Jimmy et les pirates

This film begins with a young boy by the name of "Jimmy Warren" (Charles Herbert) playing on what's left of an old ship that crashed upon the coast near his small town in Massachusetts. Upon gazing out into the ocean he just happens to spot a bottle that drifts on the beach and while handling it wishes he could be aboard a pirate ship. Suddenly a genie named "Adu" (Joseph Turkel) pops out and immediately grants his wish. The next thing Jimmy knows is that he is surrounded by pirates and subsequently forced to work for "Captain Blackbeard" (Murvyn Vye) as his personal cabin boy. To make matters even worse, Abu then tells him that unless he can return the bottle within 3 days to the exact spot in which he found it he will be forced to take Abu's place and live in the same bottle for the next two thousand years. From that point on Jimmy tries his best to get the pirate ship to change course and head back to Massachusetts but the only problem is that Abu is doing everything possible to prevent it. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an okay adventure film which was essentially produced for younger viewers. As such the action, scripts and special effects were toned down to accommodate that particular audience. Even so this wasn't a bad film by any means and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Basically the story is about little Jimmy, a boy who has no interest in anything but pirates, finding a bottle with a genie in it, and accidentally wishing he were part of Blackbeard's pirate ship. So the genie makes the wish, and little Jimmy goes back to the late 1500's for what should have been rollicking, fun pirate adventure but turns out instead to be less interesting than any adventure on the Love Boat on a bad day. What else happens: little Jimmy meets a Dutch girl with no accent(Susan Gordon, the director's daughter), argues with the genie over some story about how the genie must be thrown back in the same spot where found otherwise Jimmy will take his spot in the bottle, and accidentally leaves bubblegum in the kitchen for the cook to use in a stew. These were the film's highlights(no lie!). Charles Herbert, the child actor from The Fly and Thirteen Ghosts, does an adequate job as Jimmy. He was a very natural child actor with some obvious talent. Susan Gordon is cute if nothing else, and the rest of the cast is, well, adequate at best. Murvyn Vye is actually pretty decent as Blackbeard and Joe Turkel as the genie is also likewise. Paul Guilfoyle as Snipe - the lone pirate with any compassion for the two children - is the only actor; however, that even tries to add any depth to his character and performance. The rest, although not bad, are one-dimensional stereotypes of characters we've seen again and again. The biggest problem with this film is the direction and script. In a film that could and should have created some wonderful scenes for children, The Boy and the Pirates would be lucky to keep even a row boat afloat. Director and screenwriter Bert I. Gordon does a lackluster job bringing this story to the screen. The script has too many non-conventional conventions(once you see it you might know what I am trying to say here). The characters don't have any depth, and the comedy isn't all that funny. That notwithstanding, The Boy and the Pirates has some heart - if only it had a little more blood to give it more life!

I well remember this film, seeing it in the movie theater when I was 12 years old. But viewing it now I wonder how producer/director Bert Gordon could credit himself with an original script. It's so obviously borrowed from A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur. I guess since Mark Twain was long dead they didn't have to credit him.

Charles Herbert is having a lot of issues at home and school because of his obsession with pirates. Finding a lost bottle washed up from the sea, he makes a wish to be a pirate with Blackbeard and the genie Joseph Turkel makes it happen. Turkel also says unless that bottle is returned to the exact spot he found it, Herbert takes his place in the bottle.

On board ship Herbert becomes cabin boy and meets Blackbeard himself played by the always menacing Murvyn Vye who curiously enough was Bing Crosby's adversary Merlin in A Connecticut Yankee In The Court Of King Arthur. Archie Duncan, Timothy Carey, and Paul Guilfoyle play other pirate types.

Then there's Susan Gordon who was also the producer's daughter who Herbert rescues from a plundered Dutch ship and who looks strangely enough like the girl next door back in modern times.

Herbert and Gordon are a nice pair of youthful leads and Gordon certainly was a pretty thing back in the day. The Boy And The Pirates holds up well as a nice piece of children's entertainment with or without deserved credit to Mark Twain.

A young boy (Charles Herbert) is magically transported back in time to a pirate ship on the high seas.

I have something of a fondness for Bert Gordon. While his films are hit and miss, probably more miss, and often cheesy, he does hail from Kenosha, Wisconsin and attended UW-Madison. So I like to consider him a kindred spirit, even if we have never met.

This is actually among his better films, though not one of the more well-known. Of course, he may be best known for the films that appeared on "Mystery Science Theater", so that would tend to skew how people see him. Here the plot, effects and even the scenery and costumes are good. The story seems to be a kid's adventure but is dark enough that people of all ages may appreciate it.

Shockingly, no monsters! And no large animals (though we do have a genie who appears very small, so at least we have that).

Keep in mind this film was released in 1960 and the target audience were families, especially young boys and girls who had an innate fear of Pirates and/or Indians. At my now senior citizen age I was bored very early with young Jimmy but when I saw the fearful pirate Morgan (Timothy Carey) my boyhood fear was brought to the forefront.

If you enjoyed The Boy and the Pirates I suggest you try and catch the subsequent 1961 Ray Harryhausen's Mysterious Island. Ray Harryhausen's classic visual effects lead the way for many a fine adventure films that followed which is why I have to give some credit to The Boy and the Pirates which led the way for many a great adventure films to follow.

I give it a decent 5 out of 10 IMDb rating but it is meant for children between the ages of 5 and 15.