Buccaneer (1938)

Big, loud, revisionist fun, De Mille style
Cecil B. De Mille takes no prisoners with 1938's 'The Buccaneer,' his epic, revisionist slant on the War of 1812's Battle of New Orleans that does for that period what 'The Plainsman,' released the year prior, did for the wild west of the 1870s. Cast in the lead is versatile Fredric March as pirate-cum-patriot Jean Lafitte, who's nothing short of electrifying as he and his merry band of brigands seemingly singlehandedly (with some assistance from Gen. Andrew Jackson, et al) decide upstart-America's victory against those dastardly Redcoats. It is, in keeping with the De Mille tradition, a big, loud, kinetic, jingoistic production, turning history on its ear to fit its wholly Hollywoodized tale-telling; but it's also a highly entertaining-- and semi-factual-- combination of swashbuckling fun and canons-blazing romance that only the most humorless critic could disdain. 3 1/2 stars.

Great movie!
Great film! Great history Neat actors. Good photos! Costumes of that time period i find very interesting and imaginative I enjoyed this movie.

Great Movie!
This is one of the classic buccaneer movies of the 30s. Especially since it deals with an important part of our history. Albeit it is romanticized, it still deals with the important battle that gave US control of the Mississippi river valley and all the lands drained by it. This moment in history gave US the crucial control of lands essential to our eventual development as one of the great powers on the face of the Earth.

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