After James Stewart's financial windfall attending his "percentage of profits" deal on , Errol Flynn decided to cash in by making his own deal with Universal Pictures, accepting a moderate fee up front and a huge chunk of the gross for . Set in the 16th century, the film casts Flynn as a British naval officer unjustly condemned for desertion. He escapes punishment and joins Anthony Quinn's pirate band, wherein he and Quinn vie for the attentions of glamorous female buccaneer Maureen O'Hara. Flynn incurs O'Hara's wrath when he rescues a lovely middle-eastern princess (Alice Kelley) from slave traders, but O'Hara still comes to Flynn's aid when he is left to die by Quinn. Flynn and O'Hara team up to thwart Quinn's evil schemes, whereupon it is revealed that Flynn's "disgrace" was a ruse, concocted by the British government to stem pirate activities in Madagascar. Though suffering several injuries during shooting, Errol Flynn was back in his old fighting form in , requiring a double only in a few scattered longshots. The film was poorly remade in 1967 as , with Doug McClure inadequately filling Errol Flynn's seven-league boots.