A splendid bit of fluff. At the cost of a then-whopping 3.6 million dollars, Paramount’s pirate romance certainly has the feel of a grand adventure, although it’s ultimately just the tale of a bored aristocratic lady who’s weary of her life of privilege and disdainful of her boorish husband. Basically, affluent white chick slumming it with minorities for kicks.
Based on the Du Maurier novel, it checks off her adoration of grand mansions by the sea. A non-binary writer, her style is well-complimented by openly gay director/costume designer Mitchell Leisen, who litters the screen with elegant, lush visuals enhanced by the technicolor 4K restoration. And there are plenty of beefcakes as well, so there’s that.
Joan Fontaine is quite amusing, particularly in her lighter scenes as she slyly mocks befuddled blue bloods. She was apparently a total diva on set, complaining about carrying the entire movie on her own. Every scene between her and her onscreen paramour Arturo de Cordova involving close-ups were shot with stand-ins due to the mutual animosity between the two leads.
The real scene-stealer, however, is actually Cecil Kellaway as a rascally, devoted servant always one-step ahead of everyone.
It’s far too long and runs out of steam in its third act, but it’s a fairly harmless affair in which you can see the conclusion coming from a mile away.
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