The Black Pirate Reviews

(OK) A wonderfull choreography of swashbuckling, boat climbing with swords cutting the veils, and extreme violence of the pirates. The early less colured technicolor makes wonders here.

Before there was Errol Flynn leading the charge in high-spirited adventures, there was Douglas Fairbanks, who not only created the mold from which numerous other stars have been remaking but pushed the form to its limits with practical effects and elaborate stunt work. Fairbanks was plainly handsome, but the real reason he is so infinitely watchable, exciting and an enduring artist in cinema was how he did death-defying stunts with a cheerful smile and a rogue sense of adventure. He may be a great big ham, but his exuberance and ease prove that sometimes screen acting is more than being able to read lines and convey deeper emotions.

If there are faults with The Black Pirate, and there are many within the narrative, none of them reflect back on the star who pushed for Technicolor to be used in this film. That was a smart move on his part since the primitive two-strip Technicolor process gives the whole film an illustrated manuscript gloss. Pirate frequently appears before our eyes as a live-action folktale. The Black Pirate doesn’t ask for much from its audience than to be entertained by the spectacle of the color and the swashbuckling aspects. It succeeds admirably on those grounds, and while the plot is too contrived by turns and filled with situations that are entirely too convenient and neat, at least it has a sense of fun and adventure about it.

It may not be the most stellar or artistically valuable of Fairbanks’ work, but it ranks amongst his best. Scenes of him single-handedly taking over a ship or leaping from one deck of the ship to another are filled with a passion for the art form that is infectious. It’s pure cinematic escapism, but it manages to pack in more heart, action, romance and wonder in roughly 90 minutes than other pirates films can pack in double that running time.