VIDEO
BY BLYTHE-SPINDLER RICHARDSON
With the star power of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, a
riotous score by Cole Porter, sensational choreography, and truly eye-popping
Technicolor, on paper Vincente Minnelli’s The Pirate has all of the trappings of
the smash hit musicals of the Golden Era, though went on to be an example that
this mathematical equation to success in the film industry was not as
predictable as it appeared. As a reinterpretation of S.N Behrman’s play by the same
title, which poked fun at the tropes of the swashbuckler genre, the film
traipses into the less traversed waters of satire, actively differentiating
from the mainstream musical narratives of the time arguably to a fault. Despite
being one of Minelli’s most notorious box office flops and having been eroded
from cultural consciousness unlike its cinematic relatives such as An American
in Paris or Meet Me in St. Louis, a quiet but impassioned debate has survived
into modernity; is The Pirate a lost experimental masterpiece that dared to
explore the social taboos of 1940s American culture, or a forgettable misstep
with glaring tonal and narrative inconsistencies?
The musical interlude of “Mack the Black†over the
opening credits fittingly establishes the stark oscillation in the tone of the
narrative, beginning with frantic ensemble vocals coupled with throbbing drums
and blaring horns, it warns of the pirate Macoco and his tirades, then
jarringly dissolves into tender, romantic string instrumentals to guide the
audience into the first scene. On a balcony over her candy-coated, dreamy
Caribbean hometown, Manuella Alva (Judy Garland) fauns over the story of Macoco
much to the chiding of her friends and Aunt Inez, who reveals that she has
arranged for her niece to marry the wealthy but utterly drab mayor, Don Pedro.
Reluctantly, Manuella agrees to the purely practical marriage on the condition
that she is able to visit the Caribbean Ocean during their stay in the coastal
town of Port Sebastian while picking up her wedding dress, as the sea to her
“means adventure and romance, and [she] won’t have any†after committing
herself to the self-admitted homebody Don Pedro. Immediately enchanted by the
ocean view upon her arrival with Aunt Inez, Manuella is not prepared for the
ruckus of the newly docked thespian troupe in town led by the boyishly
charismatic and mischievous actor Serafin (Gene Kelly), who interrupts her sea
gazing by ruthlessly circling her and admiring her beauty to her chagrin.
Vehemently rejecting both Serafin’s pleas to attend the troupe’s show that
evening and to marry him instead of her “pumpkin†of a fiancé, Manuella rushes
back to her hotel, only to toss and turn that night due to the sheer volume of
the show in the town square. She finally relents and joins the crowd to see the
troupe, and Serafin gleefully prepares for his pinnacle act, a hypnosis using
the “Great Mesmer’s Revolving Mirror†in order to coax Manuella to confess her
love for him, though the plan backfires when Manuella instead raves of the
dashing pirate Macoco in her trance, her full frenzied passion conveyed through
her rendition of “Mack the Blackâ€. Conflicted with his romantic disappointment
and captivation with Manuella’s unbridledly showmanship, Serafin snaps her out
of the spell with a passionate kiss and attempts to praise her performance, but
she is so horrified by her acts that she immediately flees Port Sebastian with
Aunt Inez in tow. Settled back and home, Manuella’s wedding preparations are
dashed when Serafin’s company loudly marches into town, and the actor makes a
scene of stealing into her room via tight wire. On the surface, Manuella is
hysterical about the intrusion, but internally struggles with the feelings of
excitement that Serafin prods her to admit. She escapes when Don Pedro barges
in, enraged and armed with the obvious weapon of choice, a bullwhip, the licks
of which Serafin leaps and frolics to avoid with fiendish delight, quickly
utilizing the mayor’s Achille’s heel by bellowing the infamous name “Macoco!â€
As Don Pedro sinks to the ground in shock and defeat, Serafin reveals that the
unassuming bureaucrat is the previously vicious but currently sick and retired
pirate, having recognized his true identity due to being a survivor of one of
his attacks. Using this delicate information, Serafin blackmails Don Pedro into
letting the troupe perform for the wedding, only to exit the room as a powerful
and sensual personification of Mack the Black, leading Manuella, her family,
and the rest of the villagers to believe that he is the true Macoco. In order
to spare the town from his wrath, he must have Manuella as his wife, the grand
illusion of power and identity theft that carries the conflict of the film.