Käpt'n Blackbeards Spuk-Kaschemme

The new Godolphin College track coach, Steve Walker, spends his first night in town at Blackbeard's Inn where he inadvertently summons the ghost of Blackbeard. Blackbeard is cursed to roam through limbo, making life miserable for Walker in the process, unless he can do one good deed to send him on his way to the other side. Helping Godolphin win the big track meet (and saving the Inn in the process) might just be the good deed he needs.

The 60s and early 70s were a prime-time for live action Disney movies like Blackbeard's Ghost. These were good, clean, family films with real actors, real stories, and real comedy. I hadn't seen it in years and maybe it's a nostalgia thing for me, but I found it just as entertaining and fun as ever. A lot of the comedy may be the obvious slapstick type, but it works nonetheless. The entire track meet is a hoot. I suppose my favorite bit may have been the baton pass mix-up during the relay race. Pretty funny stuff. The acting in Blackbeard's Ghost is first rate. Ustinov is very good as Blackbeard. His overacting is exactly what the role calls for. Everyman Dean Jones and the stunning Suzanne Pleshette make the perfect Disney couple. You can't help but root for them. Finally, Elsa Lanchester steals every scene she appears in. A couple of times I found her laugh-out-loud funny. It's a nice cast. Throw in the rousing, very Disney-esque Heart of Oak pirate sing-a-long and you've got a winner.

I doubt a movie like Blackbeard's Ghost would be made today. Ustinov doesn't come close to the image Disney's promoting these days. Too bad, because today's kids and families are missing out.

8/10

Blackbeard's Ghost is a live action picture out of Walt Disney Studios and it's directed by Robert Stevenson. It's based around the novel written by Ben Stahl, with the adaption for the screen by Don DaGradi & Bill Walsh. Starring are Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Elsa Lanchester & Joby Baker.

Plot finds Ustinov as the titular phantom of the title, who is suspended between worlds after a curse was put on him by his ex-wife. When amiable track coach Steve Walker (Jones) arrives in the coastal town of Godolphin he attends a charity sale and buys an antique bed warmer. Later that night Steve finds a hidden spell located in the bed warmer and after reading it out aloud he conjures up the ghost of Blackbeard. Seems that only Steve can see the bluff old pirate, and apparently Blackbeard can only escape his curse if he does a good deed. Good timing, then, since the old hotel run by the old ladies of Godolphin is under threat of closure from unscrupulous gambling gangster Silky Seymour (Baker) who wants to build a casino on the land. In spite of the fact that they just can't get on, Blackbeard and Steve may just be good for each other.

A perfect light hearted live action film for the young and the young at heart. Looking a bit dated now on account of the advent of special effects, Blackbeard's Ghost none the less carries a weighty good against evil parable and brings on the laughter in spades as it goes. The set up is classic Disney, a pretty little coastal town is home to buccaneer secrets and the equilibrium is being upset by baddies who want progress to further their greed. Enter a bad boy coming good and the underdog sports team suddenly finding a new lease of life; aided wonderfully by Blackbeard during the film's funniest quarter. And there's even an engaging romance between Jones & Pleshette that's easy to warm too. The cast are inoffensive and pleasant, particularly Ustinov who is on full tilt pantomime overdrive, while the little devilish motif of cheating for the greater good finds Disney not hiding behind the syrup jar.

Personally I laughed out loud on a number of occasions, most notably a cheerleader sequence that still has me giggling as I write this piece. Hopefully this film can have a similar effect on those looking at it for the very first time. Seek it out folks and watch with the family, for it is perfect family entertainment. 8/10

I'm going through the Disney Plus catalog chronologically, and I've recently hit the years when Dean Jones is in basically everything. This was one of my personal favorites growing up. On rewatching these films, I think That Darn Cat is better, but this one is still pretty darn good. It's certainly superior to The Ugly Dachshund, where Jones and Suzanne Pleshette have seemingly no chemistry. In this, their relationship is less integral to the plot, but they work much better together.

Of course, the real draw for the movie and the reason I loved it so much as a child, is the unhinged performance by Peter Ustinov as Blackbeard. It's honestly a little hard to describe his affectations: a lot of shouting, weird noises, and a real commitment to the portrayal of Blackbeard as a drunkard on an emotional roller coaster. It's delightful.

Is this good or bad? I'm genuinely not even sure, but it's hard to doubt that it does suitably entertain.

It constantly hops between cringe/chucklesome and overacted/finely acted. The plot is mindless and impossible to take seriously, though the shenanigans that occur are mostly amusing. It would be a lot worse off without the likeable leads, that's for certain.

Peter Ustinov brings fun as Blackbeard, sometimes his acting is a little too over the top for my personal liking but he has more funny moments than lame ones. He and Dean Jones (Steve) join up well enough, as does Jones with Suzanne Pleshette (Jo Anne) - as already seen two years prior in 'The Ugly Dachshund'.

Not what I had expected, I come away probably wanting something different from 'Blackbeard's Ghost'. However, there is humour in there that's just about enjoyable.

Disney veteran Dean Jones plays Steve Walker, the new track coach at Godolphin College, who comes to stay at an inn owned by sweet old ladies who claim to be descended from Blackbeard the pirate. Well, later that night, Steve manages to conjure into being the title character (Peter Ustinov), who's been "living" under a curse. Blackbeard becomes determined to do one "good" thing after all of the cutthroat mayhem he instigated while alive, while driving Steve (the only person who can see and hear the pirate) right up the wall.

"Blackbeard's Ghost" is fairly amusing, if somewhat overlong, Disney fare that's pretty good family / comedy / fantasy entertainment. It's full of the expected slapstick, as Blackbeard interferes in a pivotal track meet and makes fools out of the minions of mobster Silky Seymour (Joby Baker). But the real driving force of the movie is the chemistry between Jones and Ustinov. The latter is a hoot, taking an off the wall approach to playing this legendary scoundrel: sometimes he can be annoying, even whiny. Jones also has very fine chemistry with his leading lady, Suzanne Pleshette (who plays Jo Anne Baker, a professor at the college). The special effects are generally decent, and an undeniable highlight is when Steve and Blackbeard have a reckless automobile ride through the local environs. And the supporting cast features a number of familiar faces who all get their chance to make an impact: Elsa Lanchester as the dotty Emily Stowecroft, the perfectly slimy Baker as the villain, Elliott Reid as an excitable announcer, Richard Deacon as the college dean, Kelly Thordsen as a cop, Michael Conrad as the football coach, George Murdock as an official, Hank Jones as the bright-eyed Gudger Larkin, and Ned Glass as a teller.

Overall, the movie is pleasant to watch, generating decent laughs as the harried Steve is unable to deal with this persistent new nuisance in his life, and is afraid of how crazy he looks in the eyes of others. He must learn how to make his peace with Blackbeard, and realizes that he does, in fact, need him. And the irrepressible Blackbeard does acclimatize himself enough to this strange new world.

Six out of 10.