This film is among my personal favorites of the less successful MGM musicals. There's really no good reason why this was not a hit; I can only fantasize about a period of time in the 1940s when so many great films were being made with so many fantastic stars like Gene Kelly and Judy Garland that people could actually overlook a film as fun and beautiful as this one is.
Kelly is more impressive in the film than Garland, who doesn't look like she's 100% healthy. I get a strong feeling that Kelly is living out a childhood Doug Fairbanks fantasy; he does some stunts in the balletic sequence that really do look dangerous, and Alton/Kelly/Minnelli go out of their way to show Kelly's face so that you know that it's really him. This ballet sequence serves the same function as many other dream sequences in Minnelli's films, expressing a psychological transition for the protagonist at the same time as expressing a wish/fulfillment, in this case Manuela's attraction shifting to Serafin and Serafin's own ego-fantasy as the dashing outlaw.
Garland does really show off her great comic timing; this is one of those movies where the characters are definitely just modern types planted in the middle of a historical setting, and humorous anachronisms and slang abound. To fit the light farcical mood, director Minnelli and designer Gibbons have created a rarified cinematic Caribbean unlike any real world place in any time; an effect similar to the faerie-tale South of his "Cabin in the Sky" but which more specifically modifies the visual motifs of "Yolanda and the Thief." The photography by Harry Stradling is some of the best you will ever see in a musical film; particularly impressive are the firelit "Mack the Black" and Pirate dream-ballet.
The film functions either as a fanciful escape or as an almost satirical statement about the battle of the sexes and sexual politics in general which reaches a peak rarely equaled in musical history in the famous scene when Manuela throws every object within each at Seraphin. Manuela starts off in a situation that's so degrading and abject that even in the context of the more paternal 40s culture it would have been disturbing for example when Manuela's guardian-aunt (Gladys Cooper) informs her that she doesn't need to meet her fiancé because "he's not marrying you to hear you talk." Manuela has the desire to see the world and travel, and her "affianced" simply says he's been there/done that and "I'll tell you all about it." Manuela in other words is a virtual slave in her society, which adds dark humor to her rejection of the "lowly" actor Serafin which forces him to masquerade as the apparently more socially acceptable pirate (the irony here is accented neon-sign style by the scene where Judy pretends to be mourning as she prepares to meet "Macoco"). Macoco is a symbol of freedom for Manuela and the film really gets interesting because although of course Serafin isn't really Macoco, he does really offer her not only the chance to travel but also (through "the Art of Mesmer") undreamed-of opportunities for self-expression through music and role-playing (none of which, as we noted above, the "real" Macoco has any interest in offering her). The pivotal moments in their romance all involve role-playing and the film shamelessly milks the irony of these role-reversals as the situational comedy rises to a crescendo. Serafim is hooked on Manuela as soon as he sees her performance and her effect on the audience when she sings "Mack the Black", one of Porter's better tunes for this film. Then we have Sarafin attempting to woo her by pretending to be the romantic pirate. But we really don't know if she loves him until she has discovered his "true" identity and engages in role-playing of her own, briefly convincing Serafin that she buys his act long enough to makes some humorously offensive comments about his acting abilities. At the moment Serafin realizes he's been "had", we know they're in love and Manuela immediately proceeds with an orgasmic barrage of projectiles. This scene functions to humble the Serafin character also, and his perseverance in the face of such an assault assures us that his womanizing "Nina" days are over. The flirtation is consummated when the 2 collaborate in performance and fool Macoco into revealing his identity. There's nowhere else for the film to go from there, and the couple celebrate their new love and freedom of expression with "Be a Clown" whoever says this song does not fit into the story is missing something I think.
It's definitely not Porter's best work, because the ballads feel a bit underwhelming compared to the dance numbers, throwing the film irretrievably into Kelly's lap. But we have here a glorious entertaining musical that shows off the talents of 2 great stars. We also have guest performers who add a lot particularly Slezak's greasy turn as the "real" pirate seeking social respectability and the incomparable dancing team of the Nicholas Brothers, who join Kelly in a groundbreaking inter-racial dance. And we have a story that provides ample situational comedy and reveals layers of contemplation about the space between fantasy and reality and shows us how true love can sometimes be found in the place where fantasy and reality converge on the theater stage where fiction reveals its ironic truth and a hungry audience expects to be surprised. Thus I think this film anticipates the theme of Minnelli's great "Band Wagon" with its celebration of entertainment and also forms, like his later "Gigi", a softly delivered message about female liberation. Manuela has found not the promised quiet domesticity planned for her, nor the fantasy of pirate abduction (both of which are simply different or opposed axes of male domination), but instead a lover who respects her and a way of life that will encourage her to express and explore her emotions.
Kelly is more impressive in the film than Garland, who doesn't look like she's 100% healthy. I get a strong feeling that Kelly is living out a childhood Doug Fairbanks fantasy; he does some stunts in the balletic sequence that really do look dangerous, and Alton/Kelly/Minnelli go out of their way to show Kelly's face so that you know that it's really him. This ballet sequence serves the same function as many other dream sequences in Minnelli's films, expressing a psychological transition for the protagonist at the same time as expressing a wish/fulfillment, in this case Manuela's attraction shifting to Serafin and Serafin's own ego-fantasy as the dashing outlaw.
Garland does really show off her great comic timing; this is one of those movies where the characters are definitely just modern types planted in the middle of a historical setting, and humorous anachronisms and slang abound. To fit the light farcical mood, director Minnelli and designer Gibbons have created a rarified cinematic Caribbean unlike any real world place in any time; an effect similar to the faerie-tale South of his "Cabin in the Sky" but which more specifically modifies the visual motifs of "Yolanda and the Thief." The photography by Harry Stradling is some of the best you will ever see in a musical film; particularly impressive are the firelit "Mack the Black" and Pirate dream-ballet.
The film functions either as a fanciful escape or as an almost satirical statement about the battle of the sexes and sexual politics in general which reaches a peak rarely equaled in musical history in the famous scene when Manuela throws every object within each at Seraphin. Manuela starts off in a situation that's so degrading and abject that even in the context of the more paternal 40s culture it would have been disturbing for example when Manuela's guardian-aunt (Gladys Cooper) informs her that she doesn't need to meet her fiancé because "he's not marrying you to hear you talk." Manuela has the desire to see the world and travel, and her "affianced" simply says he's been there/done that and "I'll tell you all about it." Manuela in other words is a virtual slave in her society, which adds dark humor to her rejection of the "lowly" actor Serafin which forces him to masquerade as the apparently more socially acceptable pirate (the irony here is accented neon-sign style by the scene where Judy pretends to be mourning as she prepares to meet "Macoco"). Macoco is a symbol of freedom for Manuela and the film really gets interesting because although of course Serafin isn't really Macoco, he does really offer her not only the chance to travel but also (through "the Art of Mesmer") undreamed-of opportunities for self-expression through music and role-playing (none of which, as we noted above, the "real" Macoco has any interest in offering her). The pivotal moments in their romance all involve role-playing and the film shamelessly milks the irony of these role-reversals as the situational comedy rises to a crescendo. Serafim is hooked on Manuela as soon as he sees her performance and her effect on the audience when she sings "Mack the Black", one of Porter's better tunes for this film. Then we have Sarafin attempting to woo her by pretending to be the romantic pirate. But we really don't know if she loves him until she has discovered his "true" identity and engages in role-playing of her own, briefly convincing Serafin that she buys his act long enough to makes some humorously offensive comments about his acting abilities. At the moment Serafin realizes he's been "had", we know they're in love and Manuela immediately proceeds with an orgasmic barrage of projectiles. This scene functions to humble the Serafin character also, and his perseverance in the face of such an assault assures us that his womanizing "Nina" days are over. The flirtation is consummated when the 2 collaborate in performance and fool Macoco into revealing his identity. There's nowhere else for the film to go from there, and the couple celebrate their new love and freedom of expression with "Be a Clown" whoever says this song does not fit into the story is missing something I think.
It's definitely not Porter's best work, because the ballads feel a bit underwhelming compared to the dance numbers, throwing the film irretrievably into Kelly's lap. But we have here a glorious entertaining musical that shows off the talents of 2 great stars. We also have guest performers who add a lot particularly Slezak's greasy turn as the "real" pirate seeking social respectability and the incomparable dancing team of the Nicholas Brothers, who join Kelly in a groundbreaking inter-racial dance. And we have a story that provides ample situational comedy and reveals layers of contemplation about the space between fantasy and reality and shows us how true love can sometimes be found in the place where fantasy and reality converge on the theater stage where fiction reveals its ironic truth and a hungry audience expects to be surprised. Thus I think this film anticipates the theme of Minnelli's great "Band Wagon" with its celebration of entertainment and also forms, like his later "Gigi", a softly delivered message about female liberation. Manuela has found not the promised quiet domesticity planned for her, nor the fantasy of pirate abduction (both of which are simply different or opposed axes of male domination), but instead a lover who respects her and a way of life that will encourage her to express and explore her emotions.