Barba Negra, o Pirata

In 1674 , the ¨reformed" pirate Sir Henry Morgan (Torin Thatcher) results to be a high official in Jamaica , but he's subsequently appointed as island governor residing at an impregnable fortress . However , Edward Maynard (Keith Andes) hopes to win a huge reward by proving Morgan still dabbles in piracy . Maynard goes undercover as ship's surgeon under the famed pirate Blackbeard who is deemed to be the bravest pirate of the seven seas , along with his henchman Ben Worley (William Bendix) . As Blackbeard rolling his eyes wildly by executing enemies and charging up and down the deck (like a bearded captain Bligh). Also on the ship shows up Edwina Mansfield (gorgeous Linda Darnell) , seemingly a charming damsel in distress , to whom there's much more than meets the eye . Along the way , a loner inhabitant of a solitary island's been supplanted by infamous Blackbeard himself . They took what they wanted...and they wanted the world!.The thunder of their plundering shook the earth, the seas, the sky!

This is a fun and bewildering flick with a disconcerting and little credible story shot as a fun festival of sword-play , noisy action , fights and sea battles. The 18th-century buccaneer is given the full-blood , Hollywood treatment , being an amusing and funny adventure comedy/drama movie , being especially made for enhance the hilarious qualities of the always likeable and prestigious actor Robert Newton who steals the show as a sly pirate . Although Newton is a bit overzealous at times , but puts in an enjoyable acting . Here's an attractive pirate yarn with fine characterizations and some good action. Robert Newton revels in this yarn , his second pirate movie , going on his top-notch portrayal of Long John Silver in The Treausure Island , two years before . While the gorgeous Linda Darnell plays the damsel in distress saved by honest Edward Maynard well played by Keith Andes who finds himself serving as ship's surgeon . There are enjoyable appearance from prestigious secondaries as William Bendix , Torin Thatcher , Irene Ryan , Alan Mowbray, Richard Egan, Skelton Knaggs , Dick Wessel , Anthony Caruso and Jack Lambert.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Raoul Walsh . From his starts in the silent cinema Raoul achieved successful films until the 50s and forward , early 60s , when he was less dominant , but is still stayed lots of lusty adventure , stories of comradeship and friendship , and Raoul made the most of plentiful action scenes . He was an expert director of all kind genres but with penchant in Western as ¨Colorado territory¨ , ¨They died with their boots on¨, ¨Along the great divide¨, ¨Saskatchewan¨, ¨King and four queens¨ , ¨The sheriff of fractured jaw¨, ¨A distant trumpet¨ ; Adventure as ¨Thief of Bagdad¨, ¨Captain Horatio Hornblower¨, ¨World in his hands¨, ¨Blackbeard the pirate¨ , ¨Sea devils¨ ; Warlike as ¨Objetive Burma¨ , ¨Northern pursuit¨, ¨Marines let's go¨ ; and Noir film as ¨White heat¨, ¨High Sierra¨, ¨They drive by night¨, ¨The roaring twenties¨. Rating : 6/10 . Fairly straightforward movie . This interesting adventure and action film makes it of the finest of Raoul Walsh genre entries.

I am gratified that so many others have commented on Robert Newton's completely over-the-top performance in the title role. Unfortunately, it completely transcends the otherwise conventional Hollywood pirate movie that surrounds it. When he's on the screen, nothing else exists. Yes, it's ham-acting at its hammiest but it's virtuoso ham acting that hardly anyone could hope to match. He rolls his eyes, growls, orates...he simply takes over the movie and almost gives ham-acting a good name. The only performances of this kind that I can think of which come close to matching him are Orson Welles (in many things but especially in "Black Magic") and Ralph Richardson in "Things to Come."

Hollywood turned out dozens of pirate adventures in its heyday, most, such as The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Captain Kidd etc etc, were flat and routine swashbucklers that lacked the kind of acting presence, story, and edge that made MGM's 1934 version of Treasure Island, and Warner's Captain Blood from 1935 standards of the genre. The pirate movie throughout the 40's, much like the western, was in need of something fresh.

In 1950, Robert Newton made a stalwart impression as Long John Silver in the British remake of Treasure Island, released through Disney. Though the film was not nearly as good as the '34 MGM version, Newton managed to surpass the performance of Wallace Beery's Silver, which was no easy feat as Beery was exceptional in that role.

Coming off of that success, RKO paired Newton with hit and miss director Raoul Walsh to make Blackbeard the Pirate. Newton's performance in the title role was even better than his turn in Treasure Island - a definitive portrayal of the pirate captain that continues to predominate the genre. Not a single actor from Wallace Beery to Victor McLaglen to Charles Laughton to Peter Ustinov to Dustin Hoffman to even Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp have managed to usurp the pure overbearing sea scenery chewing double-dealing rapscallion that is Robert Newton as Blackbeard. His performance, as brutal as it is humorous, is a joy to behold, and elevates the film to a higher level.

The film itself is not as routine as one might expect either. There is a plot going on here (albeit not exactly an airtight one), and some fine supporting performances from William Bendix (always watchable), Linda Darnell, and Keith Andes, a mostly forgotten actor who apparently could do it all in show business from sing and dance to swordfight. His cutlass battles in Blackbeard are of Flynn/Rathbone quality, but actually remind one more of the kind of swordfighting seen in Lester's The Three Musketeers 20 years later. For a film made in 1952, there is a surprising amount of gore in this as well.

Not a great story, but a good one, and entertaining throughout. Everything you'd expect from a 50's adventure on the high seas is delivered here - action, romance, blood and treachery. One of the best pirate movies of all time.

This is not a movie of great measure. It's just a VERY good showcase for the ultimate pirate actor, Robert Newton, who fits the role so perfectly as to become THE pirate to be imitated in every pirate movie to follow. He is the centerpiece of this film, make no mistake about that. Every scene belongs to him and every word of dialogue he speaks is the learning base for future "pirates" of the silver screen.

Not a Newton fan? Steer clear, then Matey, because this movie is his and his alone. Not even the beautiful Linda Darnell can distract from him in any scene they share. He is an overpowering and magnetic force when he plays his pirate to perfection.

AWWWWWRRRRRRRRRR.

Being a big fan of the man I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. I find his acting to be natural and amusing. This is his niche and here he rules.

Within the 17th century a reformed pirate known as Sir Henry Morgan is given the role of governor in Jamaica and the job of ridding the ocean of Blackbeard the pirate. A young surgeon Edward Maynard believes Morgan is still a pirate and takes the assignment of becoming part of Blackbeard's crew to get his large award and hopefully take care of these two men. Blackbeard manages to kidnap Morgan's adopted daughter Edwina Mansfield, and now Maynard has his hands full if he wants to complete his mission.

Arrrrrrr. I could throw around some pirate lingo, but it looks like everyone was having a jolly good time on this colourfully swashbuckling pirate romp from director Raoul Welsh. This one feels like its parodying the whole set-up and including the clichés we've come to associate with pirates. We get double-crossings, greedy intentions, gallant sword fights, a bathing beauty, treasure chests and rum to name a few. Alan LeMay's enthusiastically crackling script (off DeVallen Scott's story) covers it all and offers some clever surprises with plenty of tooting drama to boot. The romance sub-plot comes off quite stuffy though and a few plot holes do work there way in. Welsh's lively direction makes sure something is always happening and never lets it flag about with focused photography. Scenes are well delivered and vigorously active, despite that it comes across more stagy than one big adventure packed outing. Surprisingly for its time (very tame now) it can be terribly violent and vulgar in its actions and the pirates (good casting I might add) look and act truly scum. The bellowing musical score gets into the spirit and the Technicolor format brings many vibrant flushes to make-shift sets. What's most captivating is Robert Newton's bawdily fiery and over-the-top turn as Blackbeard. His probably the most memorable thing out of this and what lifts it from the average crowd. A true scene stealer, that still leaves his mark when his not even on the screen and very much influential performance for latter pirate flicks. A goofy William Bendix is equally as enjoyable in a broad sense as his first mate. Linda Darnell looks irresistibly magnetic and grand, but is not offered too much. Keith Andes is acceptable, but is very much overshadowed as Edward Maynard. Torin Thatcher, Irene Ryan and Skelton Knaggs give capable support.

"Blackbeard the Pirate" is far from flawless, but definitely an entertaining foray my matey.