The Crimson Pirate 1952

     The setting of this film is in the Caribbean in the late 1700s.  Captain Vallo is also known as The Crimson Pirate.  Vallo and his crew are on their ship and they pretend to have all died from survey.  A ship from the King's navy comes alongside and boards them.  Their plan is to throw the dead men overboard and take over their ship.  The crew is not really dead, they attack the boarding party and they attack all the crew members on the King's naval ship. 

     I must say that I was glad to see this movie end!!  This is really a spoof of adventure films and more like a musical without the songs or music?  The costumes, the swashbuckling, sword fights and a lot of the plot points seem ridiculous!!  3* (This movie is OK)

105 min, Adventure directed by Robert Siodmak with Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Torin Thatcher, James Hayter, Leslie Bradley, Margot Grahame, Noel Purcell, Frederick Leister, Eliot Makeham, Frank Pettingell.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10, 100% critic 85% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin 3.5* out of 5* average user rating 3.8* out of 5*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 159 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Campania, Italy and Middlesex, England, UK.  The character Ojo is mute because he has a thick East Coast accent.  Warner Brothers insisted that future films from Burt Lancaster be limited to $900,000.  This was because of cost overruns on this film and also His Majesty O’Keefe of 1954.  Lancaster’s response was to obtain a new deal with United Artists.  The budget on this film started out at $1.1 million and rose to $1.85 million.  Lancaster was a circus performer before he became an actor.  He and a partner had a high wire act and his partner is also in this film.  Originally this film was a serious film but the director Robert Siodmak had just finished two tense movies.  The Killers of 1946 and The Spiral Staircase of 1946.  He changed the script to a comedy.   Co-producers Lancaster and Harold Hecht were not fans of the witch-hunts conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee.  The film title and the plot line of a government denying the rights of the people reflected their feelings.