Cult Flops - The Pirate

MGM, 1948
Starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Sleazak, and Gladys Cooper
Directed by Vincent Minnelli
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

This may be one of, if not the most unusual MGM musical of their Golden Era, and is one of the rare ones to not be a hit on release. Arthur Freed was experimenting with darker stories and fantasy - witness another MGM failure from the late 40's, Yolanda and the Thief. Audiences weren't quite ready for the tale of an actor who passes himself off as a pirate and the woman who falls for him at the time. How does it look now? Let's head to a small town in the Caribbean, where Manuela (Garland) gives us a quick overview of the history of the notorious Maccoco, and find out..

The Story: Manuela is the daughter of an impoverished noble family. Her Aunt Inez (Cooper) has arranged for a marriage between her and the town's mayor, Don Pedro (Sleazak). Don Pedro is respectable and steady, but he's also dull and older than Manuela, with no interest in traveling. To satisfy her desire for adventure and travel, Manuela convinces her aunt to take her to the port town of St. Sebastian so she can see the blue waters for herself. While admiring the view from the cliffs, she encounters Serafin (Kelly), the head of a traveling troupe of actors. He's crazy about her from the start, but she's annoyed with his advances and runs off. That night, she hears their show and wanders out to see it. He hypnotizes her, expecting her to say she's in love with him...but she admits in a wild musical number that she's in love with Mack the Black, aka Maccoco, a notorious pirate.

Serafin and his players turn up on Manuela's wedding day, hoping to convince her to join their troupe. An angry Don Pedro orders him away, but he stays, claiming he's Mack the Black. Manuela now eagerly goes with him to save the village...until she learns what he's really up to, and who the real Mack the Black is.

The Song and Dance: I'm a big fan of swashbucklers and goofy farce, so this one is right up my alley. Garland and Kelly have a great time with the farce and death-defying musical numbers. Kelly gets some of his best dances here, including the incredible "Be a Clown" with the Nicholas Brothers. The colorful costumes and sets beautifully reflects the Caribbean of the 1840's, with the elaborate hats and lacy Spanish gowns and ruffled coats and jackets.

Favorite Number: Though there's not a number until almost 20 minutes into the film, it's one of Kelly's two great solo routines, the flirtatious "Nina" with the women in the town market. Garland tears into "Mack the Black" under hypnosis, wowing the crowds and the troupe with her ferocious performance. Kelly's "Pirate Ballet" is a riot of color, smoke, and men leaping onto rigging, showing off Kelly's athletic choreography and Minnelli's wonderful use of color.

The two big numbers here are versions of "Be a Clown." Kelly joins the Nicholas Brothers for an athletic tumbling routine that literally saves their lives at the hangman's noose. Garland and Kelly finish off the movie with their own, equally fun duet version dressed as clowns and singing and dancing with gusto.

Trivia: This is an adaptation of a non-musical 1942 play called The Pirate that featured Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne on Broadway.

"Mack the Black" originally opened the movie, and Garland and Kelly sang a number called "Voodoo" at the troupe's performance. MGM executives, especially studio head Louis B. Mayer, thought the number too overtly sexual, cut it, and put "Mack the Black" in its place. Alas, no footage of the number survives.

What I Don't Like: Apparently, critics understood what Minnelli was up to at the time, but audiences were baffled by the combination of action, music, artifice, and goofy slapstick. Some modern audiences who aren't into farce or the occasionally over-the-top acting may find it a little too much and too weird as well.

The Big Finale: Great numbers and an unusual story makes this a must-see if you're a fan of Kelly, Garland, pirate tales, or the Technicolor MGM musicals of the 1940's and 50's.

Home Media: Despite it's "love it or hate it" reputation, it's easily found on DVD and streaming

DVD
Amazon Prime