Fun pirate flick, especially if you appreciate Charles Laughton - he's the only reason to watch it!
Here's my breakdown:
STORY: The story is not particularly special or unique, but there's enough story to enable Laughton to do his magic.
ACTING: Everyone does a good job, but as is usually the case, Laughton IS the film.
You have to appreciate his profound acting skill to enjoy this, as I do ... immensely.
His range wasn't huge, but his character immersion was 2nd to none.
TEMPO: Nicely paced
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Horrible with cheap, dark sets ... lots of smoke to obscure these facts and some horribly fake snow : 0
DIRECTING / WRITING: Director: The last of Lee's films and the only one I saw. Brilliant? No. But OK.
Writers: I'm only familiar with two (2) of Raine's work: this and 'M' (1951) ... but, don't watch his version.
Watch the 1931 version with Peter Lorre; it's superb.
Is it a good film? As a film, not really. You watch it to see why I constantly harp on British acting skill.
Should you watch this once? See above answer.
Rating: 7.5 (for Laughton, of course, and all that glitters ... boo ha, ha, ha ... 16 beers on a dead man's chest ...)
Here's my breakdown:
STORY: The story is not particularly special or unique, but there's enough story to enable Laughton to do his magic.
ACTING: Everyone does a good job, but as is usually the case, Laughton IS the film.
You have to appreciate his profound acting skill to enjoy this, as I do ... immensely.
His range wasn't huge, but his character immersion was 2nd to none.
TEMPO: Nicely paced
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Horrible with cheap, dark sets ... lots of smoke to obscure these facts and some horribly fake snow : 0
DIRECTING / WRITING: Director: The last of Lee's films and the only one I saw. Brilliant? No. But OK.
Writers: I'm only familiar with two (2) of Raine's work: this and 'M' (1951) ... but, don't watch his version.
Watch the 1931 version with Peter Lorre; it's superb.
Is it a good film? As a film, not really. You watch it to see why I constantly harp on British acting skill.
Should you watch this once? See above answer.
Rating: 7.5 (for Laughton, of course, and all that glitters ... boo ha, ha, ha ... 16 beers on a dead man's chest ...)