr 2005 | 76 | 2 | 2 | ||
Penal Colony Guard | George Hilsdon | 55 | 25 Apr 1907 | 28 May 1982 | 75 | 7 | 7 | ||
Pirate | Jim O'Brady | 55 | 13 May 1907 | 1 Jan 1991 | 83 | 18 | 18 | ||
Pirate | Ernie Rice | 65 | 17 Nov 1896 | 1979 | 85 | 7 | 7 | ||
Pirate | Bill Brandon | 5 | 5 | ||||||
Prisoner | Dido Plumb | 57 | 23 Jun 1905 | 4 Mar 1991 | 85 | 10 | 10 | ||
Pugh | Ronald Blackman | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Silas | Keith Pyott | 60 | 9 Mar 1902 | 6 Apr 1968 | 66 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
Silver | Denis Shaw | 41 | 7 Apr 1921 | 28 Feb 1971 | 49 | 4 | 3 | 7 | |
Tom Blackthorne | Desmond Llewelyn | 47 | 12 Sep 1914 | 19 Dec 1999 | 85 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
Villager | Emille Stemmler | 51 | 1911 | 6 | 6 |
Production
FILMING BEGAN | 3 July 1961 | |
UK RELEASE | 13 August 1962 | |
STUDIO | Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England | |
LOCATION | Black Park Lake, Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England | Blood River |
Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, England | Jungle | |
Callow Hill Sandpit, Virginia Water, Surrey, England | Penal Colony |
Footnotes
Michael Carreras formally left Hammer in 1961 to pursue projects elsewhere and, although he came back for the occasional film, he did not return full-time until 1971. Carrerasβs departure seems to have provided Anthony Nelson Keys with a promotion opportunity and this is his first film as Producer.
A very young Dennis Waterman appears here. Later famous for his roles in Thames TVβs βThe Sweeneyβ and βMinderβ series, he also worked for Hammer in βScars of Draculaβ( 1969 ).
John Gillingβs other credits for Hammer as director are βThe Scarlet Bladeβ (1963), βThe Brigand of Kandaharβ(1965), βThe Plague of the Zombiesβ {1966), The Reptile (1966) and The Mummyβs Shroud (1966).
Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection