Captain Clegg marks one of Hammer Studios few departures from horror in the '60s, telling the tale of a group of 18th century smugglers who operate from a small village on the outskirts of Romney Marshes, using the local legend of the marsh phantoms as a way of keeping the curious at bay (ala Scooby Doo).
With the always reliable Peter Cushing in the lead, plus able support from Hammer regular Michael Ripper, a young Oliver Reed, and buxom beauty Yvonne Romain, and a plot that includes some spooky elements, the film will undoubtedly be of interest to avid Hammer horror fans, but it does suffer somewhat from a script that features no easily identifiable good guys or villains: Captain Clegg and his gang are clearly ruthless, bloodthirsty criminals, as evidenced from the opening scene in which they punish a man by slitting his ears, cutting out his tongue, and leaving him to die on a desert island (and, as pirates, I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their nefarious behaviour); meanwhile, the king's men—who are technically the good guys upholding the law—are obviously intended to be seen by the viewer as the film's baddies.
In the end, it's all a bit of a mess—albeit a rather fun mess with skeletal horses and riders, Oliver Reed as a scarecrow, and Peter Cushing sporting very silly hair.
