The Buccaneer

Swell mass appeal in DeMillian swashbuckling romantic melodrama made for entertainment only. When we say it was made for entertainment only we are paying DeMille the finest compliment, for here is surging, swashbuckling, colorful, romantic adventure that is cunningly contrived to give the crowd as well as the intelligent upper strata an hour and one-half of excitement and suspense that never goes too serious and at the same time gets over the patriotic fervor of those parlous times when Andrew Jackson's army with the help of Jean Lafitte's buccaneers of the bayous drove the British army back from New Orleans. Craftsmanship and showmanship stand out sumptuously and prodigally in every department of production. One of the outstanding DeMillian achievements in this production is the superb manner in which he has brought to life on the screen the pulsing, boisterous atmosphere of the period. Here is a picture in which the audience completely loses itself and becomes excited as the stirring events unfold. The picture contains some of the most magnificent hokum bits ever projected on a screen, combined with sound, brilliant craftsmanship that sets this production apart as a skillful example of directorial achievement. For once we have a picture where as far as the leading players are concerned it is every man for himself, and if you can steal a scene, why, go ahead and steal it. For that's what the public wants and why not give colorful characters a chance to strut their stuff in an historical romantic period where everybody was doing something worth looking at before movies were born and only a star is allowed to do anything. DeMille must have thought so, for he allows Franciska Gaal, Akim Tamiroff, Walter Peavey, Hugh Sothern and a dozen of the swashbuckling buccaneer characters to grab off scene after scene to the utter delight of audiences accustomed to see the star as a miracle man or girl who does everything. And this is no disparagement of the work of Fredric March. He had plenty of fat scenes, and went to town with them brilliantly. In the final analysis, it is this building up of individual parts and scenes that keeps the picture engrossing, vital and tumultuously alive right through to the final frame. We can recall no picture outside of a few spectacular films where so many members of the cast contribute so much to the enjoyment. There are a couple of dozen bit parts that are so good that they deserve individual mention. Suffice it to say that the members of a long cast right down to the smallest part turn in performances that are a delight and evidence enormous preparation and rehearsing to attain the final result. We are not sending this in as an epic. Merely as a grand audience picture for any type of theater where folks just want out-and-out entertainment. Here is a picture that meets the qualifications of that phrase, "all-around appeal." Romance, drama, excitement, sentiment, pathos, beauty, charm, and above all, delightful comedy that comes to the audience through the work of a dozen different characters. Tamiroff and Franciska Gaal along with March easily lead the parade in fast company. Fine musical score by George Antheil. The sets and props, including two square rigged warships of the 1814 period, are the last word in colorful authenticity. A sure money picture anywhere.