Blackbeard, the Pirate *** (1952, Robert Newton, Linda Darnell, William Bendix, Keith Andes, Torin Thatcher, Alan Mowbray) – Classic Movie Review 10,169

Director Raoul Walsh’s ripsnorting 1952 Technicolor RKO Radio Pictures buccaneer movie Blackbeard, the Pirate was first conceived as a Boris Karloff vehicle, and then for Charles Laughton, but Robert Newton finally took command, staggering hugely entertainingly through the pirate antics in the eye-rolling style of a 19th-century melodrama actor.

Newton is an immensely enjoyable turn as Edward Teach aka Blackbeard, Linda Darnell looks pretty as damsel aboard ship Edwina Mansfield, William Bendix is good value as Ben Worley, and Torin Thatcher has a good time as reformed pirate Sir Henry Morgan, though Keith Andes has a dull role as undercover ship’s surgeon Edward Maynard.

There are lots of wild and erratic elements, but Walsh keeps a typically firm grip on what might otherwise be a fairly leaky, bumpy excursion, and steers the ship to a safe harbour.

Also in the cast are Irene Ryan, Alan Mowbray, Richard Egan, Skelton Knaggs, Dick Wessel, Anthony Caruso, Jack Lambert, Noel Drayton, and Pat Flaherty.

Blackbeard, the Pirate runs 99 minutes, is made and released by RKO Radio Pictures, is written by Alan Le May, is shot in Technicolor by William E Snyder, is produced by Edmund Grainger and is scored by Victor Young.

Robert Newton is still the definitive screen pirate and is also fondly remembered for playing Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1950) and its sequel Long John Silver in 1954.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,169

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