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!

This is the story of the Spanish Main, when villainy wore a sash, and the only political creed in the world was, love, gold ........ and adventure!

The Black Swan finds Tyrone Power at his swashbuckling best, here as James "Boy" Waring, a pirate starting to find his conscience as he starts to find love, Power is devilishly handsome and swaggers about with knowingly comic abandon. Though this Henry King directed picture reeks of being an illegitimate child to "Errol Flynn's" superior "Captain Blood", it has such a great sense of fun and high production values, it really doesn't matter one jot.

The colour cinematography from Leon Shamroy rightly won an Academy Award, whilst the nominations for Alfred Newman's booming score and the one for the special effects team were very much deserved. The other thing to note is the fabulous costumes courtesy of Earl Luick, splendid attire, none more so than evidenced by Laird Cregar's joyous Henry Morgan. George Sanders and a ravishing Maureen O'Hara are in on the fun and really it's a film that to me is impossible not to enjoy, so avast yee lubbers and buckle up your swash. 8/10

Whatever Henry King made cannot be bad. Even this "half navy - half etc" movie was surprisingly entertaining. I can name few filmmakers so versatile and so reliable. In this instance I believe the method is to have an open mind - this is not just a navy or a pirate movie, there is romance and a little of everything. Bottom line, making a good film should be a simple thing if you have decency.

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.

I do think The Black Swan is under-appreciated. It certainly isn't the best movie ever made, but on its own merits, it is a hugely enjoyable and truly remarkable swashbuckler. The cinematography is gorgeous, and thoroughly deserved the Oscar it won, with its perfect capture of the cleverly-choreographed swordplay, and you can also admire the beautiful costumes and sets, as well as the rousing music score that was beautiful. The sets and action sequences are the main merit of this film, very majestic and well-staged. You may think that any film with pirates would fall into predictability, but this one doesn't, it is original, funny at times and has a touch of romance in it. The performances were excellent. Tyrone Power is surprisingly good in the title role, though swashbuckling fans may be yearning for someone like Errol Flynn, and Maureen O'Hara is beautiful beyond words as Margaret. It is probably true that their romance isn't quite as convincing as the one in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland, but it is still a convincing (and fairly witty) one, and rarely interferes with the focus of the film. As the mutinying Captain Billy Leech, if you put the awkward accent aside like I have, George Sanders (who is the expert of suave and smarmy menace) is excellent, who is surprisingly good at sword fighting. All in all, a stylish and very worthwhile swashbuckler, with a 9/10. Bethany Cox.