Sexylocher Masterful Movie

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

MARIO GAUCI The presence of two Hollywood veterans (dashing hero Ricardo Montalban and sleek villain Vincent Price) only slightly elevates ¬¬this otherwise low-brow pirate romp. The handling is thoroughly routine (coming from this journeyman director, one could hardly have expected more!) and the plot complications (involving action, romance and intrigue) exceedingly predictable. This does not mean that the film is not (mildly) enjoyable while it is on – yet what pleasure the viewing may have elicited from this swashbuckler fan was dissipated by the panning-and-scanning of the original Widescreen ratio…which was so severe that, at one point, it seemed like Montalban was giving mobilization orders to the heroine's maid rather than his underling (who had been completely cropped out of the shot)! Incidentally, the print I acquired sported a different title to the (admittedly meaningless) one it is known by in the U.S., namely GORDON, THE BLACK PIRATE (that is to say, a literal translation of the Italian one); watching it, I was reminded of the similar, likewise middling and contemporaneous Steve Reeves vehicle MORGAN, THE PIRATE.Montalban gets to do a fair amount of acrobatics throughout (even ripping off Douglas Fairbanks' legendary adoption of a dagger to slide down the sails!): in fact, the very first scene finds him engaged, bare-chested, in a duel with a rebellious patch-eyed associate who subsequently becomes his sworn enemy and even ingratiates himself with dastardly and ambitious Governor's Secretary Price (the real force behind the human trafficking going on in the area) – when the hero dons the guise of a Cuban slave trader to try and upset the villain's schemes, his old nemesis gets back at him by blowing Gordon's cover! Price, then, has plans not only to oust his superior from power but on his daughter as well; she, on the other hand, unsurprisingly falls for The Black Pirate (by the way, there were at least 2 other "Euro-Cult" efforts by this name, not forgetting the 1926 Silent classic from which that afore-mentioned Fairbanks stunt was borrowed to begin with, as is the swimming en masse precipitating the raid on an enemy ship!)…but the heroine has competition from feisty, earthy Liana Orfei (something of a genre stalwart, this is her most sizeable part of a recently-viewed trio), yet is it the latter who sacrifices herself when realizing Gordon actually prefers the upper-class girl. By the way, Price's own fate is curiously left hanging (i.e. not properly resolved) at the climax!

Steffi_P Being into a lot of Italian movies, and thinking that pirate films have often been overlooked, I leaped at the chance to see what looked to be a "spaghetti" pirate film, with a good sounding plot and a cast containing the almighty Vincent Price.Gordon the Black Pirate follows the adventures of an escaped-slave-turned-pirate (played by Richard Montalban), who has made it his mission to waylay as many slave ships as possible, liberating the cargo. Along the way he uncovers a slave trading ring, falls in love with a governors daughter and faces his arch enemy.Despite the libertarian nature of Gordon's struggle I wasn't that comfortable with the film's patronizing and inaccurate portrayal of slaves and slavery. None of the slaves seem to have much personality beyond humble gratitude, being little more than plot devices to give a moral backing to Gordon's actions. Also, the makers seem to think the 17th century Caribbean was filled with liberal, humane governors and aristocrats trying to stamp out slavery, and that the slave trade was some kind of black market, which couldn't be much further from reality.Maybe I was expecting a bit too much from what is basically a good old fashioned "dashing hero, hissable villain" adventure movie. And in that respect, it wasn't too bad. There is plenty of swashbuckling pirate fun, and the final battle scene was pretty cool too, with hundreds of pirates swarming the governors fort. But there was some seriously bad acting from all but the two lead roles (even Vincent Price isn't his usual villainous self), and some really bizarre editing (some scenes practically end in mid sentence). If you don't let those things bother you, it's a fairly fun film, but if you expected lost classic you'll probably be disappointed.