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The Black Pirate

Play trailer Poster for The Black Pirate Released Mar 8, 1926 1h 24m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 61 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Pirates loot a ship of its riches before blowing it up. Father-and-son survivors of noble birth wash ashore of an island, and the injured father perishes. The son (Douglas Fairbanks) promises to seek revenge by infiltrating the same band of buccaneers and bringing them to justice. Posing as the "Black Pirate," he defeats the captain, captures a merchant ship single-handedly and earns himself a role as their new leader. Unanticipated is a princess (Billie Dove) who needs protection.
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The Black Pirate

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Critics Consensus

With a never-better Douglas Fairbanks leading the dashing action, The Black Pirate sets the standard for action and adventure on the high seas.

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Critics Reviews

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Julia Harpman New York Daily News The best picture ever made in technicolor is The Black Pirate... It is a thrilling, exquisitely photographed film with Douglas Fairbanks, in the role of the Black Pirate himself, giving one of the best performances of his long stardom. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Edwin Schallert Los Angeles Times Nothing exceeds that dazzling bit of athletic prowess of his when he seems to slide from the top of the masts clear down to the deck, cutting a slash the while athwart a sail. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Mae Tinee Chicago Tribune The Black Pirate is a fascinating, humorous, and improbable romance of the high seas. It is beautifully done from every point of view. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Fairbanks is in reliably athletic, charismatic form as the sole survivor of a ruthless pirate attack who manages to infiltrate the marauders’ own criminal ranks to wreak his revenge. Apr 17, 2024 Full Review Maybelle Chew Baltimore Afro-American The beautiful colors of this picture and the minute attention to detail make them seem like animated "Old Masters" in parade. The days and ways of the pirates are faithfully reproduced. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Iris Barry The Spectator The Black Pirate is wholly -- to steal a phrase from Juno and the Paycock -- a darling film. There is no ostentation, no mock morality, no cheap love-making, no error of taste, and, above all, no stupidity in it. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Zachary V Douglas Fairbanks is absolutely made for a role like this - in fact, the movie could have used more action sequences to showcase more Fairbanks swashbuckling and parkouring around. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Audience Member Full review on my blog max4movies: The Black Pirate is a silent adventure movie about a man who infiltrates a pirate crew to bring justice to the men who killed his father. It features great set pieces and boasts generally high production values, however, apart from the frantic finale, there are only few action sequences. The performances and the stunt work are often great, which is why the movie is very entertaining. Apart from being one of the earliest color movies with a broad release, the movie is still very influential (e.g., the sliding down the sails scene). The plot is rather conventional, and the ending clichéd, but considering its age and impact, The Black Pirate is still very entertaining and fun throughout. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The best thrilling movie ever made! With the best movie character ever portrayed: Douglas Fairbanks as The Black Pirate! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This is now my favorite pirate film. The plot is clever. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep me engaged. Things just kept getting more complicated. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Doug Fairbanks leaps and bounds and slides down the rigging in this early two-strip Technicolor swashbuckler. Sure, it has a bunch of pirate clichés (buried treasure, walking the plank) and lots of swordplay but it also seems to lag sometimes. The early color processing leaves things a bit more red and green than we are used to - especially in the outdoor shots. Doug swears to defeat the pirates after they capture his ship and kill his father, so he does what anyone would do - he joins up to defeat them from the inside. In the process, he also has to rescue Billie Dove who is on the next ship they capture - of course, he marries her in the end (when they are both revealed to be royalty). A bit of fun for Doug's fans but nowhere near as good as The Thief of Bagdad (1924). Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member ok silent swash buckler tale Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Black Pirate

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Movie Info

Synopsis Pirates loot a ship of its riches before blowing it up. Father-and-son survivors of noble birth wash ashore of an island, and the injured father perishes. The son (Douglas Fairbanks) promises to seek revenge by infiltrating the same band of buccaneers and bringing them to justice. Posing as the "Black Pirate," he defeats the captain, captures a merchant ship single-handedly and earns himself a role as their new leader. Unanticipated is a princess (Billie Dove) who needs protection.
Director
Albert Parker
Producer
Douglas Fairbanks
Screenwriter
Jack Cunningham
Distributor
United Artists
Production Co
Elton Corporation
Genre
Adventure
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 8, 1926, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 11, 2016
Runtime
1h 24m
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