This action adventure is based on Jules Verne's The Light at the Edge of the World. It takes place in 1865 on the chilly tip of Argentina in a lighthouse set up to guide ships around the extremely dangerous and turbulent waters of Cape Horn. The lighthouse keeper (
Fernando Rey) and his assistant go out to investigate when a strange sailing ship comes too near to the island the lighthouse is on. Denton (
Kirk Douglas), the lighthouse keeper's North American apprentice, is left behind. For their pains, the lighthouse keeper and his assistant are killed, and Kongre (
Yul Brynner), the ship's pirate captain, goes to the lighthouse and captures Denton. Kongre shuts down the real lighthouse and sets up a false one so that his pirates can prey on the busy ships that must pass nearby. Denton, set loose by his captors on a nearby island, eventually begins to fight back. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide