The Pirates of Penzance (film)

Plot

In the 1850s, young Frederic was sent in the care of his nursemaid, Ruth, to be apprenticed to a pilot. But she misunderstood her instructions, being hard of hearing, and apprenticed him instead to the Pirate King. Now turning 21 years old, his service is finished, so he decides to leave the Pirates of Penzance. He has a strong "sense of duty" and vows to lead a blameless life and to exterminate the pirates. Ruth wants him to take her with him, but just then he meets some young maidens, the daughters of Major-General Stanley, and realizes that Ruth is "plain and old".

One of the maidens, Mabel, agrees to rescue him from his life of piracy by offering her love, and Frederic accepts. Soon, however, the pirates return and seize the young ladies, planning to marry them. Their father then arrives and lies to the pirates, telling them that he is an orphan. He knows that the pirates are orphans themselves and never attack another orphan; the pirates let him and his daughters go free.

Later, General Stanley wrestles with his conscience, having told a lie. Mabel and Frederic try to cheer him up, and Frederic has engaged the constabulary to help him defeat the pirates. The police arrive, but they turn out to be timid. Then the Pirate King and Ruth find Frederic alone. They have reviewed the fine print on his apprenticeship indenture and have discovered that he is still a pirate because he was born in a leap year on February 29, and he will not be out of his indentures to the pirates until his 21st birthday in 1940. Mabel agrees to wait for Frederic until then.

The Police return and, hearing the pirates approach, they hide. The pirates arrive and seize the still guilt-ridden Major-General. Mabel coaxes the police to battle the pirates, but they are quickly defeated. However, the Sergeant of Police calls on the pirates to "yield in Queen Victoria's name". The pirates tearfully do so, as they love their queen, and release the Major-General, surrendering to the police. However, Ruth reveals that the pirates are all "noblemen who have gone wrong"; the Major-General pardons them and invites them to resume their parliamentary ranks and to marry his beautiful daughters. All ends happily.

Cast

• Kevin Kline as The Pirate King
• Angela Lansbury as Ruth
• Linda Ronstadt as Mabel Stanley
• George Rose as Major-General Stanley
• Rex Smith as Frederic
• Tony Azito as the Police Sergeant
• David Hatton as Samuel
  • singing voice performed by Stephen Hanan
• Louise Gold as Edith
  • singing voice performed by Alexandra Korey
• Teresa Codling as Kate
  • singing voice performed by Marcie Shaw
• Tilly Vosburgh as Isabel

Musical numbers

1. Overture
2. Pour, oh Pour the Pirate Sherry – Pirates and Samuel
3. When Frederic Was a Little Lad+ – Ruth
4. Oh Better Far to Live and Die++ – Pirate King
5. Oh False One, You Have Deceived Me – Frederic and Ruth
6. Climbing Over Rocky Mountain+ – Major General's Daughters
7. Stop, Ladies, Pray – Frederic and Daughters
8. Oh Is There Not One Maiden Breast+ – Frederic and Daughters
9. Oh Sisters, Deaf to Pity's Name – Mabel and Daughters
10. Poor Wandering One++ – Mabel and Daughters
11. Stay, We Must Not Lose Our Senses – Frederic, Daughters and Pirates
12. Hold Monsters and I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General+ – Mabel, Major General and Chorus
13. Act I Finale – Company
14. Oh Dry the Glistening Tear+ – Mabel and Daughters
15. When the Foeman Bares His Steel++ – Sergeant of Police, Daughters and Police
16. Now for the Pirate's Lair – Frederic, King and Ruth
17. When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold+ – Ruth, King and Frederic
18. My Eyes are Fully Open (from Ruddigore) – Frederic, Ruth and King
19. Away, Away, My Heart's on Fire – King, with Frederic and Ruth
20. Stay, Frederic, Stay – Mabel and Frederic
21. Ah, Leave Me Not to Pine – Mabel and Frederic
22. Oh Here Is Love and Here Is Truth – Mabel and Frederic
23. No, I Am Brave+ and Sergeant, Approach+++ – Mabel, Police and Sergeant
24. When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment+ – Sergeant and Police
25. A Rollicking Band of Pirates, We – Sergeant, Pirates and Police
26. With Cat Like Tread++ – Pirates and Police
27. Sighing Softly to the River – Major-General and Men
28. Act II Finale++ – Company

;Differences from the stage version :+Shortened :++Extended :+++Originally dialogue. :Omitted: "How Beautifully Blue the Sky" and "Sorry her Lot" (from H.M.S. Pinafore)

Release

During its promotional campaign for the film, Universal announced that it would release it in the US on February 18, 1983, simultaneously in theaters and on subscription television, an unprecedented strategy for Hollywood that was not repeated until 2020, when the same studio gave the animated film Trolls World Tour a similar treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was met with immediate resistance from major theater chains, all of which refused to play Pirates. One theater chain head remarked, "I would not have played it had they given it to me for nothing. I didn't invest millions of dollars in brick and mortar to play films simultaneously with television. Others agreed: "As far as we're concerned, the picture doesn't exist. We will not play it [simultaneously] with TV. We feel we have earned the right to play it first."

Universal stated that it made the decision because Pirates was a relatively small release compared to the Superman and Rocky films of the same period: "We don't see the pay-per-view showing as competitive with theaters. Cable viewers are older, infrequent moviegoers. If they like the film, the pay-per-view showing will have served as a sneak preview. Papp also defended the decision, saying that he was "interested in reaching a mass audience. I decided it was exciting, a little dangerous and a marvelous risk."

Reception

Box office

On its opening weekend in the US, the film grossed $255,496 from 91 venues, all of which were small locations that traditionally played discount fare; the reduction in theater booking was a result of major chains refusing to show the film due to its simultaneous telecast on pay television. At the end of its run, its worldwide theatrical gross totaled $694,497. The film was a box office bomb, and some audience members found it disappointing in comparison with the Broadway production. Despite the film's poor theatrical performance in the US, 9% of the 550,000 subscriber base reported by the pay television network ON TV purchased the film.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% score based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune remarked that "having sat through four incarnations of this Joseph Papp production, the original Broadway cast, the Chicago road company, the premiere telecast here on the pay channel ON TV, and Saturday's matinee at the 400 Theater, The Pirates of Penzance earns my respect as a durable and satisfying entertainment. This Gilbert and Sullivan chestnut, which lampoons British manners, is great fun in any form. And reading the intricate libretto brings a laugh, too."}}

Home media

The film was released on VHS in 1984 and on DVD in 2010.

References

References

1. (July 20, 1983). "''Pirates of Penzance'' (U)". [[British Board of Film Classification]].
2. Thomas, Jay. (February 1983). "Movie to Debut on TV, Theaters". [[The Associated Press]].
3. Harmetz, Aljean. (January 29, 1983). "''Penzance'' to Make Debut on Pay TV". [[The New York Times]].
4. (February 21, 1983). "Weekend Box Office Results for February 18-20, 1983". [[Internet Movie Database]].
5. "The Pirates of Penzance (1983)". [[Internet Movie Database]].
6. Shepherd, Marc. (July 7, 2010). "Papp's Pirates".
7. Siskel, Gene. (February 21, 1983). "Satirical ''Pirates'' have fun stealing a joyous, musical show". [[Chicago Tribune]].
8. "The Pirates of Penzance (1983)". [[Flixster]].