Sunday, August 16, 2020

Yellowbeard (1983)

In 1687, Yellowbeard (Graham Chapman) captured the treasure of El Nebuloso (Tommy Chong) and his sidekick, El Segundo (Cheech Marin).  Soon thereafter, he was tossed into prison for tax evasion.  Twenty years later, he escaped to recover the vast treasure he had hidden on a Caribbean island.  Among those who try to follow him are his treacherous former first mate, Mr. Moon (Peter Boyle), and Commander Clement (Eric Idle) of the Royal Navy.

A mini-reunion of the Monty Python cast, Chapman and Idle were joined by John Cleese.  Cleese plays a blind man who has an uncanny knack of hearing every bit of news relevant to the plot.  Madeline Kahn appears as Yellowbeard's wife, Betty.  Betty drops the news that, just before Yellowbeard went to prison, she was pregnant with his son, Dan (Martin Hewitt).  Yellowbeard is not thrilled to hear that Dan is a gardener who has killed no one and committed no rapes.

The movie is mostly an excuse for a string of pirate-related skits.  There is a middle part that plays like Mutiny on the Bounty, which sees Captain Hughes (James Mason) set adrift in a longboat.  Mason was clearly on the downside of his career with this part although Mr. Prostitute (Greta Blackburn) was a hilarious addition to the crew.

Not a particularly good movie but it has its moments.  Though the titular character, Yellowbeard is mostly acting on the fringes of the story.  It is an ensemble piece and mostly follows the tale of Dan, who tends to be a hapless pawn.  Casting Peter Bull as Queen Anne was strange but funny.  I wonder what the opinion of Queen Anne is in England.  In this comedic telling, Lady Churchill (Susannah York) is the true ruler of England which is echoed in The Favourite.

The film is dedicated to Marty Feldman.  He died during the production, explaining his absence from the film's final act.

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