The Black Pirate (1926)

Absolutely the worst movie.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Seeking revenge, an athletic young man joins the pirate band responsible for his father's death."The Black Pirate" was the third feature to be filmed in an early two-tone Technicolor process that had been first introduced in the 1922 feature "Toll of the Sea". This reproduces a limited but pleasing range of colors. "Ben-Hur", filmed around the same time, contains two-tone sequences but is shot primarily in black-and-white with tinting and toning in many scenes.This is really a defining film in the career of Douglas Fairbanks. I mean, really, it is closing in 100 years later and he is still remembered as a swashbuckler. This is the very definition of a swashbuckler film. And the color! I couldn't say much about the two-color process, but I think this looks phenomenal.

Douglas Fairbanks is a contender for the greatest silent-film star, and of all the films I've seen of his they've never been less than entertaining, having seen The Mark of Zorro, The Thief of Baghdad, The Three Musketeers, The Iron Mask, Robin Hood and this. All are great, with my favourites being The Thief of Baghdad, The Mark of Zorro and this, The Black Pirate. As with all of Fairbanks' films, the film looks great and holds up well, the sets are suitably lavish and The Black Pirate really does look as though it was shot with care. The pacing is snappy without being rushed though with time to breathe for the more dramatic parts, and the direction shows a sure hand and an imaginative touch. The story is simple and quite standard but is still a huge amount of rollicking fun, both in drama and adventure. That is helped further by the impeccable stunts that are equally so in execution, then again that was hardly going to be a disappointment considering that all of Douglas Fairbanks' films have great stunts, and also some very imaginative set pieces and touches. Especially good were the underwater swim, beautifully shot and daringly choreographed, and the knife-blade descent down a billowing sail, which thrilled audiences then and still thrills now. The acting is good, with the exception of beautiful Billie Dove, who looks lost and doesn't have a lot to do. Anders Randolf and Sam De Grasse are appropriately sinister villains who come close to stealing the show in places(Randolf is particularly great, truly hissable), and Donald Crisp is characteristically excellent even in a cast against type role here. But it is Fairbanks' film, the very meaning of a bravura performance, whether in his charismatic acting to his dazzlingly athletic stunts, Fairbanks fans will be in awe guaranteed. To conclude, a great film and one of Douglas Fairbanks' best. 9/10 Bethany Cox

What a surprise when I got this DVD set! "Pirates of the Silver Screen", from Passport, contains a veritable treasure trove of pirate-themed material. "The Dancing Pirate" is a black-and-white copy of an originally Technicolor film. "The Black Pirate", which I fully expected to be presented in black-and-white, is here in it's restored Technicolor! A really good, rousing story keeps the action moving, and the stunts of the legendary Fairbanks are amazing to watch. The music score is taken from "Scheherazade" and fits the action perfectly. This was, I believe, the second full-length feature made in the two-strip Technicolor process. Absolutely see this one-of-a-kind silent classic.

In this "page from the history and lives of the most bloodthirsty pirates who ever infested the southern seas," the title cards explain, "it was the custom of these pirates to subdue their prey, loot the ship, bind their captives, and blow them up." That's exactly what happens to seafarer Douglas Fairbanks and his father, as the film begins. But, you don't mess with Doug. Mr. Fairbanks survives the attack, and infiltrates the offending ship (as "The Black Pirate"), vowing revenge, particularly due to the death of his father. Fairbanks also finds romance on ship, with kidnapped princess Billie Dove (as Isobel), whom he saves from gang rape.Colorful entertainment, from Fairbanks and company. Notable for the early feature-length color photography, by Henry Sharp; and, for Fairbanks' typically robust performance. Mrs. Fairbanks (aka Mary Pickford) stands in for the kissing long shot, near the film's end. Donald Crisp and Sam De Grasse are among the entertaining supporting players. In hindsight, the use of color probably hampered the production somewhat, as it looks more restrictive than other Fairbanks films of the 1920s. Still, it's a classic.