Review of The Pirate (1948) by Timothy M — 25 Jan 2011

Still can't get into Minnelli's musicals. In this case, I just don't like the pairing of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland for starters - they're both serial over-actors, and are at their best when their counterpart is able to temper their performances.

Put 'em together and it's sorta overwhelming, and not in a good way. Although Kelly's acrobatics are extraordinary as usual. Mostly though, I'm increasingly frustrated by how thin these films are, so that Kelly gets more footage to strut his stuff.

I wouldn't mind that stuff if it perhaps served the story, or if the story was robust enough to support it in the first place, but that just doesn't seem to be happening. I still vastly prefer Minnelli's dramas.