One could claim that the first 20 minutes of "The Lion Of St. Mark" are purposefully dull, to show why Gordon Scott's character feels trapped by his present aristocratic life and prefers adventure. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really get much more exciting later on. The production values are better than you might expect (the climax even features an attack on a castle by sea and by land), but the action scenes are kind of messy, and the outfits of the pirates and the Venetians who are fighting them are sometimes so similar that you can't tell who's winning. Gianna Maria Canale is good, but underused, as a feisty and defiant pirate girl. Great tagline on an old poster of the film: "The Lion who made his mark with a Tigress!". ** out of 4.
Review of The Lion of St. Mark
