Barbary Pirate (DVD), Sony, Action & Adventure

A series of pirate boarding of merchant ships in the Mediterranean Sea prompts the United States State Department to send Major Tom Blake (Donald Woods, True Grit) on a secret mission aimed at stopping the extortion being perpetrated by Yusof, the Bey of Tripoli (Stefan Schnabel, Houdini, Journey into Fear). When saving the Bey's life puts Blake in his good graces, he learns that the African ruler has a confidante inside the State Department who is telegraphing confidential information about U.S. ships in the region. But after refusing to sign a treaty offered by the United States, the Bey ignores threats of an invasion and orders all Americans in Tripoli imprisoned and executed, forcing Blake to escape and take on the chieftain in order to save lives and end the attacks. This 1880s pirate-espionage adventure was directed by veteran Columbia head honcho Lew Landers (Alias Boston Blackie, the Power of the Whistler), and features Trudy Marshall and Lenore Aubert as damsels in distress.