SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

HeadlinesExotic Boring

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Prismark10 Blackbeard is essentially a story of a reformed pirate Henry Morgan becoming the Governor in the West Indies to get rid off other pirates especially Blackbeard (Robert Newton.)A young ship's surgeon Edward Maynard is tasked to become part of Blackbeard's crew to deal with both Blackbeard and Morgan who he also suspects of still being a villain.Blackbeard manages to kidnap Morgan's adopted daughter which leads to a romance subplot with Maynard. At all times Blackbeard shows ruthless cunning and double dealing.Newton hams it up nicely as Blackbeard who has set the pirate standard. William Bendix provides fine support, Linda Darnell is very nice eye candy but the whole thing is just too silly even though its a bit risqué here and there and rather strong in some of its violence.The film ranges from daft to dull, the final fight scenes with Blackbeard and the rest of the crew is dumb but his drowning scene is rather startling.

bkoganbing Despite the fact that Sir Henry Morgan and the infamous Edward Teach aka Blackbeard operated in different centuries and that Teach was a mere six years old when Morgan died in 1686 don't worry about historical accuracy. This is a film to be savored and enjoyed especially by those who are true devotees of ham.Robert Newton who could also restrain himself and give good performances turns off all restraint in this rollicking and colorful pirate portrayal. He blasts everyone else off the screen, not easy to do when you consider Linda Darnell's beauty and William Bendix who usually steals the films he's in.The plot such as it is has Keith Andes looking to obtain evidence that Henry Morgan is still a pirate after getting a King's pardon. Andes boards a ship that is commanded by the infamous Blackbeard, rival to Morgan. Newton has also taken as hostage Linda Darnell who is the governor's niece and her maid Irene Ryan. Morgan who is also played by another scene stealer Torin Thatcher, is real interested in Darnell and he's held at bay somewhat by Newton having her as hostage.Newton is a guy who thinks fast on his feet and is not above double crossing his own crew. That's something he does once too often as it turns out.Once seen you will absolutely never forget Newton as Blackbeard, you will be unconsciously mimicking him for weeks.

C.K. Dexter Haven Hollywood turned out dozens of pirate adventures in its heyday, most, such as The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Captain Kidd etc etc, were flat and routine swashbucklers that lacked the kind of acting presence, story, and edge that made MGM's 1934 version of Treasure Island, and Warner's Captain Blood from 1935 standards of the genre. The pirate movie throughout the 40's, much like the western, was in need of something fresh.In 1950, Robert Newton made a stalwart impression as Long John Silver in the British remake of Treasure Island, released through Disney. Though the film was not nearly as good as the '34 MGM version, Newton managed to surpass the performance of Wallace Beery's Silver, which was no easy feat as Beery was exceptional in that role.Coming off of that success, RKO paired Newton with hit and miss director Raoul Walsh to make Blackbeard the Pirate. Newton's performance in the title role was even better than his turn in Treasure Island - a definitive portrayal of the pirate captain that continues to predominate the genre. Not a single actor from Wallace Beery to Victor McLaglen to Charles Laughton to Peter Ustinov to Dustin Hoffman to even Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp have managed to usurp the pure overbearing sea scenery chewing double-dealing rapscallion that is Robert Newton as Blackbeard. His performance, as brutal as it is humorous, is a joy to behold, and elevates the film to a higher level.The film itself is not as routine as one might expect either. There is a plot going on here (albeit not exactly an airtight one), and some fine supporting performances from William Bendix (always watchable), Linda Darnell, and Keith Andes, a mostly forgotten actor who apparently could do it all in show business from sing and dance to swordfight. His cutlass battles in Blackbeard are of Flynn/Rathbone quality, but actually remind one more of the kind of swordfighting seen in Lester's The Three Musketeers 20 years later. For a film made in 1952, there is a surprising amount of gore in this as well.Not a great story, but a good one, and entertaining throughout. Everything you'd expect from a 50's adventure on the high seas is delivered here - action, romance, blood and treachery. One of the best pirate movies of all time.

oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx Central character of the pirate Cap'n Teach is absolutely mesmerising (his end is especially so), a completely eccentric and idiosyncratic performance by Edward Newton. Sir 'Enry Morgan ('imself) is a second perfect double-dealing villain. All the pirate crew seem to have been expertly cast, each is amusing, grubby, ugly, dumb, violent, and filthy-minded, watch as they scale the ship each with cutlass in mouth! Film best seen in the colour version, so that we can see 'the Mansfield gal' (Linda Darnell) in all her lascivious purity tempting 'the sawbones' Edward Maynard. So we got romance, ye want fightin' ! - this is still the movie for you, grappling hooks, sabres, and redcoats are all there in mid-sea terror. Completely artificial yet glorious Hollywood bumf. The best swashbuckler of them all, by far the best film I watched as a child and still in my top ten. Wild horses wouldn't have dragged myself, my two brothers, and my sister away from this. Forget yer Gangs O' New York mateys, this be proper fare for ye table. And youm lads depressed by yer Bergman this be for ye also.