Customer Reviews

Crystalstone / The Boy and the Pirates (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like "13 Ghosts" (1960) "The Boy and the Pirate" is an exceptional matinee adventure/fantasy fare of its day; it doesn't get any better. More importantly, this movie was tailor made for boys 10 to 12 years old; I was 12 at the time when this movie came out and I was hooked. Afterward this movie disappeared from sight and record and I wonder if I have imagined seeing it. But now I own it in DVD and it's like going back into time, a time when fantasy were made more sincerely, not condescending or patronizing as it is done today. At times there are scenes that are too funny, enjoyable, while others are terrifying, like our young hero facing life threatening situations. Regardless of the sled ride the kids get from watching this movie, the film does make a moral statement that should be taken very seriously: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!


Immediate Retraction

June 30, 2010

In the past five years, the top ticket items of Hollywood's best fantasy movies all proved to be winners--and me wrong! This contradicts my past premise, which I wrote for the above review of "The Boy and The Pirates," in 2006. In it I said that today's "fantasy movies" were "condescending or patronizing." Although time has made a liar out of me, this I do know: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will keep up with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in fantasy excellence. This epic fantasy series, by C. S. Lewis, is unmatched in Hollywood. The Chronicles of Narnia are not alone. Others fantasy epics such as The Golden Compass, Harry Potter, Stardust, Inkheart, Alice in Wonderland and the Lord of the Rings are unforgettable--but it's Narnia that will win the hearts and joys of families in the U.S. and around the world. For true fantasy movies are for family viewing. In short, I'm happy to be proven wrong, and even happier to state, through its previews, that "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" will be the best of the best--unseen!

PS: I did not include "Pan's Labyrinth" into the list. But don't get me wrong. Labyrinth has earned its critically acclaimed accolades in fantasy hands down, but unfortunately, it's not for family viewing. Although with the Harry Potter series, which preceded 2006, I considered it as an exception of my assertion that fantasy films were "condescending or patronizing."

THE BOY AND THE PIRATES was written and directed by one of the kings of mid-20th Century schlock, Bert I. Gordon.

SYNOPSIS:
12 year old Jimmy finds a bottled genie as he walks along the Massachusetts shore and is granted his fondest desire: to be a pirate! But the reality of buccaneer life is mostly drudgery and sweat and nothing like Jimmy's fantasies. All he wants now is to go back home to his parents.

CAST--
The young star of the movie, Charles Herbert debuted as a kindergartener in the Lucy/Desi comedy, THE LONG, LONG TRAILER (1953). He portrayed Sophia Loren's stepson in HOUSEBOAT (1958) and was one of the Mackay kids in the big screen version of PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES (1960). Charles was also in THE FLY (1958) and William Castle's 13 GHOSTS (1960), his last film. After some sporadic TV work as an adolescent, Charles Herbert was out of showbiz at age 20. He was drug addicted for nearly 40 years, but finally turned his life around in 2005.

Herbert's pre-teen co-star in "Boy and Pirates," Susan Gordon (Katrina/Kathy) is daughter of director Bert.

Baritone Murvyn Vye (Blackbeard) debuted in 1947's GOLDEN EARRINGS, and introduced the title song.

Paul Guilfoyle (Snipe) tries to kill Jimmy Cagney in WHITE HEAT (1949), but instead is murdered while locked in a car trunk.


Additionally, this fine DVD features CRYSTALSTONE (1988)-- It's the story of young orphans, brother and sister, who embark on an adventure to locate a magical gem. Along the way they escape from a Captain Hook-like pirate and are befriended by a ship's commander who's often quite befuddled by grog.


Also recommended--
Disney's BLACKBEARD'S GHOST (1968) stars Peter Ustinov as the pirate along with Dean Jones and Elsa Lanchester.


Parenthetical numbers preceding title are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource wesite.

(5.7) The Boy and the Pirates (1968) - Charles Herbert/Susan Gordon/Murvin Vye/Paul Guilfoyle/Joe Turkel

(5.8) Crystalstone (Spain/UK/USA-1988) - Frank Grimes/Kamlesh Gupta/Laura Goodwin/Edward Kelsey/Sydney Bromley/Patricia Conti

My 5-year old grandson and I really enjoyed this movie. It is a 1960 fantasy that appeals to any adventure-seeking boy. I would say it definitely is more suited to ages 5 and up. The story is about a young boy who finds a bottle with a genie in it on the beach, and the boy is granted his wish to be a pirate. But he discovers that the pirate life is not glamorous but dangerous and hard work, and he soon wishes to return to his home and family. A good lesson that the grass is not always greener on the other side. I did not watch the 1988 second feature, "Crystalstone," since I bought the DVD just for the first movie. We had seen part of The Boy and the Pirates on TV but couldn't watch the end, so I promised my grandson I'd buy the DVD so we could see the whole movie. Overall, I would rate "The Boy and the Pirates" by what my grandson said... "It was cool!"

These where very enjoyable films. If your a pirate buff then I highly recommend them for your collection.

I had waited for many years for "The Boy and the Pirates" movie to be made available to the public and it's as good as when it was released in the movie theaters. The girl, Katrina, who is played by Susan Gordon, has her own website...check it out. As I purchased this item for "The Boy and the Pirates", the movie "Crystalstone" was an added "pirate" bonus. If you or your kids like "pirate" movies, these are both good movies and easy on the pocketbook.

Despite the title and the fact this is a very good collection of Bugs Bunny cartoons, I would not go so far as to say "The Very Best of Bugs" lives up to its title. This tape offers up five classic Warner Bros. Looney Toons from the Forties featuring Bugs: "What's Cookin', Doc?" (Director Bob Clampett, 1943) finds Bugs going off the deep end when he loses the Oscar to James Cagney. Bugs screens a clip from "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" as rebuttal evidence, but it is hard for a "clip" show to be one of the very best; "Rabbit Punch" (Chuck Jones, 1948), is the classic episode where Bugs heckles the Champion so much that the boxer makes Bugs get in the right and duke it out, which is almost as much fun as Chaplin's classic boxing sequence in "City Lights"; "Little Red Riding Rabbit" (Fritz Freleng, 1944) takes place with World War II going on which explains why Granny is working at the airplane plant while Bugs and the Wolf chase Red (think a bobby-soxer who has outgrown the fairy tale); "Wackiki Wabbit" (Jones, 1943) finds Bugs the targeted next meal for a couple of castaways who land on the rabbit's deserted island; and "The Heckling Hare" (Fred Avery, 1941) is the 5th Bugs Bunny cartoon ever offers the strange sight of Willoughby determined to prove he is a hunting dog by heading into the woods with Bugs. The second and third cartoons in this 35-minute collection are both candidates for top 10 status, but while this is a solid collection it is not the best one out there (I have a preference for Bug's classical music cartoons).