Buccaneer's Girl (1950) User Reviews

Conventional and standard Pirate movie from Universal Studios

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 19 February 2019]

An agreeable swashbuckler about an avenger pirate who has another identity and his girlfriend at the turn of the 17th century . Enjoyable Pirate movie dealing with a famous pirate versus powerful nobles as well as authorities and finding romance along the way . Robin Hood-like pirate Frederic Baptiste (Philip Friend) slashing his way through the fleet and takes only the ships of wealthy but wicked trader Narbonne (Robert Douglas) who is helped by his assistant Patout (Norman Lloyd) . A New Orleans entertainer Debbie or Deborah McCoy (Yvonne De Carlo) , a passenger from his latest prize, stows away on the pirate ship and falls for the pirate ; later, having become a New Orleans entertainer, the fun loving lady meets his alter ego, who's engaged to the governor's niece (Andrea King) . After numerous adventures Deborah is able to aid her incarcerated lover Frederic Baptiste to escape .Universal-International's Fiery Swashbuckling Adventure!

Amusing pirate movie , plenty of action , land rescues , thrills , Sea battles , colorful cinematography , luxurious costumes and paced in lighthearted style. It is a blending of adventures , romance , musical , comedy and swashbuckler . Although the story has been told before , tight filmmaking and nice acting win out . The picture is fast-moving , exciting and thrilling right up to the final climatic confrontation. Average-budgeted film by Universal Pictures , using appropriate ship shots and miniature sets when possible . Universal took advantage of the unused sets by scripting and shooting a hastily assembled B picture, Yankee Buccaneer with Jeff Chandler .¨Buccaneer's girl¨belongs to Pirate or Swashbuckling sub-genre along with ¨Captain Blood¨, ¨The Sea Hawk¨ , ¨Long John Silver¨, ¨Anne of the Indians¨¨Adventures of Captain Fabian¨ , ¨The Crimson pirate¨ and ¨Against all flags¨ . It results to be one of Yvonne De Carlo's swashbuckling best though hasn't achieved the same classic status . Here appears the gorgeous Yvonne De Carlo as a hot-tempered pirate/entertainer moll who swoons over the British Philip Friend . Yvonne De Carlo was considered to be the Technicolor Queen , playing films of all kinds of genres , especially adventure , such as The Road to Morocco, Salome where she danced , Song of Scheherezade , Casbah , Sea devils , Captain Paradise , Passion , Band of Angels , Flame of the islands ,Death of a scoundrel , The sword and the cross ; at the ending of her life she played various terror movies as American Gothic , House of shadows , Mirror Mirror , Silent scream , Vultures , Satan's Cheerleaders . There stands out a great support cast made up with familiar faces such as Robert Douglas , Elsa Lanchester,Andrea King,Jay C. Flippen,Douglass Dumbrille,Henry Daniell , Peggy Castle and el incombustible Norman Lloyd .

This is a good-natured Technicolor romp with splendid cinematography by Russell Metty and evocative musical score by Walter Scharf . The motion picture was well directed by Frederick De Cordoba , a craftsman and action specialist who had already filmed other adventures . He shot decent films as Frankie and Johnny , I'll take Sweden , Here come the Nelsons , Bedtime for Bonzo , For the love of Mary . Rating : 5.5/10 , acceptable pirate movie , wonderful stuff . It will appeal to Yvonne De Carlo fans .

Well, lower me jib a bustle!

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 24 April 2012]

Buccaneer's Girl is directed by Frederick De Cordova and jointly written by Samuel Golding, Joseph Hoffman, Joe May and Harold Shumate. It stars Yvonne De Carlo, Philip Friend, Robert Douglas, Elsa Lanchester and Henry Daniell. Music is scored by Walter Scharf and Technicolor cinematography is by Russell Metty.

Avast yee lubbers on the Universal lot as the radiant De Carlo plays a spitfire gal finding her man amongst much jollification on the piratical high seas.

Budget is cut close to the cloth, editing is C grade and the ending is so quick in coming you have to rewind just to check you didn't press the skip function on the remote control by mistake! While it's true, also, to say that the song and dance numbers inserted into the mix are badly choreographed and borderline embarrassing. This is one of those films where the trailer gives no real indication of just how jolly and cheap it is, a film that if I had paid at the cinema to see back on its release I would have been most annoyed. But many years later, with a pristine DVD transfer to sample along with a bottle of ice cold Chardonay? It's a pretty fun way to spend an hour and twenty minutes. On proviso, that is, you happen to be a fan of Technicolor swashbucklers made in knockabout fashion.

Russell Metty's colour photography is gorgeous, so much so it deserves a better movie, while costuming (Yvonne Wood) is of a high standard, particularly for the ladies. The cast, a mixed set of performers for sure, make the light weight material work, with the likes of Lanchester, Daniell & Douglas seriously knowing what is required. Friend cuts a handsome figure with his immaculate ruff's and pencil moustache, and in supporting slots Jay C. Flippen and Norman Lloyd leave favourable impressions. Scharf scores it with standard skull and crossbones flavours, which in turn sits easily with the frothy nature of the beast, and the fight sequences, resplendent with cheapo weapon props, are far from the worst in the genre.

With interesting twists and a good old sense of fun about it, there's enough here for the undemanding pirate fan to enjoy. Just don't expect the drama suggested by the trailer is all! 6/10

Pleasant pirate tale

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 23 May 2021]

Robin Hood-like pirate Baptiste takes only the ships of rich but wicked trader Narbonne. Fun loving Debbie, a passenger from his latest prize, stows away on the pirate ship and falls for the pirate; later, having become a New Orleans entertainer, she meets his alter ego, who's engaged to the governor's daughter.

This is a lighthearted Pirate tale with the usual scuttling ships, cutlass clashing and cannons firing, but that is scaled back a bit with the beautiful Yvonne DeCarlo ( as the title suggests) being the main character, getting involved with pirates and singing. It's pleasant time pass, the plot moves along briskly, Philip Friend as the Robin Hood-like character is charming, his chemistry with DeCarlo is great. Jay C flippen, Elsa Lanchester, seasoned villain Robert Douglas and Henry Daniell also add class to the proceedings.

One for Robert Douglas fans!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 10 May 2018]

Copyright 17 March 1950 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. New York opening at Loew's Criterion: 26 March 1950. U.S. release: March 1950. U.K. release through General Film Distributors: 13 March 1950. Australian release: 13 July 1950. 6,916 feet. 77 minutes.

COMMENT: With a pirate hero who isn't too bloodthirsty and a villain who isn't too villainous, Buccaneer's Girl is a perfect contender for kiddies' matinees. No disadvantage either in its cargo of character players - or its script of pure drivel.

Miss De Carlo "sings" in this one, but she does look great in period costumes - many thanks to Russell Metty's loving camerawork. Maestro Metty also richly embellishes De Cordova's competently ordinary direction, as well as the sets. Love the shot of Norman Lloyd in his black cloak.

Lloyd of course makes a delicious henchman for our favorite villain Robert Douglas, who is in great form here. Alas, some of our other idols are not so well treated. Douglass Dumbrille is confined to a brief appearance at the beginning. We keep waiting for him to come back, but no luck. Maybe he was busy that day at M-G-M. John Qualen and Connie Gilchrist are also saddled with small spots in which they have no opportunities to shine. Henry Daniell is likewise wasted. Luckily, Elsa Lanchester has a decent part. As for Philip Friend, well he's much your usual third-string Stewart Granger. We can take him or leave him.

All the same, there's a fair amount of action, including fist fights and swordplay. Plus nice color. Despite the silly story and its cruel waste of much acting talent, at least Buccaneer's Girl knows when its audience has had enough. Unlike most 2005 films, it doesn't run too long.

Maria Montez's heiress

[searchanddestroy-1 · 12 February 2023]

As Maureen O'Hara, Rhonda Fleming, or Arlene Dahl, Yvonne de Carlo was the replacement solution after Maria Montez's departure from Universal studios by the late forties. Those actresses were hired for adventure films taking place in exotic settings, jungle, deserts, aboard ships in South seas, fighting against evil natives, seeking treasures. The lost perfume of many audiences childhood, full of fantasy, charm, action and romance. Here Frederic De Cordova the director shows his talent in terms of theatrical scenes, because he came from stage business. So, westerns, crime films or even adventures yarns were not his specialtity, and despite that, he was rather efficient if you watch closely the ones he made; he, the comedy, light hearted dramas he also made. For adventure exotic films, he was certainly not Edward Ludwig, Sidney Salkow or Lewis Foster, the greatest adventure films of the fifties, but you also can appreciate his YANKEE BUCANEER, made one year later, with Jeff Chandler; again a pirates film. This one BUCANEER'S GIRL deserves the watch, no problem. It is fast paced, colourful, action oriented. Enjoy.

Buccaneer's Girl

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 27 December 2022]

Very much a vehicle for Yvonne de Carlo, this - and though not terrible, it is still a fairly unremarkable seafaring adventure with far too much singing... Philip Friend is a man with a double life - a sort of maritime "Zorro" who leads a respectable enough life by day but is arch pirate "Baptiste" by night. De Carlo is "Deborah" a Louisiana crooner who falls for him and, despite his existing liaison with "Arlene Villon" (Andrea King) sets out to get her man. There are a couple of fun interventions from Elsa Lanchester and Henry Daniell, but the film really belongs to the ever evil Robert Douglas as ruthless rival "Narbonne" who learns of our secret and sets out to ruin "Baptiste". It's got plenty of cannon-fire, pirate attacks and duels - but is still a poor relation of many of these feisty gal meets sea rogue stories. If you like the genre - and I do - then it passes 80 minutes in colourful, if unoriginal, style.

My personal experience is that pirate gals from the . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 7/10 · 29 April 2022]

. . . Boston area, such as the title character of BUCCANEER'S GIRL, are among the most wicked wanton wenches this side of that Eden Garden. Like "Debbie McCoy" here, my trio of Real Life harlots always were too eager to trot, even though some were lacking in understanding the reproducing basics. Just as Debbie gets drawn into a wrestling match on the Ladies' Room floor, Real Life Bean Town Tarts are ever willing to get down and dirty. Debbie begins as a stowaway on a rich dude's vessel, another trait of Back Bay blight birds who seldom if ever pay their own way, let alone pick up a check. If a hussy targets you on the Boston Commons at nine, you can bet that she'll pick your pocket by ten. Surely Mr. Brady realized that "if you can't lick them, you better join them" when he deserted Boston to become a Buccaneer.

Mixing pirates and popcorn. Oh, the perfect Saturday matinée.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 5 April 2016]

Sultry Yvonne De Carlo is the entire show in this colorful adventure that shows that women could be as tough as men when they needed to be, yet soft and feminine when it was time to return to being a woman. She stows away on a passenger ship, is taken to New Orleans by pirates, goes to work for a bordello madam, slaps a few society dames silly, ends up back on a pirate ship and ultimately gets a sword in her hand. It's all pretty silly stuff, and Yvonne, a more talented rival to Maria Montez, saves the day.

Only rivaled perhaps by Maureen O'Hara when it comes to sultry female masculinity, is not going to be treated with disrespect. She stands up to madam Elsa Lanchaster, beats the crap out of disrespectful snob Andrea King, and wins the love of a handsome hero, Philip Friendly. A ton of familiar character actors make nice additions, including Douglas Dumbrille, Henry Daniell, Connie Gilchrist, Verna Felton and lesser known black character actress Hattie Noel, briefly singing a song about pralines.

Ms. Noel had me in stitches as Joan Blondell's companion in the camp classic "Lady For a Night", and did a neat little shimmy to "Alice Blue Gown" in a film version of "Irene". De Carlo sings a few songs here, although I didn't recognize her voice as being the same as she did when she sang "I'm Still Here!" in "Follies". The film succeeds mainly on her personality, a delightfully manipulative ploy to make it appear better than it is.

BUCCANEER'S GIRL (Frederick De Cordova, 1950) **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 7 December 2008]

When this swashbuckling DVD set was announced, I was rather annoyed about the inclusion of three obscure efforts with the popular and vintage AGAINST ALL FLAGS (1952) starring Errol Flynn; well, having watched all three now, this proved to be perhaps the most resistible of them. For the record, my copy jumps from the Universal logo (preceding all their DVD releases) to the beginning of the film omitting the credits entirely, then it pixellated terribly around the 64-minute mark, so that I had to skip to the next chapter (thus missing a couple of minutes) in order to keep watching the thing through to its conclusion!

The plot has a New Orleans setting with a pirate named Baptiste (Philip Friend, an unknown actor to me but an okay lead under the circumstances) who hides under the guise of an aristocrat in order to keep up the fight with chief villain Robert Douglas (aided in his nefarious deeds by two other notable character actors – Norman Lloyd and Henry Daniell). Guttersnipe Yvonne de Carlo – I recall watching her other swashbuckler with director de Cordova, THE DESERT HAWK (1950), as a child – and upper-class Andrea King vie for the dashing Friend's attentions (at one point, the two let their hair down and engage in a catfight over him during a ball!), while Jay C. Flippen appears as the hero's right-hand man. Incidentally, having seen this immediately after DOUBLE CROSSBONES (1951), it was amusing to realize that some of the sea-battle footage from BUCCANEER'S GIRL was replicated wholesale into the Donald O'Connor vehicle!

The film itself would be tolerable enough if it weren't for two huge flaws: for one thing, the action-less climax has to be the lamest ever devised for this type of fare; much more queasy, unfortunately, are de Carlo's trio of songs (under the tutelage of typically eccentric Elsa Lanchester) – with the last of them occurring just minutes before the end titles! – and for which the creator of the embarrassingly corny choreography ought to have been made to walk the plank himself.

Shiver me timbers!

[copper1963 · 10/10 · 5 July 2007]

Handsomely mounted Yvonne De Carlo potboiler from Universal-International, which perfectly showcases a bygone era of bloodthirsty pirates and snooty aristocrats. Phillip Friend secures and flourishes in the dual roles of Captain Kingston and the cutthroat Baptiste. He has just the right amount of swagger and glint in his eye to pull it off. I like how Kingston supports the "Seaman's Fund" with his stolen booty. He is very much like a 19th century version of Robin Hood. But it's all quite unbelievable, really. Can he keep his identity a secret from the elites? Well, Miss De Carlo knows his true identity, and it's "Baptiste/Kingston's job to convince her of his own sincerity and goodwill. As for De Carlo's "Debbie McCoy," she sings three songs (and dances), gets into five scrapes, and exhibits a high degree of skill for escaping dire predicaments. She radiates a keen comedic flair for the broad material. While watching this movie, I developed a feeling that she reminded me of someone else. But I couldn't place the thought until she is caught napping in a shopkeeper's vegetable closet. She chews on a carrot, roles her eyes, and strolls confidently away from the prickly situation involving the storekeeper, his jealous wife, and a constable. And the actress she reminded me of: Lucille Ball. She's that talented here.

The Pirate Who Nabs Her

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 16 May 2011]

Buccaneer's Girl stars Yvonne DeCarlo as a stowaway entertainer and Philip Friend as the pirate who nabs her in a 76 lighthearted minute romp. It's a bit too lighthearted however and after Buccaneer's Girl is over you're scratching your head, wondering what you saw.

Friend it seems is having one long practical joke on Robert Douglas. As a pirate he only robs ships that are sailing with merchant Douglas's cargoes. Friend in is other Clark Kent guise as a privateer commissioned by Douglas to clean out those pirates robbing him takes his profits and puts them to a Seaman's Fund which goes to build merchant ships for all of Douglas's rivals. We're never given a reason why all this started, but the two of them are in heat over French Cajun princess Andrea King. That is until DeCarlo comes into Friend's life and discovers his dual identity.

During the course of the film, Yvonne sings a few songs and gets into a nice chick fight with Andrea King. Not as good as what Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel had in Destry Rides Again, but it has its moments.

Still it's a below par film all around except when Elsa Lanchester playing the part of a combination finishing school mistress and madam is on screen. Those moments are too few in Buccaneer's Girl.

engaging colorful complicated Caribbean pirate impersonation drama

[weezeralfalfa · 9/10 · 5 April 2013]

Lavish wardrobes, stunning Technicolor and cinematography, and two handsome/beautiful charismatic leads. Nothing is said about the time period involved, but I would guess the late French/Spanish period in Louisiana.

The hero, debonair Englishman Captain Kingston(also in the guise of pirate Captain Baptiste), has as his nemesis, the Frenchman Narbonne(Robert Douglass), merchant kingpin of the New Orleans(NO) region, and his henchman: Patout(Norman LLoyd). Although not mentioned, Kingston seems to be the only Englishman, among otherwise Frenchmen, in the high society of New Olreans.

Yvonne De Carlo, as Debbie McCoy, is a mysterious sassy stowaway on board a Narbonne ship from Boston. Apparently, she is a runaway from her family, used to singing and dancing for the high society of Boston. Captured by Batiste, he plans to take her to the pirate stronghold of Tortuga, where she might be employed as a singer/dancer. But, somehow Debbie stows away on the landing craft for NO, and shows up curled inside a grocer's cabinet, determined to land a rich NO society man. Madame Brizar, who runs a finishing school for fashionable young ladies, likes Debbie's looks and takes her home for a further evaluation. After working out their personality conflicts, She passes and sings and dances a bit at a Kingston party. There, she meets Captain Baptiste, now in the guise of Captain Kingston, commissioned to capture Baptiste!

Later, we learn that Kingston is not the real Baptiste. Apparently, he killed Baptiste, who was allied with Narbonne against other NO shippers, and took over Baptiste's identity when at sea, switching from a Narbonne ally to attacking only Narbonne's ships! He sells the captured goods in Martinique to support the 'seaman's fund', established by his late father, to outfit more merchant ships, including his own, to compete with Narbonne. He is also popular with with non-Narbornne NO sailors, because he hires local seamen, whereas Narbonne does not(why?).

Despite Kingston's leisurely engagement to Arlene: the governor's daughter, he grudgingly accepts Debbie as a stowaway on his next pirating expedition, which she much aids with her overheard info from Narbonne. When they return to NO, Kingston is shocked to learn that his fiancé has married Narbonne.. This leaves him open to marry Debbie. However, he is found guilty of piracy and to be hanged in the morning. Debbie and a rowdy tavern crowd of anti-Narbonne sailors, taken to jail, take over the jail instead, freeing Kingston and his crew, to sail away(to where? continue sacking Narbonne's ships?)

There are actually many more twists and turns to the story, I have not included. I don't understand why the screen writers had Kingston still plan to marry Arlene after his adventures with Debbie, then have Debbie reject his offer when he finds Arlene has married Narbonne, then have Debbie spring him from jail. Would have been much more plausible if he had displaced Arlene with Debbie in his marriage plans before he found out Arlene had married.

In the first scene when we transfer from Baptiste's ship to NO, the face and song of an African American lady, hawking her pralines, fills the screen.I didn't know it , but these are a French sweet pastry, with some sort of nut(typically almond or pecan) included.

Philip Friend, who plays Kingston/Baptiste, was a little known film actor, seldom given the lead role. Yet, I found him quite engaging as the leading man, reminding me of young Vincent Price, in his bearing and eloquent speech, and having great chemistry with Yvonne in their give and take.

Yvonne was a superb choice for the leading lady, being beautiful, bringing her singing and light dancing talents, and flaunting her sassy sarcastic wit and tomboyish personality. She played a basically similar character in a western setting in her previous Technicolor film "Frontier Gal", for instance.

Elsa Lanchester, who played Madame Brizar, long married to gay Charles Laughton, had a long and varied entertainment career, preferring live audiences.

Robert Douglas, as Narbonne, also had a long and varied theatrical career, including much later TV producing. He usually played aristocrats, either good or villainous, and made an impressive nemesis for Friend.

Jay Flippen, as Baptiste's first mate,Jared, had a long career in films and TV, as a distinctive craggy, usually gruff, character actor.

Peggy Castle, in a minor role as Cleo, remained a pretty, but minor, actress, and eventually developed an alcohol problem that lead to her early death.

This film is currently included in a DVD package of 4 pirate films made by Universal in the early '50s. Recommended, if you like this type of film.

The sea at her command

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 4 February 2022]

Yvonne De Carlo said she made this film after recovering from an operation, and she has six knockdown drag-out fights to perform. The best of these is a catfight she has with rival Andrea King midway through the picture, which the two women rehearsed at length before production began. In some ways their skirmish is reminiscent of the one between Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel in the studio's 1939 version of DESTRY RIDES AGAIN.

In addition to fighting with King, Miss De Carlo gets to engage in sword fighting and fist fighting on board a ship taken over by a pirate named Baptiste (British import Philip Friend). They first meet when De Carlo is a stowaway on this vessel, which Baptiste and his men hijack. The ship is owned by the wealthiest man in New Orleans (Robert Douglas).

De Carlo later arrives on land in the fair city, and she is taken under the wing of a Madame Brizar (Elsa Lanchester in a scene stealing role). Though the production code prevents explicit references, it is obvious that Mme. Brizar is running a brothel of "genteel" women. She regularly sends her employees out to entertain at parties given by the upper class.

During the sequence where De Carlo is working for Lanchester, she sheds her tomboy image and wears some of the finest costumes imaginable. She is every inch the lady. But during one of her musical performances, she draws the ire of King who is seething with jealousy. King is engaged to Friend, but the women both know that Friend has had adventures at sea with De Carlo.

To spite Friend, King marries Douglas, his archenemy. This sets in motion a series of betrayals, where Friend is exposed as a thieving pirate. We are not meant to dislike Friend, since he is depicted as a Robin Hood of the seven seas. Basically he is robbing Douglas to give money back to the men of New Orleans who had been cheated by Douglas' seafaring business.

In a way this light hearted romp has a serious dramatic undercurrent, telling a tale about unionized labor and profit sharing. I am sure most of that went unnoticed by moviegoers in 1950, but it's interesting this sort of dramatic text with a liberal political agenda hit screens when Senator McCarthy's conservative witch hunts were occurring in Hollywood.

The most captivating part of the film, of course, is Yvonne De Carlo's central performance as Deborah McCoy our plucky heroine. She has a rousing number at the end of the picture that is a lot of fun to watch. De Carlo later said the film was a "dilly" and it certainly is. She gets the guy before the final fadeout, and the whole sea is at her command. Of course, there was never any doubt it would end any other way.