This silly but none the less enjoyable "pirate" musical is hysterical, intentionally and unintentionally for many reasons. It's a total fantasia on the real life of pirates, where an energetic young lad (Donald O'Connor) pretends to be a pirate so he'll get some notice from the film's heroine (Helena Carter) who thinks he's just a nice kid and nothing else. O'Connor manages to impress a tribunal of pirate leaders, most hysterically Hope Emerson's towering version of pirate queen Anne Romney, a far cry from Jean Peters' portrayal the previous year.
Another colorful popcorn movie, this gives the limber Donald a lot of chances to show his dancing talent, doing some of the moves he would later perform in one of "Singin' in the Rain's" most popular sequences, "Make Em' Laugh". Fans of classic TV will delight at early screen appearances by Will Geer and James Arness. For me, however, it's most memorable for "the Donald" and for Hope Emerson's almost motherly affection for him. I almost choked when she tells him, "We can have some gay times, kid", considering her much more serious performance in the previous year's "Caged".
Another colorful popcorn movie, this gives the limber Donald a lot of chances to show his dancing talent, doing some of the moves he would later perform in one of "Singin' in the Rain's" most popular sequences, "Make Em' Laugh". Fans of classic TV will delight at early screen appearances by Will Geer and James Arness. For me, however, it's most memorable for "the Donald" and for Hope Emerson's almost motherly affection for him. I almost choked when she tells him, "We can have some gay times, kid", considering her much more serious performance in the previous year's "Caged".