The Pirate (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'The Pirate' is a lavish, sweeping, mish-mashed, West Indian, swashbuckler, MGM musical directed by the great Vincente Minnelli -- yes, that's a lot. It's in gorgeous Technicolor, peppered with Cole Porter songs like "Mack the Black", "Love of my Life", & "Be a Clown", and stars both Judy Garland & Gene Kelly. Sounds like a surefire hit, right? Nnnnnnnot so fast. 'The Pirate' is a manic comedy of mistaken identities. Set in the Caribbean in the 1830s, the plot concerns Manuela (effervescent Garland) who's in love with the tales she has heard about a notorious pirate, Macoco; better known as "Mack the Black". Simply put, Manuela dreams of being swept off her feet by him. Instead, she is disillusioned that she must soon marry the wealthy, but boring, portly mayor, Don Pedro (Walter Slezak).
Manuela soon meets travelling Vaudeville troubadour, Serafin the Great (Kelly), who invites her to see his show. The conceited actor falls in love with Manuela and, at said show, hypnotizes her, & gets her to tell of the love she has for the notorious pirate (this is when the film's most engaging number occurs, "Mack the Black"). When she awakens from her trance, she rushes home in embarrassment to her Aunt Inez (Gladys Cooper); despising Serafin for tricking her. In time, Serafin wins Manuela over by impersonating the romantic buccaneer. But drama enters the fray when Serafin comes to recognize mayor Don Pedro (Manuela's fiance) to be the infamous, evil pirate Macoco(!), someone whom the actor once escaped from. Will Serafin be hanged by the mayor? Contrivances & general mayhem ensue.
I mentioned above that this movie is a mish-mash ... and boy is it ever. I mean, look, we've got Judy Garland & Gene Kelly trying to pass as Caribbean Spaniards, haha. There's scintillating cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr. There are incredible costumes. There are interesting sets (Minnelli researched Caribbean culture). We've got never-before-conceived narrative concepts/camera angles. We've got a steamy musical number in "Mack the Black". There's overdramatic acting from EVERYONE. The story is pretty piss-poor {the adaptation from the popular stage play in the 1930s underwent a few too many re-writes, methinks}.
We've got Gene Kelly swinging from ropes & wielding swords wearing short shorts (displaying his strong dancer legs) with fire whirling all around him. We've got an outstanding dance number including Kelly & 2 black performers, The Nicholas Brothers (you never saw something like that in the 1940s). Some of Cole Porter's tunes are fun/memorable, but most lack his trademark wit. The energy level by everyone involved is high. But then, the film concludes with a bizarre, contrived sequence involving Gene Kelly trying to save himself from the gallows by performing the fun, but ill-suited (for this story) "Be a Clown". It just didn't fit.
I love Judy Garland. Lord knows she looks & sounds good here, as usual. And she seems right at home with the comedic elements of the character she plays. Having said that, her character of Manuela seems too neurotic/nervous/restless. Audiences had never seen Garland 'play' that and I think it threw people off. As mentioned, Gene Kelly gets to show-off his dancer legs, but really ... he's doing a variation of the same character (type) he always plays: mischievous, fanciful, pseudo-charming. You know, all told, I liked this mishmash of a film juuuuuust enough to give it a pass. But the shrill characterizations, contrived coincidences, & strange storytelling infringed on my utter enjoyment of the exotic visuals & lively musical dance numbers.
Manuela soon meets travelling Vaudeville troubadour, Serafin the Great (Kelly), who invites her to see his show. The conceited actor falls in love with Manuela and, at said show, hypnotizes her, & gets her to tell of the love she has for the notorious pirate (this is when the film's most engaging number occurs, "Mack the Black"). When she awakens from her trance, she rushes home in embarrassment to her Aunt Inez (Gladys Cooper); despising Serafin for tricking her. In time, Serafin wins Manuela over by impersonating the romantic buccaneer. But drama enters the fray when Serafin comes to recognize mayor Don Pedro (Manuela's fiance) to be the infamous, evil pirate Macoco(!), someone whom the actor once escaped from. Will Serafin be hanged by the mayor? Contrivances & general mayhem ensue.
I mentioned above that this movie is a mish-mash ... and boy is it ever. I mean, look, we've got Judy Garland & Gene Kelly trying to pass as Caribbean Spaniards, haha. There's scintillating cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr. There are incredible costumes. There are interesting sets (Minnelli researched Caribbean culture). We've got never-before-conceived narrative concepts/camera angles. We've got a steamy musical number in "Mack the Black". There's overdramatic acting from EVERYONE. The story is pretty piss-poor {the adaptation from the popular stage play in the 1930s underwent a few too many re-writes, methinks}.
We've got Gene Kelly swinging from ropes & wielding swords wearing short shorts (displaying his strong dancer legs) with fire whirling all around him. We've got an outstanding dance number including Kelly & 2 black performers, The Nicholas Brothers (you never saw something like that in the 1940s). Some of Cole Porter's tunes are fun/memorable, but most lack his trademark wit. The energy level by everyone involved is high. But then, the film concludes with a bizarre, contrived sequence involving Gene Kelly trying to save himself from the gallows by performing the fun, but ill-suited (for this story) "Be a Clown". It just didn't fit.
I love Judy Garland. Lord knows she looks & sounds good here, as usual. And she seems right at home with the comedic elements of the character she plays. Having said that, her character of Manuela seems too neurotic/nervous/restless. Audiences had never seen Garland 'play' that and I think it threw people off. As mentioned, Gene Kelly gets to show-off his dancer legs, but really ... he's doing a variation of the same character (type) he always plays: mischievous, fanciful, pseudo-charming. You know, all told, I liked this mishmash of a film juuuuuust enough to give it a pass. But the shrill characterizations, contrived coincidences, & strange storytelling infringed on my utter enjoyment of the exotic visuals & lively musical dance numbers.