Thursday, August 4, 2011

Pirate Booty


Upon its initial release, The Pirate (1948) divided critics, alienated most audiences, lost money, and became a project that all involved -- stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, director Vincente Minnelli, and composer Cole Porter -- preferred to forget. Porter, in fact, decried the fantastical mistaken identity farce as "unspeakably wretched, the worst that money could buy." Today, half a century later, it's still often described as the most controversial film in the Garland canon.

Judy Garland as Manuela in The Pirate (1948, MGM)

The fact that Garland missed 99 of the 135 days of shooting speaks to her deteriorating mental and physical state, and undoubtedly contributed to the film's uneven, awkward pacing; she was reportedly smoking four packs of cigarettes a day, and hallucinating from her drug use -- sometimes requiring the crew to literally carry her off the set in hysterics. As a vehicle for Metro's brightest musical talent, The Pirate fails miserably -- although its top-billed star looks splendid and displays a wry comedic touch, her dazzling singing talents are barely tapped. Garland's two ballads, "You Can Do No Wrong" and "Love of My Life," are pleasant, but not up to her usual high standard -- in fact, the latter song is only seen as a reprise in the final act of the film; its full rendition was deemed unworthy and was cut.


As a potential stepping stone in the possibility of Garland and co-star Gene Kelly becoming another Judy-and-Mickey box office super-duo (they had been successfully paired in 1942's For Me and My Gal), the film barely passes muster: their undeniable chemistry is undercut by a screenplay (and subsequent editing) which has the two go from adversaries to eternal lovebirds in a matter of seconds. But as a showcase for Gene Kelly's white-hot sex appeal, The Pirate has no equal.


In spite of his physical handsomeness, athletic dancing ability, and easy charm, Gene Kelly's screen persona was, and is, curiously asexual. As gorgeous and talented as he is in On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951), or Singin' in the Rain (1952), Kelly's glib style and mannered acting don't incite audiences to swoonful passion. But in The Pirate, Kelly's dancing was never more erotic or (literally) in-your-face: his first solo, "Nina," finds him introducing male pole dancing (take that, Steven Retchless!); being memorably kinky with a cigarette (fast forward to 3:19 in the clip below); and effortlessly getting the entire female population of the Caribbean to fall at his feet -- and we don't blame them.


Even more eye-popping and jaw-dropping is The Pirate's ballet sequence, in which a tanned, taut, toned Kelly cavorts in what can only be described as hot pants and an arm band, leaping amidst licking flames and a scarlet background. Frankly, it reminds us of a mash-up between the infamous Querelle (1982) and David "The Construction Worker" Hodo's "I Love You to Death" production number in the Village People epic, Can't Stop the Music (1980).

Gene Kelly in The Pirate (1948, MGM)

Brad Davis in Querelle (1982, Planet)

David Hodo in Can't Stop the Music (1980, Associated)

Perhaps due to her illnesses and absences, Garland doesn't have very much to do in The Pirate, aside from her wild "Mack the Black," which, if not exactly a high point in her career, is definitely the most uninhibited and sexually-charged production number she ever committed to film. Her acting is also jarring, almost raw and slightly unhinged; yet, at the same time, she's very, very funny, with razor sharp timing and brilliant use of subtle body language -- a raised eyebrow here, a discreet double take there. Indeed, in a movie often called far ahead of its time, MGM-era Judy is foreshadowing loopy, zany, witty 1960's talk show Judy by over a decade.


Judy Garland and Gene Kelly behind the scenes of The Pirate, 1948

Judy Garland on The Jack Paar Show, 1962

One cause for Garland's concern during the tense filming period was her suspicion that her director (and husband), Vincente Minnelli, was throwing all the good bits to Kelly, collaborating with the brilliant dancer/choreographer on extra bits of business, fleshing out Kelly's role at the expense of Garland's. There may have even been a lingering uneasiness that Minnelli's interest in the virile star wasn't purely professional; and, judging by the lingering eroticism which Minnelli's camera lavishes upon Kelly (akin to the palpable romanticism with which Minnelli framed Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis [1944], their first project together before marrying), Garland couldn't be blamed for feeling put out.

Dashing Gene Kelly as Serafin in The Pirate

Fifty-plus years later, audiences are still scratching their heads over The Pirate, so left-field are Garland and Kelly's characterizations, so stylized is Minnelli's vision. Surely, he intended The Pirate as a spoof? Garland and the other fair maidens of the Caribbean island of Calvados look and sound like well-scrubbed, all American debutantes, dressed for a costume ball in their mantillas and lace. The wonderful Gladys Cooper plays her role of a Spanish aristocrat like a grand dowager of the Main Line. And Kelly's always self-consciously hammy approach is taken to the nth degree, devastatingly sexy on a completely satirical level: he's Gene Kelly imitating John Barrymore imitating Douglas Fairbanks imitating Gene Kelly doing an imitation of John Barrymore imitating Douglas Fairbanks, with a side dollop of Errol Flynn and Gilbert Roland for good measure.

John Barrymore in Don Juan (1926, Warner Bros.)

Douglas Fairbanks in The Black Pirate (1926, United Artists)

Errol Flynn in The Master of Ballantrae (1953, Warner Bros.)

Gilbert Roland, ca. 1940's

So, is The Pirate a great film? Yes and no -- the high points are marvelous, and its flaws are glaringly obvious. As Liza Minnelli, the star and director's daughter, put it so succinctly in a featurette about her parents' grand failure, "There's nothing you can really criticize about the picture -- unless you don't like it!" We like it; and if nothing else, as the only MGM musical to ever get us hot and bothered, it stands alone.

16 comments:

  1. Aptly described as always, it's a musical that's befuddled me whenever I've encountered it. As always, poor Judy.

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  2. This looks right up my street, that has always puzzled me about Kelly he was so god damn gorgeous but never in a sexy way.

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  3. I could swear I read somewhere (isn't it always "somewhere" that we've seen these things?!) that Garland walked in on her husband and Kelly having sex and that this is what put her over the edge, understandably, if it's true! And it also fits with the whole Kelly worship thing going on. I agree with you (and Hannah) that Gene had all the elements of a hunk, but his sexiness never really came across onscreen the way it could have or should have! Maybe he was guarding it and that somehow showed up via the relentlessly intrusive camera lens? I don't know. Interesting, though.

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  4. Oh, my. This is definitely going on my Netflix queue, but I think I just need to see if the whole is as terrifying as its parts! You're right that Gene Kelly is always a "nice guy," not the campy, in-your-face sexual beast from the "Niña" number (and the pirate ballet). No wonder audiences were shocked!

    Leave it to Cole Porter to use "neurasthenia" in the lyrics of a musical number!

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  5. Couple of things -- I think the source for the Minnelli/Kelly pas de deux was Arthur Laurents' tasteful and discrete memoirs. The source I can't recall was Kay Thompson's disdainful but succinct summation of the entire production: "Drug-a-roony."

    "Mack The Black" is a very curious number. The choreography is chaotic and imprecise in a way that just wasn't par for MGM. It feels as if there was a rush to get it in the can as fast as possible. Garland's performance is nonetheless electric; it just doesn't feel like the wiring was about to short-circuit.

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  6. When I read the title “Pirate Booty” I ASSumed you were going to post a photo of AyeM8y’s booty.

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  7. How very odd but so correct that Gene Kelly was an attractive man with a good body but not gifted with sex appeal. I never could have put into to words because I like him, but now others have done it for me; nice guy but inspires no lustful feelings!

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  8. Don't forget the famous "Be A Clown" number. I think the great colonial Empire inspired costumes are fabulous!
    __ The Devoted Classicist

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  9. PuggerPete claims above that Gene Kelly was "an attractive man with a good body but not gifted with sex appeal"?

    I politely beg to differ, sir (or ma'am). =) I find Gene Kelly, particularly in certain roles (Singin in the Rain, On the Town, Anchors Aweigh) extremely sexy. In fact, I once wrote an entire blog post on why he -- as does The Pirate for TJB apparently! -- gets me all hot and bothered. If you're interested: http://kellimarshall.net/unmuzzledthoughts/film/genekelly/

    Great post, btw! I just spread the word about it on Twitter via @GeneKellyFans.

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  10. I also disagree with the idea of Gene Kelly being unsexy. The duet with Cyd Charisse in the "Gotta Dance" sequence Singin' in the Rain? (The bad girl part, not the floaty white dress part.) The duet on the fountain with Leslie Caron in An American in Paris? "Mack the Black"? Yowza.

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  11. What a wonderful, ravishing blog. I loved it!

    Congratulations.
    Danielle
    www.ofilmequeviontem.blogspot.com

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  12. You know - I love this film. I know it's not the best film that either Garland or Kelly did, but I just love it. I do have the biggest crush on Gene Kelly, and my goodness my eyes are on stalks whenever I watch this film! That pole dance at the beginning, and the voodoo dance number - wow!

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  13. Amazing post!

    The white lacy number towards the top--THAT is what a hijab should look like.

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  14. The idea of anybody finding Gene Kelly gorgeous but not sexy is astounding to me; Gene Kelly was sex on a stick. As anonymous wrote, his dances with Cyd Charisse (both in SITR and Brigadoon and on the fountain in AAIP) to his own choreography, of course, are some of the most sensual moments in all of Screen history. As for Kelly always being a nice guy, I have to ask how many of his movies have you seen? Joe Brady is the biggest sea wolf in Anchors Aweigh and Eddie O'Brien is a chauvinistic skirt chaser until KC Higgins tames him with love. In Christmas Holiday, Gene Kelly is a murderer! May I suggest a Gene Kelly festival viewing? Millions of women (and men) around the world find Gene Kelly to be breathtakingly sexy. As for his acting being mannered, watch again; it is in fact, quite natural and modern. He really listens to his partner and reacts with his whole body. Oh and I forgot about Gene's Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet with Vera-Ellen. Smoking hot. I don't really want to give oxygen to the Minnelli rumor as it's ridiculous; the original story was that Garland found her husband in a compromising position with the gardener or chauffer, but I guess the Kelly canard is more titillating to some? Let's end on this note: Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli trusted Gene to introduce their only daughter to make her singing and dancing debut on a Gene Kelly TV special. Just my long winded way of saying, please re-watch the Kelly catalogue and I'm sure you'll see that he was not only spectacularly talented but SEXY. After all, fifty million Frenchwomen can't be wrong.

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  15. This movie has long been my favorite. Yeah, ok, lots of sexism, but Gene is burning hot, and Judy is fantastic! They also do a good job together in Summer Stock.

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