Yankee Buccaneer (1952)

Director:

Frederick De Cordova

Writers:

Charles K. Peck Jr. (screenplay)
Charles K. Peck Jr. (story)

Release Date:

17 April 1953 (Finland)

Genre:

Adventure | History | Romance

Tagline:

SEA ADVENTURE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Captain David Porter of the fledgling American Navy receives orders to masquerade as a privateer in order to corral some Caribbean pirates.

Plot Keywords:

Pirate | Conspiracy | Privateer | Rum | Caribbean Sea

Cast

Jeff Chandler	...	Cmdr. David Porter
Scott Brady	...	Lt. David Farragut
Suzan Ball	...	Countess Margarita La Raguna
Joseph Calleia	...	Count Domingo Del Prado
George Mathews	...	Chief Petty Officer Link
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Poulini
David Janssen	...	Beckett
Joseph Vitale	...	Scarjack
Michael Ansara	...	Lt. Romero
James Parnell	...	Redell
Jay Silverheels	...	Lead Warrior
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carlos Albert	...	Spanish Captain (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	Crewman on Ship (uncredited)
Stephen Chase	...	Commander Karson (uncredited)
Norman Evans	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Duane Grey	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Tom Hernández	...	Guard (uncredited)
Ed Hinkle	...	Bosun (uncredited)
Pat Hogan	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Larry Hudson	...	Considine (uncredited)
Gayle Kellogg	...	Lookout (uncredited)
Manuel Lopez	...	Guard (uncredited)
John Marshall	...	Lookout (uncredited)
Ian Murray	...	Seaman (uncredited)
George Navarro	...	Spanish Captain (uncredited)
Hugh O'Brian	...	Opening Off-Screen Narrator (uncredited)
Edmund Penney	...	Helmsman (uncredited)
Carlos Rivero	...	Guard (uncredited)
Alex Sharp	...	Lookout (uncredited)
David Sharpe	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Tom Tamarez	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Leon Tyler	...	Young Sailor (uncredited)
Larry Winter	...	Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
Frederick De Cordova		(as Frederick de Cordova)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles K. Peck Jr.		screenplay
Charles K. Peck Jr.		story

Produced by
Howard Christie	....	producer

Original Music by
Milton Rosen		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Russell Metty

Film Editing by
Frank Gross

Art Direction by
Robert F. Boyle		(as Robert Boyle)
Bernard Herzbrun

Set Decoration by
Oliver Emert
Russell A. Gausman

Costume Design by
Bill Thomas

Makeup Department
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound
Joe Lapis	....	sound

Special Effects by
David S. Horsley	....	special photography

Stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alex Sharp	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Philip H. Lathrop	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	musical director
Hans J. Salter	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Walter Scharf	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Frank Skinner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
William Fritzsche	....	technicolor color consultant

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Included in "Pirates of the Golden age")

Other Companies

• Deluxe Digital Studios  DVD transfer

Also Known As:

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

David Farragut was born James Farragut, the son of a Spanish merchant captain and Revolutionary War veteran, but was adopted in 1808 by David Porter after the death of his mother and the death of Porter's father on the same day. Happy to have been adopted, the young Farragut changed his first name to David. He was captured at age 12 by the British during the War of 1812 and served during the actions against the Caribbean pirates in 1822.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Porter was stepfather to Farragut, not just another junior officer, and they did not serve on the same ship during the West Indian campaign.

Quotes:

Cmdr. David Porter:I'm afraid there's a limit to nobility... even for Americans.

YANKEE BUCCANEER (Frederick De Cordova, 1952) **1/2

The best, if not exactly satisfying, of the three seemingly randomly-chosen swashbucklers by Universal to accompany the above-average Errol Flynn vehicle AGAINST ALL FLAGS (1952) is this unusual entry in the genre.

As the title has it, lead Jeff Chandler is a U.S. naval officer who's ordered to carry out acts of piracy in order to ferret out the real culprits behind the sinking of American ships. These prove to be an amalgamation of Brazilian, Portuguese and Spanish villains (led by our own Joseph Calleia hiding under the respectable guise of the Spanish governor – whose appearance is delayed until the last half-hour, but he's as reliable as ever…and like the Robert Douglas of BUCCANEER'S GIRL [1950], from the same director, is allowed to go free after being made to walk the plank).

Chandler himself – who would later star in the similarly-titled genre outing YANKEE PASHA (1954) – is a bit of a martinet, with rebellious first-mate and ex-student Scott Brady usually at the receiving end of his ire; when he tries to make up for his errors behind the captain's back, by fixing the ship's rudder at night, Brady's attacked by and kills a shark! This animosity eventually intensifies when the latter comes back from a scouting expedition to the Indies with a Portuguese countess (luscious Suzan Ball, whose debut this was: she had a brief and tragic career, dying in 1955 at the tender age of 21!).

Though the film is far from a classic, slightly marred by the resistible comic antics of George Mathews and featuring little traditional action before the last reel, it's a reasonably enjoyable romp nonetheless – with a rousing score by an uncredited(!) Milton Rosen and shot in glorious Technicolor by the distinguished Russell Metty.