The Buccaneers (1956 TV series)

The Buccaneers was a 1956 Sapphire Films television drama series for ITC Entertainment, broadcast by CBS in the US and shown on ATV and regional ITV companies as they came on air during the infancy of ITV in the UK.

Starring Robert Shaw as Captain Dan Tempest, the series, aimed at teenage children, followed the adventures of Tempest and his crew of former pirates as they made their way across the seven seas in Sultana.

This series was one of several swashbuckling adventure series produced during this period by or for Lew Grade's ITC.

Production notes
The series ran for 39 half-hour black-and-white episodes and was produced by Hannah Weinstein and Sidney Cole for Sapphire Films Limited. The episodes were made at Nettlefold Studios at Walton-on-Thames using two studios with seven or eight standing sets. A real schooner was based at Falmouth, Cornwall and a faithful reproduction of part of it in a studio corner.

Rupert Evans, stunt artist, former army teacher of physical training taught Robert Shaw fencing.

The series was set in the Port of Nassau in New Providence of about 1722.

Sources report that Robert Shaw was unavailable for the first few episodes, but nevertheless shooting went ahead without him.

The complete series is available on R2 DVD from Network in the UK. There are a number of public-domain DVDs of the series in the North American market, as well as a complete series release.

Cast and characters
Various characters were often played by Tony Thawnton, Terence Cooper, Rupert Evans, Roy Purcell and Denis Lacey.
 * Robert Shaw as Captain Dan Tempest
 * Peter Hammond as Lieutenant Edward Beamish
 * Brian Rawlinson as Gaff Guernsey
 * Paul Hansard as Taffy
 * Wilfred Downing as Dickon
 * Edwin Richfield as Armando
 * Neil Hallett as Boatswain Sam Bassett
 * Willoughby Gray as Pop
 * Jane Griffiths as Paula
 * Alec Mango as Mr. Van Brugh

Historical characters

 * Blackbeard played by George Margo, Terence Cooper
 * Governor Woodes Rogers played by Alec Clunes
 * Anne Bonny played by Hazel Court
 * Calico Jack played by Brian Worth
 * Black Bart played by Alex Scott
 * Charles Vane played by Brian Worth
 * Ben Hornigold played by Andrew Crawford

Episode list
Airdate is for ATV Midlands ITV regions varied date and order.

Music
The show's ending theme contained the chorus: Let's go a-roving, a-roving across the ocean Oh, let's go a-roving and join the buccaneers! We'll find adventure, adventure across the ocean Oh, we'll find adventure and join the buccaneers!

Sea shanties and traditional songs were incorporated into the show. Early episodes begin with sailors singing "Blow, Ye Winds, in the Morning," an anachronistic American whaling song. The second episode, "The Raiders," is the only episode to use "The Maid of Amsterdam" as its ending theme. Other songs performed in the show include:
 * "Drunken Sailor" (in "Printer's Devil")
 * "Haul Away, Joe" (in various episodes including "Dan Tempest's War with Spain")
 * "Johnny Come Down to Hilo" (in "Mother Doughty's Crew")
 * "O Shenandoah" (in "Gentleman Jack and the Lady")
 * "Spanish Ladies" (in "The Ladies")
 * "Shake Her, Johnny, Shake Her" (in "Hurricane" and "Flip and Jenny")
 * "Venezuela" by John Jacob Niles (in "Mother Doughty's Crew")

DVD and book releases
Dell Comics Four Color #800 was based on the show. The Buccaneers (1958) was a Whitman “Big Little Book”: 276 pages half of them are Russ Manning illustrations, the rest are a story written by Alice Sankey. The adventure story sends Captain Dan Tempest (a buccaneer, or privateer, unofficially serving the English king) and his crew of ex-pirates, after the notorious Blackbeard, and Dan's ship “Sultana” battles with Blackbeard’s famous ship, “Queen Anne's Revenge”. The story includes a treasure map and a treasure, a ship's boy and his cat.

Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series in Region 1 on 15 August 2006. This release has been discontinued and is now out of print.

Network Distributing Home Entertainment (under licence from Granada Ventures Ltd) released the complete series in Region 2 on June 1, 2007.

On 19 August 2008, Timeless Media Group released a 3-disc best-of set that features 30 episodes of the series.