Les joyeux pirates

I have just finished watching this film 30 seconds ago and I must make a few comments.

Abbott and Costello on the High Seas in full color. The High Seas: a good idea. The full color: a bad idea. The cinematography ends up being grainy and the color washed out. In the end, this detracts from the film and actually makes some of the gags fall flat, simply from being distracted. As far as A+C are concerned, this is a slightly below par outing. The gags aren't that great to begin with, and there are really no scenes of the characteristic A+C bantering. Not that it is terrible, mind you. But the overall performance is subpar.

What is truly fun to watch is Charles Laughton. Admittedly, I am a Charles Laughton fan. I think he has largely been overlooked for what a great actor he was, and it is rather unfortunate that his directing output was limited to the one masterpiece, Night of the Hunter. What is so wonderful about his performance? The fact that the filmmakers decided to make it humorous.

If you think about it, Charles Laughton cast in the role of Captain Kidd really screams for a Kidd-cum-Bligh from Mutiny of the Bounty. I expected Laughton to spend the entire film shouting and talking tough in that clipped manner that he used for Captain Bligh. And while there was plenty of shouting and tough-talking, there were plenty of moments of comedy on the part of Captain Kidd. It seems that the filmmakers, instead of being completely serious, tried to go for the gag whenever possible. I love that.

It also shows off the comedic possibilities of Charles Laughton that went almost completely unnoticed during his career. Only every once in a great while did they manifest themselves, such as his wonderful performance in Witness for the Prosecution. It is rather unfortunate that many great actors got pseudo-typecast in serious roles and never got to explore their comedic talents in full. Such as Bogart, who got very few comedic roles but shined in the ones he did have (such as Sabrina and We're No Angels). Why is that these great actors, while well-renowned for drama, could and should have excelled at comedy? Because great actors excel at the most critical element of comedy:

Timing.

Timing is essential to all comedy and they had it. This shows itself most in snappy banter. Just as Humphrey Bogart was able to banter well with William Holden in Sabrina, Charles Laughton banters well in brief flashes with Lou Costello. Take the scene where Lou draws a mustache on the portrait of Captain Kidd, only to have it roll away while Lou turns and the real Captain Kidd appears.

Lou: I could've sworn I drew a mustache on that picture

Kidd: Well you didn't

Lou: I didn't?

Kidd: Nope

Is this exchange something that Captain Bligh would've done? Absolutely not. But they did it here. And text nowhere near does justice to the splendid timing of this exchange, though sadly it only took 2 seconds of film. There are a few other brief moments like this that demonstrate what a comedic talent Charles Laughton could have been. And there are moments of slapstick as well. When Charles Laughton does a little sailor dance after what seemed a victory over Lou, I nearly hurt myself laughing. It was such a silly and wonderfully outrageous thing to do.

Don't get me wrong, this is not to say that Charles Laughton's performance was a comedic gem, no. For the most part is was bellowing and shouting that you would expect. But the fact that the filmmakers did not take it that seriously throughout the entire film made it wonderful to me. In every movie, there are moments for each character where they are faced with a choice: do I go for the serious portrayal, or do I go for the gag? It was my pleasure that with Charles Laughton's mostly serious role, when these choices arose, he went for the gag. And I loved it.

So, overall, this film is a meh. But if you do decide to watch this film, (and why not?) then keep an eye out for Charles Laughton and I'm sure, like me, you'll wish he had done more comedy.

P.S. I would also like to go on the record as stating that Hillary Brooke is, indeed, hot. Actually, she's not just hot. She's HAWT.

Bud and Lou only made two color films--this and "Jack and the Beanstalk"--and for some reason the color on both of them is terrible, with this the worst of the two. For some unfathomable reason it was shot in shoddy Cinecolor, which was a cheap alternative to Technicolor developed mostly so low-budget producers could afford to make color films (Technicolor was too expensive for those smaller outfits). However, since this film was made by Warner Bros. you have to wonder why the studio didn't shoot it in Technicolor instead of cheap, muddy Cinecolor; it's not like Warners couldn't afford it! Anyway, the lousy photography detracts from what could have been, with a few improvements, a much more enjoyable film. It's good to see Hillary Brooke in color; the miserable quality of the photography can't hide the fact that she's a stunningly beautiful woman, with an icy, regal sexiness reminiscent of Grace Kelly or Eva Marie Saint. However, the romantic subplot between her and the terminally bland Bill Shirley is a complete bust, as the two have no chemistry whatsoever and you find yourself wondering what a babe like Hillary is doing with a slug like him. In addition, everything comes to a screeching halt so they can throw in some interminable, and third-rate, musical numbers. The picture would have been better off with fewer of them. In fact, it would have been better off with NONE of them.

That being said, however, this is still an enjoyable film, although far from prime A&C. The boys are starting to show their age, and their timing is a little off in spots, but they still know how to wring laughs out of a script as lame as this one. Besides, Charles Laughton is really fun to watch. It's said that he agreed to do this film because he thought Lou Costello was one of the industry's best physical comics; he had always wanted to do slapstick, and figured if you're gonna do it, learn from the best. He acquits himself quite well, too, even though every so often you can see where he tries a bit too hard; some of his bits look like they were precisely rehearsed, which they no doubt were, but good comedy isn't supposed to look like it was rehearsed. Still, he seems to be having a whale of a good time, and considering that he had never done anything like this before, does a very impressive job.

As I said, this is hardly Bud & Lou's best, but it's not among their worst ("Dance With Me Henry" holds that honor) or even their not particularly good ("A&C Go to Mars"). The two best things about it, besides Bud & Lou, are Laughton and Hillary Brooke; she's truly gorgeous, and it's easy to see why Costello used her as his love interest in the team's TV series. If you haven't seen this film before, it's worth checking out.

Charles Laughton did a badly edited biographical film of Captain Kidd in 1945 although his performance as the cockney captain with aspirations to class is memorable. We don't often get a second crack at roles when they don't become mega-hits, but Laughton got it and made the most of it.

Laughton got one here although he had to take on Abbott and Costello as co-stars. But I will say that the distinguished Mr. Laughton more than held his own with those two burlesque comics. Especially when you consider that his co-stars names were in the title of the film.

Of course it was fans of A&C who went to see the film, but you get your audiences from where they come. Check Laughton's deadpan face when he's doing the old handcuff gag where Costello thinks he's got Captain Kidd cuffed behind his back and helpless. They did the same routine on their television show with Gordon Jones as Mike the Cop and the results are just as hilarious.

Speaking of the television show, Hillary Brooke from the cast of their show is also on hand as Laughton's rival, Captain Bonnie. Fran Warren and Bill Shirley have a great pair of voices, too bad the songs that they got to sing in the film aren't worthy of them.

Abbott and Costello were on a downward slide of their careers, but this film does hearken back to their early days at Universal when they were grinding out a whole bunch of comedy gems.

But the thing that has always gotten me about this film is the way Charles Laughton just dove right in to the slapstick spirit of this movie. Costello was known for not getting along with several of his co-stars, many of them had less than kind things to say. But according to observers, Laughton got along just fine with the boys.

You can tell by the side splitting results.

I don't mind that the movie has no plot or that it's so noisy my 90-year old grandmother complained or that Charles Laughton thinks he's the one who should supply the laughs and not the menace. What I do mind is that A&C have so little to do. They manage a few bits, but these are crowded out by the chaotic knock-about. It's like someone said we don't have a script or any routines, so let's just run around, make noise, and maybe no one will notice. Maybe the best thing is the really great special effects. The masted ships and sea battle look like they come from an A-production, which they may have. But even the explosions on the sea-shore sets are well done. Too bad the rest of the movie doesn't rise to that level. And pity the poor regally composed Hillary Brooke who looks like she's missing all the mayhem, at the same time Laughton manages more mugs per minute than a race car generates RPM's. In my little book, this is one of the least of the 5 or 6 entries in the A&C Meets... series.

This curiosity bears a title liable to raise eyebrows when discerning viewers notice it among Charles Laughton's credits and are too squeamish to investigate any further; the knowledge that Laughton made it simply so that he could afford to purchase a painting increasing their trepidation. But if you are rash enough to actually watch it Laughton seems to be actively enjoying himself.

Although every expense has plainly been spared, it was the top grosser of 1953, benefits from being photographed in colour by veteran cameraman Stanley Cortez; while Laughton is well matched by Hillary Brooke giving a lusty, thigh-slapping portrayal of Anne Bonney in tight britches and principal boy boots.