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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Lyle Saxon (novel) and
Harold Lamb (writer)
more
Release Date:
4 February 1938 (USA) more
Tagline:
The greatest adventure romance in Cecil B De Mille's glorious gallery of screen triumphs! more
Plot:
Semi-fictional account of pirate Jean Lafitte's involvement in the War of 1812. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. more
User Comments:
One of a great director's best more (8 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Fredric March | ... | Jean Lafitte |
 | Franciska Gaal | ... | Gretchen |
| Akim Tamiroff | ... | Dominique You |
| Margot Grahame | ... | Annette de Remy |
 | Walter Brennan | ... | Ezra Peavey |
| Ian Keith | ... | Senator Crawford |
| Spring Byington | ... | Dolly Madison |
| Douglass Dumbrille | ... | Governor William C.C. Claiborne |
| Robert Barrat | ... | Captain Brown |
| Hugh Sothern | ... | General Andrew Jackson |
| Beulah Bondi | ... | Aunt Charlotte |
 | Anthony Quinn | ... | Beluche |
| Louise Campbell | ... | Marie de Remy |
| Montagu Love | ... | Admiral Cockburn |
| Eric Stanley | ... | General Ross |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
126 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #3654)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Evelyn Keyes' debut. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Yankee Doodle more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (8 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Buccaneer (1938)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Filming 1938 Buccaneer | bhikshu-1 |
| On TCM 10/17/08 9:30am EDT | brian_huddleston |
Recommendations
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| The Buccaneer | Gone with the Wind | North West Mounted Police | Tora! Tora! Tora! | The Pride and the Passion |
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Adventure section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
NEWS! This title has just been released in a shoddy copy on DVD. Wait until TCM shows it instead. I watched this film a couple of times while working on my own script. The War of 1812 is pretty much forgotten, except in Canada where it is part of the national identity. This is one of only three films that I know of in that setting.
Jeanie Macpherson writes well. From the Burning of Washington to the treachery of people in high places (Senator Crawford may be fictional, but cowardly generals, smugglers and spies plagued the Northern Frontier earlier in the War--aka TREASON), the plot twists result in scenes of true emotional power. The ending is brilliantly foreshadowed so that the audience sees it coming like a runaway train. And the dialogue? Pay attention to the scene in which the pirates do not want to fight with the U.S. but with the British: March is given electric lines to speak. The only thing that I did not like was Dominique You's character. He is a bit too cartoonish.
Fredric March gives a very good performance as Lafitte, but Franciska Gaal is wonderful as the dutch girl who loves him.
The battle scenes hold up quite well today. This is obviously made by the same director as the magnificent The Crusades and Cleopatra. Its pace is also quicker than the first half of The Ten Commandments (1956).
DeMille was at his peak in the 1930s.