In a Caribbean port town, a young woman engaged to marry fantasizes about a notorious pirate, and is pursued by a love-struck traveling circus performer.
Arthur Freed was a vaudeville singer, pianist, and songwriter who rose up through the ranks at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios to be given his own production unit in charge of musicals. Freed's recruitment of major Broadway players and his openness to experimentation within the form led to some of the most groundbreaking and influential films of the studio era, and created some of MGM's biggest stars. His production credits include Singin' In The Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis, Babes In Arms, The Clock, Easter Parade, On The Town, Annie Get Your Gun, Show Boat, An American In Paris, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, and Gigi, among many others.
Vincente Minnelli came from the theatre where he worked as a set and costume designer as well as director. He was brought on board at MGM by Freed in the early 1940's, and married his leading lady Judy Garland after their collaboration on Meet Me In St. Louis. Minnelli proved himself adept at comedies and melodramas, but made his biggest mark on cinema with his nine musicals produced within the Freed unit.
The Pirate reunited husband and wife as well as re-teaming Garland with her former co-star Gene Kelly. Kelly's name was on the rise for his athletic dancing and exuberant charm but also for his unique choreography of numbers for various films. Another big name brought into the mix was composer/lyricist Cole Porter, who contributed a selection of memorable songs for the film.
Controversy shadowed the film as Garland was ill and unavailable for over half of the scheduled shooting days, primarily due to her addiction to prescription medication from being overworked by the studio for the previous ten years. The heightened sexuality of Porter's lyrics and the suggestive choreography (which included more ballet than seen in most musicals of the day) caused friction with studio chief Louis B. Mayer, who actually had the negatives of one of the numbers burned. Kelly's insistence on performing with African-American act The Nicholas Brothers led to sequences being cut in some Southern cities.
The film turned out to be a box office failure, only making back half its budget, though it is now regarded as one of Minnelli and Kelly's most ambitious works, as well as one of their funniest.
Running time is approx. 100 minutes.
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