Gaivota Negra

...or at least women love people who can take them away from a humdrum life ."The Frenchman's creek" could be only just dream.That it was written by Du Maurier is not surprising: "Rebecca"-which featured the same actress- had something dreamlike ,something like a fairy tale with a witch.

A socialite, a distinguished lady of Old England sees time passing her by,with a not-so-handsome husband who is anything but romantic.This lady wants something else ,something more than merely sexual ,or else she would have picked up a young lover in the aristocracy.A revealing scene shows her playing with her children ; ladies from long ago did not do so: their nannies used to do that job.When she sails away with her pirate,it's some kind of game with big children who themselves play -see they them put on the ladies' clothes- or spend most of the time singing obscure French folk songs with a curious Latin accent which is anything but the French accent .

The second part of the movie is a return to a harsh reality ,the well-meaning people ,the society with the laws ,the possessions .The heroine can no longer follow the rules .I was wondering if Milady would wake up from her slumber and discovered she dreamed her life away.

The costumes are lavish,the colors magnificent and Joan Fontaine was never more beautiful: I generally like her sister best but I can't imagine Olivia de Havilland play a tomboy,when the heroine joins the crew.

Olivia de Havilland ,who,in another great movie by Leisen ("Hold back the dawn"),was a simple schoolteacher falling for a mysterious alien ,the same way her sister did here.

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"Moonfleet" (1955) by Fritz Lang "The Spanish Main " (1945) by Frank Borzage "Peter Pan" (1953) by Clyde Geronimi,Hamilton Luske,Wilfred Jackson.

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 .

This film was shot in Mendocino County and should be in the list of films shot in that area. The creek itself is the Albion River. The boat used in the film was left in the river and was resting on the bottom when I saw it and boarded it in 1944 or 5. My grandparents had an orchard and farm outside the community of Albion. A couple of the crew members stayed at their place when the film was being shot. There were some other locations on the coast that were used as well. The residence was removed and just the leveled field it was situated on and the plants the studio planted to surround the site remained for many years after. This location was outside of Albion near dark Gulch and was just west of highway 1 that runs along the coast in Mendocino and adjacent counties as far south as San Simeon. I have never seen the complete film, so would not to vote on it at this time.

Arturo de Cordova was not Spanish, he was Mexican. His first language was Spanish, but that does not make him "Spanish." Mexican and Spanish are two different things.

The film aired today on TCM. It was a rare showing of this movie, which I have been hunting down since reading about it in Mitchell Leisen's biography 43 years ago. It was then that I read and never forgot about the sumptuous Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography. I was heartbroken to see it in an extremely washed-out transfer but anything is better than nothing. Would it be possible for Universal to place this on a list of important restorations, given its place in Oscar history?