Pirate Movie Week - The Buccaneer (1958)
This week on the CineTV.blog, the contest is theme is Pirate Movies. Thanks go to @caulderfreeman for accepting my suggestion for doing Pirate movies as International Talk Like a Pirate Day is approaching in a couple of weeks. As it was my suggestion, I am not competing in the contest this week, but I am writing about one of my favorite Pirate films.
The Buccaneer poster - IMDB
The Buccaneer (1958) has long been a favorite film of mine for a number of reasons, and I still enjoy watching it today. The first time I saw it was probably 10 or so years old, so it was a bloody long time ago. It appealed in part due to some of the colorful and interesting characters, many of whom are historical figures, and that it concerned The Battle of New Orleans, which took place towards the end of The War of 1812. It’s been awhile since I last watched it, and my Bonnie Bride and I sat down Saturday evening and gave it a run. Having seen it several times over the years, I know the film fairly well, and my Bonnie Bride only remembered a few bits, so it was refreshing to watch.
Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer, Yul Brynner, and Inger Stevens - IMDB
Leading the cast is Yul Brynner as Jean Lafitte, who led a large band of pirates based out of Barataria. Brynner grew his own hair back for the role, making this one of the few films in which we do not see him sporting his shaved-head look. Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson; Claire Bloom as Bonnie Brown; Charles Boyer as Dominique You, making for a great cast that worked well together.
Woody Strode as Toro - IMDB
The story is a highly fictionalized account of Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans, with some piracy on the high seas thrown in to boot. Lafitte has a standing order not to attack American ships, yet one of his captains, Captain Brown, does so, sinking an American ship, killing all passengers and crew, save one, a cabin boy named Miggs (Jerry Hartelben), who is saved, along with his dog, by one of the pirates, Toro (Woody Strode), and hidden on the ship. This creates a number of complications for Lafitte as one of the passengers killed is the daughter of Governor Claiborne (E.G. Marshall), and Lafitte is in love with the Governor’s other daughter, Annette (Inger Stevens). Lafitte does not learn of this fact until much later. Meanwhile Andrew Jackson has arrived on the scene to defend New Orleans and the surrounding area from a British invasion. Short on powder, flints, and men, Jackson does come to terms with Lafitte in exchange for much needed supplies and additional manpower.
I did a little research on The Battle of New Orleans, and, yes, there is a bit of the history the film gets right, but not much. Most of it is pure fiction designed to tell an interesting story.
That being said, I like the story it tells, and the performances are great. Even the supporting characters add an interesting dynamic to the film, from the mute pirate Toro and his sidekick Mouse (Ashley Cowan) to Jackson’s aide, the gravelly-voiced, woodsman Peavey (Henry Hull). Woody Strode, who played Toro, I have written about previously, is a very familiar face, at least to me, mostly from his role in Spartacus (1960) and again, his appearance in the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).
Something else that is worth mentioning is that Yul Brynner has, in my opinion, the best costumes in the film, which makes sense as he was the top-billed star. His outfits ran the range from rugged, ready for adventure, gear to colorful designer formal wear. The set designs are also nicely done, whether the waterfront of New Orleans, Lafitte’s fortress in Barataria Bay, or the various wilderness settings where much of the action takes place.
The film, according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buccaneer_(1958_film)), had a large budget, and it looks like a lot of it went into costumes and set design. Sadly, according to the same article, it was a bit of a box office flop, which I find surprising considering the main cast was comprised of some of the most popular actors at the time.
Cecil B. DeMille served as executive producer, and introduced the film at the opening, prior to the opening credits rolling, while Anthony Quinn directed. Quinn also appeared in a supporting role in the original 1938 production. I have seen that version as well, and I like the 1958 remake much better.
I’d like to again thank @caulderfreeman (sorry for tagging you) for accepting my suggestion of featuring Pirate movies, and mention that this is not an entry into the contest, even though I am using the contest tag. There are a lot of great Pirate movies out there spanning over a century of film making, so it will see what else the community comes up with this week. And if you haven’t entered a film this week, what are you wating for? You can get the details at - https://www.cinetv.blog/@cinetv/cinetv-contest-76-favorite-pirate-movie
Thanks for stopping by.
Posted using CineTV