Gene Kelly in The Pirate?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:08pm

Love Gene Kelly. Never saw him in The Pirate. But watching it right now on TCM. Wow.. So not used to this kind of Gene - very different kind of character! Anyone else see him in this?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:18pm

Not watching at the moment but have seen it in the past

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:20pm

His legs in the big dance scene are...nummy!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:23pm

I've seen this...many, many, many times. I've been in love with Gene Kelly since I was a young teen. I own (almost) every single film he's ever made.

THE PIRATE for me is a great film, even though at the time of it's release it tanked.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:26pm

Carlos -- I admit I did not know about The Pirate until, well, right now. While watching it! But this character just feels so different from Gene's other usual characters...And it's so incredibly fascinating to me. Overall, not loving the movie but loving Gene. Obviously.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:30pm

If you're referring to the morally dubious aspect check out "It's Always Fair Weather".

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:34pm

I just can't get past Gene and Judy trying to play "ethnic" roles in this. It's not quite as bad as "black face," but that brown makeup still bugs me.

It has its moments, though.

Here's some wonderful trivia about the movie found on IMDb.com:


LINK

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:35pm

I'm not a GK aficionado, just a fan. I admit I could be totally wrong, but this character stands out to me, in particular, because of the raw sexuality and aggressiveness on display. He's usually much more subtle and graceful with his characters, I feel.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:38pm

Gosh, you're so right besty. I keep FORGETTING that they're supposed to be "natives" from the Caribbean. Oy vey.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:41pm

...I admit I could be totally wrong, but this character stands out to me, in particular, because of the raw sexuality and aggressiveness on display. He's usually much more subtle and graceful with his characters, I feel.

I don't think you're wrong, but keep in mind that GK was discovered playing the "raw sexuality and aggressiveness" of the title role in PAL JOEY.

(FTR, I agree: THE PIRATE isn't a great movie (and the "brown face" -- oy!), but it is oddly fascinating.)

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:57pm

Duh. Totally forgot that, Gaveston! I just don't think of GK as that kind of 'character' for some reason.. No idea why. Funny how we choose to remember certain actors.

Love the ending with Judy on "Be A Clown." Again, not the greatest GK flick but glad I discovered it. A nice Sunday surprise!

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 9:59pm

I hope you read some of those trivia bullet points from IMDb.com.

The best are Judy missing 99 out of the 135 shooting days.

Judy smoking 4 packs a day during filming.

How Judy and Gene fought to keep the Nicholas Brothers in the film.

How Lena Horne's role as a Caribbean dressmaker was cut from the finished script, even though she recorded the songs already.

How L.B. Mayer was so incensed by the torrid romance depicted by Judy and Gene in the number "Voodoo" that he had the negative burned.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 10:08pm

Yes, Besty. I had read through the Trivia while watching the movie! I can only imagine the drama and turmoil behind the scenes with Judy's addiction and deteriorating marriage with Minelli.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 12:46am

Gene's legs also look pretty nummy in Summer Stock.

[somethingbypuccini 2]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 3:01am

Gene Kelly in Summer Stock will always be the most nummy. Nothing can even come close. My first ever crush.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 6:12am

I saw this a few years ago when it was finally released on DVD. The booklet gave the whole history of the production (troubled) and the budget (HUGE). It covered the less than enthusiastic reception at the time and how it has grown in stature over the years.

Having read all that first I was prepared for a middle of the road Hollywood musical. To my delight I found it to be a wonderful escapist fantasy with some top shelf production numbers.

Judy is radiant (side note: she was absent for most of the filming due to illness; you wouldn't know it based on her performance though) in this and Kelly is in top form.

Be A Clown and Mack the Black are great tunes.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 6:34am

Having read all that first I was prepared for a middle of the road Hollywood musical. To my delight I found it to be a wonderful escapist fantasy with some top shelf production numbers.

That perfectly sums up how I feel about it tazzy.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 8:54am

This is one of those big aggressively escapist MGM Musicals that always drive me up the wall, they always seem to be screaming "THIS IS ENTERTAINMENT SO JUST SIT THERE AND BE ENTERTAINED GODDAMMIT!!!!!!!" at me and I just never am entertained enough to relax and enjoy, despite a couple of cute moments from Judy Garland, the presence of the Nicholas Brothers, and Gene Kelly's legs in that fantasy sequence.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 9:24am

I usually love the MGM "make it big, do it right, and give it class" movies. The in-your-face entertainment. Because, for me, more often than not, it IS first-rate entertainment, from start to finish.

With "The Pirate," however, I feel pretty much the way Roscoe does. It tries too hard in a very big, bloated, skin-dyed way. Nobody is right for their roles. The humor falls flat, the suspension of disbelieve isn't suspended, it feels clumsy, heavy-handed, and despite "yelling" in my face, it's boring.

The exceptions are "Be a Clown" and "Mack the Black" with Gene and the pirate ship. That's it. The rest is an expensive, relentlessly in-your-face failure to me.

Updated On: 6/24/13 at 09:24 AM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 3:32pm

"he asked for me" always loved that line.

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 3:49pm

I haven't seen it for years, but I remember being bothered by the very visible string yanking Judy's hat when it is supposed to be blown away by the wind. Was this a deliberate choice by Minnelli to make a stagey effect? I never understood why Metro wouldn't just use a wind machine.

On the other hand, Gene Kelly's thighs in those pirate shorts. Sigh...

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 3:54pm

It's probably the most homoerotic film MGM ever made.

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 3:59pm

Paljoey, TARZAN AND HIS MATE is pretty homoerotic, too. I think we can thank Cedric Gibbons for that.

[AnthVoice2010]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 11:33am

The two things that always come to mind when thinking of The Pirate is:

The story of Judy fleeing the set screaming (literally) "Fire, Fire!!! They want to set me on fire"...running into Fred Astaire on her way out and telling him that they were trying to kill her and Fred saying to his assitant..

"Christ...what are they doing to that poor kid?"..

The second is Gene Kelly's legs...next to Marlene, the most beautiful legs ever put on film...

The film itself was just way to high brow for the average audience but today - it's a delight..

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 11:47am

Since we're talking about Gene Kelly's phenomenal body parts, how about them glutes in the white skin tight leggings during the "Chocolat" section of the American in Paris ballet.