Here is a film that does not even appear in the Leonard Maltin Classic Movie Guide. It's reputation is such that most people would overlook it even if they had the chance to see it. The third feature film to be filmed in Technicolor, it seems to exist only in a black-and-white public domain print. That said, I found this to be a delightful old-fashioned style musical with a wisp of a plot that was apparently based on a true story. Charles Collins, an English musical star is featured in the lead role, and he proves to be a competent actor as well as a terrific dancer. Steffi Duna was enchanting in the female leading role. There are several well-staged dance numbers set to beautiful Rodgers and Hart music. One book says that these songs, along with just about everything else in the movie "walks the plank". I find the music, especially the lovely "When You're Dancing The Waltz" to be beautiful. My only regret is not being able to see this in Technicolor. However, I suppose, with all the older films that have been lost due to indifference or neglect, I should be grateful to see this in any form. Anyway, I liked it, regardless of what the critics say.

A mélange of action comedy romance and musical doesn't really work since its trying to be too many things all at once. The plot has a dance teacher getting shanghaied into becoming a pirate and sailing from the east coast of America to the west where the pirates come up and try to take over a town in Spanish California. Our hero of course defects, but is thrown in prison because everyone assumes he's one of the bad guys. Straightening things out he has to over come the town bad guy and head of the local militia who is engaged to the daughter of the "mayor" of the town. She doesn't love the villain, but our hero.Can you tell I wasn't much interested? The music is fair, the dancing adequate and the story way too busy. It feels at times like they are trying to do a musical version of Zorro but with out the mask. I will admit that it didn't help that I saw this Technicolor film in black and white so the garish costume designs looked worse and the sets looked very much like bad cheap sets. That said the cast is at best fair with Charles Collins (in one of his very few screen roles) as the dancing romantic lead very bland and second billed Frank (the Wizard of Oz) Morgan proving that he is better in support then in a lead where his abilities are strained a bit too much.In its way its not a bad film, rather it's the sort of thing that was just sort of misses. I'm guessing the film was skimped on since the Technicolor film stock ate up most of the budget.Not the worst thing to come down the pike, but not something I need ever see again.

I would have liked the movie even more, I'm sure, if I'd seen the color version. Unfortunately, the only version I could find was the black-and-white, which I purchased out of curiosity from a bin of one dollar DVDs at Wal-Mart. Anyhow, "The Dancing Pirate" is certainly no masterpiece, but it's hard to dislike this movie. It's harmless, goofy, sort-of-weird entertainment (just about what you'd expect from the title), and the main character is a likable guy. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't actually contain any dancing pirates (the main character, "a dancing master," is mistaken for a pirate), but the dancing it does contain ain't bad. If you're the type of person who'd consider buying a movie called "The Dancing Pirate" from a bin of one dollar DVDs at Wal-Mart, you'll like this movie, as did I.

While I note that the other comments are positive about this film I can't be. I purchased a video of it in 1988 or so, and it was the only time I saw any store carrying a video of it. It is the first technicolor musical, and it is a Rogers and Hart score (one good tune: "Are You My Love?"), and Morgan and Luis Alberni try to do the best with their parts, and Stefi Duna is a good dancer. Unfortunately, the screenplay is weak, and so is Charles Collins. How Collins got the role is a mystery, although I suspect he was not the first person to be approached for the role: Judging from his height and build it is possible that the role was meant to be offered to the similarly slender and tall Fred Astaire. Astaire (if he was approached) wisely declined because the script is so bad. The central character never becomes interesting enough to involve ourselves in his life. Collins probably got the role because he is a dancer (his opening scene is demonstrating a dance to a music box he turns on). But he was a stiff, and boring, and timid actor. Maybe an Astaire could have colored the role properly, but Collins couldn't. And the story requires coloring. The> shanghaid dancer is mistaken for a pirate in California. He is treated well by Morgan (the local bumbling alcalde), until a squad of soldiers come to the town. They take over (quite literally - they are a squad of soldiers turned brigands under Victor Valconi and Jack La Rue), and are only stopped when Collins suddenly cannot take their taunts anymore and leads the peasants against them. It is just too much of a leap of faith for a viewer to accept. And the film fails as a result.When recalling Rogers and Hart for their musicals, think PAL JOEY or THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE (on stage). Or remember their early musical films (experimental ones) HALLELUJAH I'M A BUM! and LOVE ME TONIGHT. Don't remember them for THE DANCING PIRATE