More than 80 years later, Paul Henreid remains best known as the noble resistance fighter Victor Laszlo in 1942’s classic Casablanca. While that film used him in a supporting part, 1945’s swashbuckling adventure The Spanish Main casts Henreid as the lead.

When a Dutch pilgrim vessel wrecks off the coast of Cartagena, Captain Laurent van Horn (Henreid) butts heads with corrupt Spanish ruler Don Juan Alvardo (Walter Slezak) so he and his crew find themselves imprisoned. Sentenced to death, van Horn and company escape.

Five years later, we find Van Horn as a pirate known by the title “The Barracuda”. When he captures Contessa Francisca Alvarado (Maureen O’Hara), van Horn plans to use this abduction for advantage, but the two eventually develop a relationship.

Going into Main, Henreid felt like an odd choice to play a crusading pirate. He seemed more like an unassuming bookish sort and not someone who appeared right for the kind of charismatic marauder usually connected to actors like Tyrone Power or Errol Flynn.

Could Henreid surprise me and pull off the role? Not really, as he comes across as less than dazzling.

When I watched Casablanca, I thought Henreid made Laszlo fairly dull, a factor that meant it seemed odd Ilsa fell for him like she did. On the other hand, that story needed a somewhat bland romantic rival for our lead Rick.

If Laszlo came across as dynamic, the audience wouldn’t buy her dilemma about whether to stick with him or follow her heart and embrace Rick. Also, Ilsa’s connection to Laszlo always felt more like The Right Thing To Do rather than an emotional choice, so Henreid’s dishwater vibe fit the story.

None of those traits make sense for the lead in an adventure tale, however. Thus Henreid turns into a moderate hole at the center of the film.

At least the supporting actors add spark. Slezak munches scenery as the evil ruler, but this brings much needed energy to the film.

O’Hara also creates a reasonably lively personality. Indeed, she forms a fiery enough character that she suffers from Ilsa Syndrome: we don’t really get why such a dynamic woman would fall in love with a dud like Laurent.

Director Frank Borzage can’t bring this tale to life with much spark. Much of the time, Main feels like a stale knockoff of better pirate movies.

A filmmaker with more than 30 years experience when he made Main, Borzage’s catalog mostly depicts him as a journeyman more than a genius. That comes out during the somewhat plodding Main.

Sure, Main provides plenty of action, with a bunch of battles and skirmishes along the way. Unfortunately, Borzage can’t paint these with the flair and energy they need to engage the audience.

Does any of this make Main a bad film? No, as it manages sporadic pleasures.

It does mean Main just never connects as the pirate adventure it aspires to become. We get a passable swashbuckler without much to allow it to stand out from the crowd.

The Spanish Main appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an excellent presentation, especially given the film’s age.

In terms of sharpness, the movie usually demonstrated nice delineation. A few shots seemed just a smidgen soft, but those issues occurred infrequently, so the majority of the flick looked concise and accurate.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and no edge enhancement became apparent. Grain remained appropriate, and no specks, marks or other defects showed up at any time in this fresh presentation.

Colors were strong. Across the board, the hues tended to be vivid and full.

Blacks seemed deep and dense without too much heaviness. Shadow detail worked similarly well, as dimly-lit shots were appropriately clear and thick. I found little about which to complain here and thought the Blu-ray brought the movie to life in a positive manner.

The DTS-HD MA monaural audio of Main appeared appropriate for its era, and speech was fine. The lines showed age-related thinness, but they were always perfectly intelligible and without edginess.

Effects resembled the dialogue. Those elements lacked much depth but they were without notable problems.

Music was acceptable for its age, as the songs and score tended to be a bit tinny. There wasn’t much range to the music, but again, that stemmed from the limitations of the very old source. This became a perfectly adequate mix for its vintage.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get three theatrical shorts. We find the live-action Movieland Magic (1945, 16:31) as well as the animated efforts Buccaneer Bunny (1947, 7:30) and Captain Hareblower (1953, 6:58).

Magic offers a musical that aspires to show “real life” as a film star. Of course, it leans toward fluff and mainly exists to showcase a bunch of song/dance numbers, but it delivers a moderate amount of charm.

As for the pair of cartoons, both pit Bugs Bunny against Yosemite – or Pirate - Sam. I like these two shorts a lot, as they turn into well above-average reels.

While the basic concept of The Spanish Main promises an exciting pirate adventure, the final product seems less than thrilling. Between a dull leading man and indifferent direction, the movie only occasionally kicks to life. The Blu-ray boasts excellent visuals as well as acceptable audio and a small roster of supplements. Although it never bores, Spanish Main also fails to become anything memorable.