The Black Pirate (1926)

Director:

Albert Parker

Writers:

Douglas Fairbanks (story)
Jack Cunningham (adaptation)

Release Date:

8 March 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Action

Tagline:

The Love Story of a Bold Buccaneer

Plot:

Seeking revenge, an athletic young man joins the pirate band responsible for his father's death.

Plot Keywords:

Pirate | Revenge | Cavern | Sword | Showdown

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Douglas Fairbanks	...	The Duke of Arnoldo / The Black Pirate
Billie Dove	...	Princess Isobel
Anders Randolf	...	Pirate Captain
Donald Crisp	...	MacTavish
Tempe Pigott	...	Duenna
Sam De Grasse	...	Pirate Lieutenant
Charles Stevens	...	Powder man
Charles Belcher	...	Chief passenger (Nobleman)
E.J. Ratcliffe	...	The Governor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Becker	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Nino Cochise	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Barry Norton	...	Youth (uncredited)
Mary Pickford	...	Princess Isobel in Final Embrace (cameo appearance) (uncredited)
John Wallace	...	Peg-Leg Pirate (uncredited)

Directed by
Albert Parker

Writing credits
Douglas Fairbanks		(story) (as Elton Thomas)
Jack Cunningham		(adaptation)

Produced by
Douglas Fairbanks	....	producer

Original Music by
Mortimer Wilson

Cinematography by
Henry Sharp

Film Editing by
William Nolan

Production Design by
Carl Oscar Borg		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Carl Oscar Borg		(supervising art director)
Edward M. Langley		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Jack Holden		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
George Westmore	....	makeup artist
Robert Stephanoff	....	makeup artist: Mr. Fairbanks (uncredited)

Production Management
Theodore Reed	....	production manager

Art Department
Jack Holden	....	associate artist
Edward M. Langley	....	associate artist
Charles Gemora	....	set design/sculptures (uncredited)

Stunts
Richard Talmadge	....	stunts (uncredited)

Other crew
Arthur Ball	....	staff: Technicolor
George Cave	....	staff: Technicolor
Fred Cavens	....	fencing master
Robert Fairbanks	....	general manager
Dwight Franklin	....	consultant
Robert Nichols	....	consultant
P.H.L. Wilson	....	marine technician
Arthur Woods	....	research director
Lotta Woods	....	scenario editor
Hertzel Effensachs	....	boat wrangler (uncredited)
Charles Lewis	....	assistant: Mr. Fairbanks (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Elton Corporation

Distributors

• United Artists (1926) (USA) (theatrical)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• DTP Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Ediciones (1995) (Spain) (VHS)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino Video (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kino Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Movies Unlimited (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• REX Film (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Schröder Media (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Stokey Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Televista (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min | USA:94 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Germany:12 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Elton Corporation

Trivia:

According to the commentary on the Kino Video DVD, the crew of Douglas Fairbanks' longboat in the climactic chase and battle were members of the crew of the USS Arizona.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the men following the Black Pirate are swimming up to the boat at the climax, shadows are clearly visible on a wall when they are shot at an angled view.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

about as good a pirate movie as you can make without sound

This was an excellent pirate movie and was better than many sound pirate films. However, it's really hard to rate the movie---compared to other silent pirate films, it might just be the best. But, compared to THE SEA HAWK, CAPTAIN BLOOD or THE BLACK SWAN (all wonderful sound pirate films from the 30s and 40s), it isn't as good a film.

So what does the movie do that worked so well for me? First, being a Douglas Fairbanks film, it had wonderful stunts and impeccable production values--something he was known for in his silent films. Second, this film had excellent sets and was the best film money could buy in its day. In fact, it was such a lavish production that it was supposedly the first full-length film made in 2-color Technicolor--an early and somewhat crude way of producing a color movie. Because the film was dyed with green-blue and orange-red dyes, the film mostly looks reddish-green--definitely NOT true color. But, it doesn't look that bad--certainly much better than the horrid colorized films destroyed in the 1980s. Plus, if it hadn't been for films like this, the infinitely better 3-color system might never have been developed by Technicolor. And, finally, the plot is pretty good for a silent film--not the most complex when compared to later films, it's not nearly as simplistic as most other silents.

This video was produced by KINO FILMS. Some of their silent films in the past were less than wonderful (especially some of their Buster Keaton videotapes), but this videotape is top quality and has nice extras at the end of the tape. Some cheaper prints apparently are only black and white, not color. Nice job for the restoration, KINO! However, despite what the video box said, it was apparently NOT the first full-length two-color Technicolor film. I recently saw a restored print from TOLL OF THE SEA (1922) and it was in fact made using this process four years earlier than THE BLACK PIRATE.