The Black Pirate

"The Love Story of a Bold Buccaneer"

1926 1h 34m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 62

AdventureDramaAction

Synopsis

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A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father by the hands of pirates. To this end, he infiltrates the pirate band; Acting in character, he single-handedly captures a merchant vessel, but things are complicated when he finds that there is a beautiful young woman of royal blood aboard.

“The Love Story of a Bold Buccaneer”

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Cast

Douglas Fairbanks
The Duke of Arnoldo / The Black Pirate
Billie Dove
Princess Isobel
Anders Randolf
Pirate Captain
Donald Crisp
MacTavish
Tempe Pigott
Duenna (as Tempe Pigett)
Sam De Grasse
Pirate Lieutenant
Charles Stevens
Powder Man
John Wallace
Peg-Leg Pirate

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Albert Parker
Writers: Douglas Fairbanks, Jack Cunningham
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

100 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Albert Parker, shot by Henry Sharp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Nolan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Douglas Fairbanks and Billie Dove and Anders Randolf carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Love Story of a Bold Buccaneer".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0016654 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Albert Parker directs. Henry Sharp behind the camera. William Nolan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2100 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Albert Parker, shot by Henry Sharp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor William Nolan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Douglas Fairbanks and Billie Dove and Anders Randolf carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The Love Story of a Bold Buccaneer".
8IMDB entry: tt0016654 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 62 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Henry Sharp
Editing: William Nolan
Production design: Carl Oscar Borg
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,300,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Black Pirate (1926)

Also by

Albert Parker

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 7/10
Still at the top his game, Douglas Fairbanks is the eponymous character - but with a bit of an unlikely backstory. He and his father were lucky to survive a pirate attack on their ship, his dad perishes shortly afterwards and our hero decides to avenge himself on these reprobates by infiltrating and rising through their ranks. His cunning plan is sailing along nicely until they capture the beautiful Princess "Isobel" (Billie Dove) to whom he takes an immediate shine and has to shield from the worst (and potentially violent) excesses of his lascivious shipmates. It's got just about every pirate adventure theme going - walking the plank, buried treasure, duplicitous plotting - and enough swash and buckle to last a lifetime. Albert Parker keeps the pace rollicking along with a deliciously ghastly contribution from Sam de Grasse and an early(ish) outing for Donald Crisp ("MacTavish") with John Wallace doing his best "Long John Silver" impersonation too. The romance is managed within the storyline, it adds a gentle richness to the mixture without cluttering up what is essentially a sumptuous high seas adventure yarn with some super seaborne colour photography, pyrotechnics and style.

Production companies