Arrrr!

Went to the Buttery for their pirate movie party on Saturday. Was great fun. The highlight, for me, was seeing The Crimson Pirate again, for the first time in many years. It sort of prefigures Pirates of the Carribean, as they are both willing to go completely over the top, but without leaving the "pirate" genre for "comedy". Burt Lancaster's sidekick is as over-the-top as Johnny Depp, albeit in a very different idiom. (I also note that PotC stole the "hiding under a boat, and using it as a mini-sub" gag directly from The Crimson Pirate.)

That could not be said of "The Pirate", which, though it did have some actual pirate content, was actually a romantic comedy with a pirate fetish. Not thatthere's anything wrong with that... It wouldn't make a "top five" list for any of the principals, but when the principals are Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, and Cole Porter (music), that's pretty faint damnation. An enjoyable bit of fluff.

I didn't see The Black Pirate (a silent with Douglas Fairbanks), but judging by the peals of laughter from the next room, it must have been choice. I borrowed a copy, and will report in more detail once I've seen it.

Arrrr!

Went to the Buttery for their pirate movie party on Saturday. Was great fun. The highlight, for me, was seeing The Crimson Pirate again, for the first time in many years. It sort of prefigures Pirates of the Carribean, as they are both willing to go completely over the top, but without leaving the "pirate" genre for "comedy". Burt Lancaster's sidekick is as over-the-top as Johnny Depp, albeit in a very different idiom. (I also note that PotC stole the "hiding under a boat, and using it as a mini-sub" gag directly from The Crimson Pirate.)

That could not be said of "The Pirate", which, though it did have some actual pirate content, was actually a romantic comedy with a pirate fetish. Not thatthere's anything wrong with that... It wouldn't make a "top five" list for any of the principals, but when the principals are Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, and Cole Porter (music), that's pretty faint damnation. An enjoyable bit of fluff.

I didn't see The Black Pirate (a silent with Douglas Fairbanks), but judging by the peals of laughter from the next room, it must have been choice. I borrowed a copy, and will report in more detail once I've seen it.