Blackbeard's Ghost
Spot the odd item out in the following sequence: Disney… slapstick
comedy… Dean Jones… the wandering ghost of Blackbeard the pirate.
(Hint: It isn’t Dean Jones). Peter Ustinov starred as the title spirit,
cursed by one of his many ex-wives to wander the earth until he could
find it in his black heart to do a good deed.
Elsa Lanchester, a descendant of the famed pirate, is in danger of
losing her home to a group of greedy racketeers, who want to convert it
into a casino. College track coach Steve Walker (Jones) accidentally
conjures up the old salt’s spirit, leading to one rioutous comedy bit
after another as Blackbeard and Steve learn how to find the happy
medium between their polar personalities.
The film featured the always-brilliant special effects work of Peter Ellenshaw, who had brought the magic of Mary Poppins to life for the studio a few years earlier. Though Blackbeard's Ghost
was nowhere near as successful as that all-time favorite, the movie had
more than its share of fans, who continued to enjoy its silly pleasures
as the movie popped up on Disney's TV shows.
|
 |
| 
