A High Wind in Jamaica
A hurricane hits the isle of Jamaica in 1870. The Thorntons (Nigel Davenport and Isabel Dean), parents of five children, feel it is time to send the children to England for a more civilized upbringing and education.
During the voyage, pirates board the ship and take the children captive. The pirate captain, Chavez (Anthony Quinn) and first mate Zac (James Coburn) take an immediate liking to young Emily (Deborah Baxter), and decide to sail to Tampico and leave the kids safely with a woman there named Rosa (Lila Kedrova), a brothel madam with a good heart.
Rosa warns the pirates that the law is after them. Since they are innocent of the crimes attributed to them by the authorities—namely, the murder of the children—Chavez and his first mate (James Coburn) are unconcerned. But then one of the children, John (Martin Amis), slips from a window of the brothel and falls to his death. Chavez doesn't wish any more harm to come to the young ones so he refuses to attack a Dutch vessel that comes into view. His men mutiny, seize the Dutch boat, and capture its captain (Gert Fröbe).
A Royal Navy patrol vessel appears and the pirates re-board their own ship in panic. Chavez declines to join them. Awakened from sleep by the captured Dutch captain seeking her help, Emily mistakes his intentions and in a frenzy stabs him to death. The shocked Chavez intervenes too late and is left with bloodstains on his hands. He and his former crew are taken prisoner and shipped to Britain for trial. Under questioning in court, Emily places the responsibility of killing the Dutch captain on Chavez instead of on herself. The pirates are hanged. In the final scene children play innocently by a lake. Emily stands amongst them – staring at a model ship with adult eyes.
violence, action, murder