O'Hara did well enough in black and white films, but when
Technicolor came along, she really shown. Her green eyes and red hair made
such a statement that some dubbed her "Queen of Technicolor."
But her popularity didn't just stem from her looks. She played feisty heroines
who were no pushovers (until they wanted to be), often in pirate adventures
like THE BLACK SWAN (1942) with Tyrone Power.
O'Hara's success in THE BLACK SWAN while on loan out to
20th Century-Fox led her home studio,
RKO, to cast her in a few Technicolor pirate adventure
films of their own, including THE SPANISH MAIN (1945) opposite
Paul Henreid, SINBAD
THE SAILOR (1947) with Anthony Quinn and Douglas Fairbanks,
Jr., and the pirate-less swashbuckler AT SWORD'S POINT (1952) also featuring
Cornel Wilde.
As pirate captain Spitfire Stevens opposite the King of the Hollywood
swashbucklers, Errol Flynn, in AGAINST ALL FLAGS (1952), which also
featured Mildred Natwick and Anthony
Quinn.