The Black Pirate (1926)
Overview
A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father by the hands of pirates. To this end, he infiltrates the pirate band; Acting in character, he single-handedly captures a merchant vessel, but things are complicated when he finds that there is a beautiful young woman of royal blood aboard.
Cast
Douglas Fairbanks
The Duke of Arnoldo / The Black Pirate
Billie Dove
Princess Isobel
Anders Randolf
Pirate Captain
Donald Crisp
MacTavish
Tempe Pigott
Duenna (as Tempe Pigett)
Sam De Grasse
Pirate Lieutenant
Charles Stevens
Powder Man
Charles Belcher
Chief Passenger - Nobleman
- Similar Movies
- Reviews
- Videos
CinemaSerf
Still at the top his game, Douglas Fairbanks is the eponymous character - but with a bit of an unlikely backstory. He and his father were lucky to survive a pirate attack on their ship, his dad perishes shortly afterwards and our hero decides to avenge himself on these reprobates by infiltrating and rising through their ranks. His cunning plan is sailing along nicely until they capture the beautiful Princess "Isobel" (Billie Dove) to whom he takes an immediate shine and has to shield from the worst (and potentially violent) excesses of his lascivious shipmates. It's got just about every pirate adventure theme going - walking the plank, buried treasure, duplicitous plotting - and enough swash and buckle to last a lifetime. Albert Parker keeps the pace rollicking along with a deliciously ghastly contribution from Sam de Grasse and an early(ish) outing for Donald Crisp ("MacTavish") with John Wallace doing his best "Long John Silver" impersonation too. The romance is managed within the storyline, it adds a gentle richness to the mixture without cluttering up what is essentially a sumptuous high seas adventure yarn with some super seaborne colour photography, pyrotechnics and style.
