8mm Forum: YELLOWBEARD!! (super 8 optical sound)

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 04, 2005, 12:54 PM:

Ah, popcorn memories!!

Slowly but surely, I am re-building my collection of optical sound films that I stupidly sold 15 years ago, and I finally aquired a beautiful mint condition color copy of YELLOWBEARD!!

Every once in a while you really do shake your head and wonder what some of these film reviewers are smoking. Leanard Maltin gave this 1 1/2 stars out of four, nearly labeling it as a bomb, and this film is anything but a bomb and while no absolute classic, it is a merry romp, to be sure.

The plot : After 20 years of un-pleasantries in her majesty's prison system, the un-repentant Yellowbeard is soon to be released, (he was originally caught and charged ... with TAX EVASION! Hah!). The royal navy convinces the queen to extend Yellowbeard's sentence another 150 years, in order to piss off Yellowbeard, so that he'll go after his treasure and the royal navy following to nab the booty!

Brreak out Yellowbeard does. He finds out that while his "tart" played by Madeline Kahn burned his map, she tattooed it on the head of his son, who happens to be a gardner! A Yellowbeard gardner, the pirate is enraged!! He goes after his son, wanting no more than his head. The son, pirate and travelling companions then go to Portsmouth to board a ship, (they end up shanghied). After a gruelling journey, the end up on "El Neubloso's" Island, ( The characters played by the team of Cheech and Chong)

A number of them are captured, some tortured, but they win the day. Dan, (the son of Yellowbeard) accidentily kills his father, but the treasure is still nabbed by the royal navy. Upon running off with the treasure, with thier destination to be america, Yellowbeard re-appears with his son, ("Us Yellowbeards are never more dangerous than when were dead!) and takes the ship for future destinations.

The plot is mostly in-consequential, as this is a comedy, first and foremost, and a funny comedy it is, with such lines as:

(speaking of thier spy)

"He's blind, you stupid sot!!

"I may be blind, but I have acute hearing"

"I'm not interested in your jewerly cross-eyes!"

or, of course,

(pile of bodies)

"What happened here?"

"The plague."

"THE PLAGUE??!"

"All sudden like, lucky I was out!"

"That man's got a sword in him!"

"He fell on it!"

I could drown this review with a myriad of quotes but less us just say that there are a lot more honest laughs in this film than in most of todays comedies combined. (That may not be saying much) This has a jam packed cast and stands as the only pairing of the comedy teams of Monty Python (most of the crew) and Cheech and Chong when they were at thier peak. Cameo's go as far as David Bowie as a bi-sexual seamen, and a very funny dual role for Kenneth Mars, who wouldn't have too many good roles past this one. As the captian of the ship we also see James Mason for one of the last times as well, (Hamming up his performance from Mutiny on the Bounty 1960's version) There's so many good comedy scenes in this that you can't help but laugh.

John Cleese plays "Blind Pew" and appears to have a jolly time of it, being quite good. It's a shame that his character is killed shortly into reel two of the three reels, but he's quite good, just the same!

I felt that this was Graham Chapmans last great role, who would succomb to aids in later years and be the first python to pass on. This was also the last role for the great british comedian Marty Feldman, who would die shortly before the end of films, of lung cancer. (remember Igor in "Young Frankenstein"?)
and he is eulogized with the "For Marty" at the end of the film. It's quite interesting that most of the cast players from Mel brooks films are here, especially "Young Frankenstein." Also, a lesser seen in america, but none the less great british comedian, Peter Cook has an excellent role as Lord Lambourn, who, no matter what happens to the bunch, never seems to drop his bottle of booze! His character is perpetually plastered thru-out the film!

The biggest thing I remembered about this super 8 optical sound print was that the sharpness has nevered been topped, (except, perhaps, by the sepai toned optical super 8 print of "Broadway Danny Rose"), and having put it back in the collection, I still think this. The color in this film is brilliant, and the sound is quite good, but a little scratchy in a few parts. The Contrast is excellent and the grain beautiful. We just watched this projected a good 8 feet across the wall last night and it's actually a film that looks good close-up. It's honestly THAT SHARP!!

However, as with all optical sound prints, be careful as to who you buy from!

I believe that since this was a british film release, I have the feeling that the British suppliers of airline prints went with the better KODAK SP or perhaps even the LPP stock, at an earlier time that the american film labs, as this print has no fade whatsoever, yet, american prints made in the same year, have a pinkish quality to them, which means that the americans
were still using that DAMNED eastman stock!

To close this review, I think that the reason for the low ratings of this pirate comedy, is because, quite frankly, this comedy was ahead of it's time. It has laregely scatalogical humor, (dirty, snide or low-brow humor), which, in the time of "There's Something About Mary" style comedies of today this Yellowbeard would fair rather well. The actual Pirate Yellowbeard is so over the top that the pure evil and degenerate nature of the character just makes it that much funnier!

I am obviously a fan of this wonderfully degenerate film! It does, (as most airline prints do) have a slight edit to it, but this is just a few slightly coarse words, and the slight nudity that was in it, which maybe amounts up to perhaps a minute, and certianly doesn't take away from the fun of this rollickingly great film.

"Cmon men, lets rescue Captian Dan"

(mummuring)

"Not likely mate."

"AND the treasure."

(instantly getting up)

"Oh, right right right!"

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on October 04, 2005, 02:40 PM:

We were staying in a place two doors down from the tavern in Rye!

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 05, 2005, 10:28 AM:

Do you mean the one that Yellowbeards "tart" runs? That would be cool! The nice thing about doing period pieces in England is that so many of the buildings from those periods are still in existence!

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on January 10, 2006, 12:36 PM:

Yes,M.Kahns pub.It is a corner building in the lane at the rear of the graveyard. In the flick I can see the place we rented.Trev

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 11, 2006, 01:19 PM:

That's actually quite interesting. One of the nice thing about filming almost any period piece in England, about England, is that all you literally have to do is put down a lot of hay on the streets and a few other touches, and your back in Jolly Old England!

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