Swashbuckler (1976)

Dir: James Goldstone

Jamaica. 1718. The golden age of piracy. Lord Durant (Peter Boyle JOE), acting governor, sadistic bastard and pederast, uses any means necessary to maintain power. When Sir James Barnet (Bernard Behrens THE CHANGELING) questions Durant's methods he is locked up, his estate stripped away, and his wife and daughter are sent packing to live in the slums with the commoners. The daughter, Jane (Geneviève Bujold DEAD RINGERS), spying a necklace stolen from her by the Governor's troops, which in turn was stolen by the infamous pirate captain Ned Lynch (Robert Shaw JAWS) and his right hand man Nick Debrett (James Earl Jones CONAN THE BARBARIAN), tries to retrieve her belonging. For her trouble she nearly figuratively drowns in a series of unfortunate events. She gets into a blouse tearing cat-fight with the woman of the night given the necklace by Lynch. The soldiers think she's with the pirate crew and has to fight for her freedom during a knock down, drag out tavern melee. To add insult to injury, she has no choice but to turn to Lynch and his pirate crew for help when she learns that the Governor is bailing on the island and as a final act putting to death all political prisoners rotting away in the jail. Lynch, a twinkle in his eyes, commits to her cause and will save her father imprisoned behind fortress walls.

'...hive of scum and villainy...'

I like a good pirate film, an energetic swashbuckler. And SWASHBUCKLER has plenty of swashing and buckling to go around. There are copious amounts of jumping, swinging from ropes, cannons blasting fights. But I never once felt the pure joy I've felt watching the best of the best pirate films. Shaw is a fine actor but doesn't have the swashbucklerly presence of Errol Flynn or even Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. It may be that television director James Goldstone wasn't able to capture that sense of epic-ness despite the film's big budget. Or films like TREASURE ISLAND work because they weren't trying to be hip and stuck with family friendly themes and violence.

I'm digging Boyle's hairpiece

The cast is amazing and probably had a great deal of fun in Mexico, which stands in for Jamaica. There's not much chemistry between Shaw and the lovely Bujold in the expected started out hating one another and eventually fall in love with one another plot thread. Jones is fine as the long time friend of the pirate captain. Beau Bridges, as bumbling officer Major Folly (!) is miscast. Peter Boyle is given a very strange role to play in what is suppose to be a light hearted romantic comedy action film rated PG. I get that the character he plays is the villain and should be up to all sorts of dastardly things. But did the character really have to be so sadistic and into buggering young men? The 'woman of dark visage', wife or hanger on to the Gov's court?, is played by Anjelica Huston. She has no lines! None! The pirates on the island and on the ship the Blarney Cock (!) are comprised of a fantastic group of character actors. Un-cola man Geoffrey Holder, Jon Cedar (THE MANITOU), Doritos pitch man Avery Schreiber, genre fave Sid Haig and I'm certain many others my beer glazed eyes didn't spot. The film is worth a watch solely for the cast.

SWASHBUCKLER is entertaining in its own way but not the blast I was expecting considering the cast.

**1/2 out of ****