The Black Pirate

The Black Pirate is a 1926 adventure film which tells the story of a young nobleman who infiltrates a ship full of pirates to avenge his father's death. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse and Billie Dove.

In one long, dramatic scene, Fairbanks acting alone seizes a merchant ship. In another famous scene, he sticks his dagger into the mainsail and rides it all the way down from top to bottom, cutting the sail in half as he goes. The film features many special effects, including some spectacular models of sailing ships.

The Black Pirate was the first full length feature filmed in Technicolor, using the two-strip (red-green) process. This reproduces a limited range of colors; it cannot represent blue or yellow accurately. Even so, it must have seemed astonishing to audiences who had never seen color film before. The script was adapted by Jack Cunningham from a story by Fairbanks, who used his middle names "Elton Thomas" as a pseudonym. The film was directed by Albert Parker and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.