Universal try to do a Disney style adventure film but fail, despite having two Disney juveniles, Hayley Mills and James MacArthur. The basic story isn't bad - rich kid MacArthur winds up on a boat with ragamuffin John Mills and tomboy Hayley and they wind up having a treasure hunting adventure.
But for this sort of thing to work you need action, suspense and romance, decent locations and stars. It was shot on location in Spain but doesn't look particularly pretty. The story involves pirates and treasure but there's no sense of threat or excitement - it's not a very good script.
Mills and MacArthur have no chemistry - he's too old, both are miscast. They feel all wrong - when they get engaged at the end I was going "oh no". I liked MacArthur in his action-y films for Disney like Swiss Family Robinson but he doesn't get much physical stuff to do here and he flounders. I wonder if this film helped ensure he'd remain a character actor.
These films are harder to make than they look. This movie proves that. It's so ordinary. Good actors like David Tomlinson, Harry Andrews and Lionel Jeffries feel wasted.
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