{"id":19767,"date":"2011-09-29T10:35:17","date_gmt":"2011-09-29T17:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19767"},"modified":"2021-01-25T15:48:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T22:48:07","slug":"pirate-the-1948","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19767","title":{"rendered":"Pirate, The (1948)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Underneath this prim exterior there are depths of emotion &#8212; romantic longings!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Poster-210x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-19768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Poster-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Poster-89x128.jpg 89w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Poster.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nOn a 19th century Caribbean isle, a young woman (Judy Garland) engaged to her town&#8217;s pompous mayor (Walter Slezak) is wooed by a travelling troubadour (Gene Kelly), who pretends to be the mysterious pirate Macoco in order to impress her.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Actors and Actresses<\/li>\n<li>Gene Kelly Films<\/li>\n<li>Judy Garland Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Pirates<\/li>\n<li>Vincente Minnelli Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nVincente Minnelli&#8217;s third and final film with his wife (Garland) in a leading role &#8212; after <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19879\"><em>Meet Me in St. Louis<\/em> (1944)<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19811\"><em>The Clock<\/em> (1945)<\/a> &#8212; was this critically panned musical-fantasy, which has since gained a renewed reputation as a cult favorite (though it&#8217;s not labeled as such in the back of Peary&#8217;s book; perhaps this status has emerged in recent years).  Both Garland and Kelly are in peak form, and appear to be having a blast; they seem to realize that the story is purely escapist fare, and (thankfully) never take it too seriously. Garland&#8217;s finest moment comes early on, as she breaks free from her character&#8217;s prim persona, and &#8212; under the influence of hypnosis &#8212; dazzles Kelly and everyone around her by breaking into a lustful ditty about her crush on &#8220;Mack the Black&#8221; (who, according to the song&#8217;s lyrics, &#8220;leads a flaming trail of masculinity&#8221; !); the pure contrast between this and what we&#8217;ve seen before, with Garland&#8217;s Manuela meekly agreeing to marry a portly man much older than herself, is remarkably effective.  <\/p>\n<p>Kelly, meanwhile, exhibits seemingly unflagging energy throughout. He&#8217;s given the opportunity to shine during two wonderful dance sequences: early on, during the song &#8220;Nina&#8221;, as he makes it known that he&#8217;ll fall for any beautiful woman he sees (though naturally, once he lays eyes on Manuela, his womanizing days are over); then later, during a daydream envisioned by Manuela, as he shows off his remarkably muscular physique while dancing the stunning &#8220;Pirate Ballet&#8221; (see still below). Walter Slezak is well-cast as his nemesis (and the film&#8217;s all-around baddie); to that end, the mistaken identity plot is nicely handled, and allows for some fine tension during the denouement. The vibrant sets and Technicolor cinematography are also worth a mention. While not one of Garland&#8217;s (or Minnelli&#8217;s) best musicals, <em>The Pirate<\/em> is enjoyable while it lasts, and should be seen by all film fanatics at least once, simply for its cult status. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gene Kelly as Serafin<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Kelly.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Kelly.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Kelly.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Kelly-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Kelly-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Judy Garland as Manuela<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Garland.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Garland.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19771\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Garland.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Garland-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Garland-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fabulous Technicolor sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Technicolor.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Technicolor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Technicolor.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Technicolor-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Pirate-Technicolor-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a recent cult favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0040694\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1948\/05\/21\/archives\/the-pirate-with-gene-kelly-judy-garland-and-walter-slezak-at-music.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=9523\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/pirate.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/374\/the-pirate#articles-reviews?articleId=72517\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-pirate-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Underneath this prim exterior there are depths of emotion &#8212; romantic longings!&#8221; Synopsis: On a 19th century Caribbean isle, a young woman (Judy Garland) engaged to her town&#8217;s pompous mayor (Walter Slezak) is wooed by a travelling troubadour (Gene Kelly), who pretends to be the mysterious pirate Macoco in order to impress her. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Actors and Actresses Gene Kelly Films Judy Garland Films Mistaken or Hidden Identities Musicals Pirates Vincente Minnelli Films Review: Vincente Minnelli&#8217;s third&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19767\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19767"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65918,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19767\/revisions\/65918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}