Although Panamanian filmmakers have finally been able to tell stories about their country, its people, and their lives, most productions dealing with anything remotely Panamanian have been foreign. A few like "Riffraff" (1946) and "The Tailor of Panama" (2001) only used the country as decor, while others as "Charlie Chan in Panama" (1940) and "Across the Pacific" (1942) were not even shot there. Only the documentary "The Panama Deception" (1992) or Paul Leduc's bizarre "Dollar Mambo" (1993) were more concerned, dealing with something as dramatic as the US invasion of Panama in 1989. In recent years things have changed a bit and a few Panamanian features have been made, as "The Fists of a Nation" (2006), "Chance" (2009), or "The Dry Season" (2012), with more in production or already released. I just finished watching "Morgan, the Pirate", an Italian-French co-production that ends with the taking of the city of Panama in 1671, under the direction of André de Toth (whose claim to fame is the 1953 original version of "House of Wax", made in 3-D) and starring Steve Reeves in the lead as Sir Henry Morgan. Of course, beautiful Chelo Alonso is on hand, as an exotic prostitute who lives in the island of Tortuga and stages magnificent Afro-Cuban choreographies on the beach (of the Italian island of Procida, where exteriors were shot), but the romantic interest was centered on vapid Valérie Lagrange (I guess for co-production reason with the French), as the daughter of the Governor of Panama, "the richest city of the Americas", as it is often identified in a couple of scenes. To be honest, wholesome Steve Reeves was often betrayed by weak scripts and rushed editing that summarized complex stories in less than 90 minutes. Although he had the physique to play a mere great action hero, in this film (as a extremely handsome Morgan, if one compares him to illustrations of the famous corsair) he could have developed a more complex character than the demigods he often played in péplum sagas, with the strong traits of Morgan's personality, according to annals of history. But this is all absent in the script. It is true that Reeves was no Laurence Olivier, but he functioned well in these epics, and besides showing flair as a swordsman in galleons and taverns, and against beautiful beaches and blue sea, he seemed eager to try more dramatic roles. Unfortunately this was neither a rich production: although it is well stated that the capture of the city of Panama was made after Spain and England had signed a peace treaty, the violent campaign (that included hundreds of men crossing the isthmus in a month, through the jungle) is trivialized and reduced to a romantic stroll through fields and hills, and in spite of the great fires that destroyed the city and forced its people to change its location, the city ends without scratches (these are reserved to Mademoiselle Lagrange, for a dramatic but false demise). With fine cinematography and music, watch it as simple entertainment and if possible in Italian and its original wide-screen format.

***SPOILERS*** One of movie strongman Steve Reeves best and most sensitive performances as the English pirate Henry Morgan. The daring young man who took upon himself to destroy the Spanish Empire with his band of jolly Roger Buccaneers in a series of hit and run battles on land as well as at sea.Things didn't start off that good for Morgan with him being sold into slavery by the Spanish after capturing him from a sunken English galleon. It was Morgan's Greek-god like physique and good looks that had the daughter of the Governor of Panama's daughter Dona Inez, Valerie Iagrange, fall heads over heels for the big hunk by buying him at a slave auction in town. Put in charge of the royal stable Morgan made the mistake of getting a little too close, like enveloping her with his massive arms, with Dona, a horse lover, when she went to see the latest colt of her prized stallion. Condemmed to a life as a slave rower on a Spanish galleon Morgan starts a mutiny among the slaves on the boat who take it over throwing its Spanish crew overboard. Joing up with the pirates on far off Torluga Island Morgan starts his personal war against the Spanish using them and their ships as his attacking naval task force.Non stop action with Captain Morgan causing havoc all across the Caribbean for the Spanish with his hit and run tactics that has them or the Governor of Panama Don Jose Guzman, Ivo Garrani, offer as much as 50,000 docket's, pieces of gold, for Morgan's head. During the action Morgan's buccaneers capture the governor's daughter Dona Inez who start to suffer for a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. Thats in Dona falling madly in love with her capture Captain Morgan, whom she was nuts about earlier in the movie before her capture, to the horror of her outraged father Governoer Guzman who want's her boyfriend dead!In the end Morgan is double-crossed by his fellow Englishman and comrade in arms Sir Thomas Modyford, Givlio Bosetti, who after signing a secret peace treaty with the hated Spanish ratted out Morgan's brilliant battle plan to attack Panama City from the west, Pacific Ocean, not east, Atlantic Ocean, as the Spanish expected him to. With his navy now at the bottom of the Caribbean Morgan whips his men into action by launching a ground attack, with thousands of buccaneers, using the local cattle as human, or animal, shields on the surprise attack on Panama City. ***SPOILERS*** Action packed final with Morgan and his men breaching the Panama City walls and having it out with the Governor's men on their own turf making mincemeat out of them. Morgan himself gets a bonus besides capturing Panama City, the richest city in the Americas, by rescuing Dona who was being held against her will there by her pop "The Gov" or Governor. And later, after the film "Morgan the Pirate was over, Morgan would end up living out his final years as he Governor of Panama City which he and his men captured from the Spanish.P.S I was at first surprised to see Steve Reeves' clean shaved but he then grew his famous beard back within the first half hour of the movie. It may have been the heat and humidity of the Caribbean that cased Reeves to later again shave off his beard and never has it grow back for the remainder of the film.

Steve Reeves wasn't as fitted to the swashbuckler genre as he was to the epic, and certainly not this historical character (who even has two females, Governor's daughter Valerie Lagrange and peasant-girl Chelo Alonso, sparring for his attention) - unforgettably incarnated on the screen by Laird Cregar in the exhilarating classic THE BLACK SWAN (1942)! This alone dropped its credibility factor by a few notches; taken on its own merits, it's not too bad - though still nothing more than an ordinary costumer (in spite of De Toth's involvement) with plenty of action but little real excitement (since the plot is streamlined to serve its low-brow nature and the meager budget). That said, it's handsome enough (particularly in the French print I watched) and Franco Mannino's score is quite good as well.

It is a shame that "Morgan the Pirate" is not shown or recognized more by action fans. It is very hard to find this film on any tv station - including cable or video stores. Steve Reeves gives his very best acting job in this venerable pirate tale.....also, an oddity is that Steve has to pursue the lovely Dona Inez, the daughter of the governor of Panama, throughout the film.....she makes Reeves work very hard to make a conquest of her. In other Reeves tales the women begin swooning over him very early. Morgan the Pirate has great action scenes, with good closeups of some beautifully reconstructed pirate ships. The costumes are quite historical, with Reeves decked out in a slew of pirate regalia as the film progresses. The music sets off this swashbuckler to a great extent. Best music score around for this pirate tale. Reeves survives a mini mutiny among his own pirate group, spearheaded by a jealous cohort captain who Steve outduels in an excellent action sequence early in the film as Reeves establishes his authority as the overall leader of the pirates. Some lovely women to look at in this film, and Reeves does not appear overly muscular for the role.Plenty of pirate fighting and a good romantic ending for Captain Morgan.