''The Buccaneer'' is a 1938 American
adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...
made by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
starring
Fredric March
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...
and based on
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
and the
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
. The picture was produced and directed by
Cecil B. DeMille from a
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...
by
Harold Lamb
Harold Albert Lamb (September 1, 1892 – April 9, 1962) was an American writer, novelist, historian, and screenwriter. In both his fiction and nonfiction work, Lamb gravitated toward subjects related to Asia and Middle East.
Lamb was an advocat ...
,
Edwin Justus Mayer and
C. Gardner Sullivan
Charles Gardner Sullivan (September 18, 1884 – September 5, 1965) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He was a prolific writer with more than 350 films among his credits. In 1924, the magazine ''Story World'' selected him on ...
adapted by
Jeanie MacPherson
Abbie Jean MacPherson (May 18, 1886 – August 26, 1946) was an American silent actress, writer, and director. MacPherson worked as a theater and film actress before becoming a screenwriter for Cecil B. DeMille. She was a pioneer for women in th ...
from the 1930 novel ''Lafitte the Pirate'' by
Lyle Saxon
Lyle Saxon (18911946) was a writer and journalist who reported for ''The Times-Picayune'' in New Orleans, Louisiana. He directed the Federal Writers' Project Works Progress Administration (WPA) guide to Louisiana.
Life
Saxon was born on Septemb ...
. The music score was by
George Antheil and the cinematography by
Victor Milner
Victor Milner, A.S.C. (December 15, 1893 – October 29, 1972) (sometimes Victor Miller) was an American cinematographer. He was nominated for ten cinematography Academy Awards, winning once for 1934 ''Cleopatra''. Milner worked on more than 130 ...
.
The film stars Fredric March as Lafitte,
Franciska Gaal
Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903 – 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting ...
and
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character ac ...
with
Margot Grahame,
Walter Brennan
Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...
,
Ian Keith
Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor.
Early years
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...
,
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared i ...
,
Douglass Dumbrille
Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s.
Life and career
Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...
,
Beulah Bondi
Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...
and
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
in supporting roles.
It is one of the few pre-1950 sound films by Paramount to remain under that studio's ownership (partly so the remake could be filmed), whereas most films from that era had been sold to
EMKA, Ltd.
EMKA Limited is a division of Universal Television with the sole function of overseeing the 1929–1949 Paramount Pictures sound feature film library.
History
A few years after the ruling of the ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'' ...
(now part of
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUniv ...
) in the early television era.
Cecil B. DeMille remade the film in 1958 in
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
and
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954.
Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...
with
the same title, but because of ill health, he allowed
Henry Wilcoxon
Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associ ...
, his longtime friend and associate, to produce it, and the film was directed by
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
, who was his son-in-law at the time. DeMille received no screen credit, but did make a personal appearance in the
prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
to the film, much as he did in ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...
'' two years prior. The 1958 version of ''The Buccaneer'' stars
Yul Brynner
Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...
,
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...
and
Claire Bloom
Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...
, with
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten ...
as
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
. Douglass Dumbrille appeared in both versions and Quinn acted in the earlier version.
Plot
In the closing stages of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
,
Dolly Madison
Dolly Madison is an American bakery brand owned by Hostess Brands, selling packaged baked snack foods. It is best known for its long marketing association with the ''Peanuts'' animated TV specials.
History
In 1937, Ralph Leroy Nafziger start ...
(
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared i ...
) evacuates the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
as the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
arrives and
burn Washington.
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
(
Fredric March
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...
) asks a young woman of good family, Annette de Remy (
Margot Grahame), to marry him but she asks him to give up his piracy first. He and his pirates set up a trading post in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
in the swamp to sell luxury goods to
society that they have seized from foreign ships but have to suspend their sales when the governor,
Ferdinand Claiborne
Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne (March 9, 1772 - March 22, 1815) was an American military officer most notable for his command of the militia of the Mississippi Territory during the Creek War and the War of 1812.
Early life
Born in Sussex County, Vir ...
, who has put a bounty on his head, appears with troops. Senator Crawford (
Ian Keith
Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor.
Early years
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...
) tells him that the British will offer him money to help them. Laffite leaves for the sea where he finds one of his captains, Captain Brown (
Robert Barrat
Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.
Early years
Barratt was born on July 10, 1891, in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. He ...
) has seized the ''Corinthian'', an American ship, contrary to his orders not to attack American ships, burning the ship and killing the crew and passengers. Laffite's man Dominique You (
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character ac ...
) saves the sole survivor Gretchen (
Franciska Gaal
Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903 – 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting ...
), who had been made to walk the plank by Brown so no witnesses remained, and Lafitte hangs the captain for disobeying orders. Lafitte spares Gretchen despite her potential as a hostile witness and Gretchen works as his maid and falls in love with him, despite You being in love with her. The British, who are planning to attack New Orleans, offer Laffitte position and wealth if he will guide them through the swamps to the city and threaten to attack his stronghold if he will not. Although his men are willing, Lafitte's loyalty is to Louisiana and he delays answering the British, instead warning the city authorities of the British plans. On Crawford's advice, Brevet Major General
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
(Hugh Sothern), who leads the available American forces, does not trust Lafitte and instead attacks his stronghold in order to prevent him aiding the English, capturing or killing his men, whom Lafitte has ordered not to resist. Meanwhile, Jackson determines to defend the city, though he has limited forces, despite Crawford's advice to surrender the city. Lafitte, who escaped from the attack, perseveres, appearing before Jackson in person and offering to supply him with flints and powder and provide experienced gunners to help defend the city if he will pardon his men. Jackson agrees to grant pardon after the forthcoming battle, although he will only promise to give Lafitte an hour's start from pursuit. Lafitte releases his men, in the process killing Crawford in a sword fight.
The entrenched American forces, with the help of Lafitte's artillery and gunners, mow down the advancing ranks of disciplined but over confident British troops. At the victory ball, Gretchen is recognized as a passenger on the ''Corinthian'' and as wearing clothing and jewels from Annette's sister, who was a passenger on the ship. It is consequently revealed that Lafitte's men had sunk it, killing Annette's sister along with the other passengers and crew. Lafitte accepts ultimate responsibility for the tragedy and is only saved from a lynching by Jackson, who keeps his promise of giving Lafitte an hour's start. With Annette heartbroken, Lafitte leaves, reaching his ship safely, where he finds that Gretchen has stowed away.
Cast
*
Fredric March
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...
as
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
*
Franciska Gaal
Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903 – 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting ...
as Gretchen
*
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character ac ...
as Dominique You
*
Margot Grahame as Annette de Remy
*
Walter Brennan
Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...
as Ezra Peavey
*
Ian Keith
Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor.
Early years
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...
as Senator Crawford
*
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared i ...
as
Dolly Madison
Dolly Madison is an American bakery brand owned by Hostess Brands, selling packaged baked snack foods. It is best known for its long marketing association with the ''Peanuts'' animated TV specials.
History
In 1937, Ralph Leroy Nafziger start ...
*
Douglass Dumbrille
Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s.
Life and career
Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...
as
Governor Claiborne
*
Robert Barrat
Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.
Early years
Barratt was born on July 10, 1891, in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. He ...
as Captain Brown
* Hugh Sothern as
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
*
John Rogers as Mouse
*
Beulah Bondi
Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...
as Aunt Charlotte
*
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
as Beluche
*
Louise Campbell as Marie de Remy
*
Montagu Love
Montagu Love (15 March 1877 – 17 May 1943) was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor.
Early years
Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Love was the son of Harry Love and Fanny Louisa Love, née Poad; his father was listed as accountant ...
as Admiral Cockburn
* Eric Stanley as General Ross
*
Fred Kohler as Gramby
*
Gilbert Emery as Captain Lockyer
*
Holmes Herbert
Holmes Herbert (born Horace Edward Jenner; 30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman.
Early life
Born Horace Edward Jenner, (some sour ...
as Captain McWilliams
*
Evelyn Keyes as Madeleine
*
Francis McDonald
Francis McDonald (August 22, 1891 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years.
Early years
Born on August 22, 1891, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, McDonald was the son of John Francis McDonald and Catherine Ashlu ...
as Camden Blount
* Frank Melton as Lieutenant Shreve
*
Stanley Andrews
Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...
as Collector of Port pirate
* Jack Hubbard as Charles
*
Richard Denning
Richard Denning (March 27, 1914 – October 11, 1998) was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including '' Unknown Island'' (1948), '' Creature from the Black Lagoon'' ( 1954), '' Target Earth'' (1954), '' Day ...
as Captain Reid
Reference in another film
The 1975 film ''
The Day of the Locust
''The Day of the Locust'' is a 1939 novel by American author Nathanael West set in Hollywood, California. The novel follows a young artist from the Yale School of Fine Arts named Tod Hackett, who has been hired by a Hollywood studio to do scen ...
'' used a fictionalized version of ''The Buccaneers Hollywood premiere for its climactic finale.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buccaneer, The
1938 films
1938 adventure films
American swashbuckler films
Paramount Pictures films
Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Films scored by George Antheil
Films shot in New Orleans
Films set in New Orleans
Pirate films
War of 1812 films
American films based on actual events
American folklore films and television series
American black-and-white films
Films set in 1815
Films about Andrew Jackson
Cultural depictions of Andrew Jackson
Cultural depictions of Jean Lafitte
American adventure films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films