I love musicals, I love Gene Kelly and I love Judy Garland, so The Pirate looked like a perfect match. And indeed it was. The Pirate is a wonderful film and musical and showcases the talents of Kelly and Garland to perfection.

The story is sharp and affectionate, and the dialogue and pace more than credible. Even better is the direction, The Pirate is directed with terrific gusto by the hugely talented Vincente Minnelli, and also the opulent sets, photography and costumes. The choreography is dazzling, particularly in the Pirate ballet, and Gene Kelly and Judy Garland are both wonderful in their acting, singing and dancing and their chemistry is a treat.

It is the music though that I love most about The Pirate. Cole Porter's tunes are all outstanding, the standouts being Be a Clown, Nina and the Pirate ballet, with Love of My Life a close runner-up. All in all, a truly great film and one of my favourites of both Kelly and Garland and of Minnelli too. 10/10 Bethany Cox

"The Pirate" was a troubled production. Not only was Judy Garland at her lowest due to her health and her addiction, but the film was considered a mess by the studio when they previewed it. So, they re-tooled various parts of the film and released it--to less than stellar reactions from the public. Despite having Gene Kelly and Garland and the full MGM glossy treatment, the film didn't connect with folks and it lost money...a lot according to IMDb. Plus it didn't help that the film was originally meant as a comedy and songs were slapped into the script (sloppily).

The film's basic plot is rather clever. Judy Garland plays a nice young lady who has been betrothed to the Mayor (Walter Slezak)--a seemingly boring old man. She's accepted her fate, though a traveling actor (Kelly) sees this as a waste--as he wants her himself. He tries to court her and is rather unsuccessful until he hypnotizes her and discovers she is a bad girl at heart and wants a blood-thirsty pirate as a lover. So, he does what any guy would do--announces that HE is the dreaded pirate Macoco! The problem is someone in town really IS Macoco but has assumed a respected guise. What's to come of all this? See the film...or not! My advice is NOT!

I must admit that although I have probably seen more musicals than most anyone you'd ever meet, I am not a huge fan of the genre. This is mostly because too often the songs and plot aren't integrated well. Too often, folks break into song for no reason whatsoever. In "The Pirate", for example, Judy bursts into song when she thinks the man she loves is dead. Huh?!? Also the songs themselves often don't fit the story at all (such as "Be a Clown" at the end of the film--where they obviously gave up on the plot and was integrated well into "Singing in the Rain"). But worst of all, despite Cole Porter being the writer, it's obviously NOT his best. Too many of the songs are either dull or have lyrics that made my brain hurt. The worst was the opening song "Niña" which uses words like 'neuresthenia' and 'schizophrenia' (terms that weren't even known at the time the film was set). Finally, some of the production numbers are just insane. This is supposed to be set on a Caribbean Island--yet they have the most ridiculous song and dance number where Kelly performs on a set that only could be on a sound stage. Overall, despite being a nice looking film, "The Pirate" is among the worst MGM made in this era.

Gene Kelly and Judy Garland stepped into some mighty big shoes when they accepted the lead roles in The Pirate. On Broadway, The Pirate ran in the 1942-43 season for 177 performances and the shoes that Kelly and Garland were filling belonged to Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne. True it's probably one of the lighter vehicles that Lunt and Fontanne ever did, still it might have been interesting to compare what they did with the snappy dialog of S.N. Behrmann.

Cole Porter signed on to write the score for this musical adaption of The Pirate. Porter had been in a creative dry spell for a few years, most notoriously he was associated with a flop musical based on Around The World In 80 Days, a couple of years back. Believe it or not, he was having trouble getting work in Hollywood and on Broadway when he signed with MGM for The Pirate.

According to the George Eells biography of Porter, it was Gene Kelly who asked Porter to write a clown number for him and Judy Garland. Porter responded with Be A Clown which turned out to be the hit of the film. The rest of the score is not top drawer Porter, but mediocre Cole Porter is better than most songwriters can come up with.

Judy Garland plays another starry eyed youngster in The Pirate which is set in the 18th century Caribbean. She's first seen reading what would later be called a dime novel about the legendary Makoko the Pirate. She's getting into an arranged marriage with the mayor of the town, staid and settled Walter Slezak. When a troupe of strolling players led by Gene Kelly come to town, under hypnosis she reveals that she longs to be the bride of Makoko. What's Gene Kelly to do, but pretend to be Makoko.

That's all well and good except that Walter Slezak is the real Makoko now just trying to live in peaceful obscurity away from the authorities who want to hang him. All this leads to some interesting complications that of course get all sorted out in the end.

Judy gets to do two ballads in her unmistakable style, Love Of My Life and You Can Do No Wrong. And she stars in a rousing production number where the proclaims her enchantment with the legendary Makoko in Mack The Black.

The film got a tepid response in 1948, it's given far better critical notice in retrospect. The Pirate was produced by MGM's legendary Arthur Freed and his unit and directed stylishly by Vincent Minnelli who was Judy Garland's husband at the time. Today's audiences would far better appreciate the combined wit of S.N. Behrmann and Cole Porter.

As for Porter, his next writing assignment would stop all talk of his going into decline. The following year Kiss Me Kate debuted on Broadway which was Porter's biggest critical and commercial success. No one ever said that score wasn't up to his usual standard.