Blackbeard's Ghost

This was a movie that brought back good memories. Our family went to see it at the theater back in the 70's.

It is a good story, with a few scenes that are very funny.

Dean Jones has the lead (of course), and Suzanne Pleshette is also very good. Peter Ustinov, is a great pirate for the kids to enjoy.

A good Disney movie, and a great family movie.

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

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.

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.

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.