1968 Dir: Robert Stevenson Walt Disney 107 mins
Talk like a Pirate Day is on September 19 and, if you’ve any inclination to pull off more than a few “aarrs” or a “Jim-m’-lad” or two, then this is defo the film for you. Prepare for a tutorial from the best, as Peter Ustinov delivers some of the saltiest scenes in cinema – not with a swash-buckling swagger or pirate ship as his backdrop, but as Edward Teach, the famous Captain Blackbeard scourge of the American coast of Virginia and Carolina, who is now stuck in limbo haunting an inn in the fictional town of Godolphin. And the effect is usually hilarious.
Steve Walker, played by Dean Jones is an aspiring track coach come to help the hapless athletes of the local college. Staying at the inn (run by descendants of the pirate) he unwittingly wakes him and the salty slang begins. Ustinov carries the film brilliantly and hilariously, with a good supporting cast, including the villains trying to take over the inn and Suzanne Pleshette – who is much better than the usual love interest.
So while there’s no sailing as such and only a couple of rowing boat scenes and a token bank of fog, this is still a film for sailors. Try it, mate… as Blackbeard says… You’ll love it. DH
View trailer here: