The Pirate (1948)

Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper and Reginald Owen
Written by: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and S.N. Behrman (Play)
Directed by: Vincente Minnelli

Manuela (Judy Garland), becomes engaged to a local rich man (Walter Slezak), while secretly harboring feelings for the ruthless, legendary pirate Macoco. When traveling actor Serafin (Gene Kelly) falls in love with Manuela and learns of her affections for Macoco, he pretends to be the bloodthirsty pirate to impress her. 

The Pirate came along during the golden age of musicals. The movie was done by MGM, so of course it was absolutely stunning to behold. Critics praised The Pirate for it's sophistication and superb delivery, but the audience failed to respond to the ambitious musical and it became financial disaster for MGM. 

The movie is so beautifully done. This is no doubt a Vincente Minnelli direction. Everything about it is over-the-top fabulous. The sets, the costumes, the musical numbers, everything is extremely well done. To compliment the feature, MGM's typical handling of Technicolor shows all the Minnelli fabulous-ness with true brilliance. Today, it boggles my mind how this feature wasn't a success.

Director Vincente Minnelli with wife Judy Garland and daughter Liza on set.

The movie wasn't without it's problems. Garland and Minnelli were married at the time, it was during this feature, their marriage started falling a part. They often fought on set, many times resulting in Judy walking off the set and not returning. Another problem was Judy's failing health. Years of addiction to prescription drugs had begun taking it's toll on her. Judy also had bouts of self-doubt and anxiety which resulted in several nervous breakdowns and emotional outbursts. Judy missed 99 of the scheduled 135 filming days, resulting in the movie going over budget.

Vincente Minnelli giving Garland direction

Gene Kelly was left to carry the film, and boy did he ever! He's dancing, singing and acting are on point! He doesn't miss beat playing the overly flamboyant, womanizing traveling actor Serafin, who without a doubt is one of Kelly's most memorable roles. His dance sequence "Nina" is one of the highlights of the film, He later has another solo dance number called "The Pirate Ballet." It's so over the top, with explosions, fight-dancing sequences, fire and extremely tight hot pants.

Yes, this is actually happening. 

Kelly's charisma, charm and athletic dance numbers pour through the screen making this a first and far-most, Gene Kelly film. That's not to say Garland's performance was off-kilter. Judy Garland playing a good-girl gone bad is one of the most enjoyable aspects of this film. Judy is given a rare opportunity to play a character who embraces adulthood and romance. Her "Mack the Black"
solo number is definitely the main thing this film is remembered for. Judy casts off her famous good girl roles from Wizard of Oz and Meet Me in St. Louis and dances lustily, being tossed around and moved about by several men. Despite her problems, no other director has been able to capture Judy Garland on film the way Vincente Minnelli has. He made us, as the audience, see what he saw in Garland, a beautiful, sometimes sexy, woman.

"Mack the Black"

Though Judy had problems showing up to the set, when she did show up, she delivered. She was able to do many scenes in one shot and able to study her lines once and deliver them perfectly. Like a typical Garland performance, you can't tell she's struggling with her own demons of the set. That is what makes her a fantastic actor.

I like yo hat. 

It's such a shame we weren't able to have more Kelly-Garland movies. Unfortunately, we only have three: For Me and My Gal, The Pirate and Summer Stock. Though all three movies are enjoyable, it's almost like this dynamic duo never got a chance to really shine. For Me and My Gal was more focused on wartime propaganda, and Summer Stock physically showcased Garland's failing health due to her constant weight fluctuations. Both were supposed to star in the Easter Parade, however, Kelly broke his ankle while rehearsing, and was replaced with Fred Astaire. We'll never know what could have been. Garland was fired from MGM after Summer Stock, her final movie with Kelly and with MGM.

NINA!!!

The Pirate is definitely a more stagy, unrealistic production, but what audiences of the time failed to realize, was that's what is was supposed to be. This is why there is such a divide with critics and audiences on the movie. Whether you're in on the joke or not, The Pirate is definitely a weird movie, dare I say a cult classic. The over-zealous and ridiculous production may have been why the movie failed, but it's also why it soars.

From the "Be a Clown" number.