The Pirate

I would love to have seen this as a child - having only come across it as an adult it doesn't quite have the charm or greatness of other Kelly movies. The theatricality of "The Pirate" is too obvious - and dare I say, everyone is just playing a little too hard - especially Garland. The dance numbers and the music are OK, but apart from the last 20 minutes this would be my least favorite - my children adore Gene Kelly and grew up watching "Singing in the Rain" but they weren't thrilled either with this. We wanted swashbuckling and got a traveling theater - Fine if you're in the mood, just don't expect full-on greatness, though parts shine.

I'm not a fan of musicals in general, but I like this one. The visuals, though clearly 1948, and very vivid and pleasing to the eye. The story also manages to be cute and silly without degenerating into complete nonsense. Gene Kelly does a pretty impressive job during to musical numbers; at times he seems to defy gravity effortlessly. One can't help but be impressed. The real jewel of this film, though, is Judy Garland. I couldn't tell you exactly what it is about her, but she is absolutely fantastic in this film. Her facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice (especially when her character is irritated) and absolutely irresistable. Even if this movie was terrible, it would be worth watching just for her performance. On the downside, the musical numbers do get a little exhausting and seem just too long for their own good. Yes, Gene Kelly can sing and dance, but somewhere around the tenth minute of "Be a Clown" I felt like driving a dull steak knife through my skull.

Judy Garland may never have been so funny again (or had such a wonderfully over-the-top script to work with) as in "The Pirate." Her best scene by far comes toward the end, when she discovers that Gene Kelly is not the dashing pirate he's pretending to be. At first, she makes a great show of passion toward her "dream lover," but her temper soon snaps and Kelly is dodging everything from vases to chairs. Kelly is also marvelous, both in his dancing and his comic delivery, which meshes perfectly with Garland's. My personal favorite: "Oh senorita, don't marry that pumpkin." Not to be missed!

Highly stylized this is not an essential MGM musical along the lines of Meet Me in St. Louis or the Wizard of Oz but there is much that is memorable here aside from the Be a Clown finale. Perhaps Gene Kelly's most physical performance his pirate dance is phenomenal and he is loose and full of fun. Watching Judy there are hints everywhere of the jittery mess she was behind the camera while this was in production, she is almost never still for an instant throughout the entire film, especially her hands, and she is thin to the point of gauntness. Even with her evident spiral she still manages to be both funny and moving and the voice is in great expressive shape. A huge flop upon release its reputation has grown with the years and it can now be viewed as the artwork it is.