The Black Swan (1942)

An ex-pirate contends with rowdy buccaneers and a love-hate relationship with an aristocratic woman who's tougher than she seems.

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay), Seton I. Miller (screenplay) (as Seton I.Miller)

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tyrone Power	...	Jamie Waring
Maureen O'Hara	...	Lady Margaret Denby
Laird Cregar	...	Captain Henry Morgan
Thomas Mitchell	...	Tommy Blue
George Sanders	...	Captain Billy Leech
Anthony Quinn	...	Wogan
George Zucco	...	Lord Denby

Storyline

When notorious pirate Henry Morgan is made governor of Jamaica, he enlists the help of some of his former partners in ridding the Carribean of Buccaneers. When one of them apparently abducts the previous governor's pretty daughter and joins up with the rebels, things are set for a fight.

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Plot Keywords:

maracaibo venezuela | deception | tied up | pirate raid | redheaded man | 

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Taglines:

The black-hearted deviltry it spawned...the temptous romance it inspired...the furious adventure that swept it when villainy wore a sash and wielded a cutlass (original print ad)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Family | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rondo Hatton appears unbilled as a sailor

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Goofs

About 2/3 of the way into the movie, Jamie and Captain Leach are talking on the deck of Jamie's ship. Lady Denby opens the door to the cabin to observe. This door is then shown several times over the course of the scene and the door is closed. Near the end of the scene Lady Denby is shown closing the door, the same door which had just been shown several times as closed.

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Quotes

Jamie: You can lower your pistols, Lady Margaret.
Margaret Denby: Unfortunately, I have no pistols.
Jamie: Your eyes. I've looked into pistol barrels that are warmer.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: This is a story of the Spanish Main - - when Villainy wore a Sash, and the only political creed in the world was - - - Love, Gold, and Adventure.

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Connections

Featured in King of the Movies (1978)

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Soundtracks

Heave Ho
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Alfred Newman
Played during the opening credits and sung by an offscreen chorus

User Reviews

The most Stylistic in the swashbuckler genre

Tyrone Power was undoubtedly the most stylish and certainly the most handsome and articulate of the great Hollywood swashbuckers from the 30s to the late 50s. In this movie he coyld not have been bettered (Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. included), The starry cast,music,costumes and settings brought vividly to life the Spanish Main,Maracaibo and other Pirate ports of call.With a great family theatrical tradition behind him,Power's presence enriched every movie he made (what a twist of fate that he died exactly as his father Tyrone Power Sr.did,filming a duel scene -"Hamlet" and "Solomon and Sheba). I believe that Power's acting ability even today is not fully recognised,simply because the Studio System restricted his choice of film.Let anyone hear Power recite the poems of Byron (available on disc) and realise his premature death was a tragedy."THE BLACK SWAN" could be said to represent a golden period in the history of Hollywood swashbucklers.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

4 December 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rafael Sabatini's The Black Swan

Filming Locations:

Cuba

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,012,600

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min (copyright time) 85 min (current existing footage) 85 min (re-release) (censored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Black and White (reissue)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1