What is the title of this pirate movie? 

In the mid to late 1970s I saw a pirate movie on TV. A group of
British children and their parents were on a ship (in the 1800s, most
likely) which was overtaken by pirates. The children ended up
separated from the parents, and on the same ship as the pirates. I
remember a scene where they were hiding in the hold, and I think I
also remember the oldest girl biting the thumb of one of the pirates.
(I think a similar thing happens in Blue Lagoon - but it's not that
movie!). The kids and pirates form a bond, which ends when the pirate
ship is overtaken. In the end, the pirates are all hung. The very last
scene is back in England, with the girl and her parents watching her
brothers sail toy ships on a pond.

I don't know if this was a made for TV movie, but it was in color, and
I don't think it came out before the 60s.

Hello kester-ga,

I believe the movie you are looking for is the 1965 film ?A High Wind
in Jamaica? based on the 1929 Richard Hughes novel.


I found several synopses of the movie, which fit your description.


IMDB.com
High Wind in Jamaica, A (1965)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059269/maindetails
?The parents of children living in Jamaica, afraid that the kids are
growing up uncivilized, decide to send them to England. But during the
voyage, the childrens' ship is boarded by pirates and in the confusion
the children wind up trapped on the pirate ship. The children view it
as a lark, and one of them, a girl named Emily, develops an unusual
bond with Chavez, the pirate captain. The superstitious pirates can't
wait to unload the kids at the first port, but a tragedy prevents it,
and Emily's relationship with Chavez takes a fateful twist.?


AMCTV.com
A High Wind in Jamaica  (1965)
http://www.amctv.com/show/detail?CID=9340-1-EST
?A ship transporting a clan of British school kids is plundered by a
Caribbean pirate (Anthony Quinn) and his crew in the 1870s. The
children stow away unknowingly on Quinn's ship, and the tender
Spaniard captain refuses to dump them overboard, though members of the
superstitious crew want to do so. He tries to pawn them off on a
whorehouse madam (Lila Kedrova) and then a Dutch steamer. Both
attempts fail and the second one sparks mutiny on Quinn's ship.
Problems further complicate when one of the fearful 10-year-olds kills
the Dutch captain.?


Channel4.com
A High Wind in Jamaica
http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=104239
?A hurricane devastates the island, so children are dispatched to
England and safety. On the journey their ship is captured by pirates,
and the children wreak havoc on board. When, in turn, the pirates are
captured and tried, the captain and his mate are sentenced to death,
largely because of a death caused by one of the girls. In fact the
villains are harmless and hardly defend themselves, so society exacts
revenge while model boats sail on the serpentine in Hyde Park in an
ambiguous reminder of events past.?



The movie is available on DVD:

Amazon.com
A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001I56FK/qid=1094107205/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/104-5429508-8516748



I hope you have found this information helpful.  If you have any
questions, or if this is not the film you are looking for, please
request clarification prior to rating the answer.

Googlenut



Search Strategy:

I searched Plots at IMDB.com for the keywords ?pirates? and ?children?.
http://www.imdb.com/Find?select=Plots&for=pirates+children


I made the following search on Google

"A High Wind in Jamaica"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22A+High+Wind+in+Jamaica%22&btnG=Search

Thank you so much!!! I have been looking for this movie for years, and
I'm so thrilled that you found it, and especially that it is available
for purchase!

Kester-ga,

Thank you for the 5-star rating and the tip!  I'm glad I was able to help.

Googlenut