User Reviews

This was the last film that Cecil B. DeMille had anything to do with. He originally planned to direct this remake of his 1938 film The Buccaneer, but ill health prevented him from doing so. So apart from a brief prologue and a production credit saying the film was presented by him, DeMille left the producing to good friend Henry Wilcoxon and the directing to his son-in-law Anthony Quinn.

This version has the added attractions of great technicolor photography and Paramount's new wide screen Vistavision process. I saw in the theater when I was 11 years old and it is quite an eyeful.

Yul Brynner makes as dashing a Jean Lafitte as Fredric March did in the 1938 film. Charlton Heston repeats his Andrew Jackson role from The President's Lady which he made earlier in the Fifties. Heston though was not satisfied because he realized that he was made up to look like the Andrew Jackson we know from the double sawbuck when he was in the White House. At New Orleans he was a bit younger. But like Moses and the circus boss from The Greatest Show on Earth, you follow him to Hades and back.

The best role in the film for me though was Charles Boyer as Dominic You, Lafitte's cynical second in command. A former artillery officer in Napoleon's army, he left there and took up piracy out of disillusionment with how the French Revolution turned out. Boyer has some good and wise lines in his counsel to Lafitte even if he's drunk while delivering some of them.

After The Ten Commandments, DeMille had plans to make a film about Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts and was in negotiations with David Niven to play Baden-Powell. He got sidetracked with this film and then he died in early 1959. Of course the Boy Scout film never did get made by anyone.

Although DeMille eliminated one element of the plot from 1938 the traitorous Senator played by Ian Keith the rest of the film is pretty much the same. This is hardly the real story of Jean Lafitte. When not on the action, the film does drag in spots. Maybe that's why Anthony Quinn never directed another film.

This version of The Buccaneer had one additional thing going for it. Country singer Johnny Horton had a mega hit record of The Battle of New Orleans at the same time the film came out. Both must have fed off each other in profit making. I well remember you couldn't go a day without hearing The Battle of New Orleans playing some time on the radio.

It's not history, it's DeMille at his gaudiest.

This interesting feature has a very fine story-line, rather colorful characters and a very steady pace. it also incorporates a plot device from "Reap the Wild Wind", and since Cecil B. Deille directed that and his son-in-law Anbthony Quinn directed this film from his preparations, that can hardly be a coincidence. it works in both cases, I must report. The unusual set-up tells the viewer that Barataria, an island ruled by Jean Lafitte is built upon piracy, but during the war of 1812, and before, he has always refrained from bothering United States' vessels. Now General Andrew Jackson has been charged with defending nearby New Orleans with only 12,000 men against 60,000 British Imperial redcoats and 60 ships. Lafitte's men want him to side with the stronger force; he wants freedom and pardons for his men before ceding such a strategic landing spot to the U.S. forces. There are other factors at work in the story-line; pirate Bonnie Brown and her father want to attack U.S. ships and do so in defiance of Lafitte's orders, leaving a boy alive without knowing they have missed an eyewitness. When his testimony finally comes out, Jackson cannot grant what Lafitte asks; but Lafitte supports him anyway and in the fog, the pirates and Jackson rout the British and he sails away to whatever destiny awaits a man who had genius and statesmanship but not fortune. The cast of this colorful and physically-lovely film are skilled indeed. Yul Brynner has one of his best roles as the pirate king, Inger Stevens is beautiful; as the girl he loves, Charles Boyer has many good lines as his adviser, powerful Lorne Greene is a rival, E.G. Marshall the Governor, and Claire Bloom is charismatic as Bonnie Brown. Others in the cast include Ted de Corsia, Douglass Dumbrille, George Mathews, Henry Hull as Jackson's adviser, Bruce Gordon, Onslow Stevens, Robert F. Simon, Henry Brandon, Fran Jeffries, and Leslie Bradley, among others. The music by Elmer Bernstein is very memorable, and the 1938 script remade here had only to be freshened a bit. The shiny cinematography was the work of veteran Loyal Griggs, the set decoration was supplied by Albert Nozaki, Hal Pereira and Walter Tyler, with set decoration by Sam Comer and Roy Moyer and costumes by Edith Head, John Jensen and Ralph Jester. Nellie Manley did the elaborate hairstyles and Wally Westmore the difficult makeup. The film contains quite a bit of good adventure-level dialogue and a very strong climactic battle scene. Charlton Heston, as as Andrew Jackson, prepared to play the part of an elder general and then discovered the man was young at the time of the battle; but he is often effective, grey-haired or not, especially in his exchanges with Henry Hull as Mr. Peavey. This is an exciting and well-mounted entertainment, which looks exactly as if C.B. DeMille had completed his production; it is a beautiful and nearly a very-fine motion picture.

I always enjoyed watching this when it came on television during prime-time every year in the 60's. It's a typical Hollywood history epic, dramatized, stylized and full of inaccuracies but so what, it's an entertaining movie and a good looking film. Cecil B. DeMille at the end of his life is the executive producer of this remake of his 1938 film. His son-in-law actor Anthony Quinn who had the supporting role of Beluche in the '38 film is the director in his directorial debut and swan song as he had never directed a film before and never would again. DeMille assembled a crew who had recently worked on his 10 Commandments to help Quinn pull it off including longtime DeMille associate producer/actor Henry Wilcoxon overseeing the project. Also from the 10 Commandments are screenwriter Jesse Lasky, cinematographer Loyalk Griggs, assistant director Francisco Day, 2nd unit director Arthur Rosson, art directors Walter Tyler and Hal Pereira, set directors Sam Comer and Ray Moyer, costume designers Edith Head, John Jensen and Ralph Lester who as a costume design team received The Buccaneer's only Oscar nomination. A great cast here from team DeMille headed up by Yul Brynner as pirate Jean Lafitte and Charleton Heston as future President General Andrew Jackson. Also in the cast are Charles Boyer, E.G. Marshall, Lorne Greene, Claire Bloom and Inger Stevens. At just over two hours it drags in some spots but makes up for it with some excellent battle scenes. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Semi-fictional account of pirate Jean Lafitte's involvement in the War of 1812 with some of the most thrilling war scenes ever filmed . This remake of Cecil B DeMille's 1938 production starts with a prologue : Jean Lafitte , last of Buccaneers , lives on in Lord Byron's immortal words : ¨He left a Corsair's name to other times , linked with one virtue and a thousand crimes¨. These American Presidents condemned , pardoned and again condemned this pirate . But Fate placed into the hands of this man without-a-country the destiny of a country - the United States - fighting for its very existence in the war of 1812 . Defeat has followed defeat . Now , only one man stood guard to ward off the final death blow , a backwoods General called Andrew Jackson with a handful of squirrel hunters and raw recruits . However , this prologue fails to mention the great irony of the Battle of New Orleans: by the time it was fought, a treaty to end the War of 1812 had already been signed in London , but word of the signing did not reach New Orleans until weeks later. The British have sacked Washington and hope to capture New Orleans, where pirate Jean Lafitte (Yul Brynner) romances blueblooded Annette (Inger Stevens) and openly sells his loot in a pirates' market. But he never attacks American ships . General Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston previously played this role in The President's Lady) has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes strategically important to both parties, but it's inhabited by the last big buccaneer: Jean Lafitte , Lord of Barataria, Louisiana. When the battle gets nearer, Lafitte is drawn between both sides . His heart belongs to the United States , but his people urge him to unite the party that's more likely to vanquish .

Lavish film , 2 million dollars swashbuckling epic , magnificent adventure yarn , being spectacular and marvelously set in the War of 1812 against Britain . Cecil B DeMille 's last picture , he was seriously ailing and died while it was being made and completed by his son-in-law , Anthony Quinn. Anthony played the role of Beluche in the first version (1938) starred by Fredric March , Walter Brennan , Ian Keith , Akim Tamiroff , also directed by Cecil , for this one, Quinn is the director ; in fact, it is the only instance in his film career of taking on that job. The long-time associated Henry Wilcoxon , who starred ¨DeMille's The Crusades¨, took over as producer and the filmmaking went to actor Anthony Quinn who realized such a nice work that one wonders why it was the only one he made . The picture is based on historical deeds , though there is no historical evidence to prove that Lafitte actually was present during the battle. Facts were changed to protect 1950s sensitivities. Lafitte did have an affair with a Claybourne lady, but it was the Governor's wife, not his daughter. Interesting screenplay by Jesse L Lasky Jr , Cecil B. DeMille's usual screenwriter , but original script developed the story as a musical, then Cecil changed his mind when Yul Brynner, dissatisfied with the treatment of the material, threatened to back out of the film. A lot of exciting items cropped out for this high budgeted epic such as colorful cinematography by Loyal Griggs , rousing musical score by Elmer Bernstein , breathtaking production design by Albert Nozaki, Walter Tyler and Hal Pereira . It is adorned by the most notorious bald in the world , the great Yul Brynner , stands out Charlton Heston playing one of his ordinary historic characters , Claire Bloom as a tough pirate girl , an attractive Inger Stevens as Governor's daughter , Edgar G Marshall as Governor , a brilliant Charles Boyer as Dominique You , Henry Hull who wields a spirited rifle and many others ; including brief performances from a numerous support cast such as Lorne Greene as Mercier , Ted de Corsia as Capt. Rumbo , Douglass Dumbrille as Collector of the Port and who in the first adaptation acted as Governor , Robert F. Simon as Capt. Brown , Woody Strode , John Dierkes , Henry Brandon , Kathleen Freeman , among others . The motion picture was well directed by Anthony Quinn and Cecil B DeMille . DeMille oversaw production of the film, and appears in the prologue, but was unsatisfied with Quinn's efforts as director, as well as the work of old friend Henry Wilcoxen as producer, and tried to change and improve the film during and after production. DeMille died in January, 1959, only a month after the film's release.

Charlton Heston is undoubtedly the best thing in this picture. A meandering script, dubious romantic liaisons and average acting come close to sinking "The Buccaneer". Yul is Jean La Fitte, the title role. His performance is all over the map, going from tough to lethargic, to mercurial, to wistfully patriotic. Charles Boyer plays himself portraying the roguish General Dominique You, late of Napoleon's army, is pretty good, Mickey Shaughnessy is good as a comic sidekick to the boss and Clare Bloom and Inger Stevens provide love interest. The battle of New Orleans is the centerpiece of the film and is reasonably well staged, considering it's obviously filmed on a sound stage. History is shown here as the pirates help the American army and militia turn back the British. Chuck is Andrew Jackson, and it's been pointed out several times, Chuck looks like they used his picture for the twenty. Typical Technicolor '50's epic, not bad but not great either.

I first saw this film when it came out in the late 50s,and watched it every time it came on tv for decades afterward.It might say something about my tastes,because I thought it was a rousingly good adventure story.I still feel that way-for a pirate and battle film,it's first-rate.Where,then are my criticisms?First;a.)The battle of New Orleans was fought about 3 weeks after a peace treaty had been signed,and was,technically,irrelevant;b.)Unlike what they imply in the film,the British and the American forces were evenly matched-when the citizens of New Orleans and the pirates joined Jackson,the British were out-numbered;c.)The reason Laffite was not appreciated by the American government was not the PIRACY,per se,(they had legal commissions as privateers issued by Simon Bolivar)but because of the smuggling;d.)Laffitte had to leave,not because of the actions of a renegade captain under his command,but because he had returned to smuggling after he had received a presidential pardon;e.)Dominique,who was Laffite's much older brother,was an earthy,warm-hearted man who stayed behind and became a political hack under the Americans.Boyer is giving a reprise of an earlier portrayal on Napoleon;.I get the feeling that,with the big production,the large number of stars and well-known character actors who were doing supporting parts,the elaborate sets and props,and routines,they were trying to duplicate the success and magnitude of "The Ten Commandments"several years earlier.The big scenes-the pirate captains' conference;the pirate market;the taking of the"Corinthian"and the scenes at Barataria are well-done.(One bogus sequence,however-when Laffite challenges the pirate captains to kill Miggs before they can divy up the gold,and they back down-give me a break.Given the opportunity to get the loot-they would have lined up to slit the kid's throat.)The Battle of New Orleans is exteremly well-handled.Numerous viginettes of men preparing a variety of activities leading into the final fight-adds up to an impressive fourth act.And the love scenes do drag.This is not what De Mille was known for.So,enjoy this film on it's own merits,and realize that nothing is ever perfect.

The original DeMille movie was made in 1938 with Frederic March. A very good film indeed. Hollywood's love of remakes brings us a fairly interesting movie starring Yul Brynner. He of course was brilliant as he almost always seemed to be in all of his movies. Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson was a stroke of genius. However, the movie did tend to get a little long in places. It does not move at the pace of the 1938 version. Still, it is a fun movie that should be seen at least once.

Taken in the context of the time it was made, I found this a worthwhile movie. While the details may be 'dramatized', the overall history was a nice primer. In addition, I found spotting actors I knew a real pleasure. Who would imagine Ben Cartwright as a dastardly cad? I'll leave the rest of the star spotting to you. As to the secondary casting, this movie (as one would expect from a movie made in the late thirties) has many an enjoyable character actor, but top kudos' to Andrew Jackson's right hand man Peavey. The perfect touch of comedy. Well shot, with beautiful ships, and competent acting throughout out, I recommend this for anyone with a taste for the slightly camp, or an eye for a double-period piece, set at the dawn of America, and made in a period when great names, and top notch character actors, were a real pleasure to enjoy.

If you're at all interested in pirates, pirate movies, New Orleans/early 19th century American history, or Yul Brynner, see this film for yourself and make up your own mind about it. Don't be put off by various lacklustre reviews. My reaction to it was that it is entertaining, well acted (for the most part), has some very witty dialogue, and that it does an excellent job of portraying the charm, appeal and legendary fascination of the privateer Jean Lafitte. While not all the events in the film are historically accurate (can you show me any historical film that succeeds in this?), I feel the film is accurate in its treatment of the role Lafitte played in New Orleans' history, and the love-hate relationship between the "respectable" citizens of New Orleans and this outlaw who was one of the city's favorite sons. Don't worry about what the film doesn't do, but watch it for what it does do, i.e., for its study of one of New Orleans', and America's, most intriguing historical figures.

During the whole Pirates of The Caribbean Trilogy Craze Paramount Pictures really dropped the ball in restoring this Anthony Quinn directed Cecil B. DeMille supervised movie and getting it on DVD and Blu Ray with all the extras included. It is obvious to me that Paramount Pictures Execs are blind as bats and ignorant of the fact that they have a really good pirate movie in their vault about a real pirate who actually lived in New Orleans, Louisiana which would have helped make The Crescent City once again famous for it's Pirate Connections. When the Execs at Paramount finally get with the program and release this movie in digital format then I will be a happy camper. Paramount Pictures it is up to you to get off your duff and get this film restored now !

A story screaming to be retold for 60 years. I really liked the class the Cohen brothers used in handling the remake of 'True Grit'. If they were to stumble on this film and fall in love - I would be one happy camper.

Watching this film for the action is rather a waste of time, because the figureheads on the ships act better than the humans. It's a mercy that Anthony Quinn couldn't persuade anyone else to let him direct any other films after this turkey.

But it is filled with amusement value, since Yul Brynner has hair, Lorne Greene displays an unconvincing French accent, and the rest of the big names strut about in comic-book fashion.

This is a great looking fil, with superb production values and a good cast, although played over-dramatically, akin to a stage play.

Almost non of the action occurs on the sea- The 'pirate mutineer' Capt. Browns actions are not shown until the ship is being abandoned .

The preparation for the 'great' battle is well done, but the battle itself is not really seen either , as it occurs in the mist !

There's two things that spoilt the film for me (& I was really looking forward to it) . The first thing is the 'betrayal' and attack, followed by. Lafittes response. However that may be a fault of the obviously 'tailored' history the film is based on.

The worst thing about this film which left me with a bad memory of it, was the ending. It was utterly unbelievable and made no-sense at all. The 'written/accepted' history was entirely different, and didn't need to be altered.

This may well evoke fond memories for many, and is a well made, vibrant film that is never boring, yet it's glaring plot contrivances and unbelievable actions of Lafitte leave a fishy taste of red-herrings .

Sure, the history in this movie was "Hollywoodized"--but it's far from being the only bit of history rewritten for the masses. Lafitte sided with the Americans because he considered himself a Frenchman and therefore hated the British, not because of any sense of patriotism for a nation that had taken over New Orleans only a short time ago; he broke his agreement and returned to smuggling, which caused his sailing to Galveston; he was more of a petty criminal and scoundrel than a hero *or* a swashbuckler. But who cares? This is one movie that's sheer entertainment--and face it, we all wanted Jean to go for the feisty wench rather than the prudish daughter of the governor. Brynner once again rises over mediocre writing to give a fascinating performance.

Oh, I like Charlton Heston a lot, in fact. He was a really great actor and with his impeccable sense of artistry and an array of emotions. And his part in this film as that of General Andrew Jackson, yes, a future President, is probably the best of all. The rest is simply mediocre. Yul Brinner as the titular pirate is at best even and absolutely bland. And then, of my, all those naive pavilion shots, directed by the very Anthony Quinn, who failed at all levels, and even all mighty Cecil DeMille was unable to mend this awful mess of romantic drama, pirates fairy tale, slightly kiddish take on morals...Any better moment? yeah, the best one is a probably the most famous - The Battle Of New Orleans - that Highlanders Charge is the high point of the whole film, but these 20 minutes cannot save 2 hours of yawn and plod and drag and terrible naivety. Yes, such films must be watched for the sake of knowledge that there were truly abominable pseudo historic efforts. My rating - 1 out of 10 - awful

This movie has great stars in their earlier years: Ingor Stevens never looked prettier; Yul Brynner was a very convincing Jean LaFitte, conflicted about his piracy and desiring to keep neutrality with the United States. Charlton Heston did a pretty good job as Andrew Jackson, but some moments were a bit stilted. It's really a good flick for students to learn that part of our history, AND it shows that all happy endings do NOT include the lovers getting together with each other--sometimes the happier ending is that they sail away and find partners of similar background who will understand them better in the long run. I have viewed it every year at least twice for 16 years now; and though it is not the best movie I've ever seen, I love it every time!

The Battle of New Orleans, which took place on on 8th January 1815, was one of the most futile battles ever fought. The absurd War of 1812 had been brought to an end by the Treaty of Ghent, signed on 24th December 1814, but news of the peace treaty had not yet reached America by the time of the battle. The battle ended in an American victory, but even if it had ended in a British one it would have made no difference to the outcome of the war. It might, however, have made a difference to subsequent American history- had Andrew Jackson, the American commander, been defeated, he might never have become President.

The film tells a largely fictionalised account of the battle. The "buccaneer" of the title is Jean Lafitte, a notorious French pirate, who teams up with Jackson and Governor Claiborne of Louisiana to thwart the British attack. A completely fictional sub-plot deals with a love triangle involving Lafitte, the Governor's daughter Annette, and Bonnie Brown, the daughter of a rival pirate. (Lafitte was a real person, Annette and Bonnie are fictitious). This was the second film version of this story; the first "The Buccaneer" had been made in 1938, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who also intended to direct this version. Ill health, however, meant that he had to delegate the direction to his son-in-law, Anthony Quinn. DeMille, who was to die the following year, contented himself with acting as executive producer and speaking a brief prologue. He here reunites Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston, the two stars of his last completed movie, "The Ten Commandments". This was the second film in which Heston had played Andrew Jackson, the first being "The President's Lady" from 1953. Brynner, unusually for him, has a full head of hair; contrary to popular belief he was not naturally bald.

This was the only film which Quinn ever directed. (Other big-name stars who only ever directed a single film include Charles Laughton ("Night of the Hunter"), Marlon Brando ("One-Eyed Jacks") and John Mills ("Sky West and Crooked")). I have never seen the 1938 version, and we cannot know how the 1958 film might have turned out with DeMille at the helm, but somehow we can tell that it was the work of a rookie director, because the action never seems to flow easily. This, however, is not the film's only fault, and some of the others could not have been overcome, no matter who had been directing. The plot is often confusing and some characters' motivations can be difficult to discern. Why, for example, is Annette in love with Lafitte when she believes (wrongly) that he was responsible for the death of her sister? And why does Bonnie fall in love with him when she knows (quite correctly) that he was responsible for the death of her father?

The film's moral position is equally difficult to make out. In the fifties the Production Code, which forbade sympathetic portrayals of criminals, was still in force. This was, however, a period when pirate movies were popular, so some sort of excuse for the pirates had to be found to keep the Hays Office happy. (In "Against All Flags", for example, Errol Flynn's character turns out to be an undercover agent helping the Royal Navy to suppress piracy). Here the excuse found for Lafitte is that he turns out to be a sincere American patriot, despite his French origins. The mood of patriotism is set from the start when DeMille tells us in his prologue that the United States was "fighting for its very existence" in the War of 1812, which is quite untrue. (If there was a country fighting for its very existence in that war it was Canada).

Much stress is made of Lafitte's refusal to attack ships flying the American flag, not because he fears reprisals from the US Navy but because he admires the ideals enshrined in the American Constitution. We are also supposed to accept that Lafitte's decision to assist the Americans rather than the British has everything to do with this political idealism and nothing to do with the fact that Jackson has offered him a free pardon if he does so. We are also asked to accept that those inhabitants of New Orleans who do not share Lafitte's enthusiasm for the American cause are traitors to their country, even though most were French citizens forced to become Americans against their will by the Louisiana Purchase.

Brynner gives a reasonable performance as Lafitte, but Heston is not at his best here. (I have never seen "The President's Lady" so cannot say how his two portrayals of Jackson compare). "The Buccaneer", however, is a confusing, muddled film which tries to mythologise the bloodshed involved in a futile battle. It would have been more appropriate to have concentrated on the tragic irony of men killing each other when the countries for which they fought were officially at peace. 4/10.

As Cecil B. DeMille said in a theatrical trailer of this, his last movie, see the movie to determine whether or not Jean Lafitte during the War of 1812 is a hero or villain. Nobody could have portrayed the buccaneer LaFitte better that Yul Brynner, which is why he did play that part.(Brynner was not one bit bald-headed in the movie.) And, nobody could have portrayed better General Andrew Jackson than did Charlton Heston, and so he did. Inger Stevens was adorable as LaFitte's love interest. Brynner and Heston clicked well together as they did in The Ten Commandments.

The battle of New Orleans in this movie is hot in more ways than one, with plenty of gunfire and small rockets flying around in the muggy, hot, swamp there in the New Orleans area.

To be sure, the War of 1812 is, again, depicted well, so convincingly. As always, the champion movie director Cecil B. DeMille made here a great directing feat and, since this was his last major production, "left on a good note."

Good sides: Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson! Could not have picked anyone better! Now, throw in some damn dirty apes, and the world is perfect. Jean Lafitte was illustrated in a good way(with a REAL foreign accent), but like any other movie based on historical events, they have to screw it up. Bad Sides: I.e., Migs and the Corinthian causing Lafitte to leave. WRONG. The pirates were too "nice". Also wrong. A pirate in that day would kill a priest for gold. Overall, it was an interesting movie, but if you're a historian who wanted it for its educational value, keep looking. I give it a 5.5 outta 10.

We all know how Anthony Quinn got the opportunity to direct a swashbuckling epic as his debut, with Cecil B. DeMille backing the production, but that's no reason to criticize him. After all, they wouldn't have the phrase of, "It's who you know," if it weren't true. I don't know if he felt overwhelmed tackling such a big picture, or if he just didn't enjoy the experience, but he never directed again. This was also C.B.'s final film, and his illness was the reason he passed his director's hat to his son-in-law.

There are two stories in this movie: one's a pirate adventure and the other's the War of 1812. Eventually they coincide, but to start off, you'll wonder how the pirate-y Yul Brynner and Andrew Jackson (aka Charlton Heston) ever coincide. Yul is off pirating: pillaging ships, selling the loot, crashing parties, and sweeping respectable women off their feet. His latest conquest is the proper Inger Stevens, daughter of Governor E.G. Marshall. Yul's faithful sidekick is Charles Boyer; I always wondered what movie he made instead of Gigi in 1958, since he would have been wonderful as Honoré Lachaille.

Speaking of what movies people made instead of other ones, Henry Hull costars as Charlton Heston's faithful sidekick; he might have taken Charles Bickford's part in The Big Country. Instead, he's a cross between Daniel Boone and an overprotective nanny, always trying to get Chuck to drink his milk, yet popping up in the nick of time with his rifle aimed. In that section of the plot, Andrew Jackson is working his way through the War of 1812.

If you like the cast, you can give it a shot. It's always fun to see Yul Brynner with a wig, and if you liked Charlton Heston playing Andrew Jackson in 1953, you'll like seeing him reprise the role in this movie. But the story lags quite a bit, the actors aren't given anything to do, and somehow, even with C.B. DeMille backing it, the production values make it look like a B-picture. This is the kind of movie you won't press pause on when you want to get more popcorn.

This is an entertaining and fun older movie! The acting is in the typical 'over the top' Hollywood form, such as in the Ten Commandments (That Yul Brenner and Charlton Heston were also in), but it's enjoyable and it kept me engaged. If you are looking for something historically accurate, this will not be what you are looking for. It is apparent that the writer sympathizes with the Pirate Lafitte. He definitely romanticizes him,and holds him nearly blameless in this story. In all actuality, there are many areas of Lafitte's life that remain a complete mystery. I liked the bits of humor added into the story, especially by the characters played by Heston's side-kick, and Brenner's side-kick. The colors, clothing, props, battle scene, are all visually attractive, and of course, Yul Brenner is as mesmerizing as ever! This movie most likely isn't going to be one of your top 10 all-time favorite movies, but it definitely doesn't belong in the 'rotten tomatoes' list, either. I'd say it's definitely above average!

I wonder why this valuable picture was so underrated, a true lavish production, the story apart some inaccurate little facts on dramatization for film purpose, it's enough attractive due this make part of American's history, a special meaning was the ship Corinthian for obvious reason, it's was the trigger that involved Jean Lafitte on war between Americans and British, Charlton Heston as previously already done Andrew Jackson is great, here we have how New Orleans was the key of America's victory, the cast of thousand great actors, however I would like to point out the staggering action of Charles Boyer as second in command of Lafitte supposedly former General of France's Army, amusing and charming character, also Brynner (with hair) sparkled when necessary, underpinned an obscure dark side of the real Jean Lafitte, a bright production that at last came to Brazil totally restored, but unfortunately no bonus attached !!!

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First watch: 1987 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8.25