Le cygne noir

Well, this one really came as a surprise with Tyrone Power superb in a decent pirate movie - all tongue in cheek but in great fun. With lovely Maureen O'Hara playing the usual hard to get girl wanted by all, but destined for only one, everyone in the movie has a rollicking good time, and why shouldn't they when you consider some of the supporting stars, particularly Laird Cregar as Sir Henry Morgan and George Sanders "hamming" it up in his usual evil way. The Technicolor is magnificent, the settings superb, and as this film was made long before computer-generated effects, it was quite brilliantly done. The story was very predictable but who cares, as it represents great escapist entertainment for nearly a couple of hours!

The film is a nice pirate-adventure movie , being lavishly produced . This classic story of romantic adventure comes to life enriched by Technicolor cinematography in charge of Leon Shamroy . Breathtaking battle ships and sword-play and filled with badness , love story , swashbuckler and heroism . Spirited pirate fare in which seas ablaze with black villainy , with fiery romance, with breathless deeds of daring in the roaring era of Love, Gold and Adventure! . An ex-pirate named James Waring (Tyrone Power) contends with buccaneers and a love-hate relationship with an aristocratic woman , Margaret (Mauren O'Hara) , who's tougher than she seems . He is compatriot of the notoriously rowdy buccaneer Henry Morgan (Laird Cregar at 26-year-old and posing eldest) who is pardoned and sent to Jamaica as its new governor , if he can prevent his from associates from continuing their criminal ways , Morgan enlists Waring to help him fight renegades (George Sanders , Anthony Quinn) . Meanwhile ,Tyrone falls in love with governor's (George Zucco) daughter .

This is a story of the Spanish Main when villainy wore a Sash and the only political creed in the world was love , gold and adventure . Combination of overwhelming sea battles , lots of derring-do , and full of action , romance , swashbuckler , bravura and humor remarks . Master of swashbuckling , Tyrone could happily have found a better vehicle for his faculties than this entertaining adaptation . Tyrone 's sword flashes as often as his smile . Tyrone Power seems to happy as the adventurer pirate whose good looks and swordmanship were both at their peak and much competition with Errol Flynn in the swashbuckling stakes . Well played by Power who was nearly at his most agile and deft style , he starred various ¨Sword and Swagger¨ films and was superstar of Hollywood swashbucklers . More stylish villainy is provided by both , red-bearded nasty George Sanders and a black-patched Anthony Quinn . And Laird Cregar stands out as the stoutly suave pirate turned into governor ; furthermore , an oily sophisticated Edward Ashly and the ordinary nasty George Zucco . Interesting and stirring screenplay by Ben Hetch and Seton I. Miller , the story is completely original , and the only role retained from the original novel is the historical personage Henry Morgan . In fact , the film is partially based on historical events , as Henry John Morgan (born Welsh 1635, dead Port Royal, Jamaica 1688) was a known corsair , at death of pirate Edward Mansfield was appointed chief by the buccaneers . He conquered Providence island or Saint Catalina . Later on , he sacked the city of Panama , violating the truce between Spain and England . For that reason was imprisoned , but king Charles II freed him and named him governor of Jamaica .

Based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini , whose books have been adapted in ¨Captain Blood¨ with Warren Karrigan , the classic ¨Captain Blood¨ with Errol Flyn , ¨Fortunes Captain Blood¨ with Louis Hayward , ¨Son of Captain Blood¨with Sean Flynn , and ¨The sea Hawk¨ with Errol Flynn . Spectacular and impressive ship battles , and the ship in the film was also used in the movies ¨Lady Hamilton¨ (1941), ¨The princess and the pirate¨ (1944) and ¨Captain Kidd¨ (1945) . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor that deservedly won an Academy Award . Moving and thrilling musical score by the classy composer Alfred Newman , nominated to Oscar . Including luxurious and glamorous production by James Basevi . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Henry Koster . He made all kinds of genres , such as Biography : ¨Wilson¨ , ¨David and Bathsheba¨, ¨Hemingway's snows of Kilimanjaro¨, ¨Lloyds of London¨ , ¨Captain of Castile¨, ¨Stanley and Livingstone¨ ; Religious : ¨Song of Bernadette¨ ; Drama : ¨Carousel¨ , ¨Love is a Many-Splendored-Thing¨ , ¨Maria Galante¨, ¨Hell Harbor¨ ; Western : ¨Jesse James¨, ¨The gunfighter¨ ; Wartime : ¨Twelve o'clock high¨, ¨a Yank in the RAF¨, ¨She goes to war¨.

This movie is so wonderful. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was around six years of age, and Tyrone Power became my first crush. After seeing the Black Swan I became ridiculously obsessed with pirates. (My mother wondered if there was something wrong with me, considering all the other girls on my block were playing with Barbies and I was watching movies about pirates.) I think the cinematography is just perfectly lovely in this film, and Tyrone Power truly is a great actor. People speak truthfully when they say he did not get the credit he deserved, (much like Johnny Depp) but I deeply respect the late actor, and he captured my heart. If you love films of mutineers, swashbuckling adventure, and roguish characters, then this film is for you. It will sweep you away to an old world where gallantry was sought after and pirates were the scum of the earth.....

If not for the action, for the actors and the actress, for the story or for the direction, see this movie because it´s only one of the best action movies ever made in the USA. Just that! Many of the recent full-action movies, made with more money and resources, are not even 1% of this one.

Tyrone Power was undoubtedly the most stylish and certainly the most handsome and articulate of the great Hollywood swashbuckers from the 30s to the late 50s. In this movie he coyld not have been bettered (Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. included), The starry cast,music,costumes and settings brought vividly to life the Spanish Main,Maracaibo and other Pirate ports of call.With a great family theatrical tradition behind him,Power's presence enriched every movie he made (what a twist of fate that he died exactly as his father Tyrone Power Sr.did,filming a duel scene -"Hamlet" and "Solomon and Sheba). I believe that Power's acting ability even today is not fully recognised,simply because the Studio System restricted his choice of film.Let anyone hear Power recite the poems of Byron (available on disc) and realise his premature death was a tragedy."THE BLACK SWAN" could be said to represent a golden period in the history of Hollywood swashbucklers.