Jimmy und die Piraten

I well remember this film, seeing it in the movie theater when I was 12 years old. But viewing it now I wonder how producer/director Bert Gordon could credit himself with an original script. It's so obviously borrowed from A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur. I guess since Mark Twain was long dead they didn't have to credit him.

Charles Herbert is having a lot of issues at home and school because of his obsession with pirates. Finding a lost bottle washed up from the sea, he makes a wish to be a pirate with Blackbeard and the genie Joseph Turkel makes it happen. Turkel also says unless that bottle is returned to the exact spot he found it, Herbert takes his place in the bottle.

On board ship Herbert becomes cabin boy and meets Blackbeard himself played by the always menacing Murvyn Vye who curiously enough was Bing Crosby's adversary Merlin in A Connecticut Yankee In The Court Of King Arthur. Archie Duncan, Timothy Carey, and Paul Guilfoyle play other pirate types.

Then there's Susan Gordon who was also the producer's daughter who Herbert rescues from a plundered Dutch ship and who looks strangely enough like the girl next door back in modern times.

Herbert and Gordon are a nice pair of youthful leads and Gordon certainly was a pretty thing back in the day. The Boy And The Pirates holds up well as a nice piece of children's entertainment with or without deserved credit to Mark Twain.

The Boy and the Pirates (1960)

** (out of 4)

Bert I. Gordon stepped away from the giant insects long enough to direct this children's film about a young Jimmy Warren (Charles Herbert) who is in trouble by his parents because all he does is think about the days of the pirates. After coming across a genie, the boy is transported back to when Blackbeard (Murvyn Vye) ruled the sea and the boy gets to see what it was really like. THE BOY AND THE PIRATES is innocent enough and there are a few good things about it but I think most adults are going to have trouble staying awake through it. I'll start off with the good stuff, which includes some decent special effects considering some of the director's earlier films and not to mention that the budget here isn't that big. I also thought we got some nice supporting performances including Vye as Blackbeard and Paul Guilfoyle who plays a pirate who befriends the children. The director's daughter Susan Gordon actually steals the show in a dual role as Jimmy's friend. Even Joe Turkel isn't too bad as the genie. I think Herbert wasn't all that interesting in the lead so his performance certainly brings the film down a notch or two. Another problem is that there's really just not enough energy to carry the film and its rather short running time. There are quite a few pirate battles but none of them are so exciting to the point where you're having a great time. Instead, they get the job done to just barely keep you awake. I think the darker moments of the film (the kids constantly being threatened) really don't mix too well with some of the lighter humor (the bubblegum getting in the pirate's food) but these scenes on their own are quite effective.

This is actually quite an amiable little kids adventure film that sees the young "Jimmy" (Charles Herbert) find a bottle on the beach - next thing he and his friend "Katrina" (Susan Gordon) have been miraculously transported aboard the pirate ship of "Blackbeard" (Murvyn Vye) and adventures galore lie ahead... Paul Gilfoyle is quite good as the pirate's sidekick "Snipe" and it has quite a bit of light-heartedness to it - "Blackbeard" tries to light his cigar with some safety matches! - and plenty of jolly japes for the youngsters. It has been produced in the style of the Disney action films of the time, but to nowhere near the same standard. That said, though, the kids are clearly up for it, it has plenty of low-budget swash and buckle and though probably fifteen minutes too long, might still have been enjoyable for younger eyes.

Basically the story is about little Jimmy, a boy who has no interest in anything but pirates, finding a bottle with a genie in it, and accidentally wishing he were part of Blackbeard's pirate ship. So the genie makes the wish, and little Jimmy goes back to the late 1500's for what should have been rollicking, fun pirate adventure but turns out instead to be less interesting than any adventure on the Love Boat on a bad day. What else happens: little Jimmy meets a Dutch girl with no accent(Susan Gordon, the director's daughter), argues with the genie over some story about how the genie must be thrown back in the same spot where found otherwise Jimmy will take his spot in the bottle, and accidentally leaves bubblegum in the kitchen for the cook to use in a stew. These were the film's highlights(no lie!). Charles Herbert, the child actor from The Fly and Thirteen Ghosts, does an adequate job as Jimmy. He was a very natural child actor with some obvious talent. Susan Gordon is cute if nothing else, and the rest of the cast is, well, adequate at best. Murvyn Vye is actually pretty decent as Blackbeard and Joe Turkel as the genie is also likewise. Paul Guilfoyle as Snipe - the lone pirate with any compassion for the two children - is the only actor; however, that even tries to add any depth to his character and performance. The rest, although not bad, are one-dimensional stereotypes of characters we've seen again and again. The biggest problem with this film is the direction and script. In a film that could and should have created some wonderful scenes for children, The Boy and the Pirates would be lucky to keep even a row boat afloat. Director and screenwriter Bert I. Gordon does a lackluster job bringing this story to the screen. The script has too many non-conventional conventions(once you see it you might know what I am trying to say here). The characters don't have any depth, and the comedy isn't all that funny. That notwithstanding, The Boy and the Pirates has some heart - if only it had a little more blood to give it more life!

This is another film that was regularly shown on the Chicago-area television program "Family Classics," remembered fondly on other posted for other films ("Snowfire" and "Journey to the Beginning of Time," to name a couple.) I am certain that re-watching it at my age would be a real mistake; even though it makes the occasional TCM appearance, I think I'll pass on it. But when I was six, boy, what a film! I looked forward to it every year. The old WGN, in it's pre-superstation days, was a haven for fans of movies, classic and otherwise, between Frazier Thomas's "Family Classics," the Saturday night "Creature Features," and the Sunday night "When Movies Were Movies." Those were the days when local programming was important. I am thankful to WGN TV for filling my childhood fantasies with these films. For now, Though, with this particular film, I'll let sleeping dogs lie.