The Crimson Pirate (1952)

This would have to be one of my favorite films of all times and for many reasons. The Crimson Pirate was filmed on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Napoli in Italy. My parents were both from this island and they remember the cast and crew during the summer of 1951 when it was made. My mum to this day remembered Burt Lancaster sitting outside a bar, drinking a coffee and thinking "Oh he is so handsome". Many locals were given parts as extras. I remember my first visit to Ischia in 1988. In a doorway opposite Castello Aragonese, sat an old man with a wooden leg dressed as a pirate. Who would sit there everyday having his photo taken with tourists as he made a name for himself as "the pirate" from the movie as an extra.Ischia has been used in other Hollywood films, notably "Avanti" starring Jack Lemon and Juiliet Mills, and "The Talented Mr Ripley" starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Phillip Seymor Hoff.

For what it is, "The Crimson Pirate" is a simple, but genuine pleasure. Lancaster and his former circus partner have real chemistry on screen - they're funny when they want to be and dashing when the script calls for it. They do their own stunts in well choreographed set pieces, and they make it look easy (even fun). The heroes are dashing, the villains are nasty and conniving, the costumes and sets are a treat to behold, and the plot (which doesn't worry too much about little things like "historical accuracy") moves along briskly. I've always liked Lancaster as an actor, but this was my first exposure to him as a sex symbol. Now I can see where the reputation came from. That dazzling smile seems to be at least a yard wide and the guy was built better than 99% of his "leading man" peers. No one ever looked so good in a puffy sleeved shirt. Even if the rest of the movie sucked, his role would make it worth watching. Really, really good "classic" stuff. If you have any interest at all in the Errol Flynn/Douglas Fairbanks Jr. "swashbuckling" genre, you ought to see "The Crimson Pirate".

An early, light-hearted attempt to poke fun at the pirate genre from within. Burt Lancaster plays the title character, a typical charming scoundrel pirate named Vallo, who decides to try his hand at business when he agrees to exchange a freedom fighter, El Libre, for guns, but his plan goes horribly awry when he falls in love with El Libre's beautiful daughter (Eva Bartok). Before long, Vallo's up to his neck in trouble when his own crew turns against him, save for his loyal sidekick/first mate Ojo (Lancaster's real life friend Nick Cravat, playing it mute because of his accent), exile him with an up and coming scientist, with the daughter in danger of being married off to an evil tyrant. And it's up to Vallo to rescue his lady love in conjunction with saving his crew... and wearing red & white striped pants while doing it.Funny, flamboyant flick with Lancaster having fun - or at least pretending to be having fun - as the rascal pirate.The scene with Lancaster and his cronies walking on the ocean floor with the row boat over their heads would later be referenced in 2003's summer block buster "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl".

Captain Vallo, aka the Crimson Pirate, leads his band in a capture of a British ship headed to the Caribbean to capture a rebel, El Libre. Vallo says he will deliver the guns to the rebels, but plans to give them to El Libre to drive out the British from the island. Vallo, and his mute sidekick Ojo, are aided by El Libre's daughter Consuelo, but after Vallo and company rescue their target, they are betrayed by British representative Baron Gruda as well as Vallo's first mate Bellows. Vallo, Ojo, and traveler Professor Prudence are left adrift in a lifeboat while Gruda plans to marry Consuelo to the local governor to strengthen his rule, but Vallo plans to use the professor's scientific knowledge to win the final battle. A very rousing swashbuckler that ranks among the most entertaining of its genre. Lancaster and Cravat were some duo as you can see they did their own stunts and very well I might add. Alwyn's score is a plus in every place it is used with plenty of different tunes to go for all the scenes. The sound recording however is the big drawback of the film and all of the cartoonish sound effects during many of the action scenes left groans on my face. Excellent and action packed climax on the ship. Rating, 8.