Customer Reviews

Dancing Pirate [Slim Case]

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

 

 

I thought this was a great film. It would have been nice to see the color version as the costumes were probably lovely, but the film doesn't lose anything in black and white. The actor playing the main character is unknown to me, but I think he's a great dancer. I kept thinking of Fred Astaire and wondering how two contemporaries could have such similar styles. If you want great drama, this isn't your movie, but if you want light hearted entertainment with some great dancing, give it a go. I wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised.

Great dancing. Great music - could use more - but who can argue with Rogers and Hart. Cute plot - typical of light musicals of 30's and 40's. Comedy of the Wizard of Oz - i.e. Frank Morgan - entertaining as is the dialog.

Missing is the Technicolor that the titles advertise.

Finding Rita Hayworth (Margerita Cansino) is more difficult than the proverbial needle in the haystack.

I was amazed when I saw this film. I expected a slick, programmed, predictable musical. I am sure those who are used to the predictable musical genre will be a bit put off, but I loved the uniqeness of this film. Collins(the pirate) is a wonderful dancer and looks a good deal like Errol Flyn(but a bit thinner). The musical numbers are very inventive, and the dancers are superb in the chorus. The camerawork is much more modern than things that followed years later. Collins sings only one song, but he has a beautiful voice, and boy can he dance. What a nice change from the MGM look, which can be too overblown. I have always loved the smaller studios B&W musicals, which are always off-beat, such as Doll Face with Carmen Miranda, and Lady of Burlesque with Stanwyck. It's like the difference between General Motors and Studebaker or Packard. Who the hell wants a Buick when you could drive a Packard Phaeton?

Patrick Byrne

THE DANCING PIRATE billed itself as "the first dancing musical in 100% new technicolor." Now, you may be wondering to yourself (even if you're not a fan of musicals) why on Earth you've never heard of this film before. One would think that such a cinematic first would be less obscure. Few people today have seen THE JAZZ SINGER, but many more would recognize the title as being the first talkie.

Well, I'll tell you why you've never heard of this technicolor marvel. Because it's no damn good, that's why.

Now, granted the cheap DVD version of this film is actually a scratchy black and white print rather than the full color experience. However, I doubt that seeing this film in technicolor would improve it significantly, even if the producers had managed to invent some new color and painted Harry Morgan's mustache with it.

And before I get to the plot summary, I need to point out an annoyance courtesy of the DVD cover concerning the actor in the previous paragraph. At the end of the description on the box, the simple sentence follows: "Frank Morgan (of MASH TV series fame) costars."

Well, almost. Frank Morgan (who is indeed in this film and best known as the cinematic Wizard of Oz) died of a heart attack in 1949. The MASH television series began in 1972. Clearly someone over at Digiview got Frank Morgan confused with Harry Morgan (who played Colonel Potter on MASH). Harry Morgan, however, does not appear in this film. I've tried cutting back on criticism of Digiview's grammar and factual errors, but this is far too egregious to ignore.

The plot is simple and silly (although, to be fair, musicals aren't really supposed to have very involved storylines). The opening slide informs us of the setting: Boston, 1820. At this locale is a flamboyant dancing instructor teaching his class about a new craze called "the waltz". While horrifying the older generation because of the increased male-female physical contact, his students are pleased. He closes his class, leaves the building and is immediately hit over the head and kidnapped by pirates. Taken onboard the pirate vessel, he is now forced to perform menial tasks for the ship's cook.

Fortunately, these are singularly unobservant pirates, so he rapidly escapes them, and finds himself in a small Hispanic village somewhere in California. He is immediately mistaken for a real pirate and sentenced to death. However, his sentence is commuted on condition that he teach the villagers to dance. This gives the dancing pirate (who isn't a pirate at all) the opportunity to dance a lot, give waltz lessons to the film's audience and fall in love with the movie's love-interest with whom he has absolutely no chemistry and who happens to be the daughter of the village's leader.

Rereading my description of the plot, I'm realizing that it's far goofier and hokier on paper than when I was actually watching it. I suppose it says something that the film manages to convey a fairly strong suspension of disbelief. On the other hand, you could point out that the script totally fails to capitalize on what could be a very entertaining premise. The plot summary makes it sound like a bad film, but a bad film that could be fun. Unfortunately, it isn't.

One of the first things that jumped out at me in the opening few scenes is how appallingly low-budget the film looks. It looks like a small high school did a production of this and then the movie crew simply filmed on the same sets. It's hard to take the film seriously when it looks like one mistimed twirl could take down half the village.

But the worst thing about the lack of money spent on the film is that these period musicals only really work if they look spectacular. Like them or not, those MGM musicals of the 30s and 40s looked epic. Picture in your mind those giant dance numbers with dozens of extras and enormous towering sets. Even if you don't care for the overall experience (and I generally don't), one can still appreciate all the time and painstaking effort that must have occurred to produce something so overwhelming, intricate and energetic.

You simply do not get that effect here. It doesn't look special. It doesn't look extraordinary. It just looks like a small number of guys jumping around a movie studio. The costumes are bland; the sets are uninspired. And moving beyond the mere budget, there just isn't anything imaginative about any of this.

The acting is acceptable. Our hero is played by Charles Collins. He spends 50% of his screen time with a cheesy Howard Dean grin plastered onto his face, which makes him a bit difficult to accept as a) a strong protagonist and b) as someone who could reasonably be mistaken for a pirate.

As mentioned, Frank Morgan appears in this film, and - bizarrely -- he appears to be playing the exact same character from THE WIZARD OF OZ, albeit without access to the impressive equipment that allowed that wizard to rule by fear. He's the same bumbling man behind the curtain. So much so that you almost expect him to leave the movie in a hot air balloon shouting, "I can't come back; I don't know how it works!"

One thing about this character I could figure out was how Morgan became leader of this village given that it's clearly a Hispanic village, and Morgan obviously isn't. I suppose we should be grateful that Morgan doesn't attempt a Mexican accent or use Charlton Heston's TOUCH OF EVIL makeup.

As for what's left, I personally got nothing out of the singing and dancing. Usually with musicals, I can at least remember some of the more catchy tunes, even if I don't actually like them. But none of them stayed in my mind more than an instant after "The End" appeared on the screen. On the subject of the dancing, I tried to teach myself the waltz from the endless sequences where he teaches the steps, but I had about as much luck from this film as I did from the free salsa dancing tutorial DVDs I once got in the mail.

You might get some enjoyment out of the film by asking your friends to come over with a few adult beverages and giving this the full Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. But even then, this is a film to be endured, not enjoyed.

If you want first class entertainment by some of the most creative and clever artists in 1930s Hollywood, this movie is your cup of tea. I was thoroughly entertained non-stop without a second of ho-hum. This is a work of art filled with stunning creativity - it's clever and very funny, too!

The Dancing Pirate was one of the earliest films RKO made in the 100% new Technicolor process. This DVD is regrettably in Black and White. If you must see this, try to find it in color. Good luck.

So I bought this movie on dvd... it's one of my most prized posessions. Not because it's any good...but because it's so freaking bad. I mean, I cannot even watch it without being pissed. This dude is no pirate. He dances like a girl. I mean, some guys can make dancing look masculine, but this dude... he just looks like a pansy. See, I got it at walmart for $1. I would never pay full price. Also, the title is totally deceptive... this doesn't even have pirates in it... maybe in the begining, but they're big and fat, which are the dumbest kinds of pirates. In fact, I wouldn't even call them pirates... i'd call them ninjas-trying-to-be-cool. Oh, but it does have indians... and mexicans. I mean, if you're some sort of a softy pc looser... then you're gonna be all offended and think it's racist because all the mexicans act dumb. Sorry, there's not much I can say. It does have the Wizard of Oz in it, though. Which is weird. I mean, I can't figure out who the heck he's supposed to be... is he white? Is he mexican? His daughter is mexican... so was her mom mexican? Is she a half and half... a mutt? She looks like cathren zetta-jones too. So if you have a thing for cathren zetta-jones, add this to your library.... sicko. Anyway, I wouldn't buy this unless it was for a dollar... or less. Oh, but if you do like Aphex Twin... then buy it.

I watched this piece of junk thinking that I would see Rita Hayworth give a great performance and would be able to tell people I watched a great, unknown Rita Hayworth film. Boy, was I mistaken.

Yes, Rita Hayworth is in here but she is practically not billed at all, there is no plot that I can recall but I do know that Frank Morgan ("The Wizard of Oz")was in it, and it was an early Techicolor experiment which failed miserably. How is it that "The Dancing Pirate" looks so awful, but "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" look so beautiful? Yes, I know there were a few years in-between 1936 and 1939 but all three of these movies introduced Technicolor to American audiences.

So, all in all, don't you dare buy or even think of watching this rubbish. You're better off watching "The Wizard of Oz" again. Both of these movies have Frank Morgan and Technicolor, and "The Wizard of Oz" looks better and has a great plot.