I pirati di Capri (1949)

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer
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Writers:

Giorgio Moser (story) and
Golfiero Colonna (story) ...
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Release Date:

25 December 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Action | Drama

Plot:

A group of men calling themselves 'The Pirates of Capri", headed by Captain Sirroco, who is really Count Amalfi...

Plot Keywords:

Pirate | Freedom | Capri | Queen | Dual Role

Cast

Louis Hayward	...	Count di Amalfi, alias Capt. Sirocco
Binnie Barnes	...	Queen Carolina Maria
Mariella Lotti	...	Countess Mercedes de Lopez
Massimo Serato	...	Baron von Holstein (as Rudolph Serato)
Alan Curtis	...	Commodore Van Diel
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Pepino (as Michael Rasumny)
Virginia Belmont	...	Annette
Franca Marzi	...	Carla
William Tubbs	...	Pignatelli
Alberto Califano	...	Officer
Mario Auritano	...	Officer
Eric Culton	...	Officer
Michel Sorel	...	Nicolo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Morena	...	Zia Anastasia (as Toni Morena)
Erminio Spalla
Liana Del Balzo	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Eleonora Rossi Drago	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Arianne Ulmer	...	11 Year Old Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Edgar G. Ulmer
Giuseppe Maria Scotese		(co-director) (uncredited in US version)

Writing credits
Giorgio Moser		(story and screenplay) (as G. Moser) and
Golfiero Colonna		(story and screenplay) (as G. Colonna)
Sidney Alexander		writer

Produced by
Victor Pahlen	....	producer
Niccolò Theodoli	....	executive producer
Rudolph Monter	....	producer (uncredited: US version)

Original Music by
Nino Rota		(as Nina Rota on U.S. prints)

Cinematography by
Anchise Brizzi		(as A. Brizzi)

Film Editing by
Renzo Lucidi

Production Design by
Guido Fiorini		(as G. Fiorini)

Costume Design by
Maria Baroni
Dario Cecchi

Makeup Department
Guglielmo Bonotti	....	makeup artist (uncredited: US version)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Golfiero Colonna	....	assistant director (uncredited on U.S. prints)
Giorgio Moser	....	assistant director (uncredited: US version)

Sound Department
Vittorio Trentino	....	sound recordist (as V. Trentino)

Music Department
Franco Ferrara	....	musical director

Other crew
Guido Fiorini	....	scenarist
Shirley Ulmer	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• AFA
• Industrie Cinematografiche Sociali (ICS)

Distributors

• Film Classics (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Artisti Associati (1949) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Moviecraft (2005) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Captain Sirocco" - USA (reissue title)
"Pirates of Capri" - USA (DVD title)

Runtime:

USA:94 min | West Germany:89 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Taranto, Apulia, Italy

Company:

AFA

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Zwischen Kino und Konzert - Der Komponist Nino Rota (1993)

THE PIRATES OF CAPRI (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1949) **1/2

I wasn't expecting much from this period romp but, following an uncertain beginning (actually, the solitary pirate sequence itself), once the scene shifted to the court intrigues, it settled down into being a likable - if highly derivative - Grade 'B' costumer. Ulmer endows the location-shot film with a reasonable amount of style (his trademark shadowy lighting and odd camera angles coming into play most prominently during the busy climax). The plot basically revamps the Zorro saga (with Louis Hayward doubling as aristocratic fop and masked bandit) - thus making it an ideal companion to THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), which I rewatched via the Fox SE DVD the previous day - but, given the lead character's quest for vengeance and his involvement with a theatrical troupe, it appears that the film was equally inspired by Rafael Sabatini's "Scaramouche"! The film emerges patchy as a whole (with the script failing to be witty, its attempts at comedy relief are especially resistible), but the dramatic scenes - particularly where villain Massimo Serato is concerned - compel some attention, and the derring-do is surprisingly adroit.

This had been released on DVD by All Day Entertainment, as both a stand-alone edition and as part of a collection dedicated to Ulmer. I had been tempted time and again to purchase some of them but eventually settled on just the individual disc of BLUEBEARD (1944) - which was excellent; I did manage to rent THE STRANGE WOMAN (1946) eventually by way of a cheap DVD edition from another label - but that film left no particular impression on me. As for the rest, thankfully, all but one turned up recently on Italian TV in their original language with subtitles: apart from THE PIRATES OF CAPRI, I recently watched DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL (1957) but still need to check out STRANGE ILLUSION (1945)...