Yankee Buccaneer (1952)

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

Director:

Frederick De Cordova (as Frederick de Cordova)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Jeff Chandler, Scott Brady, Suzan Ball

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

A United States Navy ship in the first half of the 19th century, under the command of Captain David Porter, is expecting to put ashore after a year on the seas; but the arrival of one of Porter's ex-students, the willful and independent Lieutenant David Farragut, brings a new mission: to disguise the ship and crew as a pirate ship and help the Navy locate the criminals who have been robbing America's merchant fleet. But as Farragut's disobedience threatens the safety of the crew, they stumble upon an international conspiracy.

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Plot Keywords:

pirate | damsel in distress | romantic rivalry | hairy chest | homosexual subtext | 

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Taglines:

Stand-by to Board! Terror Cry of the Spanish Main!

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1953 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Bucaneros del Caribe

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

There is no way one who was tortured on the rack would have been able to stand, much less fight afterwards.

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Quotes

Chief Petty Officer Link: [Speaking of Porter] As an instructor it was his job to chew midshipmen off, and just between us, you gave him plenty of cause.
Lt. David Farragut: When a man's religion is the book of Navy regulations, he gotta be sour inside, and your captain's a very sour man, Mr. Link.

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Connections

Referenced in Face of the Frog (1959)

User Reviews

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.