Book review - "The Pirates Lafitte" by William C. Davis

 My knowledge of Lafitte was limited to The Buccaneer. That romanticised it but Lafitte was still pretty exotic - there were two of them, Frenchmen who worked in the Gulf off New Orleans. They smuggled items, particularly slaves, set up their own kingdoms, had mistresses and love children. They took part in the Battle of New Orleans but that was self serving - as was their spying for Spain, their involvement with freebooters. They were handsome, charismatic and met their deaths in battle. 

A lot of detail here. I occasionally got lost following the names. Superbly researched.

Movie review - "Brave Warrior" (1952) **

 Some Sam Katzman fun, with a Robert E. Kent script, Jon Hall in the lead, Columbia colour and a slightly random time period for a Western: the War of 1812. Jay Silverheels is Chief Tecumsah, Michael Ansara as the Prophet, and James Seay as William Harrison - all real people.

History is distorted but it at least provides some novelty. It borrows from the Broken Arrow playbook by having a contrast between peaceful Silverheels and bloodthirsty Ansara, and Jon Hall as an Indian agent who has to battle corrupt whites.

It's got a sluggard pace and is hard to care. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. I think it was just dull. Lacked vivid characters. The colour is lovely.

The most memorable character is Tecumsah. He's in love with a white woman who throws him over for Hall, he has to fight against his brother who dies, the whites kill his people, he's left alone... But, er, he feels good about it because Hall and the girl are good. I think. It's unexpectedly moving and complex - far more so than the film.

Movie review - "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" (1955) **1/2

Cobbled together from three episodes of a TV series but it was shot in beautiful colour and the budget was decent so there are solid production values. It has problems of the cobbled together feature - part one and part two both feature Davy in a duel with someone (an Indian, and a shifty white). But it does feel like it has some sort of cohesiveness because it goes (a) initial Indian fighting in the War of 1812 (b) politician (c) Alamo.

This series and film inspired countless baby boomer brats to put on coonskin caps and go "bang bang bang take that Injun". The film feels into unhelpful myths such as the importance of mowing down troublesome Indians and Mexicans, albeit in the Congress episode Crockett is keen is speechify for the poor honest folk against rich land owners, says we should abide by our treaties, and he sticks up for Indians against some nasty whites (this was stock stuff in 50s Westerns). Slavery is ignored. Crockett's "common sense" yokel ramblings in congress or wherever it was is given due reference. Crockett's wife dies and kids go off to be raised by neighbours but that's taken care of in one scene where someone reads a letter to him.

The film does work on its own terms - its well executed, Fess Parker is an ideal Crockett, ditto Buddy Ebsen as his sidekick. There's cameos from Andrew Jackson, Travis, Jim Bowie, etc. It does look a little cheap during the Alamo battle but when you think about it the Alamo wasn't that big. It pumps along, and is ideal fodder for kids.

Movie review - "Buccaneer's Girl" (1950) **1/2

Yvonne de Carlo isn't remembered as a great star but from 1945 to 1951 or thereabouts she toplined a bunch of Universal action films, normally in technicolor. She's best remembered for her turns in film noirs like Brute Force and Criss Cross but in those movies she had support parts; in these she drove the action.

Here she's a damsel who is captured by a pirate - another version of the famed Lafitte. The bloke who plays her is some guy called Philip Friend, an English actor who had a decent career - but really didn't have the charisma for a leading man. This was his big chance and he's not up to it.

Fortunately there's a very strong gallery of supporting characters - Elsa Lancaster as a (surprise) eccentric old thing who befriends de Carlo; Robert Douglas as a nasty shipping magnate; Norman Lloyd as his secretary; Henry Daniell as a villainous captain. It's an excellent line up.

De Carlo is vivacious, looks good and sings a bunch of times - her real voice too, she was an opera person.  As much as I like her films I don't think she was a top rank star - there's something about her that lacked great individuality, for me at any rate. Sometimes she could blend into the background a bit too much; for all her beauty and spirit, there's something about her that doesn't quite draw the eye. I think Maureen O'Hara was better at this sort of stuff. She is fun.

Its colourful, with good production values and there's a bit of action. I liked the setting of New Orleans around the time of Lafitte (Friend's buccaneer is based on that pirate).

The main problem, apart from the casting of Friend, is the story, which is needlessly and confusingly complicated. All the elements are there: Friend lives a sort of Scarlet Pimpernel existence, as a pirate and a respectable person on land; Friend has a bitchy fiance who hates de Carlo. But it isn't quite smoothed over.

I was unsure of the context and what was going on at times. Also I got what Friend's character was doing but not de Carlo's... was she out for money? Love? What was her character? She was really the protagonist - this needed to be fleshed out more. The film was geared too much to Friend.

Still, a decent second-tier swashbuckler from Universal when they were really strong in this area.

Movie review - "Ten Gentlemen from West Point" (1942) **1/2

Military movies of the early 40s all tended to share the same elements: two soldiers, contrasting personality types, who squabble over the same woman, but learn how to be good soldiers; the stern officer in charge learns to appreciate his troops; there's a battle at the end where heroism is proved.

It's a formula for a reason, offering chances for conflict, colour, comedy and all that - indeed, it was re-used in Top Gun. Here the girl is Maureen O'Hara, always likeable, never as effective in black and white (unfortunately the case here); the male stars are George Montgomery, 20th Century Fox's Clarke Gable imitator (an engaging actor) and wet drip John Sutton. You wish for John Payne or Henry Fonda or someone instead of Sutton.

Montgomery isn't entirely happily cast as a backwoodsman from Kentucky. Sutton is more comfortable as a rich kid, though he is a drip. O'Hara is at home in these sort of parts - a laughed at the opening sequence where she goes around kissing soldiers for the sake of West Point. You hussy, Maureen!

There is a strong support cast, including Laird Cregar (not the first actor you think of to play a military officer but he has an imposing presence), Ward Bond (always good as a sergeant type) and Henry Davenport. Some of these have decent roles to sink their teeth into - such as Cregar, as an officer who doesn't believe in West Point.

Its set in the 1800s, a period we don't see that often in Hollywood films - the era of funny hats, and random Indian battles. This one ends fighting Tecumseh and his men - though there's no mention of the War of 1812, which is technically when this took place. (Probably was a bit uncomfortable during World War Two to draw attention to the fact that really it was the US fighting the British).

It's very corny, but there are things that work: Sutton discovering his patriotism, the nephew of Benedict Arnold redeeming the family honour. The romance between Montgomery and O'Hara feels undercooked - I didn't like how he rejected her, then she tagged along anyway (it felt like a scene inserted after the first preview). The final action sequence is well done.

Movie review - "Captain Caution" (1940) ***

Hollywood doesn't make many films about the War of 1812, for a number of reasons: it's not very well known, sensitivity towards the British market, the fact that the Americans lost (or at the least tied). Their Navy had some exceptional victories though, which inspired Kenneth Roberts to make it the focus of a best selling novel, which was filmed by Hal Roach in 1940.

Roach is best remembered for his comedies but around this time he was turning out some interesting non-comedy features: One Million Years BC, Of Mice and Men, Captain Fury. The latter was, like this, an action tale - only with the twist that it was set in colonial Australia. This is a swashbuckler with the twist of the War of 1812 so I wonder if that was a conscious decision on Roach's part when taking on the majors - to make genre pictures with odd backgrounds

This features Roach's discovery, Victor Mature, in his third film. He's the co lead along with Louise Platt, best known as the pregnant wife in Stagecoach. She's the daughter of a ship's captain (Robert Batty) who is horny for first mate (Victor Mature) but he's reluctant to marry. They are returning from the Far East, not knowing the two countries are at war, when the English attack, killing dad. She vows vengeance and takes over the ship.

This is a fascinating movie. It's a pretty good story, with a great star role for Platt - but she's not up to it. She's dull and uninspiring. Once of the best female parts in a swashbuckler, ever and it's wasted. To think of all the female stars at the time who could've played it! Even Roach contractee Carole Landis would've been better. Maybe Claire Trevor? (I'm trying to think of realistic names here).

(I should add the film isn't exactly a feminist treatise - Platt is hoodwinked by Cabot and spends the second half of the film being a passive victim; at the end she doesn't join in on the big fight, she just watches.)

The guys are better. Bruce Cabot is charismatic as the slaver who works for Platt. (This American character, a Benedict Arnold type, is far more of a villain than the British.) Mature was too odd looking at this stage of his career  - it was before he grew into his looks - but at least is virile; he doesn't do that much in the first half except express caution. He and Platt don't have great charisma.

Alan Ladd pops up in a small but showy role as an American sailor captured by the British; it's actually one of Ladd's best pre-stardom parts, with his blonde hair sticking up, skin covered in dirt and a bad case of PTSD and hatred for his captors.

There is decent action with two big ship battles (at the beginning and the end) and an enjoyable uprising from prisoners - the filmmakers had clearly seen Captain Blood. Some awkward amateurish moments but this was an entertaining film, a solid swashbuckler - just like Captain Fury was, come to think of it.

Movie review - "The Buccaneer" (1938) **

I'm all over the shop on these Cecil B de Mille films - ones I assumed I'd hate (The Sign of the Cross) I really liked, others that I figured I'd love, such as this, I couldn't stand. It's got a terrific story - Jean Lafitte in the War of 1812, trying to be loyal to his adopted country despite its suspicion of him - but never quite works (for me, at any rate).

I think I never recovered from the opening; what should have been a sure fire sequence (the burning of Washington) is wrecked by a caricature dumb black servant advising Dolly Madison to get out of Dodge as the British were coming, and one of those de Mille asides where Madison's husband asks what's that she's got with her and she says the Declaration of Independence. Then there's Frederic March, never my favourite actor, looking uncomfortable and unconvincing in curls and an accent as Lafitte - a role that needed a Flynn, Fairbanks or Power gets this middle aged ham who lacks dash and verve. His performance ensures this movie has no emotional core - you don't care about Lafitte's rejection from the US, or having to leave his love at the end, because he's not Lafitte he's an actor in curls.

There's a lot of running around and over acting from the support casting, including a Dutch girl who loves Lafitte and various hammy pirates. Walter Brennan is in it as a Davy Crockett type, Hugh Southern is unmemorable as Hickory Jackson, the female leads are unremarkable. The Battle of New Orleans was quite well done. A real shame.

Movie review - "Yankee Pasha" (1952) **1/2

David Shipman once wrote of Jeff Chandler that it's hard to believe he really existed - he did have an aura of unreality about him, with that hawk nosed profile, beefy physique, grey wavy hair, magnificent booming voice (he was an old radio hand). So he was well suited for Universal's colourful action films of the 50s - technicolour, swords and sandals, dashing heroes, dusky maidens, comic support actors, cheerful raiding of history for characters and incidents, action and romance.

This is a rare swashbuckler with American heroes - what's more Chandler and Scott Brady play characters based on real American naval officers of the 19th century. This means hero duties are split between the two which I'm not sure was the right decision: Chandler is captain of the ship and gets to make most of the decisions whereas Brady is in danger more and gets the girl at the end. (It doesn't help that Chandler has the presence of a star whereas Brady doesn't, really.) The plot has their ship going undercover as a pirate to bust real pirates who turn out to be, as usual, the Spanish.

Russell Metty did the wonderful photography. It's the most colourful collection of pirates I can ever remember seeing in a film - everyone is in primary colours (Frank Tashlin would have been proud). The story feels awfully familiar, as if to compensate for the novelty of it's American heroes, and the handling is perfunctory rather than inspired. But if you want ships, swashbuckling, pirates and comically drunk first mates, this will tick a few boxes.

Radio review – Lux#193 – “The Buccaneer” (1939) *1/2

I always though Clarke Gable would make a good pirate – I remember thinking that watching Captain Blood – because he had that macho aura and was a convincing enough sailor in Mutiny on the Bounty. But he doesn’t make an ideal French pirate – he’s cast here as Lafitte, the legendary New Orleans buccaneer who fought for the Americans in the Battle of New Orleans. Gable seems aware he’s miscast, which perhaps explains his hesitancy throughout the performance – or maybe he just stood too far back from the microphone. The story doesn’t adapt as well to radio as Captain Blood did – it might be just the quality of adaptation, maybe it’s the characters. Some French import called Olympe Bradna plays the female lead.