Reviews & Ratings for
The Black Pirate More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 3:

[1] [2] [3]

Index

25 reviews in total

---

16 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Douglas Fairbanks Swashes His Buckle In Grand Fashion, 4 September 2000

Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

A nobleman vows vengeance on the cutthroats responsible for his father's death. Becoming THE BLACK PIRATE, he joins their scurvy crew and quickly becomes their leader. But his plans for revenge become more complicated when he meets his first captive - a beautiful Spanish princess.

Roistering, robust & richly detailed, this was one of Douglas Fairbanks' greatest films. With enough excitement to satisfy any lover of adventure, one needs only read the film's prologue to get an idea of its delights: 'A page from the History and Lives of the most Bloodthirsty PIRATES who ever infested THE SOUTHERN SEAS. Being an account of BUCCANEERS & the Spanish MAIN, the Jolly Roger, Golden Galleons, bleached skulls, BURIED TREASURE, the Plank, dirks & cutlasses, SCUTTLED SHIPS, marooning, DESPERATE DEEDS, DESPERATE MEN, and - even on this dark soil - ROMANCE.' Aside from the bleached skulls, everything else is there as promised

Fairbanks is a joy to behold, exulting in his physical prowess, becoming a legend of the screen before the delighted eyes of the viewer. Can any other swashbuckler top the flair or élan of the sequence where Doug captures a merchantman single-handed, climbing up the forecastle & sliding down the slit sails on his dagger, light as any sprite? No one else would have even dared.

As the princess, Billie Dove is beautiful, but has very little to do except look frightened. Donald Crisp, in a change of pace role, is very enjoyable as a gruff one-armed Scots pirate who befriends Fairbanks. Anders Randolf & Sam De Grasse are the black-hearted pirate captain & lieutenant whom Doug must contend with and they are nasty indeed.

A milestone in cinematic history, this was one of the first movies to be filmed entirely in Technicolor. In its restored version, it is very pleasant to the eyes, its antique hues perfectly complementing the richly textured art design, costumes & sets.

For those interested in such things, there are explanations for the various special effects (the underwater attack, for instance), but the reader will need to look elsewhere for them. Sometimes too many facts can spoil the illusion of daydreams so necessary for the enjoyment of silent cinema. Find this fabulous film & dream on.

Too bad about the bleached skulls, though...

---

11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
about as good a pirate movie as you can make without sound, 7 May 2006

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

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.

---

8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Fun swashbuckler aided by early two-strip Technicolor, 29 January 2001

Author: Arne Andersen (aandersen@landmarkcollege.org) from Putney, VT

This restoration of the original 1926 production almost seems like an anachronism. We feel somewhat creepy watching a silent film in color. Although color entered the realm of silent film around 1923, over 95% of the silent films in color are lost. This is a rare treat (even though we only see browns, reds and blues and even though the water is sometimes red, sometimes blue) and along with the original score re-recorded and 19 minutes of outtakes following the 90 minute feature, it is somewhat of an event. The content is the usual formulaic action film, a real swashbuckler in the Errol Flynn sense of the word. Fairbanks, Billie Dove and Donald Crisp all perform well. Not a great film by any means but lovely to look at in this early color process' infancy. (For great two-strip Technicolor see Michael Curtiz' back to back horror films of the early thirties - DOCTOR X and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM.

---

9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A wonderfully acrobatic Douglas Fairbanks Snr., entertains!, 5 September 2006

Author: A_Roode from Halifax, Nova Scotia

Douglas Fairbanks Snr., can quite fairly be given credit for the first movie action star. 'The Black Pirate' has a number of sequences which highlight his magnificent athletic ability. I found myself marveling at the extended sequence where he seizes a merchant ship singlehandedly. What strength and skill, what agility and courage! I loved watching him scale the stern of the ship and was extremely impressed by his cutting open of the sails from top to bottom with a knife. Some of the work was quite funny and you could tell that the filmed footage was being shown in reverse but that doesn't stop the stunts themselves from being extremely entertaining. He's got more guts than me, I'll say that much!

'The Black Pirate' is difficult to evaluate. Do we grade a film based upon:

a) other pirate films b) silent films c) on a general level of enjoyment against all films

As a silent film, and for that matter a two strip Technicolor silent film, 'The Black Pirate' is a landmark for innovation. Fairbanks had misgivings about the use of colour but felt a pirate film MUST be shown in colour. He gets great benefit. There is a great deal of implied violence (duh, a pirate film!) and the bright red colour of blood is almost shocking to see. There's a scene where a captive tries to hide a ring he's wearing by swallowing it. Unfortunately for him he's seen. After a little off camera ... searching... for the ring, a pirate presents a bloodied ring in bloodied hands as he wipes a bloodied dagger on his tunic to the captain. Pretty thrilling stuff for the 1920's. This was also a film where very serious philosophy and training were put to great effect with the fencing. You can see how it out-steps a lot of earlier swordplay films and influenced the style in films that would follow. According to film historian Rudy Behlmer on an excellent commentary track with the Kino DVD, the fencing master hired by Fairbanks became a staple of the industry. Many of the great sword fight movies from the next 25 years were his handiwork -- including 'The Adventures of Robin Hood,' and 'Captain Blood.'

Against other pirate films, 'The Black Pirate' has perhaps more value as a curiosity. Even by the late 1930's and 40's it was being outdistanced by Errol Flynn films like 'Captain Blood' and 'The Seahawk,' Tyrone Power in 'The Black Swan,' or Burt Lancaster in 'The Crimson Pirate.' Today it gets totally wiped off the board by the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series. Though still fun to watch, these later films are better and more enjoyable.

This is definitely worth tracking down on the Kino DVD if you can find it. Rudy Behlmer has an excellent commentary track that is of great value to people who are interested in early Hollywood and Douglas Fairbanks. I recommend it highly for the student or the general enthusiast based upon that reason. And it is a good movie to! 'The Black Pirate' has a great sense of adventure to it with thrilling stunt work. Silent movie fans shouldn't be disappointed. Fans of pirate movies should give it a try to see what helped popularize the genre.

---

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Dated, but great fun with the astonishing Douglas Fairbanks, 25 February 2002
Author: robertguttman from Tappan, New York

I first heard about this film from my father, who once told me that he saw it as a boy when it first came out and was completely blown away by it. I only recently had the opportunity to see it myself, and I can appreciate his point. Of course it's absurd to compare the production values of an antique movie such as this to modern films, but just see it and try to imagine how it must have seemed to audiences at the Roxy back in 1926!

Needless to say, this elaborate, full-color production is merely a showcase for the incomparable Douglas Fairbanks. Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford pale to insignificance beside Fairbank's bravura on-screen personality. Fairbanks virtually invented the "action-adventure" movie, and films like "The Black Pirate" make it clear why he was the biggest movie star of his time.

In addition, bear in mind that there were no stunt men or blue-screen special effects back then. Fairbanks actually DID all those amazing stunts himself! The only latter-day Hollywood star who would (and did) dare to do his own stunts was the equally incomparable Burt Lancaster.

Don't expect modern acting or sensibilities in The Black Pirate, the movie itself is typical 1920s melodrama. The sets are pretty hokey and the plot is absurd. However, just ignore all that while you sit back and enjoy Douglas Fairbanks delivering one of the most spectacular performances ever captured on screen.

---

6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Everything you want in a pirate movie..., 16 March 2003

Author: Andrew Nixon (movies@andrewnixon.com) from Santa Barbara, CA

I knew little of this film before watching it, but am glad I found it. It's an excellent early film about a group of cutthroats. The thing that surprised me the most was that it was in color. It was filmed using the experimental two-color technicolor process. After watching the "Making of", apparently Douglas fairbanks was a real pioneer in that area and did much research on color film. This was my first Fairbanks film and I was quite impressed with not only his screen presence, but his ability to do impressive stuntwork, including the infamous sliding down a sail on a knife. This film had all the requirements of a pirate movie... Swordplay, torture, murder, robbery, kidnapping, romance, and even walking the plank. As well as the infamous quote, "Dead men tell no tales!". It had a decent score by Mortimer Wilson that was mostly fitting. One scene I found amusing, was when the pirates drew lots for the monkey. If you're a fan of pirate movies, this is a must see. I found it quite enjoyable.

*** (out of 4)

---

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Pirate yarns don't get much better than this., 4 March 2008

Author: Space_Mafune from Newfoundland, Canada

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. stars in this exciting, action-packed swashbuckling pirate adventure yarn, as a young man seeking revenge on a band of pirates after they ransacked and destroyed his ship, killing his father. In trying to achieve his goal, he tricks the pirates into thinking he wants to join their band. Will this ruse work?

This delivers all the thrills and cutthroat pirate action anyone could ever hope for and even more. It has all the elements one looks for and wants from today's big blockbusters: impressive stunts mostly performed by Fairbanks himself, sword fights, pirate treachery, explosions, daring underwater scenes, a damsel in distress, the works. There's a few plot holes and questionable plot twists here and there but it all holds up incredibly well after all these years although in today's world lead actress Billie Dove would have been given more to do. That's a minor nitpick at best. If you like pirate yarns, check this out. Believe me, they just don't get much better than this.

---

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Early Technicolor swashbuckler - fun and unrelentingly entertaining, 27 November 2000

Author: Arne Andersen (aandersen@landmarkcollege.org) from Putney, VT

Although there were a handful of Technicolor films before this one (as early as 1922), this is the one that EVERYONE saw and so truly introduced the process to the nation. The reds and blues are quite lovely and photograph far better outside under natural lighting than inside the studio where I had mistakenly assumed the controlled lighting would have made these shots superior to the exterior ones. It's a non-stop swashbuckler and a lot of fun to watch. One almost feels wicked seeing a silent film in color - as if we're being allowed to see something we ought not to be. Fairbanks is in top form and Sam de Grasse is a suave pirate villain. Quite worth adding to your video library.

---

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com, 3 July 2007
Author: rdjeffers from Seattle

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It beats selling soap!

Douglas Fairbanks stood alone at the top in 1920. He was the original action hero, and a bona fide movie star. His smiling face appeared on newspapers from coast to coast. The happy-go-lucky upstart of filmdom, clean-cut American destined for danger, was a proved commodity. Why then would he fuss with his formula to produce a costume drama? The Mollycoddle (1920) was the story of a citified dude in the Wild West who foils a gang of diamond smugglers. It was standard fare for 'Doug'. The Mark of Zorro (1920) was a radical departure, starring Fairbanks as a mysterious masked avenger, and the first in a string of films still considered the model for action-adventure. Next came D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1921) and an epidemic broomstick dueling schoolboys.

Fairbanks' exploration of storybook legends coincided with the development of feature films, and what was seen as an obligation to increase their length and complexity. In order to produce longer films he diluted his stories, slowing the pace by spreading the action over more time and an increasingly complex production design. The Mollycoddle was a reasonable 86 minutes. The Son of Zorro increased to 107, The Three Musketeers (1921) to 119, Robin Hood (1922) to 133 and The Thief of Bagdad (1924) to a whopping 155 minutes!

All were great films, better than great, but they suffered progressively from momentum-killing longevity. William K. Everson described the cost of this elaborate expansion as a loss of "the essentially Fairbanksian qualities, enthusiasm, pace, wit, good humor, and the ability to make points quickly and pungently." Don Q Son of Zorro (1925) while still a bit long at 111 minutes showed a degree of moderation, and played very fast.

The Black Pirate (1926)

Thursday, July 5, 3:30 & 7:00 p.m., The Lynwood, Bainbridge Island

The Black Pirate (1926) was lightning in a bottle, set on the high seas with relentless action, energetic humor and the absence of a pointlessly convoluted plot, held to a sensible 88 minutes. Fairbanks developed fantastic stunts while dazzling his audience with two-strip Technicolor throughout the film. The notable absence of women (much to the delight of Fairbanks' target audience there were only two) was largely due to a storyline occupied by bloodthirsty cutthroats, noble mariners and 'Doug', somewhere in the middle. Billie Dove was cast as the love interest and obligatory damsel in distress, Princess Isobel, based on Fairbanks' belief that she photograph well in color. Donald Crisp was memorable as MacTavish, a one-armed Scottish buccaneer and first mate of sorts, while Fairbanks' mascot Charles Stevens played the powder man, who gleefully encircled captive sailors with a trail of black powder before blowing them up with their ship.

The essence of fairytale Hollywood, The Black Pirate was filmed at Fairbanks/Pickford Studios while Mary was making Sparrows (1926). The story is told that Pickford forbade her husband from kissing another woman, including any actress in any of his films. The final scene of The Black Pirate called for Fairbanks to kiss the Princess. Mary was suitably costumed and facing away from the camera, performed the clincher herself. Another well known story, fact or fable, tells of Fairbanks dashing across the lot to unleash a verbal attack on director William Beaudine after hearing he had placed Mary mere feet from the snapping jaws and razor sharp teeth of ferocious alligators. Other sources claim photographer Charles Rosher employed a 'masked' shot to achieve the effect, with the actors and animals separated by a considerable distance. The animals were also tied down, but 'Doug's' tirade is a far better story.

---

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
"Dead men tell no tales.", 22 October 2006

Author: classicsoncall from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I generally have some reservations about tuning in to a silent film, but once I do, they usually turn out pretty well. "The Black Pirate" was no exception, my first encounter with the legendary silent action-adventure hero Douglas Fairbanks (Sr.). His swashbuckling feats of dynamic swordplay and athletic scaling of ship's rigging were genuine sit up and take notice moments, especially since he was doing all of his own stunt work. It wouldn't be too far off to say he does it all here, including the obligatory 'walk the plank' as a result of trying to help a captive Princess escape her pirate captors.

One downside of my experience of this film based on other reviewers - the print I saw was in black and white. Even so, there was enough going on to maintain one's interest, not the least of which was all the cutthroat pirate chicanery. I was surprised how the film intimated how a poor crewman was slit open to retrieve a ring he swallowed to prevent it's becoming booty. That was a nasty piece of business.

The one scene that played out amazingly well both visually and the way it was choreographed was the underwater swim by the seamen who arrived by longboat to help Fairbanks' character defeat the pirates. One thing though, once on board the Merchantman, didn't it seem like there was a whole lot more of them than could have arrived in the first place?

One curiosity, the pirate crew liked the idea of holding the Merchantman ransom for fifty thousand pieces-of-eight, suggested by Fairbanks' character. However if you freeze the frame on the first part of the ransom note to the Governor, the amount demanded in Roman numerals is XXVII (assuming that what looks like a 'C' is actually a parenthesis). That would only represent twenty seven, as the word 'thousand' is written out.

As much fun as the film is, if you're really paying attention, a couple of plot points just don't make much sense. After Fairbanks defeats the Pirate Captain (Anders Randolf) in a sword fight challenge, the Captain falls on a sword and dies. Just like that, the rest of the pirate crew have no trouble accepting Fairbanks as part of their crew. So much for loyalty! Another occurs at the end of the film when Fairbanks and The Princess (Billie Dove) declare their love and announce their wedding. MacTavish (Donald Crisp) suggests digging up the earlier buried treasure for a wedding gift. I don't think so.

But let's not get too critical. This is a neatly done sea tale with a lot of well paced action and drama. A surprise in reviewing the cast list reveals Mary Pickford as a stand-in for Billie Dove in the 'final embrace' scene at the end of the story. There really doesn't seem to be any reason for that, other than a chance for Mr. Fairbanks to get Mrs. Fairbanks into the picture. Trivia fans take note.

---

---

Page 1 of 3:

[1] [2] [3]

Add another review

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Amazon.com summary	Ratings
Awards	Newsgroup reviews	External reviews
Plot keywords	Main details	Your user reviews
Your vote history