The screenplay was originally written by
Aeneas MacKenzie and director Richard Wallace as a vehicle for
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who had recently appeared in Wallace's film
Sinbad the Sailor. In January 1950, it was announced that Fairbanks' production company would begin filming in April or May in Hollywood after he finished
State Secret in England. However, the film was not produced and
Aeneas MacKenzie sold his original script to Universal in July 1950.
Alexis Smith and
Yvonne De Carlo were mentioned as possible female leads and
Jack Gross was assigned as producer. The script featured a number of tropes familiar to pirate movies of the time, including a female pirate, and very loosely reflected genuine historical characters.
William Goetz, head of production, shelved the project until he could find the right star. In August 1951, Errol Flynn signed a one-picture deal with the studio to make the film. Under his contract with Warner Bros., Flynn was allowed to appear in one film a year for an outside studio. His contract with Universal meant that Flynn was entitled to a percentage of the profits. Filming was delayed so that Flynn could star in
Mara Maru at Warner Bros. During this time, the script was rewritten by Joseph Hoffman, and
Anthony Quinn signed to play the villain. By November, Howard Christie was set as producer, George Sherman as director and Maureen O'Hara the female lead. Sherman later wrote that Flynn was unsure about the scene in which he fenced against a woman. He said: "I'm supposed to be the bravest guy on screen? How could I fight a woman?" Sherman had previously worked with O'Hara and assured Flynn that she was capable of holding her own "with a sword, a gun or her fists if need be", warning Flynn that he needed to be in shape. The film marks Flynn's last
Hollywood swashbuckler role, as his next three in the genre (
The Master of Ballantrae,
The Dark Avenger and the unfinished
The Story of William Tell) were produced in Europe. Filming began in January 1952 on a soundstage at
Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Location footage was shot in
Palos Verdes,
California. O'Hara was wary of working with Flynn after he had tried to seduce her years earlier. However, she recalled that by the end of filming, "he had won me over. I respected him professionally and was quite fond of him personally. Father Time was slowly calming his wicked, wicked ways, and deep within that devilish rogue, I found a kind and fragile soul." O'Hara had to perform many of her closeups for love scenes opposite a black flag with a marker while a script girl read Flynn's lines. The ship shown in the film had been transformed for the film
Yankee Buccaneer (1952) and had to be reverted to its previous state.
Anthony Quinn claimed to have begun an affair with O'Hara while appearing in
Sinbad the Sailor (1947) and that every time they worked together again, they would temporarily resume their affair. ==Reception==