The Pirate
Encyclopedia
The Pirate is a 1948
American
musical
feature film
from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. With songs by Cole Porter
, it stars Judy Garland
and Gene Kelly
with co-stars Walter Slezak
, Gladys Cooper
, Reginald Owen
, and George Zucco
.
), who lives in the small Caribbean village of Calvados, dreams of being swept away by the legendary Pirate, Mack "the Black" Macoco. However, her aunt and uncle (who have raised her) insist that she marry the town mayor, the rotund and bullying Don Pedro (Walter Slezak
).
Shortly before her wedding, Manuela visits a nearby town, Port Sebastian. A traveling circus has arrived, and Serafin (Gene Kelly
), its handsome leader, flirts with all the girls in the song "Nina." When he encounters Manuela, however, he falls in love at first sight with her. Serafin compliments Manuela's beauty and begs her not to marry Don Pedro, but, angered, she hurries away. That night, however, Manuela cannot sleep, and she sneaks out to go see Serafin's show.
At the show, Serafin hypnotizes Manuela, thinking that she will admit she loves him. Instead, the hypnotized girl wildly sings and dances about her love for "Mack the Black." Serafin awakens Manuela with a kiss, and she flees in horror.
On Manuela's wedding day, the traveling players arrive in Calvados. Serafin begs Manuela to join his troupe, and asks her to admit that she loves him. Don Pedro, hearing noise in Manuela's room, arrives at her door, and asks Manuela to go away so that he can teach Serafin a lesson.
Serafin recognizes Don Pedro as Macoco, retired and obese. He blackmails Pedro with this information, swearing to tell it to Manuela if Don Pedro forbids the performers from putting on a show. Serafin then decides to pretend to be Macoco in order to win over Manuela. He reveals himself before the whole town as Macoco, then asks Manuela if she will come with him; she again refuses. Still, watching from her window as "Macoco" dances, she begins to daydream about the pirate. The next day, "Macoco" threatens to burn down the town if he cannot have Manuela. Finally, she happily agrees to go with him.
One of Serafin's troupe accidentally reveals Serafin's plan to Manuela. To get her revenge, she first pretends to seduce Serafin, then attacks him with words and hurtling objects. She accidentally knocks him out, then realizes that she loves him, and sings "You Can Do No Wrong."
Meanwhile, Don Pedro convinces the viceroy that Serafin is the real Macoco and should hang for it. He plants treasure in Serafin's prop trunk to make him look like a pirate. The army arrests Serafin, and Manuela's protests cannot free him. On the night of Serafin's hanging, Manuela finally gets to look at the false evidence, and recognizes a bracelet with the same design as the wedding ring that Pedro gave her, and realizes that Pedro is the pirate.
Serafin asks to do one last show before he is hanged, and sings and dances "Be a Clown" with two fellow troupe members (the Nicholas Brothers). As a finale, Serafin plans to hypnotize Don Pedro into admitting he is Macoco, but Manuela's aunt breaks the mirror that Serafin uses to hypnotize people. Panicked, Manuela pretends to be hypnotized and sings "Love of My Life," vowing everlasting devotion to Macoco. Don Pedro, jealous, reveals himself as the true Macoco and seizes Manuela. Serafin's troupe attacks Don Pedro with custard pies and juggling balls, and the lovers embrace. Manuela joins Serafin's act and the film ends with the two of them singing a reprise of "Be a Clown."
directed, from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich from the 1942 play by S. N. Behrman
. The score, by Lennie Hayton
, featured the song "Be a Clown
" by Cole Porter
. This dance sequence was omitted when shown in some cities in the South
, such as Memphis
, because it featured black
performers The Nicholas Brothers
, Fayard and Harold, dancing with Kelly. The score was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score
, losing out to another MGM musical, Easter Parade, also starring Judy Garland.
2. Niña
3. Mack the Black
4. Love of My Life (Outtake)
5. Pirate Ballet
6. You Can Do No Wrong
7. Be a Clown
8. Love of My Life (Reprise)
9. Be a Clown (Finale)
10. Mack the Black (Unused Version)
11. Papayas / Seraphin's March (Partial Demo)
12. Voodoo (Outtake)
13. Manuela (Demo)
14. Voodoo (Demo)
15. Niña (Demo)
16. You Can Do No Wrong (Demo)
17. Be a Clown (Demo)
18. Judy Garland Interview with Dick Simmons
19. Gene Kelly Interview with Dick Simmons
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. With songs by Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, it stars Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
and Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
with co-stars Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
, Gladys Cooper
Gladys Cooper
Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
, Reginald Owen
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
, and George Zucco
George Zucco
George Desylla Zucco was an English character actor who appeared, almost always in supporting roles, in 96 films during a career spanning two decades, from 1931 to 1951. He is fondly remembered for his roles in classic horror films.-Early life:Zucco was born in Manchester, England...
.
Plot
Manuela Alva (Judy GarlandJudy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
), who lives in the small Caribbean village of Calvados, dreams of being swept away by the legendary Pirate, Mack "the Black" Macoco. However, her aunt and uncle (who have raised her) insist that she marry the town mayor, the rotund and bullying Don Pedro (Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
).
Shortly before her wedding, Manuela visits a nearby town, Port Sebastian. A traveling circus has arrived, and Serafin (Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
), its handsome leader, flirts with all the girls in the song "Nina." When he encounters Manuela, however, he falls in love at first sight with her. Serafin compliments Manuela's beauty and begs her not to marry Don Pedro, but, angered, she hurries away. That night, however, Manuela cannot sleep, and she sneaks out to go see Serafin's show.
At the show, Serafin hypnotizes Manuela, thinking that she will admit she loves him. Instead, the hypnotized girl wildly sings and dances about her love for "Mack the Black." Serafin awakens Manuela with a kiss, and she flees in horror.
On Manuela's wedding day, the traveling players arrive in Calvados. Serafin begs Manuela to join his troupe, and asks her to admit that she loves him. Don Pedro, hearing noise in Manuela's room, arrives at her door, and asks Manuela to go away so that he can teach Serafin a lesson.
Serafin recognizes Don Pedro as Macoco, retired and obese. He blackmails Pedro with this information, swearing to tell it to Manuela if Don Pedro forbids the performers from putting on a show. Serafin then decides to pretend to be Macoco in order to win over Manuela. He reveals himself before the whole town as Macoco, then asks Manuela if she will come with him; she again refuses. Still, watching from her window as "Macoco" dances, she begins to daydream about the pirate. The next day, "Macoco" threatens to burn down the town if he cannot have Manuela. Finally, she happily agrees to go with him.
One of Serafin's troupe accidentally reveals Serafin's plan to Manuela. To get her revenge, she first pretends to seduce Serafin, then attacks him with words and hurtling objects. She accidentally knocks him out, then realizes that she loves him, and sings "You Can Do No Wrong."
Meanwhile, Don Pedro convinces the viceroy that Serafin is the real Macoco and should hang for it. He plants treasure in Serafin's prop trunk to make him look like a pirate. The army arrests Serafin, and Manuela's protests cannot free him. On the night of Serafin's hanging, Manuela finally gets to look at the false evidence, and recognizes a bracelet with the same design as the wedding ring that Pedro gave her, and realizes that Pedro is the pirate.
Serafin asks to do one last show before he is hanged, and sings and dances "Be a Clown" with two fellow troupe members (the Nicholas Brothers). As a finale, Serafin plans to hypnotize Don Pedro into admitting he is Macoco, but Manuela's aunt breaks the mirror that Serafin uses to hypnotize people. Panicked, Manuela pretends to be hypnotized and sings "Love of My Life," vowing everlasting devotion to Macoco. Don Pedro, jealous, reveals himself as the true Macoco and seizes Manuela. Serafin's troupe attacks Don Pedro with custard pies and juggling balls, and the lovers embrace. Manuela joins Serafin's act and the film ends with the two of them singing a reprise of "Be a Clown."
Production
Vincente MinnelliVincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
directed, from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich from the 1942 play by S. N. Behrman
S. N. Behrman
Samuel Nathaniel Behrman was an American playwright and screenwriter, who also worked for the New York Times.-Early Years:...
. The score, by Lennie Hayton
Lennie Hayton
Leonard George "Lennie" Hayton was an American Jewish composer, conductor and arranger. His trademark was the wearing of a captain’s hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle....
, featured the song "Be a Clown
Be a Clown
"Be a Clown" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1948 film The Pirate. The song was first performed by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in the film The Pirate....
" by Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
. This dance sequence was omitted when shown in some cities in the South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
, such as Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, because it featured black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
performers The Nicholas Brothers
Nicholas Brothers
The Nicholas Brothers were a famous African American team of dancing brothers, Fayard and Harold . With their highly acrobatic technique , high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many the greatest tap dancers of their day...
, Fayard and Harold, dancing with Kelly. The score was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
, losing out to another MGM musical, Easter Parade, also starring Judy Garland.
Soundtrack
1. Main Title (Mack the Black)2. Niña
3. Mack the Black
4. Love of My Life (Outtake)
5. Pirate Ballet
6. You Can Do No Wrong
7. Be a Clown
8. Love of My Life (Reprise)
9. Be a Clown (Finale)
10. Mack the Black (Unused Version)
11. Papayas / Seraphin's March (Partial Demo)
12. Voodoo (Outtake)
13. Manuela (Demo)
14. Voodoo (Demo)
15. Niña (Demo)
16. You Can Do No Wrong (Demo)
17. Be a Clown (Demo)
18. Judy Garland Interview with Dick Simmons
19. Gene Kelly Interview with Dick Simmons