One of Mackendrick's most ambitious and powerful films, A High Wind in Jamaica is an epic seafaring fable about three English siblings captured by pirates in the Caribbean seas and determined to become permanent members of the crew. A clear departure from Mackendrick's comic forte, this most underrated gem of his career offers an unexpectedly astringent and unflinching vision of childhood as an inspirational yet ultimately selfish force that unsettles the adult world. Mackendrick’s theme of destructive innocence is crystallized in the conflict between the cocksure young stowaways and the salty sea dogs marvelously portrayed by James Coburn and Anthony Quinn, each in their very best character actor modes.