The Black Pirate

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The Black Pirate

Released Mar 8, 1926

1h 24m

Adventure

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100%

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61 Reviews

67%

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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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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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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Audience Member

ok silent swash buckler tale

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Albert Parker

Director

Douglas Fairbanks

The Duke of Arnoldo

Billie Dove

Princess Isobel

Anders Randolf

Pirate Captain

Donald Crisp

MacTavish

Tempe Pigott

Duenna

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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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