The Pirate Movie

"Pirate movie" redirects here. For the genre, see pirate film. For copyright infringement, see film piracy.

The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie film poster
Directed by	Ken Annakin
Produced by	Ted Hamilton (executive) David Joseph
Written by	W. S. Gilbert (operetta) Trevor Farrant
Starring	Christopher Atkins Kristy McNichol Ted Hamilton
Music by	Mike Brady Terry Britten (songs) Sue Shifrin (songs) Peter Sullivan Arthur Sullivan (operetta)
Cinematography	Robin Copping
Editing by	Ken Zemke
Distributed by	20th Century Fox (theatrical) Anchor Bay Entertainment (DVD)
Release date(s)	6 August 1982 (1982-08-06)
Running time	105 min./USA: 98 min.
Country	Australia
Language	English
Box office	$8,000,000 (domestic)

The Pirate Movie is a 1982 musical and comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol. The film is loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The original music score is composed by Mike Brady and Peter Sullivan. The movie performed far below expectations when first released and is generally reviewed very poorly.

Plot summary

Kristy McNichol plays Mabel Stanley, an introverted girl yearning for popularity in a seaside community in Australia. She attends a local pirate festival featuring a swordplay demonstration led by a curly-haired instructor (Christopher Atkins), who then invites her for a ride on his boat. She is duped by her acquaintances into missing the launch, so she rents a small sailboat to give chase. A sudden storm throws her overboard, and she washes up on a beach. She subsequently dreams an adventure that takes place a century before.

In this fantasy sequence, the swordplay instructor is now named Frederic, a young apprentice of the Pirates of Penzance, celebrating his twenty-first birthday on a pirate vessel. Frederic refuses an invitation from the Pirate King (Ted Hamilton), his adopted father, to become a full pirate, as his birth parents were murdered by their contemporaries. Frederic swears to avenge their deaths and is forced off of the ship on a small boat.

Adrift, Frederic spies Mabel and her older sisters on a nearby island and swims to shore to greet them. Frederic quickly falls for Mabel and proposes marriage, but local custom requires the elder sisters to marry first. Soon, Frederic's old mates come ashore, also looking for women and kidnap Mabel's sisters. Major-General Stanley (Bill Kerr), Mabel's father, arrives and convinces the Pirate King to free his daughters and leave in peace. The pirates anchor their ship just outside the harbor instead of actually leaving.

Mabel wants Frederic to gain favor with her father so they can marry, so she plots to recover the family treasure stolen years earlier by the pirates. Unfortunately, the treasure was lost at sea, but the location where it lies was tattooed as a map on the Pirate King's back. Mabel successfully tricks the Pirate King into revealing his tattoo while Frederic sketches a copy.

The next day, Mabel and Frederic recover the stolen treasure and present it to her father. The Major-General is underwhelmed as he believes the treasure will simply be stolen again once the pirates realize it is missing. Mabel dispatches Frederic to raise an army for protection, but the Pirate King interferes. The ship nurse (Maggie Kirkpatrick) convinces them to stop fighting, reminding the Pirate King of Frederic's apprenticeship contract. Frederic's birthday is February 29, and he is dismayed to see that the contract specifies his twenty-first birthday, rather than his twenty-first year. As his birthday occurs every four years, Frederic has celebrated only five birthdays and is still bound by contract to remain with the pirates.

That night, the pirates raid the Stanley estate, and the Pirate King orders their execution. Mabel demands a "happy ending" – admitting for the first time that she believes this all to be a dream. The pirates are confused, but they comply. Mabel then confronts her father, but the Major-General is steadfast that the marriage custom remains in effect. Mabel quickly pairs each of her older sisters with a pirate, and she also pairs the Pirate King to the ship nurse. With Mabel and Frederic now free to marry, the fantasy sequence ends in song and dance.

Mabel awakens back on the beach to discover that she is wearing the wedding ring that Frederic had given her in her dream. At that moment, the handsome swordplay instructor arrives and lifts her to her feet. He passionately kisses Mabel, who is still shaken by her dream. She asks if his name is Frederic. He assures her that he isn't who she imagines him to be, but then carries her off to marry her, thus giving Mabel her happy ending in reality as well.

Cast

Main cast

Actor	Role
Christopher Atkins	Frederic
Kristy McNichol	Mabel Stanley
Ted Hamilton	The Pirate King
Bill Kerr	Major-General
Maggie Kirkpatrick	Ruth, the ship nurse
Garry McDonald	Sergeant/Inspector
Rhonda Burchmore	Kate, Sister
Des McKenna	Keystone Cop, Stand-In for Garry McDonald
Rick McKenna	Pirate, Stunts
Glen Rhuelands	Keystone Cop, Stunts

Soundtrack

Polydor records released a soundtrack album and singles from this film.

Album

The Pirate Movie: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

A1 – "Victory" – The Pirates (2:37)

A2 – "First Love" – Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins (4:13)

A3 – "How Can I Live Without Her" – Christopher Atkins (3:08)

A4 – "Hold On" – Kristy McNichol (3:14)

A5 – "We Are the Pirates" – Ian Mason (3:36)

B1 – "Pumpin' and Blowin'" – Kristy McNichol (3:05)

B2 – "Stand Up and Sing" – Kool & The Gang (4:32)

B3 – "Happy Ending" – The Peter Cupples Band (4:58)

B4 – "The Chase" – Peter Sullivan and The Orchestra (1:33)

B5 – "I Am a Pirate King" – Ted Hamilton and The Pirates (2:03)

C1 – "Happy Ending" – The Cast of The Pirate Movie (4:18)

C2 – "The Chinese Battle" – Peter Sullivan and The Orchestra (2:36)

C3 – "The Modern Major General's Song" – Bill Kerr and The Cast of The Pirate Movie (2:00)

C4 – "We Are the Pirates" – The Pirates (2:18)

C5 – "Medley" – Peter Sullivan and The Orchestra (4:03)

D1 – "Tarantara" – Gary McDonald and The Policemen (1:53)

D2 – "The Duel" – Peter Sullivan and The Orchestra (4:04)

D3 – "The Sisters' Song" – The Sisters (2:42)

D4 – "Pirates, Police and Pizza" – Peter Sullivan and The Orchestra (3:32)

D5 – "Come Friends Who Plough the Sea" – Ted Hamilton and The Pirates (2:00)

Singles

Kristy McNichol & Christopher Atkins – "First Love"

A – "First Love" – Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins

B – "Come Friends Who Plough the Sea" – Ted Hamilton and The Pirates

Christopher Atkins – "How Can I Live Without Her"

A – "How Can I Live Without Her" – Christopher Atkins

B – "I Am a Pirate King" – Ted Hamilton and The Pirates

Historical note

The movie was made soon after the 1980 New York City Central Park and 1981 Broadway theatre production of The Pirates of Penzance produced by Joseph Papp, which re-popularized swashbuckling pirates as a theatrical genre.

Awards and nominations

AFI Awards

• Nominated: Best Achievement in Costume Design (Aphrodite Kondos)
• Nominated: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Garry McDonald)

Golden Raspberry Awards

• Won: Worst Musical Score
• Won: Worst Director (Ken Annakin)
• Won: Worst "Original" Song ("Pumpin' and Blowin'")
• Nominated: Worst Picture
• Nominated: Worst Screenplay
• Nominated: Worst Actor (Christopher Atkins)
• Nominated: Worst Actress (Kristy McNichol)
• Nominated: Worst Supporting Actor (Ted Hamilton)
• Nominated: Worst "Original" Song ("Happy Ending")

Locations

• Loch Ard Gorge - The scene were the Pirates first land, and Fredi and Mabel fall in love
• Werribee Park Mansion - Most of the film was filmed here.
  • Some of the rooms and areas featured from Werribee Park Mansion include the library, the dining room, billiards room, the former Church Library (now a cafe and gift shop), The Saloon and Chamber as the Coffin room (1:14:25), the balcony, main staircase, and the drawing room (as seen in the striptease scene).
  • The white sandy path upon which Mabel rides the horse was located to the right of the Werribee Park entry gate, but has since been covered with grass and trees.
• The stairwell and corridors of the Werribee Park Hotel were used in the library invasion scene. The hotel's long corridors can be seen at 1:15:31.
• Werribee Park Theatre, a building adjacent to the mansion, was converted into a gymnasium for the gym scene.
• HMAS Penguin Naval Base, Balmoral, Sydney NSW Australia
• Barquentine "New Endeavour" - This Ship was also featured in the Australian TV series "Barrier Reef" and due to its age this ship was later destroyed in dry dock in Ballina, NSW due to being unseaworthy. During the filming of The Pirate Movie props were added to make it look like a pirate ship like Dummy Cannons etc...
• Polly Woodside - The Docked Ship featured at the beginning and end of the film is still docked outside Melbourne Maritime Museum and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
• d'Albora Marinas Rushcutters Bay, 1b New Beach Road, Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, NSW Australia - Featured in the Marina Scene where the Girls embark on a yacht cruise to Pirate rock
• McDonalds Cremorne, Cnr Military Rd & Winnie St, Cremorne NSW Australia- Mable is exiting the store with bags of Mcdonalds
• North Palm Beach, New South Wales Australia, and Port Campbell - Various Beach Scenes

See also

• Cinema of Australia

External links

• The Pirate Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• The Pirate Movie at AllRovi
• The Pirate Movie at Rotten Tomatoes