The Buccaneer (1958 film)
| The Buccaneer | |
|---|---|
 Original Spanish film poster | |
| Directed by | Anthony Quinn |
| Written by | Jesse Lasky Jr. Bernice Mosk |
| Produced by | Cecil B. DeMille Henry Wilcoxon |
| Starring | Yul Brynner Charles Boyer Charlton Heston |
| Cinematography | Loyal Griggs |
| Edited by | Archie Marshek |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates | December 1, 1958 |
Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5,000,000 (estimate) |
The Buccaneer is a 1958 film, made by Paramount Pictures and shot in Technicolor and VistaVision. It takes place during the War of 1812, and tells a heavily fictionalized version of how the pirate Jean Lafitte helped in the Battle of New Orleans and how he had to choose between fighting for America or for the side most likely to win, Great Britain.
The film is a remake of the 1938 film of the same name which starred Fredric March and Akim Tamiroff. The 1938 version was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, but he was seriously ill by the time the 1958 version was made, so he was only the executive producer on that version, leaving his then son-in-law, Anthony Quinn, to direct. It was the only film that Quinn ever directed. Henry Wilcoxon, DeMille's long-time friend, who made frequent appearances in his films, was the actual producer, and DeMille did not receive screen credit, though students of his films would probably say that his touch is obvious throughout the film. Nevertheless, DeMille was unhappy with the film and tried unsuccessfully to improve it; critical response was generally unfavorable, despite some impressive battle scenes.
The 1958 film stars Yul Brynner as Lafitte, Charles Boyer in the Akim Tamiroff role and Claire Bloom. Charlton Heston plays a supporting role as Andrew Jackson. It was the second time that Heston had played Jackson, having portrayed him earlier in the film The President's Lady. Also featured in the cast are Inger Stevens, Henry Hull, E.G. Marshall, Lorne Greene, Ted de Corsia, Ed Hinton, and Douglass Dumbrille.
Possibly as a film tie-in, Johnny Horton had a big success with his version of The Battle of New Orleans.
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