Welcome to Christopher Lee: A Sinister Centenary! Over the course of May, I will be counting down My Top 31 Favorite Performances by my favorite actor, the late, great Sir Christopher Lee, in honor of his 100th Birthday. Although this fine actor left us a few years ago, his legacy endures, and this countdown is a tribute to said legacy!
Today’s Subject, My 21st Favorite Christopher Lee Performance: Captain Robeles, from The Devil Ship Pirates.
Did you know that Christopher Lee reportedly was in more onscreen swordfights than any other actor in movie or television history? It’s the truth. And if you want to see Sir Christopher doing his swashbuckling best, there are few films better to turn to than “The Devil Ship Pirates.” This movie was produced by Hammer studios, but despite its title and the company involved, this is NOT a horror film: Hammer didn’t JUST do scary movies, they did all kinds of pictures, and their primary stock aside from horror films were action-packed swashbucklers: they made their own version of Robin Hood, for example, as well as the odd horror-adventure crossbreed “Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter,” and a whole slew of pirate films. Of their pirate pictures, “The Devil Ship Pirates” is probably my favorite, and that’s largely because of Lee’s role in the movie as the primary antagonist, Captain Robeles.
The story of the film begins when, during a battle with the English Navy, Robeles’ ship – El Diablo – takes on significant damage. He and his crew of renegades thus need to find a place to both hide out for a spell and repair their damaged vessel. They end up (somewhat accidentally) coming across a small village, ruled by England but rather remote from most of the English Empire: they’re aware that the war is going on, in fact a large portion of their population is fighting it, but most of the recent news is unknown to them, and ready help from the kingdom is not close by. The town is also full of able craftsman and laborers. This turns out to be a perfect opportunity for the pirates, as Robeles and his crew convince the villagers not only that the war is over, but that Spain won, and now can stake a claim on the village themselves, forcing the people there to work on mending the ship. Most of the town buys into the story, including the nobleman who runs the place, Sir Basil…but a few of the townsfolk soon realize this is all a big con, and make plans to drive the pirates out.
To be quite honest, the movie, as a whole, is nothing TOO special. Really, it’s the work of two actors and their characters that help elevate this picture for me: one is Sir Christopher as Captain Robeles, obviously, but equally interesting to me is Barry Warren as Don Manuel. Who is Don Manuel? Well, at the start of the picture, it’s revealed that Robeles and his pirates aren’t simply soldiers working for the King of Spain: they were pirates long before the war with England started, and basically became official sailors for the sake of keeping their necks out of nooses. Don Manuel is one of two official members of the Armada who are aboard El Diablo on its most recent voyage…however, Robeles kills the other officer, after the man tries to rouse a mutiny against him, and decides it’s time to return to a life of piracy. Don Manuel is horrified by the notion, and thus conspires with the villagers to help defeat the evil Captain.
The reason I like Don Manuel so much is actually BECAUSE of what he reveals about Robeles: the pair are very much foils in the story. Don Manuel is a loyal subject to his government, and has ideals of nobility and honor. His grand, old-fashioned, generally upper-class ways of working really grind the Captain’s gears: Robeles has a taste for the finer things of life, in his own way, but he sees the morality that Don Manuel possesses as a weakness. However, instead of trying to outright kill Don Manuel, Robeles actually tries to turn him to his side, stating he will take apart Manuel’s ideals piece by piece, and show him the REAL way to live. You get the feeling that, as nasty as Robeles is, he values a sort of independence and freeness that Don Manuel does not possess: he loves being a pirate not only because of the thrills and the gains, but because, in his mind, it means the only rule he has to abide by is his own. Whatever calls he makes, however malicious, are his own choice.
Christopher Lee as the Captain, himself, is a sheer delight: he brings surprising depth and nuance to the role that gives the villainous pirate edges of empathy that perhaps were not intended in the script. At the same time, he still manages to be a dangerous and nefarious customer, intimidatingly cold-blooded in some scenes, and viciously ferocious in battle. He brings the sort of “animal in a man’s skin” approach he had with characters like Dracula to the part, and it really works to give the leader of the Devil Ship Pirates all the necessary ingredients a great baddy requires.
It's time to move into the Top 20! Tomorrow the countdown continues with My Number 20 choice!
