Against All Flags 1952

Brian Hawke, Errol Flynn, a capable British naval officer, volunteers with two other seamen to infiltrate a pirate base on Madagascar. When they arrive, they immediately raise suspicions, and the pirate captain Roc Brasiliano, Anthony Quinn, orders Hawke before a tribunal to decide his fate. To prove himself, Hawke defeats a rival pirate in a duel, earning a dismissive nod from the tribunal and earning a place among Brasiliano’s crew. At the same time, Hawke catches the eye of Spitfire Stevens, the only woman among the Coast Captains, [Maureen O’Hara], whose presence stirs Brasiliano’s jealousy.

As the crew sails the shipping lanes, they seize a Moghul vessel packed with immense wealth. Among the ship’s survivors is Patma, the daughter of the Moghul Emperor, who is kept aboard the burning vessel by a chaperone posing as another passenger. Hawke rescues Patma, and in that moment she falls in love with him, revealing she has met only a few men in her life. Back on Madagascar, Patma is put up for auction, and Spitfire outbids Hawke, who had simply wanted to protect the princess from the pirates. Later, Spitfire confides in Hawke that she plans to renounce her life of crime and suggests he join her on a voyage to Britain, with a stop in Brazil, if he’s willing to leave the pirate world behind.

Hawke then steals a map outlining the pirates’ defenses, a move that sets up a daring plan: a Royal Navy warship will sail into the harbor, and Hawke will disable the coastal cannons to allow the vessel to dock. He signals the British ship with a flare and ensures Patma is ready to be rescued when the moment comes. But Brasiliano uncovers the scheme, and Hawke and his two accomplices are captured—bound to a beach stake to be crushed by crabs and drowned. Spitfire mounts a brave rescue, and as a British warship finally enters the bay, the pirates’ cannons explode from a double-shotted misfire, sealing their doom. In retreat, Brasiliano uses the princess as a human shield to sail away, but Hawke and his allies slip aboard, free Patma with Spitfire’s help, and fend off the pirate crew. Hawke then duels and kills Brasiliano.

In the aftermath, Hawke asks for Patma’s safety to be ensured and, after it’s granted, the pair share a definitive, wordless kiss. The mission’s danger gives way to a hard-won sense of trust and a hopeful future beyond the pirate world, as the story closes on the two lovers glimpsing a potentially peaceful road ahead.