“THE BLACK PIRATE,” BIG FAIRBANKS FILM, SHOWS AT GRAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18063, 25 January 1927, Page 7

“THE BLACK PIRATE,” BIG FAIRBANKS FILM, SHOWS AT GRAND.

AN EXTRAVAGANZA OF UNIQUE MERIT. in or r t ., co iZc f e u p'; i j 1 ? th 1 '; n o? thing more original in its o’rcsentat ion than “The Black Pirate " Dougl-is Fairhas been shown in for a ,ong lime - Jt - is a de ' i 1 i Plct U,v> ’ c, everly played and mounted. It is brimful of thrills, and there is about it. an atmosphere of romance, an element of galploits * that are' calciUaTed ?e r alTisU,rvfvid and^' 9 " * UUp 1L ia t**P o + Bla,a Fairbanks as"been"responsbut he r ii m H ny g T eat nims in his time, P?ra£e t ’* S Ho han 1,0 "The Black him like the proverbial glove. His characterisation is, perfect. There is nothing ■forced about it. It is marked by sincerity and conviction. The story is a good one and Jt. has been handled in just that manner tha.t. ensures success It is a picture telling of pirates and their daring escapades, blood-thirst v looking cutthroats, like the ones ovo'ry school-boy reads about and dreams about. Then . there is Fairbanks, not nearly so fearS ?rate ,ie makes a wonderful ate of the penny dreadful. He may not possess the lineaments of the one-evod terror of the picture books, but he does all the reckless things, and takes all ihe risks of the most, daring of pirates, and he. does it as though he had been a pirate all his life. There are many villainous buccaneers to assist him in what he does and lend colour to the picture, and they are successful in stirring up quite a lot of trouble. The. picture carries one back to the days when pirates were the dread of every skipper who put to sea, when the vicious seadogs infested the seven seas preying on their fellow-men. The producer‘lias suceedecjl in catching up the spirit of that age, and the fact that the picture has been produced in technicolour really adds to the effect. It is not a farfetched picture by any means. It all might have happened back in those romantic days. Although the story is crammed brimful with action there is room *for the introduction of the love interest, and Fairbanks fights his way through the picture with the image <>f a beautiful woman ever before him. Tt helped him to fight, no doubt. Every man, every boy will admire Fairbanks in "The Black Pirate.” He does just those things that romantic adolescence is ever dreaming about; he is just that good fellow, just that true-to-type gallant, that everybody likes. The picture has been produced on a big scale. It is evident that no expense wa.s spared to make it a success. There are many beautiful settings, of the kind which one looks for in all Fairbanks pictures. And in "The Black Pirate,” he is the same fighting Fairbanks that movie patrons know so well. He is fighting all the way. Sometimes it’s for revenge, more often it is for love, but he is always there when there's trouble. Billie Dove is his leading lady, and she was certainly worth fighting for. Her work is marked by artistry from beginning to end. The Grand Quality Orchestra plays special orchestral numbers appropriate to the picture.