The Black Swan

Set in the seventeenth-century Caribbean, The Black Swan follows the notorious pirate Henry Morgan, who is pardoned and installed as governor of Jamaica. Tasked with clearing the region of buccaneers, he turns to former comrades for help. One of them, Jamie Waring, falls for Lady Margaret Denby, the daughter of Morgan's predecessor, while the renegade captain Billy Leech draws other pirates into open resistance. The conflict between old loyalties and the new order plays out at sea and ashore.

Henry King directed the film, which sits between Jesse James and Twelve O'Clock High in his filmography. Ben Hecht and Seton I. Miller wrote the screenplay, and Robert Bassler produced it for 20th Century Fox. Tyrone Power leads as Jamie Waring, with Maureen O'Hara as Lady Margaret, Laird Cregar as Henry Morgan, Thomas Mitchell as Tommy Blue, and George Sanders and Anthony Quinn as the antagonists. Thirty-seven performers are credited.

Released in December 1942, the film runs 87 minutes and mixes action and adventure with drama and romance. Made for about a million dollars, it returned roughly six million worldwide, a strong result for its time. On IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from around 5,500 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.5 from about 100 votes, suggesting a modest but steady following.