Pirates in Media
Film
The Black Pirate
- 1926, IMDB: 7.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
- United Artists
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Billie Dove
- Silent movie
- National Film Registry of the Library of Congress
- “Culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
- Fairbanks sets the stage for swashbuckling
Treasure Island
- 1934, 7.1
- Lowe’s Inc.
- Wallace Beery
- Jackie Cooper
- Lionel Barrymore
- Based on Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883
Captain Blood
- 1935, 7.7
- Warner Bros. Inc.
- Errol Flynn
- Olivia de Havilland
- Basil Rathbone
- Established both Flynn and de Havilland as major stars
- They would co-star in 8 movies
The Buccaneer
- 1938, 6.6
- Paramount Pictures
- Frederic March - Jean Lafitte
- Francisca Gaal
- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Jamaica Inn
- 1939, 6.3
- Mayflower Productions
- Charles Laughton
- Maureen O’Hara
- Robert Newton
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- Thriller based on the book of the same title
The Sea Hawk
- 1940, 7.6
- Warner Bros.
- Errol Flynn
- Brenda Marshall
- Claude Rains
Reap The Wild Wind
- 1942, 6.6
- Paramount Pictures
- Ray Milland
- John Wayne
- Paulette Goddard
- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
- Based on a serialized story written in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post.
The Black Swan
- 1942, 6.7
- 20th Century Fox
- Tyrone Power
- Maureen O’Hara
- Anthony Quinn
- Based on the 1932 novel
Frenchman’s Creek
- 1944, 6.1
- Paramount Pictures
- Basil Rathbone
- Joan Fontaine
- Adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1941 novel of the same name, about an aristocratic Englishwoman who falls in love with a French pirate.
The Princess and The Pirate
- 1944, 6.8, 82%
- Samuel Goldwyn Productions
- Bob Hope
- Virginia Mayo
- Walter Brennan
- Walter Slezak
- A cowardly actor and runaway princess on board a ship that is captured by a notorious pirate.
The Pirate
- 1948, 6.9
- MGM
- Judy Garland
- Gene Kelly
- Musical, based on the 1942 Broadway play
Treasure Island
- 1950, 6.9
- Disney
- Robert Newton
- Bobby Driscoll
- Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson 1883 novel
- First Disney live action film, best movie version of Treasure Island
- Robert Newton sets the standard for 'Pirate Speak'
Anne of the Indies
- 1951, 6.6
- 20th Century Fox
- Jean Peters
- Louis Jourdan
- Based on a 1947 article published in the Saturday Evening Post
Against All Flags
- 1952, 6.5
- Universal
- Errol Flynn
- Maureen O’Hara
- Anthony Quinn
- Set in Madagascar
The Crimson Pirate
- 1952, 7.1, 84%
- Warner Bros.
- Burt Lancaster
- Eva Bartok
- Set in the Caribbean
The Buccaneer
- 1958, 6.4
- Paramount Pictures
- Yul Brynner - Jean Lafitte
- Claire Bloom
- Charles Boyer
- Charlton Heston
- Inger Stevens
Blackbeard’s Ghost
- 1968, 6.8, 72%
- Disney
- Peter Ustinov - Blackbeard
- Dean Jones
- Suzanne Pleshette
- Set in modern times with the ghost of Blackbeard
Swashbuckler
- 1976, 6.0, 58%
- Universal
- Robert Shaw
- James Earl Jones
- Peter Boyle
- Genevieve Bujold
- Beau Bridges
- Angelica Huston
- Romantic Adventure
The Pirate Movie
- 1982, 5.3, 77%
- 20th Century Fox
- Cristopher Atkins
- Kristy McNichol
- Musical romantic comedy loosely based on Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera
- "A movie so bad, it's almost good"
Pirates of Penzance
- 1983, 7.1, 81%
- Universal
- Kevin Kline
- Angela Lansbury
- Linda Ronstadt
- Romantic musical based on Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera
Yellowbeard
- 1983, 5.9, 64%
- Orion
- Graham Chapman
- Peter Boyle
- Cheech & Chong
- Marty Feldman
- Eric Idle
- Madeline Kahn
- Comedy, Multiple scripts and rewrites
- Tragically, Marty Feldman's last movie. He passed away before his last scene, a death scene which had be completed with a stand-in.
The Princess Bride
- 1987, 8.0, 94%
- 20th Century Fox
- Carey Elwes
- Robin Wright
- Mandy Patinkin
- Director: Rob Reiner
- Selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registryas being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant"
Hook
- 1981, 6.8, 76%
- TriStar
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Dustin Hoffman
- Robin Williams
- Julia Roberts
- Bob Hoskins
- Maggie Smith
- Sequel to J. M. Barrie's 1911 novel Peter and Wendy
Cutthroat Island
- 1995, 5.7, 40%
- Carolco/ MGM
- Geena Davis
- Matthew Modine
- Frank Langella
- Multiple rewrites and recasts, disastrous box office results
- Severely reduced the bankability of Pirate themed movies until Pirates of the Caribbean
Muppet Treasure Island
- 1996, 6.9, 77%
- Walt Disney Pictures
- The Muppets
- Tim Curry
- Musical comedy
- Based on the Treasure Island novel
Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl
- 2003, 8.1, 86%
- Disney
- Johnny Depp
- Keira Knightly
- Geoffrey Rush
- Orlando Bloom
- Based on the Disneyland theme park ride
- Flagship for Pirates of the Caribbean film series
Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest
- 2006, 7.3, 53%
- Disney
- Johnny Depp
- Keira Knightly
- Geoffrey Rush
- Orlando Bloom
- Bill Nighy
Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End
- 2007, 7.1, 44%
- Disney
- Johnny Depp
- Keira Knightly
- Geoffrey Rush
- Orlando Bloom
- Bill Nighy
Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides
- 2011, 6.6, 33%
- Disney
- Johnny Depp
- Penelope Cruz
- Ian McShane
- Geoffrey Rush
- Kevin McNally
- Based on the 1987 novel On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers as a standalone sequel to At World's End (2007)
Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales
- 2017, 6.5, 30%
- Disney
- Johnny Depp
- Javier Bardem
- Kaya Scoledario
- Kevin McNally
- Pirates of the Caribbean film series has grossed over $4.5 Billion
Literature
Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe
The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton (1720) by Daniel Defoe; both books by Defoe were among the first novels to depict piracy, among other maritime adventures.
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates (1724) by Captain Charles Johnson (possibly a pseudonym for Defoe) introduced many features which later became common in pirate literature, such as pirates with missing legs or eyes, the myth of pirates burying treasure, and the name of the pirates flag Jolly Roger.
The Corsair (1814), a poem by Byron concerns a pirate captain. It directly inspired Berlioz' overture Le Corsair (1844).
The Pirate (1821), a novel by Sir Walter Scott.
"The Gold-Bug" (1843), a short story by Edgar Allan Poe featured a search for buried treasure hidden by Captain William Kidd and found by following an elaborate code on a scrap of parchment.
Fanny Campbell, the Female Pirate Captain (1844), a novel about a woman who goes to sea dressed as a man to rescue her fiancé and becomes a pirate captain by Maturin Murray Ballou
Treasure Island (1883), a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Black Corsair (1898), first in a series of pirate novels by Emilio Salgari.
Sandokan (1883–1913), a series of pirate novels by Emilio Salgari. Set in Malaysia in the late 1800s.
Captain Blood (1922), a novel by Rafael Sabatini (followed by two sequels:Captain Blood Returns (aka The Chronicles of Captain Blood] and The Fortunes of Captain Blood, each being a collection of Captain Blood adventures).
The Dealings of Captain Sharkey (1925), a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famous for his stories of Sherlock Holmes.
Queen of the Black Coast (1934), novelette by Robert E. Howard features Bêlit a pirate queen who has a romantic relationship with Conan. She is Conan's first serious lover.
Atlas Shrugged (1957) by Ayn Rand contains a fictional pirate Ragnar Danneskjöld whose activities are motivated by a capitalist ideology.
The Princess Bride (1973), a novel by William Goldman has "The Dread Pirate Roberts" as one of its central characters.
The Island (1979) by Peter Benchley and the 1980 movie adaptation for which he wrote the screenplay, feature a latter-day band of pirates who prey on civilian shipping in the Caribbean.
On Stranger Tides (1987), a historical fantasy novel by Tim Powers. It was loosely adapted into the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film.
Bloody Jack (2002), a historical novel by L.A. Meyer.
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down (2008) by Colin Woodard.
Pirate Hunters (2015), Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson
