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When I was a young child, circa 1975, I saw part of a movie on TV in the UK. It was a black and white set.

It was set on a sailing ship, probably 18th or 17th century. A scene I remember showed the ship arriving at the charted location of an island but it wasn't there. A character, probably the captain, said "[Island name] is somewhere else" then with a quill pen drew a line through the island on the map.

It may have been an older movie. From what I remember it looked similar to the Captain Hornblower movie from 1951. I'd guess it was a similar date.

The cast, at least the Captain was probably British.

It wasn't Mutiny On The Bounty, neither 1935, or 1962, or 1984. The discovery of Pitcairn where it wasn't supposed to be is pretty much the opposite of my memory.

Additional information. Note that this is 50-year old memory of something my parents were watching when I was very young. I probably only saw the one scene.

I saw it probably on BBC1.

It was likely aimed at grown ups.

It was a period piece with production values similar to Captain Horatio Hornblower 1951. Not sure if that would be high budget for the time.

No idea what the captain's name was, or if there was any love interest.

The captain seemed neither particularly happy or sad. Perhaps moderately amused that the charts were wrong, but it didn't seem like any kind of big deal either way.

I presume the captain was talking to one of his officers.

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    This question could be improved by going through the list of prompts here and editing your question. Commented Mar 13 at 7:56
  • I think my description has all the important points on the list. Are there any I've missed? Commented Mar 13 at 8:01
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    If all you can remember is a single scene, it makes it quite difficult (it could, for example have been part of an advert or a TV show). Can you recall anything about the film itself (e.g. was it a film intended for adults or children? what channel did you see it on? Did it seem like it had a high budget? was there an obvious love interest? What was the captain's name? Who was he talking to when he crossed off the island? Did he seem happy or sad that the island was missing?) Commented Mar 13 at 8:13
  • I've frequently seen movies identified from a single line or shot. I remember once asking about a brief clip I'd seen showing a sailor refusing to eat maggot-infested food. That was enough for someone to identify the film HMS Defiant. But I've added extra details, as I can remember them. Commented Mar 13 at 8:51
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    It's a crap-shoot trying to identify something from a single scene. Either people know it or they dont. We had one where it turned out that it was a shampoo commercial. Commented Mar 13 at 8:55

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Could this be taken from the TV series The Onedin Line? Specifically the S04 episode "Uncharted Island"? I just skimmed the episode on YouTube, but there are some shenanigans with inaccurate maps, and, well, uncharted islands. The time period is the 19th century, but the ships are indeed wind-powered.

I should mention that the episode was from 1976, so the time period works as well.

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  • The Onedin Line is a distinct possibility, but I just skimmed through the linked episode and didn't spot anything like the scene I remember. Commented Mar 25 at 11:46
  • Welcome to the site! Nice first answer. Although your video link is dead already, find a new one if you can, but it doesn't affect the overall quality of the answer. Commented Mar 25 at 13:13
  • @Skooba-StandsAgainstAI link works for me Commented Mar 25 at 13:41
  • @user108131 Might be a regional thing then. I am in the US, and gives a copyright claim message. Commented Mar 25 at 13:45

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