I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Yes, this movie is a secret pleasure of mine. I loved the book by DuMaurier--considering it one of my all time favorites--and have read it several times. To have the book brought to life on the screen is rewarding. Yes, the color and acting are great, but I imagine so much more in my fantasies. I wish Hedy Lamarr would have played Dona. She was so beautiful, and I believe, could have carried off the "tomboy" just as well, if not more believably, than Fontaine. (Such as her Samson and Delilah role.) As far as the pirate, I'm OK with Cordova, but his small stature sort of detracts from the fantasy. He's adequate enough, and foreign enough, to carry this film for me. I puzzle over who I would have preferred to play that part. I'm not sure I would have liked Errol Flynn in the part (as suggested). I not familiar with enough foreign actors at that time (1940's) to suggest who. I suppose if it were more recent, possibly Gerard Depardieu would have fit in nicely. All in all, I love this movie. The ending is bittersweet. Basil Rathbone provides a believable menace and Nigel Bruce is perfect in his role as the dithering husband. As I said, a "secret pleasure". I treasure this movie.

I've never seen this fanciful costumer in a theater but a TV broadcast, quite a few years ago, fairly leapt from the screen - the three-strip Technicolor had transferred to video as if it were a pristine print. Paramount obviously spared no expense on this one and, despite some minor objections, I recall being thoroughly entertained by it, especially that absolutely savage battle-to-the-death between Basil Rathbone's quintessentially dastardly villain and a desperately determined Joan Fontaine.Some years back I somewhere read that, while waiting in full makeup and costumes for the lighting technicians to work their magic, Miss Fontaine rather scathingly queried her costar, Arturo de Cordova, why he was pursuing a career as an actor, apparently with the implication that it was an occupation unworthy of a man. If that's the kind of treatment he had to undergo at the hands of a Hollywood leading lady, one can confidently guess that his much greater success in Latin American cinema left him with few regrets that his Hollywood sojourn never amounted to much.

My favorite pirate film was the "Black Swan" (and I didn't hate "Cutthroat Island", either!), but this is a close second even though there is less sea action and it's more ABOUT a pirate. The sets and acting are wonderful; the use of color is magnificent. This is a very enjoyable film with the gorgeous Joan Fonatine (Olivia deHavilland's estranged sister) acting up a storm and at her peak of pulchritude, and the magnificent Basil Rathbone demonstrating his soaring acting talent. The hilight of the film for me was one of the best fight scenes ever filmed - an all-out battle-to-the-death between Rathbone - and Fontaine!! A classic!

A wonderful movie with everything a pirate movie should have; beautiful lady, mysterious house, ethereal setting, elegant ship, captivatingly handsome captain. For a quick getaway this is a winner.