zardoz-13
Burt Lancaster is at his athletic best in "The Killers" director Robert Siodmak's light-hearted 18th century, seafaring fantasy "The Crimson Pirate" co-starring Lancaster's former circus acrobat partner Nick Cravat. When you see these two swinging from the yardarm as well as perform other death-defying stunts involving trapeze artist skills, you can be sure that it is in fact Lancaster and Cravat. Before Lancaster broke into Hollywood, Cravat and he had been a big top pair. Scenarist Roland Kibbe, a frequent Lancaster collaborator over the years, wrote this rollicking but far-fetched pirate caper the bristles with loads of action. Mind you, this is not as serious as some of Errol Flynn's best swashbucklers, but it contains enough amusing shenanigans to keep you entertained throughout its 105-running time. Earlier, Kibbee penned Willis Goldbeck's Foreign Legion actioneer "Ten Tall Men" (1951), Robert Aldrich's western "Vera Cruz" (1954), Guy Hamilton's revolutionary war tale "The Devil's Disciple" (1959), the made-in-Spain western "Valdez Is Coming" (1971), and the mystery thriller "The Midnight Man" (1974), all top-lining Lancaster. In "The Crimson Pirate," Lancaster plays the grinning pirate Captain Vallo who doesn't always play strictly by pirate rules as his first mate Humble Bellows (Torin Thatcher) laments. Siodmak stages enough sea battles both with cannon and pirates boarding an enemy ship to keep things interesting. Siodmak and lenser Otto Heller lensed some of the action on location in Bay of Naples, Naples, Campania, Italy, as well as Ischia Island, Naples, Campania, Italy, so the picture boasts some captivating Technicolor scenery. Indeed, the story unfolds in the imaginary Caribbean islands of San Pero and Cobra. Christopher Lee fans will notice the future Dracula as the villain's right-hand man, but he doesn't utter a syllable of dialogue.
Initially, Vallo makes bargain with his slimy chief adversary, Baron José Gruda (Leslie Bradley of "The Buccaneer"), after his crew and he capture the Baron's ship. The way that they overtake the Baron's ship is slick. The Baron sees a ship wallowing in the ocean with everybody strewn topside in full sight, looking like they have suffered the ravages of scurvy. Of course, it is a ruse concocted by the wily Vallo. When Gruda's sailors take the ship as booty to bring back with them, Vallo's defunct crew springs back to life and they take Gruda's ship. Now, Vallo plans to capture the leader of an uprising on an island under Spanish rule and then sell the rebel Sebastian known as "El Libre" (Frederick Leister of "Dear Octopus"). Again, Vallo's first-mate doesn't think self-respecting pirates would pull such a stunt. Vallo releases Gruda after they have made their deal and lets him take their old ship. Later, they plan to rendezvous, and Vallo will sell El Libre to Gruda. Unfortunately, things don't work out as smoothly as Vallo had envisaged. When they land on the island, Vallo gets his first look at Sebastian's beautiful daughter, Consuelo (Eva Bartok of "Norman Conquest"), and he is smitten, especially after she plants a kiss on his lips. Despite all his conniving deals, Vallo falls hopelessly in love with Consuelo, and he decides to help the revolutionaries. This act of treachery turns his own pirates, particularly Humble Bellows, who plots against him and cuts a deal with the unscrupulous Baron Gruda.
Okay, despite these surprises and reversals, our heroes save the day. The one jarring scene occurs after Vallo puts Sebastian and Consuelo into a boat so they can escape. Gruda's soldiers ambush them during their escape and kill Sebastian with musket fire. Usually, in a colorful adventure like this, only the villains die, so this added a smidgen of realism. Anyway, Vallo and his buddy Ojo (Nick Cravat of "The Veils of Bagdad") turn the tables on the scheming Gruda who has subdued the rebels after Sebastian's demise and orders Consuelo to wed the governor of the island. The finale has Vallo and Ojo commandeering a balloon and hurling explosives as the garrison. No, little about "The Crimson Pirate" is remotely believable, but Lancaster's charisma and the non-stop action make it worth watching.
elvircorhodzic
THE CRIMSON PIRATE is quite unconvincing pirate adventure, but the film is extremely entertaining (perhaps on the verge of taste) and full of action. The story is set in the Caribbean and shows how the captain of a pirate ship seeks to exploit the conflict colonial authorities with the revolutionaries working for both sides, as long as he does not fall in love with the beautiful daughter of the leader of resistance. This movie does not offer some exciting duels, but offers quite interesting acrobatics. Pirate at sea. The thief on the mainland. Probably, because of this fact the main protagonists look like circus artists. The scenario has its faults, and pretty large "holes", hence the emphasis on humor and action.Love and woman changed pirate character and plan. It is very nice to see no matter what is quite unconvincing. Burt Lancaster as Captain Vallo is powerful, agile and smiling pirate captain. Now, there is a lack of passion for the pirate robbery and for romance. Good, solid performance. Very handsome man jumping from ship to ship or from balcony to balcony. Nick Cravat as Ojo is the captain's right hand. The game with pantomime is always interesting and fun if you do not overdo it with her.
A_Different_Drummer
Movies were made differently then. The stars, most of whom did not use their own names, were under contract to studios, studios run by the original "mad men" (nothing to do with advertising) and it was all about volume, not quality. The stars were expected to churn out so many "pictures" a year, and if one or more actually turned out to be memorable, that was merely a bonus. Into the mix comes Lancaster, one of the most physical actors ever to work in Tinseltown (former acrobat), a bunch of second-stringers, and voila you have the template which years later Johnny Depp would use so effectively to spoof the genre. Plot? What plot? It's about rip-roaring fun from the first scene to the last, and Lancaster delivers. He really could act, you know, but this film simply requires him to have fun and bring the audience along for the ride. One of the best of its kind. The sad thing was watching Lancaster age in the years to follow. Moreso than others of the era, he hated getting old because his work was so heavily based on his sheer physical presence.
