The Crimson Pirate

The Crimson Pirate
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Siodmak
Written byRoland Kibbee
Waldo Salt (1st draft)[1]
Produced byNorman Deming
Harold Hecht
Burt Lancaster
StarringBurt Lancaster
Nick Cravat
Eva Bartok
Leslie Bradley
Torin Thatcher
James Hayter
CinematographyOtto Heller
Edited byJack Harris
Music byWilliam Alwyn
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • August 27, 1952 (1952-08-27) (New York)[2]
  • September 27, 1952 (1952-09-27) (U.S.)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.75 million[3]
Box office$2.5 million (US)[4]

The Crimson Pirate is a 1952 British-American Technicolor comedy-adventure film from Warner Bros. produced by Norman Deming and Harold Hecht, directed by Robert Siodmak, and starring Burt Lancaster, who also co-produced with Deming and Hecht. Co-starring in the film are Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Leslie Bradley, Torin Thatcher, and James Hayter. The film was shot in Ischia, the Bay of Naples and Teddington Studios. It makes the most of Lancaster's skills as a professional acrobat and his lifelong partnership with Cravat. Critics compared Lancaster favorably with Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

The Crimson Pirate is set late in the 18th century, on the fictional Caribbean islands of San Pero and Cobra. A rebellion is underway on Cobra, led by the mysterious "El Libre". Pirate Captain Vallo captures the King's ship carrying His Majesty's envoy, Baron Gruda, on his way to crush the rebellion and destroy El Libre. Vallo proposes that they join forces to earn a fortune for the Captain and his buccaneer crew by infiltrating the rebels and betraying them for the reward. However, things do not go as planned after Vallo meets El Libre's beautiful daughter.

  1. ^ "The Crimson Pirate (1952) - Articles - TCM.com". Archived from the original on 2012-05-04.
  2. ^ "The Crimson Pirate – Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Kate Buford, Burt Lancaster: An American Life, Da Capo 2000 p 117
  4. ^ 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953