Swashbuckler (film)
| Swashbuckler | |
|---|---|
 original film poster by John Solie |
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| Directed by | James Goldstone |
| Produced by | Elliott Kastner Jennings Lang William S. Gilmore |
| Written by | Paul Wheeler |
| Screenplay by | Jeffery Bloom |
| Starring | Robert Shaw |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | Philip H. Lathrop |
| Editing by | Edward A. Biery |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 29, 1976 |
| Running time | 101 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Swashbuckler is a romantic adventure film produced in the U.S. by Universal Studios and released in 1976. It is a story that takes place in Jamaica in 1718 about a band of buccaneer pirates, led by Captain “Red” Ned Lynch, pitted against a greedy overlord, evil Lord Durant. Durant has ruthlessly imprisoned his Lord High Justice and mercilessly evicted his wife and daughter Jane Barnet who eventually attempts a rescue with Lynch’s help. The film stars Robert Shaw as Lynch, Peter Boyle as Durant, Geneviève Bujold as Barnet as well as James Earl Jones, Beau Bridges, Geoffrey Holder, Anjelica Huston and Avery Schreiber. The film is based on the story “The Scarlet Buccaneer”, written by Paul Wheeler and adapted for the screen by Jeffery Bloom. It was directed by James Goldstone and rated PG.
The film was shot in Mexico and on the galleon Golden Hinde, a replica of the Golden Hinde captained by Francis Drake from 1577 to 1580. In the film it was called the Blarney Cock and actually received a movie credit. According to the Special Feature section of the DVD, it was the only pirate movie filmed aboard an actual ship of that era.
[edit] Public Opinion
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This section reads like a review rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve this article to make it neutral in tone and meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (February 2010) |
Swashbuckler received a lukewarm reception from the critics, and was less popular than its similar contemporaries The Three Musketeers in 1973 and its sequel The Four Musketeers in 1974. Indeed, adventure and disaster films were all the rage in the seventies with films like The Towering Inferno (1974), Earthquake (1974) and Jaws (1975), which also starred Shaw, and Swashbuckler was capitalizing on that and his success, albeit formulaic and budget minded. It also tapped into the trend of a revival of classic genres; other examples of this are Chinatown (Film noir) and Star Wars (serial/sci-fi). It was a hit or a miss with audiences and a film that was not very serious – more a sequence of comedic skits and sword play than a cohesive story as a whole. It was nonetheless a film that was well suited to the matinée set and younger audiences alike. Besides the tropical allure of its film locales, the film was memorable for its wonderful, light hearted score by John Addison, which included the uplifting "Blarney Cock" theme at the beginning and end of the picture.
[edit] Cast
(in order of credits)
- Robert Shaw as Captain "Red" Ned Lynch
- James Earl Jones as Nick Debrett
- Peter Boyle as Lord Durant
- Geneviève Bujold as Jane Barnet
- Beau Bridges as Major Folly
- Geoffrey Holder as Cudjo Quadrill
- Avery Schreiber as Pulaski
- Tom Clancy as Mr. Moonbeam
- Anjelica Huston as Woman of Dark Visage
- Bernard Behrens as Sir James Barnet
- Dorothy Tristan as Alice
- Mark Baker as Lute player
- Kip Niven as Willard Culverwell
- Tom Fitzsimmons as Corporal
- Louisa Horton as Lady Barnet
- Sid Haig as Bald pirate
- Robert Ruth as Bearded pirate
- Bob Morgan as Peg Legged Pirate (as Robert Morgan)
- Jon Cedar as Pirate gun captain
- Diana Chesney as Landlady
- Manuel DePina as Barnet servant
- Tom Lacy as Chaplain
- Alfie Wise as Sailor
- Harry Basch as Banana man
- Rutanya Alda as Bath Attendant
[edit] External links
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