Der Pirat und die Dame

A fun movie to watch. Joan Fontaine was never more beautiful. The sets and costumes are absolutely breathtaking and Basil Rathbone completely steals the show. This film has all the elements of a good adventure yarn.

A highborn noblewomen named Lady Dona St Columb , Joan Fontaine , who has two children , falls badly in love for a pirate when she fleeing her spineless husband : Ralph Forbes , heads for her family's state on the Cornish coast . There she finds a Frenchman's ship anchored in a creek off her country state and discovers a dashing French privateer : Arturo de Córdoba is using a nearby cove to anchor his ship while he spies on the English . As the pirate is unfortunately a spy since the Frenchies and the Brits are battling as usual. The Lady and the pirate get very , very close and she decides to help him outwit the authorities and especially the lecherous Lord Rockingham : Basil Rathbone who discovers her secrets , while Lady Dona risks all to rescue him .

The attractive and colourful escapism ensured to make a big hit at boxoffice and profit enough . This fun and entertaining film displays emotion , thrills , swashbuckling , swordplay and romance. Stars Joan Fontaine who is frankly fabulous as the Lady searching for adventure and becomes dazzled by a valiant pirate, but soon she must choose between passion and duty concerning her children. Arturo de Córdoba is agreeable and sympathetic as the brave French pirate. Adding a classy secondary cast , including enjoyable performances from Ralph Bates, Basil Rathbone , Nigel Bruce playing in Watson style and Cecil Kallaway who steals the movie as a likable butler . Bolstered by a great production , it was said to have cost more the 3 million dollar , besides , a colorful and brilliant technicolor by George Barnes and emotive musical score by Victor Young .

Based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier , whose books were also adapted by Alfred Hithcock as Jamaica Inn and Rebecca starred by Joan Fontaine . It was remade for British television in 1998 by Ferdinand Fairfaix with Tara Fitzgerald , Anthony Delon , James Fleet , Danny Webb , Tim Dutton . This old 1944 retelling was nicely directed by Mitchell Leisen , whose speciality in filmmaking was romantic comedy , it was perhaps not the ideal director , but here Leisen gets an amusing and charming pirate adventure .

I've never seen this fanciful costumer in a theater but a TV broadcast, quite a few years ago, fairly leapt from the screen - the three-strip Technicolor had transferred to video as if it were a pristine print. Paramount obviously spared no expense on this one and, despite some minor objections, I recall being thoroughly entertained by it, especially that absolutely savage battle-to-the-death between Basil Rathbone's quintessentially dastardly villain and a desperately determined Joan Fontaine.

Some years back I somewhere read that, while waiting in full makeup and costumes for the lighting technicians to work their magic, Miss Fontaine rather scathingly queried her costar, Arturo de Cordova, why he was pursuing a career as an actor, apparently with the implication that it was an occupation unworthy of a man. If that's the kind of treatment he had to undergo at the hands of a Hollywood leading lady, one can confidently guess that his much greater success in Latin American cinema left him with few regrets that his Hollywood sojourn never amounted to much.

In examining this well-done film,I find myself in disagreement with one of the other critics,in terms of regarding the performances of some of the supporting players.Where do we start?

1)Nigel Bruce is doing his usual blundering,obtuse,blithering,pompous oaf,as we have seen in numerous other films.In this picture,however,his character is not as benign as we have witnessed elsewhere.

2.)Cecil Kellaway,as William,is doing a masterpiece.His character is sly,wise,verbally adroit,socially adept,sensitive,and intuitive.This is the sort of fellow we would wish to have as the major-domo,or butler.

3.)Forbes,as Harry,does well in what happens to be an extremely thankless role.Dona's husband is a clod and a buffoon.He is a self-centered,selfish,immature man,who married for all of the wrong reasons(although the right ones for that period.)He wanted to have a beautiful wife,who would provide him with sexual companionship,company,and would handle all of the business aspects while he could go out with his pals and have a good time.He's not only NOT interested in handling his end of the relationship,but he puts her in the way of Lord Rockingham,even though he knows that she finds his attentions repugnant.it's not easy to do this kind of part,but he does carry it off.

My favorite pirate film was the "Black Swan" (and I didn't hate "Cutthroat Island", either!), but this is a close second even though there is less sea action and it's more ABOUT a pirate. The sets and acting are wonderful; the use of color is magnificent. This is a very enjoyable film with the gorgeous Joan Fonatine (Olivia deHavilland's estranged sister) acting up a storm and at her peak of pulchritude, and the magnificent Basil Rathbone demonstrating his soaring acting talent. The hilight of the film for me was one of the best fight scenes ever filmed - an all-out battle-to-the-death between Rathbone - and Fontaine!! A classic!