THE LION OF ST. MARK is an action-packed swashbuckler of the kind that the Italians loved making. The director had a prolific career almost entirely devoted to action movies and this might well be one of the best of them; it's certainly an engaging little picture with lots of colour, energy, and excitement. The underrated Gordon Scott plays a man fed up with the pirate raids that have been taking place on the coast around Venice, so he decides to don a Zorro-style disguise and take the fight to the enemy. This is one of those films where an energetic sword fight pops up every five minutes or so and the toughness of the bad guys is only matched by the resolution of the hero. Gianna Maria Canale has a strong supporting role as a female pirate and overall this is a fast and fresh viewing experience.

One could claim that the first 20 minutes of "The Lion Of St. Mark" are purposefully dull, to show why Gordon Scott's character feels trapped by his present aristocratic life and prefers adventure. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really get much more exciting later on. The production values are better than you might expect (the climax even features an attack on a castle by sea and by land), but the action scenes are kind of messy, and the outfits of the pirates and the Venetians who are fighting them are sometimes so similar that you can't tell who's winning. Gianna Maria Canale is good, but underused, as a feisty and defiant pirate girl. Great tagline on an old poster of the film: "The Lion who made his mark with a Tigress!". ** out of 4.

Venice 1620: pirates are attacking the town almost weekly, and the army of mercenaries does not defend it properly. So Manrico (Gordon Scott) decides to pick up the black mask of the "Lion of San Marco" and attack the pirates when they don't expect it, only with the help of a few dedicated citizens. Things become complicated when Manrico falls in love with the beautiful pirate lady Rossana (Gianna Maria Canale) - now both are suspected to have become traitors...A fast moving, colorful pirate adventure which benefits from its Venetian setting. It is something quite different from the usual Caribbean scenery: hardly open sea, different boats, the gondolieri, the designs. Nice role for Mirko Ellis who later appeared in many westerns. The lively music by Carlo Rustichelli also deserves mentioning. Note: the German version (for the cinema distribution in 1964) was cut to 89 minutes.