Morgan (Timothy Carey) in THE BOY AND THE PIRATES and The Sea Captain (Billy Gilbert) in SHIVER MY TIMBERS (Our Gang short).
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
Captain Blood (1935)
Starring Errol Flynn, Directed by Michael Curtis
This movie is pure brilliance it the first time that Flynn and director Michael Curtis (he replaces Donat) and what Flynn and Curtis did in this movie was unbelievable back in those days. I love this movie and it was epic, dashing, adventurous, and somewhat methodical in some ways more than one. One of the most memorable scenes from Captain Blood features Flynn, in the heat of battle, using a dagger to slice to a mainsail, slowing his descent from the crow’s nest to the the carnage of a heated boarding party below. This image, like so many other in the movie, helped to invent the swashbuckling genre of pirate films in Hollywood. In that scene alone ... set the standards for Pirates movies for decades to come.
HOWDY! I mean, aye aye maties. I'm not sure why we're doing this, but if Paula says so...I'm game:
I must have seen "SWASHBUCKLER" five times at Radio City Music Hall. I thought it was fantastic!!! Yeah...yeah. I'm a day late, but I had to do my Hitchcock thing first! Harrrrrrr!
using a dagger to slice to a mainsail, slowing his descent
A trick blatantly copied by Burt Lancaster in THE CRIMSON PIRATE! As for my favorite, do buccaneers count? I like Geoffrey Thorpe in Curtiz' wonderful THE SEA HAWK. And Fredric March makes a dashing Jean Lafitte in Demille's THE BUCANEER. Much better than Yul Brynner in the same role.
[u]MR.[/u] [u]ARKADIN[/u] wrote:A Jacques Tourneur film I have not seen, but now long to see. Great post CM. You need to visit more often and stay for tea (or a cup of grog). 9/21/2009 - 8:48AM
It took a reminder from Mr. A, about another pirate film I love. I wrote this post three years ago today in fact! Check it out if you care to:
THE BEAUTIFUL AND FIERY JEAN PETERS in "ANNE OF THE INDIES."
Yes Knitty, I was very taken by Robert Shaw in "SWASHBUCKLER" myself. I also liked the fact that his band of thieves was very diverse. I haven't seen the movie in years and years. Would love to check it out again. Funny how that film was the FIRST to come to mind even WITH all of Errol Flynn's adventures swirling in my libido head.
Errol Flynn as the title character in Captain Blood. His portrayal raised the bar for portrayals of pirates of the dashing, heroic type, and swashbuckling heroes in general. It also led to him getting more swashbuckling roles, which he played equally well.
Some of my other favorites include:
Errol Flynn as Geoffrey Thorpe in The Sea Hawk. There's a reason that Errol Flynn's name is almost synonymous with swashbuckling adventure heroes. Few could come close to portraying them as well, and few were lucky enough to be directed by a director as great as Michael Curtiz. The Sea Hawk is yet another great swashbuckler, right up there with Captain Blood.
Charlton Heston as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1990). At one time, I thought of Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver as simply the best there ever would be. He couldn't be beaten - no way, no how. Then I saw the 1990 version. Charlton Heston may be known mostly for playing saintly roles, but he was a versatile actor who was great at playing all sorts of characters, including some vile ones. In my opinion, his portrayal of Silver is better than even Robert Newton's. His portrayal is grounded and believable, yet larger than life. He's vile, yet oddly sympathetic. He captured every element of the character perfectly.
Robert Newton as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1950). As great as Charlton Heston's portrayal is, Robert Newton's is still great, and is probably the most influential portrayal of a pirate in film history. The "pirate talk" that we now take for granted was popularized by him (although the exclamation "arrrr!" can be traced back at least as far as Lionel Barrymore).
Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow - er, excuse me, that's Captain Jack Sparrow, and Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa, both from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow was something new and unique. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. And even though Captain Jack is rather weird, it's hard not to like him. Barbossa is a less original character, very reminiscent of of Robert Newton's Long John Silver, but Geoffrey Rush's performance is as impressive as Depp's.
Heston was a better actor than some give him credit for. When I was a kid, he was my absolute fave.
I'll concede it's just me. But I see nothing whatsoever to like in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. One of the most popular movies in recent years. Does nothing for me.
RedRiver wrote:Heston was a better actor than some give him credit for. When I was a kid, he was my absolute fave.
I agree. I think it's mostly because a lot of people know him only from a few of his movies, such as The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, and think that he was only capable of playing that one particular type of character.
I'll concede it's just me. But I see nothing whatsoever to like in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. One of the most popular movies in recent years. Does nothing for me.
Oddly enough, that's what I thought my reaction to it would be, but I wound up liking it (the first one, that is, I don't care for the sequels).