THE PIRATE [1948 / 2020] [Warner Archive Collection] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] The Great M-G-M Musical Romance! Treasure Chest of Technicolor! Songs by Cole Porter!
Newly remastered from the original Technicolor® negatives! A treasure trove of fun awaits when a Caribbean beauty Manuela Alva [Judy Garland] with a mad crush on a legendary pirate meets a vagabond actor Serafin [Gene Kelly] who poses as the scoundrel. Vincente Minnelli directs, bringing his uncanny skill with colour and design to this joyous romp set to Cole Porter tunes. Mixing tremulous girlishness with hellcat hilarity, Judy Garland was never better as a comedienne. Parodying the rakish style of Douglas Fairbanks and John Barrymore, and Gene Kelly duels, dupes and dances with buccaneer bravado. All by itself, his “Be a Clown” and danced with the Nicholas Brothers and reprised with Judy Garland is enough to convince all to be a fan of ‘THE PIRATE.’
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: Academy Award®: Nominated: Best Original Music Score for Lennie Hayton.
FILM FACT No.2: Vincente Minnelli directed the film, from a screenplay based on the 1942 Broadway play by S. N. Behrman, which had starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Opening at the Martin Beck Theatre on November 25, 1942, The Pirate played for 176 performances before the screen rights were purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $225,000. While the Alfred Lunt’s themselves expressed interest in bringing the story to the screen, M-G-M envisioned the property as a comedy for William Powell and either Myrna Loy or Hedy Lamarr. Over the next two years, more than a half-dozen scene artists, producers, and directors worked on ideas for developing the property. It was the play's original scenic designer, Lemuel Ayers, who suggested to M-G-M's preeminent musical producer Arthur Freed that ‘THE PIRATE’ would make an effective musical. Freed presented the idea to Judy Garland, his top musical star, and her husband, director Vincente Minnelli. Garland was then at the top of her box-office stature in Hollywood, and Minnelli was the logical choice as director, as he had successfully helmed most of her recent films and Judy Garland was eager to demonstrate her talents as a sophisticated leading comedienne in the same class as Katharine Hepburn, and M-G-M saw a perfect opportunity to reunite her with Gene Kelly.
Cast: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, George Zucco, Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas, Lester Allen, Lola Deem, Ellen Ross, Mary Jo Ellis, Jean Dean, Marion Murray, Ben Lessy, Jerry Bergen, Val Setz, The Gaudsmith Brothers, Cully Richards, Lola Albright (uncredited), Marie Allison (uncredited), Anne Beck (uncredited), Oliver Blake (uncredited), Norman Borine (uncredited), Wheaton Chambers (uncredited), George Chandler (uncredited), Bruce Cowling (uncredited), Willa Pearl Curtis (uncredited), Peter Cusanelli (uncredited), Ken DuMain (uncredited), William Edmunds (uncredited), George Emerson (uncredited), Anne Francis (uncredited), Fred Gilman (uncredited), Suzette Harbin (uncredited), Jane Howard (uncredited), Paul Maxey (uncredited), Bert May (uncredited), Jill Meredith (uncredited), Aurora Navarro (uncredited), Jimmy Page (uncredited), Alex Romero (uncredited), Sharon Saunders (uncredited), Dick Simmons (uncredited), Dee Turnell (uncredited), Irene Vernon (uncredited), O.Z. Whitehead (uncredited and Marie Windsor (uncredited)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Producer: Arthur Freed
Screenplay: Albert Hackett (screenplay), Frances Goodrich (screenplay), S.N. Behrman (play), Frances Marion (uncredited), Joseph L. Mankiewicz (uncredited) and Joseph Than (uncredited)
Composers: Conrad Salinger (uncredited) and Lennie Hayton (uncredited)
Costumes: Irene Maud Lentz (Costume Design) and Tom Keogh (Costume Design)
Cinematography: Harry Stradling Sr., A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 101 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Archive Collection
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE PIRATE’ [1948] is a giddy, lusty comedy about Manuela Alva [Judy Garland], a young maiden in the Caribbean tropics. Manuela Alva's just become engaged to the unattractive older mayor Don Pedro Vargas [Walter Slezak] of her town, which will improve the ailing finances of her Aunt Inez [Gladys Cooper] and Uncle Capucho [Lester Allen], but Manuela Alva secretly dreams of the dashing pirate Macoco.
‘THE PIRATE’ can be considered a “Judy Garland’s cult film” in a sense. Producer Arthur Freed said that it was “twenty years ahead of its time.” Indeed, the film is unlike any other musical (or other film) released in 1948 and the result is that people either love it or hate it. There is no in-between. It’s lauded for Vincente Minnelli’s use of colour and Gene Kelly’s dancing although critics were and still are divided on the merits of the acting. Some felt that Judy Garland and Gene Kelly overacted. Others loved the high farce the production was aiming for. I personally love Judy Garland’s performance in the film. Yes, sometimes you can see some of the strain Judy Garland was under, but overall her talents as a comedienne really shine through.
In ‘THE PIRATE’ we see Serafin comes courting Manuela Alva a in the bedroom of her home, by swinging from a rope to gain entry, her Aunt Inez gets Don Pedro Vargas to remove the actor Serafin from her room. But Serafin recognizes the Don Pedro Vargas to be the infamous pirate Macoco, someone whom the actor once escaped from. Don Pedro Vargas is now trying to hide his past, afraid that the authorities want to hang him for all the murders, kidnappings, and piracy he has done. Serafin says he wouldn’t tell who he is, if he lets him live and allows him to put on a show.
When Don Pedro Vargas agrees, Serafin tells everyone that he’s Macoco and will then intimidate the village and tell them that if Manuela Alva isn’t brought to him for marriage, he will destroy the village and kill all the men in it. As a result the town leaders beg Manuela Alva to go to Macoco and save them by marrying him, and that they will be grateful to her forever. Meanwhile, Don Pedro Vargas rushes to the next town to get The Viceroy [George Zucco] and the militia.
Serafin asks to do one last show before he is hanged, and sings and dances "Be a Clown" with two fellow troupe members of the Nicholas Brothers. As a finale, he plans to hypnotize Don Pedro into admitting he is Macoco, but Manuela Alva's aunt uses her parasol to break the mirror that Serafin uses to hypnotize people. Panicked, Manuela pretends to be hypnotized and sings "Love of My Life," vowing everlasting devotion to Macoco. Don Pedro, jealous, reveals himself as the true Macoco and seizes her. Serafin's troupe attacks him with all the items and juggling balls, and the lovers Manuela Alva and Serafin embrace. Manuela Alva joins Serafin's act and the film ends with them singing a reprise of the "Be a Clown" song.
There is exactly one scene worth watching in ‘THE PIRATE,’ when Manuela Alva first imagines her thespian beau to be a famous pirate, the film dives into her big fantasy where he wields a giant sword and sings to a big band production while she’s a helpless bunny who has to watch from the side-lines. The song in this scene is not better than any other tune Cole Porter churned out on autopilot for the production, but it’s still worth watching for Manuela Alva’s intensely sexualized vision of a pirate, especially Gene Kelly in his very sexy black short-shorts.
‘THE PIRATE’ is probably the supreme Hollywood masterpiece of knowing, not inadvertent, camp. It doesn’t need to be appropriated, read-against-the-grain or “sub textually” decoded as camp: from the first note, it’s totally exaggerated, histrionic, nudge-wink stuff. “Niña,” Gene Kelly’s immortal number, is a veritable delirium of sexual innuendo and double-entendre: “Til I make you mine, til I make you …” The song is also decked out with fashionable pop-psychoanalytic references to schizophrenia and neurasthenia – well, both afflictions rhyme with “Niña,” if you give that the proper Spanish twist.
This light plot serves as the structure for a giddy, lively scenario. The town square is full of extras in bizarre costumes. They are swathed in velvets and silks, stripes and polka dots, with outrageous splashes of colour and clashing patterns. It’s busy and a lot to process visually, but it perfectly expresses the chaos of Manuela’s inner life which is now marching out for public view.
Judy Garland was at the height of her powers here: A mature actress and comedienne, a powerhouse singer, and also at the peak of her beauty. Judy Garland nails every aspect of the role from start to finish, and for my money is the single best thing about the film.
Gene Kelly does some spectacular marvellous dances, including "Niña" and "Be a Clown" along with the previously mentioned "Pirate Ballet." "Be a Clown," a highlight performed with the Nicholas Brothers, is almost exhausting to watch; the physical shape the three men had to be in to perform the moves in that dance blew me away.
The gorgeous Technicolor photographed by Harry Stradling Sr., ranging from Caribbean, village pastels to the striking red and black Pirate number, are quite dazzling as seen via Blu-ray. The film is a visual treat, and the great "M-G-M sound," including Conrad Salinger's orchestrations of the Cole Porter score, is also shown off via the excellent soundtrack. The supporting cast for this film also includes Reginald Owen, George Zucco, and Mary Jo Ellis.
Gene Kelly, at his peak, is an awesome spectacle, as Gene Kelly is totally graceful and agile, and bounds around the screen, upstaging all others, relentlessly striking poses designed to accentuate the strength and definition of his form. In contrast, Judy Garland, while delivering a creditable performance and belting out her numbers with gusto, looks small and frail. Gene Kelly’s powerful physique emphasises Judy Garland’s fragility, slightly undermining the undeniable chemistry between the pair.
The production was plagued with problems from the start. This was Judy Garland’s return to the studio after giving birth to Liza Minnelli and she suffered severe postpartum depression. Judy Garland also did not relish the thought of returning to the intense grind and dieting required in making musicals. She had been talked into renewing her M-G-M contract paying her an incredible $6,000.00 per week and requiring Judy Garland only make two films a year. Later she would say that it was “one of the classic mistakes of my life.”
From start to finish ‘THE PIRATE’ is a lot of fun. It compares favourably with the greatest movie musicals — it’s clearly the best of the three musicals Judy Garland and Gene Kelly made together like ‘For Me and My Gal’ and ‘Summer Stock’ are the other two that were in glorious Technicolor.
It’s surprising, therefore, to learn that the film ‘THE PIRATE’ actually made a loss upon its initial release, recouping only about two-thirds of its budget eventually. ‘THE PIRATE’ numbers and performances are certainly good enough to have deserved better commercial success which was such a shame. Despite the long-held controversy regarding ‘THE PIRATE’ and its merit as a late-bloomer classic musical of The Golden Age of Hollywood, the film does stand as a rare and fascinating cultural snapshot that catches glimpses of the stars’ troubled, messy personal lives as well as a subversive attempt at approaching marginalized sexualities while simultaneously mocking the pirate-centric stories and the entertainment industry to boot.
THE PIRATE MUSIC TRACK LIST
NIÑA (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter) [Performed by Gene Kelly]
MACK THE BLACK (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter) [Sung by Judy Garland and Danced by Gene Kelly]
THE PIRATE BALLET (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter, Roger Edens and Conrad Salinger) [Performed and Danced by Gene Kelly]
YOU CAN DO NO WRONG (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter) [Performed by Judy Garland]
BE A CLOWN (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter) [Sung by Gene Kelly and Danced by Gene Kelly and The Nicholas Brothers]
LOVE OF MY LIFE (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter) [Performed by Judy Garland]
BE A CLOWN (Finale) (uncredited) (Written by Cole Porter) [Sung and Performed by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Warner Archive Collection presents us the film ‘THE PIRATE’ and with their fortitude and has offered us the very best possible 1080p image quality available, and of course it is shown in the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio and the results herein will positively blow even the most discerning videophile away. Sourced from a 4K master, they have revitalized elements and especially with a new scan, and obviously have been the benefactor of some major restoration work, and what we have here is a total and amazing revelation. Colour saturation, for one, is totally astounding with rich and vibrant hues that positively really stand out spectacularly. Manuela Alva’s red dress positively explodes in ravishing Technicolor, while the blistering flames during “Mack the Black” dance sequence explode with exceptionally nuanced with variations of orange, red and yellow. Vincente Minnelli’s exceptional use of colour is given its full breadth herein. Contrast is truly excellent. So all in all Warner Archive Collection has given this film a new lease of life and definitely gets from me a definite five star rating for their effort restoring this long lost classic Hollywood film.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Warner Archive Collection brings us the film ‘THE PIRATE’ with just one standard 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. Throughout the film you get a really excellent audio fidelity and a wide dynamic scale allows the lush composed film scoring and Judy Garland's powerhouse vocals to flourish, and especially the bombastic sonic accents as explosions, gunfire, deafening drums, and the crashing of crockery are crisp and very distinct. All the dialogue from all of the actors are very clear and easy to comprehend and there is no distortion creeps into the audio mix. So all in all Warner Archive Collection has done a really sterling work on upgrading this audio experience and definitely gets a five star rating.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by Author/Historian John Fricke: Here John Fricke welcomes us to his audio commentary for ‘THE PIRATE,’ and wants to share a great in-depth detail about the film that is not mentioned in the special features with this Blu-ray disc, but also eager to talk about the many legends surround of the film, especially about the origin of the film, the creation of the film, the reception towards the film, and other information about the cast, crew and the staff at M-G-M. John Fricke informs us that there was a great deal of changes to the film, especially from its initial conception, even before they started shooting the film. John Fricke informs us that with the film ‘THE PIRATE,’ so much went on behind-the-scene, like lots of re-shooting scenes, lots of re-writes in regards to the film ‘THE PIRATE.’ Originally the song they were going to open the film with was “Mack the Black,” and was sung by a chorus and especially Judy Garland. John Fricke informs us that the film ‘THE PIRATE’ is set on a West Indies Island in the 1830’s and takes place primary in the village of Calvados where Manuela Alva [Judy Garland] lives, where Manuela Alva is picking up her wedding dress and indecently meets Serafin [Gene Kelly] and John Fricke says that if you view the trailer you will get to see a short snippet of the original song “Mack the Black.” When you see Judy Garland open up the book “The Pirate” and you see the wording, which was written by Robert Nathan the American novelist who was asked to contribute to the film, and Vincente Minnelli only brought in Robert Nathan to write the narration speech by Judy Garland we hear her speak. Before appearing in the film ‘THE PIRATE,’ Judy Garland was on her honeymoon and just had her daughter Liza Minnelli. John Fricke feels Judy Garland plays her part in the film in a multiple of levels, as does Gene Kelly and the American public love to go and see any film that has Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in it. Arthur Freed’s mantra is that you can get away in the 1940’s with more musical numbers in a film, than you can with a straight drama film or even comedy, and John Fricke feels there is a lot of innuendo in ‘THE PIRATE’ film. John Fricke talks a lot about the actor Walter Slezak, who is the Mayor in the film, and feels this actor is one of the greatest character actor in that period of Hollywood films, and Walter Slezak was born in 1902, and was the son of an opera star and got his first big break in show business in the silent film ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ that was filmed in Germany, and in 1932 Walter Slezak ended up on stage on Broadway and eventually was invited to Hollywood and over a period of 20 years, became a familiar face in supporting roles in motion pictures, and also starred in the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘Lifeboat’ and also played various comedy roles in several well-known films, and as you will see in ‘THE PIRATE’ he is a very prominent character, and has also appeared a Red Skelton film and also in a Ronald Reagan film, alongside a chimpanzee in ‘Bed Time For Bongo,’ and sadly committed suicide at the age of 80 in 1983 after a very long illness. John Fricke turns his attention to the actress Gladys Cooper, who was born in 1888 in England, and sadly passed away at the age of 82 in 1971 and is famous from playing characters like in ‘THE PIRATE.’ Now we come to the part in the film where gene Kelly makes his debut performance in the harbour, and after the Second World War the film ‘THE PIRATE’ was his first feature film in a Hollywood musical. We get to hear how Gene Kelly wanted to play the character Serafin in the film, by saying, “I believe it was I who hit upon the characterization, but it might not of been, and it might have been Vincente, because we were both so close together then, became the idea of a joke, where I would play the actor’s role in ‘THE PIRATE’ the way John Barrymore would of played it, not an imitation, but his style, and I would play the Pirate roll the way Douglas Fairbank would, again, an impression, and we thought this was the most brilliant thing that ever happened.” John Fricke says that Gene Kelly really loved working with director Vincente Minnelli and felt they both complimented each other, and supplemented each other very much and I had a very gutsy and athletic approach to everything I did, and Vincente on the other hand was like an art director, he was more concerned about how the film would look when finished. With the song “Niña” the Breen Office aka The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1934 to 1968 and the code was closely identified with Joseph Breen, the administrator appointed by Hays to enforce the code in Hollywood and when they got hold of the lyrics for the song “Niña,” they objected to the sexual innuendo words, because that had very strict moral Victorian attitude in the 1940’s. When we see Gene Kelly and him doing the cigarette trick with the young ladies, John Fricke goes into great detail how this was done, and also quotes the comments of Gene Kelly on how he perfected this trick. John Fricke talks about Robert Alton who was top American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930’s through to the early 1950’s, and helped Gene Kelly perfect is “Niña” dance routine and was also involved with Gene Kelly’s early career and told to leave his home town and go to New York, and there Robert Alton helped Gene Kelly to perfect his dance routines on the Broadway stage, especially with the “Pal Joey” show. With Robert Alton’s glittering career, he choreographed 35 Broadway shows, and worked with people like Judy Garland, as well as with Rogers and Hammerstein shows and also with five Cole Porter shows. In Hollywood, Robert Alton directed a couple of films, and they were ‘Merton of the Movies’ [1947] and ‘Pagan Love Song’ [1950], he also choreographic sequences he designed for Hollywood musicals such as ‘The Harvey Girls’ [1946], ‘Till the Clouds Roll By’ [1946], ‘Show Boat’ [1951] and ‘White Christmas’[1954]. In 1957, he was working on the film version of ‘Pal Joey’ [1957] when he collapsed and died, his place was taken by Fred Astaire's principal collaborator, Hermes Pan. Robert Alton died in 1957 at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, in Los Angeles, California, of a kidney ailment at age 51. John Fricke gets to talk about the scene where Judy Garland has been hypnotised by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland suddenly starts singing the song “Mack the Black” and John Fricke goes into the history about the many times this song was filmed, especially one time it was filmed in a very erotic way between Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and when Louis B. Mayer saw the rushes, was seething with anger and told them to burn the negative and film a much more cleaned up version. When we see Judy Garland in silhouette in having a 1830’s Bridal Portrait and director Vincente Minnelli was keen to film this particular scene and the wedding dress that Judy Garland is wearing, cost at the time $3,000 and all of the embroidery was done by hand, and it also had handmade lace, and also had one thousand pearls on the dress and the total cost towards all of the wardrobe was $140,000, which in today’s money would be about $1, 000,000,45,000 and M-G-G would never skimp on cost for the wardrobe, as they knew the costumes would look stunning in a Technicolor musical. When you see Gene Kelly on the tight rope going towards Judy Garland, well if you look very carefully you can see support wires visible holding him up, and even though Gene Kelly was capable to walk the tight rope unaided, M-G-M would not take any chances, and when the film was previewed, the audiences commented on the preview cards, especially that they could see the support wires holding Gene Kelly up. When you see all three actors together, that is Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak and Judy Garland, especially in her wedding gown, discussing the business of the Pirate, who of course we find out is Don Pedro the Major, and talk about whether the marriage should still go ahead, because Serafin has now exposed Don Pedro the Major as the nasty Pirate, because of what he did to Serafin at sea, and of course Serafin now wants revenge against Don Pedro and when Serafin leaves the room, we get to see Judy Garland faint and John Fricke thinks the fainting is very theatrical, and feels it works perfectly within the confines of a two shot and a great cinema screen performance, and also feels that Judy Garland’s timing gives her ability to do this type of humour, and was totally at odds that Judy Garland had done in film before, and thrilled some audiences, but totally mystified other audiences, who always expect Judy Garland to still be the little girl from Kansas. John Fricke gets round to talking about Gene Kelly’s costume in the “Pirate Ballet” sequence, and it was a concept developed by Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly to get around the censors at the time, and there were great specific rules they had to adhere to, and especially what sort of tights men could wear, and especially when dancing on the screen, so Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly got around this by having Gene Kelly wear the exact replica costume that Douglas Fairbank wore in the film ‘The Black Pirate,’ that was the first two strip Technicolor feature film. John Fricke now talks about Judy Garland being a great comedian, which a lot of people do not seem to acknowledge this, but comedian Lucille Ball who had worked with Judy Garland, says this actress was the funniest lady in Hollywood, on top of all that Bing Crosby had worked with Judy Garland many times, especially on the radio and Bing Crosby said that Judy Garland was one of the most amusing woman he had ever met and was totally delicious. When we get to the big slapstick scene in the film, where Judy Garland throws all manner of things at Judy Garland out of revenge towards Serafin and here John Fricke comments that he feels this scene was comic genius, but never mentions who choreographed this scene. Then Joh Fricke gets onto the subject of Cole Porter who of course composed all the songs in the film ‘THE PIRATE’ and came after a three or four years slump for this gifted composer, and was also a long time since he had a successful Broadway show, and gives a quick history lesson on Cole Porter and says that Cole Porter was born Cole Albert Porter on the 9th June, 1891 to a wealthy family in Indiana, and Cole Porter defied his grandfather's wishes and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, Cole Porter began to achieve success in the 1920’s, and by the 1930’s Cole Porter was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Cole Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. Cole Porter shows of the early 1940’s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920’s and 1930’s, but in 1948 Cole Porter made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, “Kiss Me, Kate” and it won the first Tony Award for Best Musical. Cole Porter’s other musicals include ‘Fifty Million Frenchmen,’ ‘DuBarry Was a Lady,’ ‘Anything Goes,’ ‘Can-Can’ and ‘Silk Stockings.’ Cole Porter’s numerous hit songs include "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine." "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Well, Did You Evah!," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "You're the Top." Cole Porter also composed scores for films from the 1930’s to the 1950’s, including ‘Born to Dance’ [1936], which featured the song "You'd Be So Easy to Love;" ‘Rosalie’ [1937], which featured "In the Still of the Night;" ‘High Society’ [1956], which included "True Love" and ‘Les Girls’ [1957]. Sadly, Cole Porter passed away on the 15th October, 1964. John Fricke informs us that throughout the shooting schedule of the film ‘THE PIRATE,’ Judy garland was very ill, and is mentioned in several research books, where it informs you that there were 135 days of pre-production, and rehearsals and out of the 99 days schedule, Judy Garland missed all of this schedule, so instead they carried on shooting scenes that Judy Garland did not appear in. John Fricke also talks about how much excessive money was spent by M-G-M for the film ‘THE PIRATE,’ like the picture had a long history relating to problems with the film, especially with the excessive productions costs, also hundreds and thousands of Dollars went towards earlier producers and writers fees, and over a $100,000 went towards the deleted “Mack the Black” prologue alone, and so then “Mack the Black” had to be re-filmed, on top of all that, the “Voodoo” scene was cut. The song “You Can Do No Wrong” was changed about, and all the creativity that went into the film ‘THE PIRATE’ came to backfire on the creators, in so much of what was attempted was deemed unsuitable for a successful musical, and even when they tried to fix the problems, the film still did not make a profit, and although when the film was shown at Radio City in New York it had audiences flocking to see the film and it had great box office success, but its eventual down fall was afterwards the negative word of mouth, because people only wanted to see Judy Garland and Gene Kelly their old style films and Gene Kelly said, “That ‘THE PIRATE’ was too sophisticated to the average American and he felt the cinematographer and the Technicolor was outstanding and you could take just one frame from the film, blow it up, and it would look wonderful in a frame hanging on your wall. When we get to see the scene where Gene Kelly sings “Be a Clown,” it is pointed out that it was also sung by Donald O’Connor in the film ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ [1952] but of course the words were changed to “Make ‘Em Laugh” and it is also pointed out that the lyrics at the start of the song “Be a Clown” were different originally, where Gene Kelly sings “Be a clown, be a clown, all the world loves a clown, if you just make em roar, watch your mount bank account soar, and wear a painted moustache and you’re sure to make a big splash, a college education I should never propose, a bachelor’s degree won’t even keep you in clothes, but millions you will win if you can spin on your nose, be a clown, be a clown, be a clown.” When get to the finale of the film ‘THE PIRATE’ and we see Judy Garland and Gene Kelly on the stage in their colourful clown costumes, but just before that you see Judy Garland surprised by two hand painted posters appearing, the first one is for Serafin, the second one is for The Divine Manuela and you see her silhouette portrait painted on the poster, and the colourful clown costumes worn by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly were designed by Gene Kelly himself and wanted the clown costumes to have character, but to also have Judy Garland and Gene Kelly look themselves, so the audiences would recognise it was actually Judy Garland and Gene Kelly themselves. Over the many years since ‘THE PIRATE’ was released, passions have raged over the film, and it has its divided fan following, its detractors and even favourable opinions have been diversified, by saying, “It’s a Kelly picture,” “It’s a Minnelli dream vision unsurpassed” or it is “A Judy movie,” but it still gives a lot of pleasure to lots of fans of the film, even if it did not turn out how M-G-M wanted it. The film remains remarkable testament to the powers at M-G-M at its height, and over time the film has be rediscovered many times and especially in the last couple of decades, it has been extoled as glorious and sophisticated entertainment, an immense lavish production and yet it is enchantingly weightless as a day dream, and it continues the Judy Garland and Gene Kelly performances that are an extremely ambitious attempt at extending their usual ranges and they are arguably the most satisfying of their respective careers. They also say ‘THE PIRATE’ brilliantly exploits Judy Garland’s temperament, Gene Kelly’s egotism, and their oddly mismatch talent for song and dance and to miss ‘THE PIRATE’ is to miss one of the authentic glories of Hollywood cinema, and finally we come to the end of this audio commentary and John Fricke thanks us for listening.
Special Feature: ‘THE PIRATE’ – A Musical Treasure Chest [2007] [1080p] [1.37:1] [18:59] M-G-M's tempestuous Technicolor musical ‘THE PIRATE’ is examined from its early beginnings as a stage play for Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine, its many screenwriters and famed angst-ridden filming, where Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and Vincente Minnelli pushed the artistic limits of the Hollywood movie musical and themselves to the breaking point. Anecdotes abound and the cogent comments of all involved greatly enhances one's enjoyment and appreciation of the ‘THE PIRATE’ when going to the cinema and most of all you get to hear lots of fascinating in-depth anecdotes and hidden gems about this glorious Technicolor musical ‘THE PIRATE.’ Contributors include: Maurice LaMarche [Narrator], Liza Minnelli [Daughter of Judy Garland], John Fricke [Author/Historian], Patricia Ward Kelly [Widow of Gene Kelly], Miles Kreuger [Author/Historian], Fayard Nicholas [Featured Dancer], Louis B. Mayer (archive footage) and Dore Schary (archive footage).
Special Feature: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents A Pete Smith Speciality: You Can't Win [1948] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:53] This slapstick short, is part of M-G-M's popular “Pete Smith Specialty” series. Pete Smith narrator guides us through five incidents in which an average guy who's at home relaxing or doing simple chores just can't win. First there's a persistent door-to-door salesman and another on the phone, then there's a pesky cigarette lighter he tries to fix. After a two year hiatus to recover from that project, our hero tries to communicate with his wife about starch in his ironed shirts. Next he sets out to wash his car, and last, he wants to stretch out in a hammock. Was it ever thus? Cast: Pete Smith [Narrator] and Dave O'Brien [Harried Homeowner].
Special Feature: M-G-M Vintage Cartoon: Cat Fishin' [1947] [1080p] [1.37:1] [7:43] Spike is guarding a private fishing hole in his sleep. Tom sneaks in to do some fishing, and uses Jerry as bait. But one particularly vicious fish turns out to be more than Tom or Jerry bargained for, particularly when he wakes up Spike. Directors: Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.
Special Feature: Mack the Black [Stereo Remix Version] [1948] [1080p] [1.37:1] [3:47] This stereo remix version from the film ‘THE PIRATE’ brings even greater excitement when you see Judy Garland's sizzling solo performance, thanks to the increased joyous audio fidelity experience.
Special Feature: Audio Outtakes [1948] [1080p] [1.78:1] [16:57] This special feature lets you hear some rare musical gems that were either modified or abandoned during production of the film ‘THE PIRATE.’ Here we get to hear three songs that M-G-M thought were not quite up to standard to be included in the finished film and they are as follows: “Love Of My Life” [Original Long Version]; “Mack the Black” [Unused Version] and “Voodoo” [Judy Garland]. As usual, you can either play each song separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Roger Edens' Guide Tracks [Audio only]: In order for stars to learn new songs composed expressly for a musical film, guide tracks were made for practice purposes. Here, long-time M-G-M arranger and associate producer Roger Edens whose contributions to the Arthur Freed Unit in particular with the Hollywood movie musicals in general can never be overstated and you actually hear Roger Edens singing while playing his piano at the same time, and here he performs five songs of the Cole Porter compositions for the film ‘THE PIRATE’ and it was done to familiarize Judy Garland and Gene Kelly with the melodies. Of special interest is one song that never made it into the finished film, a sprightly ditty entitled "Manuela" that Arthur Freed deemed not up to Cole Porter's usual high standards. So here is the five songs you get to hear and they are as follows: “Be a Clown” [1:29]; "Manuela" [1:41]; “Niña” [2:35]; “Voodoo” [3:45] and “You Can Do No Wrong” [2:45]. As usual, you can play each song separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Promotional Vintage Radio Interviews [Audio only]: Here we get to hear two separate special rare radio interviews and they are as follows:
Gene Kelly for ‘On The Town’ [1949] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:10] Here we are introduced to radio presenter Dick Simmons who is really excited to be interviewing Gene Kelly at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, and informs us that he is a massive fan of Gene Kelly and gives great praise to this actor. Gene Kelly is asked about the rumour that he is about to direct the film ‘On The Town’ and says that he is very pleased with M-G-M in having confidence in letting him direct the film and is asked what is the film about, and Gene Kelly says, “It’s a gay light musical called ‘On The Town’ and has Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrick, Jules Munshin and yours truly in the cast, and Gene Kelly also comments that it is his second film that he has teamed up with Frank Sinatra, the first one of course was ‘Anchors Aweigh.’ Radio presenter Dick Simmons asks Gene Kelly how he came up with the amazing dance numbers, but is not very forth coming on that subject and does not give away any secrets, even the dance routine with the cartoon mouse Jerry. Although it is quite a good interview, sadly it is far too short.
Judy Garland for ‘THE PIRATE’ [1948] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:37] The interviewer informs us that he is very happy to be interviewing someone very special and one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s biggest stars, that you will soon be seeing with Gene Kelly in the dazzling Technicolor musical THE PIRATE,’ and her voice probably has thrilled more millions than any other in the whole world and it seems only yesterday she was a kid in pigtails, but I bet you already know who she is, so with my transcription from Hollywood, I am happy and proud to introduce as our special guest Miss Judy Garland, who informs the interviewer that is very nice thing to say and is happy and proud to join him. The interviewer asks questions certain questions, like her start in Vaudeville, and informs him that she started at the age of 3 and did all of her schooling on the M-G-M lot with Mickey Rooney, Lana Turner, Jane Withers, Diana Durbin, Freddie Bartholomew, Anne Shirley, and many more stars, and also talks about her very happy memories of events that happened on the M-G-M lot. The interviewer now gets onto the subject of Judy Garland’s latest film coming out, and that one is ‘THE PIRATE’ and Judy Garland also informs the interviewer that she enjoyed sing the Cole Porter songs and they were a great delight. The interviewer also says that it will be wonderful to capture the event when Judy Garland and Gene Kelly raise the city with the film ‘THE PIRATE’ and we will also be waiting to see Judy Garland in the film ‘Easter Parade.’ Where upon Judy Garland says, “Thanks, and I certainly hope you like them,” and at that point in the interview it ends, and it was definitely a really jolly interview with the wonderful and delightful Judy Garland.
Theatrical Trailer [1948] [1080p] [1.37:1] [2:00] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE PIRATE.’ Here they inform us, “HOIST the JOLLY ROGER” – “Here’s the maddest merriest melodious COURTSHIP ever on the screen!” “A colourful CARNIVAL of LAUGHTER and SONG!” “The Loveliness of the Caribbean!” “The scintillating MUSIC of COLE PORT!” “Color by Technicolor.”
Finally, Vincente Minnelli’s magical musical ‘THE PIRATE’ was not appreciated when it was first released, but over the years, the film has become vindicated in its blend of lush production values, delightfully madcap performances from Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and a charming Cole Porter score. ‘THE PIRATE’ to some isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, though. It’s much too stylized and the characterizations are sure to be called “over-the-top,” which is fair. However, there is a lot of subtlety that really works with the louder moments to convey a sensuality that seems to go unnoticed. This Hollywood film gave us the wonderful charismatic and delightful Gene Kelly! But there are other things bubbling beneath the surface that make ‘THE PIRATE’ a film about sex and sexuality. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
