The Stalking Moon
  • The Stalking Moon
  • Cracked Leather Armchair
  • The Small Screen
  • About Me
    • Cool things About Japan
    • Travel Recollections
    • Contact me

Fabulous Films of the 40s Blogathon: The Black Swan (1942)

2/21/2013

39 Comments

 
Picture

This post is my contribution to the "Fabulous Films of the 1940s Blogathon," sponsored by the Classic Movie Blog Association. For a full list of excellent entries from the other blog participants, please click here.
Picture


"The grand age of the adventure epic gave to the American people, as to people all over the world, an image of grandeur and glitter and flair which our own eccentrically stable country  could barely approach. Most importantly, it gave a sense of grace. Grace - the ability to make the difficult look easy and the simple look profound - was the stylistic hallmark of the swashbuckler and the gentleman adventurer." (1)
Picture


I love a good swashbuckler.

The swashbuckler is a particular subgenre of the period adventure film, or costume epic. It's a particularly fun little corner of the movie universe, where good always triumphs over evil; disagreements are settled with swordplay and, if at all possible, accompanied by a witty verbal riposte; where heroes are dashing and villains hissable; and where historical accuracy adds plenty of background color but never gets in the way of a ripping good yarn.

Though swashbucklers have always been made by the major studios, the genre enjoyed three distinct heydays: the 1920s, when Douglas Fairbanks Sr. came bounding onto the scene; the mid-to-late 1930s, when Errol Flynn and his cheeky grin ruled the box office; and a late blossoming in the 1950s, when studios used the color and pageantry of the form to liven up their new widescreen processes and lure audiences back from the upstart medium of  television.


Picture
Swashbucklers come in many flavors: the pirate movie (Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk), tales of knights errant and damsels faire (The Black Shield of Falworth, Prince Valiant), Arabian fantasies, replete with desert sheiks, veiled maidens and clashing scimatars (The Desert Hawk, Ali Baba and his Forty Thieves), the Robin Hood / Zorro "steal from the rich" school, among others - all served up with sweep, panache and sumptuous production values by the Hollywood studio system. Some maintain that swashbucklers are still made even today  (citing the Pirates of the Carribean franchise as one example), but really, the swashbuckler could only really exist in the more innocent age of classic Hollywood, before reflexive irony and eye-rolling self-awareness became the norm.

The 1940s, while not overburdened by the genre, certainly had more than their fair share of memorable swashbucklers. The Black Swan, in all its Technicolor glory, is one of the most beautiful to behold.

Picture
22-year-old Maureen O'Hara, a beauty born for Technicolor.

All the elements of a good swashbuckler are in clear evidence here, starting with the de rigueur title card:
Picture

Pirates ransack Jamaica, under the joint leadership of Jamie Waring (Tyrone Power), captain of the Revenge, and Billy Leech (George Sanders), captain of the Black Swan. Before they can make their escape and enjoy their booty, government troops arrive and drive the pirates from the island. Jamie is captured and put to the rack to glean information on the whereabouts of Henry Morgan, the infamous pirate leader and Jamie's close confederate, whom he thought hanged by the magistrates in London. Before long, Jamie is rescued by his loyal friend Tommy Blue (Thomas Mitchell) and promptly throws the governor of Jamaica, Lord Denby (George Zucco), in the dungeon. He soon encounters the governor's fiery beauty of a daughter,  Lady Margaret (Maureen O'Hara), and the sparks fly.

Lady Margaret:

Jamie:



Margaret:

Jamie:

Margaret:

Who are you?


A sea rat...a bit of ocean scum doing His Majesty's dirty work - killing Spaniards to make room for fat Englishmen and their nasty daughters. Waring is my name, but those who love me call me Jamie-Boy.

I'm not afraid of you gallows-dancers.

"Gallows-dancers"? A pretty phrase, milady.

Yes, I've seen your kind dancing in the wind, with their necks stretched like geese flying. And I'll see you that way too!


Picture
George Sanders and Anthony Quinn
Picture
PictureThe larger-than-life Laird Cregar as Capt. Henry Morgan.

Smitten, Jamie throws Lady Margaret over one shoulder and is about to cart her off to his ship when he sees Captain Morgan (Laird Cregar) himself stride through the palace doors.

Turns out Morgan has been pardoned by the British government and sent back as the new governor of Jamaica, tasked with cleaning up the Spanish Main and ridding the shipping lanes of the depredations of his old pirate cronies.  Morgan wants his old brethren to strike the colors for England and prey only on French ships. Captain Leech wants no part of this and heads off to raid the rich port town of Maracaibo. Jamie and Tommy stay loyal to Morgan and move into the governor's quarters, Jamie claiming Lady Margaret's old room for himself.

Morgan quickly finds the political wrangling of the Jamaican parliament more troublesome than his freebooter days. (Morgan: "I wish my nature hadn't changed. I'd have made that assembly walk the plank." Jamie: "You can't go wrong drowning politicians, Henry."). In the meantime, Jamie pursues Margaret,  but she spurns his advances.

Jamie:

Margaret:

Jamie:

You can lower your pistols, Lady Margaret.

Unfortunately I have no pistols.

Your eyes - I've looked into pistol barrels that are kinder.


PictureRoger Ingram, left, as snooty schemer Ashley.
Lady Margaret is engaged to foppish Edward Ashley (Roger Ingram) but is unaware that  he's made a deal with Leech to betray the shipping routes and movements of His Majesty's fleet, partly to line his own coffers and partly to discredit Morgan in the Jamaican assembly.

As the assembly votes to impeach Morgan and remove him from office, Jamie takes drastic steps and kidnaps Margaret, hoping not only to woo the icy lady but to stall Morgan's impeachment. Intercepted by Leech and his men and vastly outgunned, Jamie pretends to join Leech in hopes of turning the tables on him later, passing Margaret off as his wife. As a sign of good faith, the cautious Leech demands that Jamie and his blushing new “bride” sail with him on the Black Swan. Leech grows suspicious over the couple's chaste sleeping arrangements, however, and snatches Margaret, leaving Jamie trussed up on the Swan, while he sails Jamie's ship Revenge into Maracaibo harbor for a surprise assault. Can Jamie escape in time to foil Leech's plans and rescue the woman he loves?

Picture
Many of the Technicolor compositions resemble the paintings of N.C. Wyeth.
Picture
Ever-reliable character actor Thomas Mitchell as Tommy Blue.

The Black Swan is not the most action packed of swashbucklers, but it's certainly one of the glossiest, beautifully produced by all the myriad, masterful craftsmen employed by 20th Century Fox at the time. Director Henry King keeps the plot moving quickly and the script, by the legendary Ben Hecht and Seeton I. Miller (loosely based on the Rafael Sabatini novel), gives the dialogue a full-blooded poetry. There's a lush score from Alfred Newman and the 3-strip Technicolor cinematography by Leon Shamroy is simply gorgeous.
Special care was taken with the effects and model work. (All the full view scenes of ships sailing the Spanish Main were models, though to call them miniatures would be misleading, as they were a full 18 feet long, with 16-foot-tall masts. Their increased size helped make their movement through the waters of the Fox tank look more realistic).

Picture
Tyrone Power lacked the robust physicality of Errol Flynn, but stacked up an impressive number of swashbuckling parts in his relatively brief career, most notably The Mark of Zorro from 1941. The Black Swan isn't an out-and-out classic like Zorro, but is still pretty dang good in its own right. Power cuts a terribly handsome, dashing figure as a pirate captain, and has fun with the more unsavory, roguish elements of his character - though of course, in tried-and-true Hollywood fashion, the ultimate bad boy is eventually redeemed and ennobled by his love for a worthy woman.

Power himself apparently tired of his heroic swashbuckler roles, and felt somewhat constrained by the demands of the studio and his public to keep making them. He much preferred later, juicier parts like those in Nightmare Alley and Witness for the Prosecution that demanded a more complex kind of acting. However, I don't think his work in these period adventure films should be undervalued. It's not at all easy to bring these sorts of noble hero roles to life in an unselfconscious way. Villains are always the most colorful parts, and it's often hard to avoid coming across as bland and stiff when one plays the stalwart hero. Like Flynn, Power brought just the right balance of saucy, devil-may-care attitude and suave confidence to such roles. He made it all look easy, and that's a rare and underappreciated skill.
 
Sadly, another historical spectacle proved to be Power's last. According to Tony Thomas' Cads an Cavaliers: The Film Adventurers:


Tyrone Power died while making Solomon and Sheba on location in Spain in 1958, and the film was largely the cause of his death. He was aware of his heart condition; in fact it was shortly before leaving for Spain that he did a film for the American Heart Association in which he warned of the dangers of exertion and said "time is the most precious thing we have." Solomon and Sheba was the kind of film that demanded physical effort, a costume epic with much action; Power was the kind of actor loathe to let a double do what he felt he could do himself. On the afternoon of November 15, he filmed a scene with George Sanders as the villain, in which the two performed a duel with broadswords. The scene was incomplete when Power asked to stop and went to his dressing room complaining of pains in his arms and chest. An hour later he died. He was forty-four. (2)
Picture

Maureen O'Hara was already quite a star by this point in her career, and though young, her spirited, fire-and-ice persona is in full flower here. With her porcelain skin, auburn hair and wonderful figure, along with a razor tongue, strong temper, and regal manner, O'Hara possessed the perfect amount of strength and beauty to stand toe-to-toe with larger than life actors like Power and (especially) John Wayne. She also carried herself with a certain hauteur which is well-suited to her character here, a privileged governor's daughter who is above fraternizing with a lowly dog of a pirate.

In real life, Ms. O'Hara was far from a snob when it came to accepting film roles. On the commentary track, she confesses to film historian Rudy Belmer a true fondness for adventure films, and she made plenty of good ones in her career, including The Spanish Main, Flame of Araby (with Jeff Chandler), Bagdad, Against All Flags (with an aging but still game Errol Flynn) - and even wielded a sword herself, as the daughter of musketeer Athos in At Sword’s Point (with Cornel Wilde). O'Hara was a dab hand with a sword, with noted swordplay coordinator Fred Cavens reportedly naming her the best of all Hollywood's lady fencers. O'Hara and Power have great chemistry together in The Black Swan, yet only had a chance to co-star once more, in John Ford's The Long Gray Line (1955).

Picture
Picture
Picture

The supporting cast is, if anything, even stronger than the leads. Thomas Mitchell might seem an odd choice at first glance to play a buccaneer, but he tackles the role of Tommy Blue with gusto. Anthony Quinn isn’t given much to do except glower behind an eyepatch and grin like a shark, but is an effective presence nonetheless. George Zucco and Roger Ingram bring the right degree of acid-tongued contempt to their lordly roles. And it’s a real treat to see the usually suave and dapper George Sanders playing a rough and tumble pirate. (Not one to overexert himself, Sanders apparently took the part on the proviso that he wore a beard to make it easier for him to be doubled in the fencing scenes.) 1942 was a banner year for Sanders, as he starred in a full nine (!) films, not only playing villains against Power in Swan and Son of Fury, but 3 Falcon mystery programmers (A Date with the Falcon, The Falcon Takes Over and The Falcon's Brother), roles in Tales of Manhattan, Her Cardboard Lover and Quiet Please: Murder, as well as scoring the lead as a surrogate Paul Gaugin in The Moon and Sixpence.

As good as Power, O'Hara and the rest of the cast are, the one who truly steals the show is Laird Cregar as Henry Morgan. At 6‘ 3”, Cregar gives a literally towering performance, his deep, booming voice and large stature bringing a real authority to the part. When he's on screen, he's mesmerizing. A unique and extremely talented actor, Cregar died tragically young at age 31, only a few years after completing work on The Black Swan. His premature death surely robbed cinemagoers of many more wonderful performances yet to come.


Picture
The Black Swan does have a few plot holes. For example, we never see the treacherous Ashley get his just desserts, despite his actions having caused hundreds of deaths and the loss to the Crown of more than a million pounds in gold and sterling. It's also never made clear if his skullduggery had the support of Lord Denby, such is Denby's hatred of Morgan (though the latter is probably an unlikely scenario).

In addition, modern audiences may find it a little hard to fully root for Power’s character, at least in the beginning. In reality, pirates were (and are) the scum of the sea, murdering, pillaging, raping criminals, and the film brings about as much of this rough edge to the screen as the Hays Code would allow. It’s clear that Jamie has taken more than his fair share of lives, has pillaged and ransacked with the worst of them, and had his way with many of the women he captured (who, it’s implied, came to enjoy it). He does seem to have some loyalty to his home country of England, preferring to raid the French if at all possible. To his credit, Power doesn’t downplay the more base and lusty side of Jamie’s nature. Some of this is mitigated as he goes on to renounce his piratical activities and behave in a more civilized, gentlemanly fashion by the romantic fade-out.

There’s also a shortage of swordplay for a swashbuckler, in my opinion, but the finale delivers the goods, as Power, Tommy and the rest of the Revenge's crew battle it out with Leech’s men, cannons boom, cutlasses and cudgels fly, and Power and Sanders face off in one-on-one combat. Their swordfight isn’t in the same league as the excellent one between Power and Rathbone in The Mark of Zorro, and features that annoying sped-up effect so common to fighting scenes of this era, but overall it's jolly good stuff, and caps the movie off with a rousing flourish.


Tyrone Power would go on to further costume epics, such as Captain From Castile, Prince of Foxes and The Black Rose, yet none of these were able to match the sheer swagger, splendor or pictorial beauty of The Black Swan.

Picture
Picture

Acknowledgements: (1) excerpted from Thaddeus Tuleja's introduction to Cads and Cavaliers: The Film Adventurers by Tony Thomas, published by A.S. Barnes and Company, 1973. (2) is by Thomas, also quoted from the same source.

DVD Note: The Black Swan is part of Fox's "Studio Classics" line, and looks great on DVD (one can only imagine the splendor of an eventual Blu-Ray release, should we be so lucky). Extras include a typically informative commentary track hosted by Rudy Belmer, with frequent contributions from Maureen O'Hara.
39 Comments
The Lady Eve link
2/21/2013 02:10:44 pm

Though not an expert on or huge fan of the swashbuckler genre, I love "The Black Swan." In glorious Technicolor it is a gorgeous sight to behold, as are Tyrone Power (who would have heard "Jamie boy" three times from me sooner than he did from his co-star) and Maureen O'Hara. Their chemistry crackles and adds much to make this high seas adventure appeal to me. Enjoyed Power's tongue-in-cheek approach. Always like to see Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders (almost unrecognizable in that red wig and beard) and Anthony Quinn. 20th Century Fox currently is running an online poll in which voters can select the Fox films, by decade, they'd like best to go to Blu-Ray. I voted for "The Black Swan."

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:06:25 am

Thanks for stopping by, Lady Eve! I also voted for THE BLACK SWAN to go Blu in that Fox online poll. It would look stunning, to be sure. You're right to point out the chemistry between Power and O'Hara - it really is palpable. It's the excellent cast and overall production sheen that coast this one over its few story holes.

Reply
Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) link
2/21/2013 04:47:23 pm

Great write-up Jeff - I love the Michael Curtiz / Errol Flynn films to distraction but in many ways this may be my favourite swashbuckler, for its colour, its sheer bravado and that amazing supporting cast (hadn't realised quite how busy Sanders was at the time - wow!). Powers was very much a star actor and with a few exceptions (RAZOR'S EDGE, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECTION) I never think of him as a great thespian - but he is surprisingly good in this role even if he can;t quite match Flynn's physical prowess - and O'Hara is just a knockout. Amazing to think she is still with us and Cregar would be dead so soon afterwards. But a terrific adventure movie, smiling to myself just think about the movie again - cheers mate.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:10:18 am

Thanks, Sergio! I agree that Tyrone Power wasn't often taxed as an actor, but still hold that he did what he did in these costume epics with a style that few could match. And I think his performance as Don Diego Vega in THE MARK OF ZORRO is really terrific. I love those Curtiz/Flynn films too (especially THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, which is just bursting with energy and joy), but then I pretty much enjoy any film of this type if done well..

Reply
Patricia Nolan-Hall link
2/21/2013 09:55:52 pm

It truly is one of the most gorgeous looking films. I liked what you had to say about self-reflective irony. Sadly, it seems that a large part of the audience has lost their sense of honest, innocent fun.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:14:28 am

Hello again, Caftan Woman! Thank you for your comment! Yes, it does seem as if modern audiences can't enjoy an old-fashioned adventure sans irony anymore. I like a sarcastic, cynical script as much as the next person, but I also enjoy these kinds of straight-up, straight-faced adventures. Nothing wrong with a little bit of innocent fun!

Reply
Kevin Deany link
2/22/2013 03:05:22 am

I like this one too, and think Power excels in his swashbuckling roles. He may not have found them challenging, but few could do what the likes of him and Flynn could do. I think his Don Diego in "The Mark of Zorro" is one of his very best performances, right up there with "Nightmare Alley."

I'm always amused by the scene where Power climbs into O'Hara's bed, to trick Sanders to believe the two of them spent the night together. Still not sure how they were able to slip that past the censors, but I'm glad they did. Sure, it's only for a minute, but they got away with it.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:20:12 am

Thanks, Kevin! I was thinking the same thing you were, during that scene in the ship's cabin where Power crawls in bed with O'Hara. "How'd the censors let that through?" I mean, Power had his shirt off (Shock! Horror!) Maybe they wrote the film off as a light-hearted matinee adventure and so weren't watching as closely as usual. Not likely, perhaps, but how else to explain the lapse? There are a number of other things that the scriptwriters snuck through, including some pointed references to what those nasty pirates got up to with the women they captured when they ransacked a port.

And 100% agreed on Power's performance in ZORRO.

Reply
Colin link
2/22/2013 04:27:14 am

Great write-up Jeff on a film that positively glows. I adore swashbucklers and always have, they seem to speak to that little kid inside me. I once toyed with the idea of running a blog dedicated solely to the sub-genre but dropped it in the end. there are so many highly enjoyable swashbucklers out there though - they may not be great art but they are just such tremendous fun.
I still reckon Flynn was the greatest practitioner of all, but Power wasn't that far off. I also feel Stewart Granger added quite a lot to the genre in his historical adventures.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:24:53 am

Cheers, Colin! Interesting to hear that you once mooted a swashbuckler specific blog. I would've liked to have seen that, but think in hindsight your blog's current direction has far more scope and range (the western being an infinitely more varied genre).

I completely agree with you re: the nostalgic child-like joy a good swashbuckler can instill in the viewer. Agreed that Flynn was by far the best, but Power runs him a close second in terms of screen presence. I like Granger too, and SCARAMOUCHE is one of the best 50s swashbucklers.

Reply
John Greco link
2/22/2013 06:30:20 am

Admittedly not the biggest Tyrone Power fan nor am I big on the genre but that said this film ranks up there with the best (for me, it's CAPTAIN BLOOD) and O'Hara was just plain beautiful. Terrific write up Jeff.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:27:17 am

Thanks very much, John! I'm fond of CAPTAIN BLOOD too (any time you put Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn together in a swashbuckler, it's gold). The pirate film is not my favorite flavor of swashbuckler, but there were several good ones made back in the day. It's hard to beat the sight of Maureen O'Hara in Technicolor.

Reply
Rick link
2/22/2013 08:36:47 am

Jeff, I love a good swashbuckler, too, and you picked a fine one. I think it ranks near THE MARK OF ZORRO as one of Tyrone Powers' most flat-out entertaining films. Maureen O'Hara is fabulous; I also loved her as the lady pirate in AGAINST ALL FLAGS. Visually, THE BLACK SWAN a stunning film and your colorful photos provide ample evidence of that. By the way, the source novel was written by Rafael Sabatini, a master of historical fiction, who also penned CAPTAIN BLOOD, SCARAMOUCHE, and THE SEA HAWK (though the plot is different from Errol's movie). Finally, I am also a proud owner of "Cads and Cavaliers," a film book that's great fun.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:31:56 am

Hey Rick! Somehow I neglected to mention the Sabatini connection, which was dumb of me. Fixed now, thanks for the reminder. According to Belmer's commentary, very little of Sabatini's original novel made it intact to the film screenplay, other than the basic set-up, location and some character names. I agree with you re: O'Hara; she always brought so much spark to these colorful adventure films. Nice to hear of another fan of CADS AND CAVALIERS. It took me a long while to track down a musty old copy, but I'm very glad I did, as it's a terrific book.

Reply
FlickChick link
2/22/2013 09:30:25 am

Loved your post - really beautifully done. I agree that these films are such grand fun - a feast for the eyes as well as the heart.

Reply
Jeff
2/22/2013 10:33:14 am

That's very kind of you, Flick Chick! This movie (and others of its ilk) are indeed visual feasts. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD is another one that just knocks your socks off with its use of bold Technicolor.

Reply
R. D. Finch link
2/22/2013 02:58:27 pm

Jeff, you nailed it when practically the first thing you mentioned was the beauty of this film. The swashbuckler is a genre I became interested in only recently. I picked up "The Mark of Zorro" and was so impressed I watched "The Black Swan" right afterward. I agree with you (and others) that it's not the classic "Zorro" is, and also, unlike "Zorro," I couldn't help envisioning Errol Flynn in the lead role while watching. Still, an ejoyable and great-looking movie and a good representative of its genre, all of which I think you conveyed nicely.

Reply
Jeff
2/23/2013 12:32:11 pm

Thanks for the comment, R.D.! Nice to hear that you've been dipping your toe into the swashbucker waters recently. THE MARK OF ZORRO is a perfect place to start. I think THE BLACK SWAN with Errol Flynn in the lead would have been wonderful, but I'm glad Power had a chance to play a pirate at least once in his career (and this would have been old hat for Errol). I think Power acquits himself very well.

Thanks very much for stopping by!

Reply
Kimberly Wilson
2/22/2013 04:19:53 pm

Love the images you chose for this! Technicolor can make a lesser film seem better than it is. O'Hara and Power have great chemistry in this! Nice post.

Reply
Jeff
2/23/2013 12:37:30 pm

Thank you, Kimberly! The beautiful Technicolor does indeed kick this one up a notch, no doubt. O'Hara talks about Leon Shamroy's careful use of lighting on the commentary track, in contrast to her previous Technicolor film, TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI, on which she said she was nearly blinded by all the harsh lighting used.

Power and O'Hara do mesh really well in this - too bad they didn't work together more often.

Reply
R.A. Kerr link
2/23/2013 02:46:04 am

Jeff, I think this review is my fave Stalking Moon post. I'm glad you chose this film for the blogathon; it would have been a shame if it had not been included.

I agree with commenter Kimberly Wilson who remarked on your photos. They look startlingly modern! Thanks for a great review.

Reply
Jeff
2/23/2013 12:49:50 pm

Hey Ruth!

Heh...I'm not surprised you enjoyed this post, as THE BLACK SWAN is, I believe, much more to your taste than the usual fare I cover here. Thank you for the nice comment, and glad you enjoyed the screen shots. It is a really good-looking film, so can't go too wrong there.

Reply
Page link
2/23/2013 03:40:01 am

What a fun review! I love getting a glimpse into how some of our favorite films are made and you've added so much interesting 'behind the scenes' info here on The Black Swan. 20th Century Fox created something special here as you've shown.

These screen grabs of O'Hara really do show just how beautiful she was. Technicolor exposed some of our favorite actors physical flaws but as you point out, O'Hara was even more stunning. (Joan Crawford comes to mind as far as not doing so well with color)

Oh, I really enjoyed Power as a swashbuckler here, although the Fairbanks family and Errol will always be my favorite for this genre. Ty could hold his own, given a good script.

An interesting read and great contribution to the Blogathon.
Page

Reply
Jeff
2/23/2013 12:43:43 pm

Hi Page! Thanks so much for the nice comments!

You raise an interesting point re: how Technicolor brought out the best in some stars and not in others. Of course, on the beauty scale, Joan Crawford would never stand a chance against Maureen O'Hara in the best of conditions.

Agreed about Tyrone Power, I think he was more than just a pretty face and brought the right amount of charm and jocularity to these kinds of parts, much more than someone like Robert Taylor, who I like and respect as an actor but let's face it, the guy was not known for having a light touch. Fairbanks Sr. and Flynn rule the roost when it comes to this genre, but Power doesn't fall too far behind them in my book.

Reply
Patti Gardner link
2/23/2013 10:33:27 am

Great review and awesome stills you have included for the blogathon!

I have to admit that "The Black Swan" is a movie I couldn't get into (last summerl) and turned off after only 25 minutes. Every few months, I do a blog post about some of the films I've turned off, and I ask for my readers to convince me of those I need to try watching again. Overwhelmingly, they suggested that I give this one another try, so I decided that I would...just haven't done so yet.

You, obviously, are on the same page as my blog readers in loving this.

Reply
Jeff
2/23/2013 12:46:01 pm

Thanks a bunch, Patti! Interesting to hear that THE BLACK SWAN didn't do it for you. Is the genre not your cup of tea, or are you not a fan of Tyrone Power? I'm curious as to what put you off it. I know the feeling though, as there are plenty of films others strongly recommend that don't float my boat. I do hope you decide to give it another try someday.

Reply
Patti Gardner link
2/23/2013 09:02:44 pm

Actually, Jeff, I adore Ty Power. He's one of my to 10 guys. And Maureen is in my top 15 of gals. I also really like Thomas Mitchell. I haven't seen a whole lot of that genre, but the films I have seen (Mark of Zorro, Prisoner of Zenda), I have enjoyed. SO...there is no reason I shouldn't like "The Black Swan." Maybe it was my mood on the day I happened to watch it! I do intend to give it another try!

Reply
Rod Croft
2/24/2013 06:37:57 am

Jeff,

Your inital statement "I love a good swashbuckler" is admirably supported by your robust and well researched review of this popular film.

"The Black Swan" was always a popular film and often played at our local theatre on what was called "Family Night", (a Thursday evening), when older, better quality films were shown at greatly reduced prices. Of course those days are long past - more is the pity!

To my knowledge Maureen O'Hara's contribution to cinema has never been acknowledged at the Oscars.... another unbelievable oversight ?

Reply
Jeff
2/24/2013 08:35:38 pm

Thank you most kindly, Rod! That "Family Night" local theater classic movie you mention showing sounds great. I managed to catch a few of those kinds of special screenings back when I lived in Seattle, but they're few and far between here in Osaka. At least now with a big screen TV and a DVD/BD player, I can have my own home theater showings at least...but nothing compares to the real cinema experience.

I think you're right re: Maureen O'Hara never having received an Oscar. Well, she's in good company.

Reply
Aubyn Eli link
2/24/2013 06:54:41 am

You've really captured the beauty of the film (and the actors) with those amazing stills. I really love that one of O'Hara next to the pillars; definitely one to make you catch your breath. I also really love how Shamroy uses those blue shadows. It sort of reminds me of his work in <i>Leave Her to Heaven</i>. It's a real shame that the swashbuckler is for the most part, a vanished genre. You could argue that superhero films have sort of taken its place but for my money, a lot of the humor, pacing, and sex appeal of those old films has been lost. Fantastic review!

Reply
Jeff
2/24/2013 08:40:23 pm

Thank you for the comments, Aubyn! Isn't that shot of O'Hara and the pillars great? Shamroy was an obvious master of the Technicolor camera, like Jack Cardiff. LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN is another gorgeous-looking film.

In complete agreement with you re: the vanishing art of the swashbuckler. Hollywood tries once in a while to channel some of that vibe, but it just doesn't wash nowadays, alas. Interesting thought re: the Superhero movie taking over the mantle, but as you say, it's just not the same. (Not that I don't enjoy a lot of the superhero movies today, often really good fun in their own way.)

Reply
Classicfilmboy link
2/24/2013 11:09:18 pm

Great write-up! Sadly, I have not seen this one, but now I want to based upon your piece. I agree that Tyrone Power sometimes doesn't receive the credit he deserves. He was a solid and appealing actor, so I am looking forward to seeing this one. Having the lovely Maureen O'Hara in this one makes it a must in my book :)

Reply
Jeff
2/25/2013 10:22:56 pm

Classicfilmboy, thanks for your remarks! I'm glad to hear I might have steered you to THE BLACK SWAN. Good to see another fan of the somewhat underrated Tyrone Power. I think "solid and appealing" is a fair description of his talents and screen presence.

Reply
ruth link
2/28/2013 02:02:43 am

I quite like a good swashbuckling action film, so I'd give this a watch Jeff. Great review and photos, wow what a hunk Tyrone Power was, such eye candy :D The costume looks gorgeous too, I've been learning about Edith Head the past week for an Oscar blogathon, I adore the costumes of Classic Hollywood!

Reply
Jeff
2/28/2013 10:01:53 pm

Hi Ruth, thanks for the comment! Yep, Tyrone Power was a handsome fellow, no doubt. I hope you do check out THE BLACK SWAN (and if you want some more good Power action, THE MARK OF ZORRO is a good choice.) Power also made a whole slew of romantic melodramas in his career, and has never been short of female fans. ;) You're right about the costumes in this...the Hollywood studios knew their way around a costume drama.

Reply
Rahul Lobo
7/11/2013 03:30:12 am

Excellent post. Wish present day movies paid as much attention to color. Its as if the movie makers had a better understanding of it during the early years. That surreal, magical quality is missing. Hopefully it will come back.

Its good to hear this movie will be coming to blu-ray this year.

Reply
Jeff
11/13/2014 11:48:03 am

Sorry for the late reply, Rahul! I completely agreeb - old Hollywood really knew how to use color. I grow tired of the washed-out, gray/blue palette so common in today's movies.

Definitely good news re: the Blu-Ray. Thanks for the comment!

Reply
danyulengelke link
11/11/2014 12:01:29 am

Great review!

We're linking to your article for Tyrone Power at SeminalCinemaOutfit.com

Keep up the good work!

Reply
Jeff
11/13/2014 11:48:58 am

Thank you for the kind words and the link, danyulengelke - much appreciated!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Videophilia!

    Opinionated ramblings about new and old  movies (mostly old, as that's the way I like 'em!)

    Picture

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Blogs of Note

    Stuart Galbraith IV's World Cinema Paradise

    Movie Morlocks (TCM's Classic Movie Blog)

    50 Westerns from the 50s

    Riding the High Country

    Sweet Freedom

    Tipping My Fedora

    Thrilling Days of Yesteryear

    Silver Screenings


    Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

    Classic TV and Film Cafe

    Just a Cineast

    She Blogged By Night


    Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema

    Out of the Past -
    A Classic Film Blog


    Pretty Sinister Books

    They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

    In So Many Words...

    Greenbriar Picture Shows

    Flix Chatter

    My Love of Old Hollywood

    Tales of the Easily Distracted

    Another Old Movie Blog

    Lasso the Movies

    Kevin's Movie Corner

    Films From Beyond the Time Barrier

    Carole & Co.

    Rupert Pupkin Speaks

    Caftan Woman

    Vienna's Classic Hollywood

    The Lady Eve's Reel Life

    ClassicBecky's Brain Food

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Hey! 
    Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed below, to be informed of new postings!

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    10 Best
    1960s Sci-Fi
    1970s Sci-Fi
    20 Million Miles To Earth
    50 Years Of James Bond
    70s Crime Films
    7 Faces Of Dr. Lao
    Abbott And Costello
    Abbott & Costello
    A Boy And His Dog
    Air Force
    Alan Ladd
    Alien
    A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
    Attack Of The Crab Monsters
    Bad Guys
    Basil Rathbone
    Beneath The 12-Mile Reef
    Bernard Herrmann
    Bite The Bullet
    Black Belt Jones
    Blade 2
    Blogathons
    Boris Karloff
    Brides Of Dracula
    British Empire In Film Blogathon
    Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter
    Carole Lombard
    Caroline Munro
    Cary Grant
    Cecil B. DeMille
    Charade
    Charles Bronson
    Charles Coburn
    Charlton Heston
    Christopher Lee
    Circus World
    Claudette Colbert
    Clint Eastwood
    Clint Walker
    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
    Colossus: The Forbin Project
    Dark Of The Sun
    Dark Shadows
    Deadlier Than The Male
    Desk Set
    Dirty Harry
    Disaster Movies
    Dog Soldiers
    Donovan's Reef
    Dorothy Malone
    Douglas Sirk
    Dr. No
    Elmore Leonard
    Ernest Borgnine
    Fantastic Voyage
    Fast And Furious
    Fast And Loose
    Fast Company
    Four Frightened People
    From Russia With Love
    Garden Of Evil
    Gargoyles
    Gary Cooper
    George-montgomery
    Giant Of Marathon
    Gladiator
    Gordon Scott
    Gregory Peck
    Halloween
    Hammer Horror
    Hardboiled93338e779d
    Hard Times
    Has Anybody Seen My Gal
    Haywire
    Heat
    Henry Fonda
    Hold That Ghost
    Hombre
    Horror
    Horror Express
    Hot Potato
    House Of Wax
    Howard Hawks
    How The West Was Won
    I Love A Mystery
    Il Postino
    Isle Of The Dead
    It! The Terror From Beyond Space
    I Walked With A Zombie
    James Bond
    James Coburn
    James Stewart
    Jaws
    Jim Brown
    Jim Kelly
    John Carpenter
    John Cassavetes
    John Ford
    John Garfield
    John Wayne
    Katherine Hepburn
    Key Largo
    Kirk Douglas
    Lee Marvin
    Legend Of The Lost
    Lives Of A Bengal Lancer
    Love Before Breakfast
    Marilyn Monroe
    Memorable Movie Dads
    Mickey Spillane
    Mirage
    Monster On The Campus
    Musicals
    My Man Godfrey
    Mysterious Island
    My Top 25 Films
    Night Of The Grizzly
    Once Upon A Time In The West
    Only The Valiant
    Open Range
    Pandorum
    Paranoiac
    Paul Newman
    Peter Cushing
    Phase IV
    Phenomena
    Poltergeist
    Rampage
    Randolph Scott
    Raquel Welch
    Raw Meat
    Ray Harryhausen
    Ride Lonesome
    River Of No Return
    Robert Aldrich
    Robert Mitchum
    Robert Wagner
    Rock Hudson
    Rod Taylor
    Roy Scheider
    Sean Connery
    Shotgun
    Silent Running
    Sleepy Hollow
    Sophia Loren
    Soylent Green
    Spencer Tracy
    Starman
    Sterling Hayden
    Steve Mcqueen
    Steve Reeves
    Stewart Granger
    Tarzan The Magnificent
    The Abominable Dr. Phibes
    The Andromeda Strain
    The Awakening
    The Badlanders
    The Big Country
    The Birds
    The Black Scorpion
    The Black Swan
    The Blob
    The Body Snatcher
    The Cat And The Canary
    The Crawling Eye
    The Creature From The Black Lagoon
    The Dark Knight Rises
    The Devil Rides Out
    The Expendables 2
    The Face Of Fu Manchu
    The Falcon
    The Fearless Vampire Killers
    The Fog
    The Getaway
    The Ghost Breakers
    The Girl Hunters
    The Gorgon
    The Great Escape
    The Hole
    The Invisible Man
    The Last Of The Mohicans
    The Last Sunset
    The Late Show
    The Laughing Policeman
    The Leopard Man
    The Lone Gun
    The Long Goodbye
    The Man With The Golden Gun
    The Mark Of Zorro
    The Matrix
    The Mechanic
    The Monster That Challenged The World
    The Night Strangler
    The Omega Man
    The Outfit
    The Princess Comes Across
    The Shining
    The Shootist
    The Thing
    The Thing From Another World
    The Tingler
    The Uninvited
    The Wild Bunch
    The Wild North
    Thomas Mitchell
    Thunder Bay
    Tom Conway
    Tony Randall
    Trollhunter
    Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
    Two-Minute Warning
    Tyrone Power
    Underrated Detective/Mystery Movies
    Val Lewton
    Vincent Price
    Walter Matthau
    Went The Day Well?
    Westerns
    Westworld
    William Powell
    William Wyler
    Ww2
    Yvonne De Carlo

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • The Stalking Moon
  • Cracked Leather Armchair
  • The Small Screen
  • About Me
    • Cool things About Japan
    • Travel Recollections
    • Contact me