QUEEN OF THE HIGH SEAS is a somewhat routine Italian swashbuckler that's notable for being just the second film to be directed by cult Italian director Umberto Lenzi. It's standard stuff for the era, a fast-paced and colourful story about a female pirate doing her bit in a supposed Britain, although I admit to preferring the sword and sandal movies from this era as they always had a bit more personality and larger-than-life appeal to them.
This film is quite ordinary in terms of plotting. It stars Lisa Gastoni as the athletic Mary Read, a woman who spends the early part of the movie disguised as a man before joining the crew of a pirate ship led by the ridiculously-named Captain Poof! Gastoni's performance seems to be based on Doris Day's turn in CALAMITY JANE. After a time, Poof is killed (thankfully) and Mary Read adopts the title role. The film itself is quite low rent, good at staging but less adept at the action scenes, although we must remember than Lenzi was just starting out at this stage of his career.
This film is quite ordinary in terms of plotting. It stars Lisa Gastoni as the athletic Mary Read, a woman who spends the early part of the movie disguised as a man before joining the crew of a pirate ship led by the ridiculously-named Captain Poof! Gastoni's performance seems to be based on Doris Day's turn in CALAMITY JANE. After a time, Poof is killed (thankfully) and Mary Read adopts the title role. The film itself is quite low rent, good at staging but less adept at the action scenes, although we must remember than Lenzi was just starting out at this stage of his career.