![\"Blackbeard's](\"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Blackbeards-Ghost-DVD-Cover-267x400.jpeg\")
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DVD Cover Copyright Disney<\/em><\/p>\n Based on Ben Stahl\u2019s 1965 novel of the same name, Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost <\/em>was theatrically released on February 8, 1968. The live action comedy is 106 minutes in length.<\/p>\n Plot Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n Upon arriving in the seacoast town of Godolphin, Steve Walker (Dean Jones) believes that his biggest challenge will be coaching Godolphin College’s track team, which has endured sixty years of ineptitude. That sentiment does not last until midnight.<\/p>\n Prior to checking into his room at Blackbeard\u2019s Inn, Walker purchases the bed warmer of Blackbeard the Pirate\u2019s tenth wife, \u00a0Aldetha, for $200 at an auction designed to save the inn, currently owned by elderly female descendants of Blackbeard, from falling into the hands of a bigwig gambler, Silky Seymour (Joby Baker). Before being executed for witchcraft, Aldetha laid a curse on Blackbeard, whereby the latter would remain in limbo between human life and the afterlife until he performed a single good deed. Walker locates a related spell inscribed inside the warming pad, and upon reading it aloud, the ghost of Blackbeard (Peter Ustinov) appears.<\/p>\n Walker is now stuck with the late pirate\u2019s apparition, a completely undesirable situation. In addition to the general nuisance of the companionship, Blackbeard is only visible to Walker. Thus, everyone in town, from a police officer (Kelly Thordsen) to Jo Anne Baker (Suzanne Pleshette), a psychology professor at Godolphin who genuinely likes Walker, is flabbergasted by the coach\u2019s behavior. Walker\u2019s only hope for sanity is for Blackbeard to perform the elusive good deed. Is he capable of such an act?<\/p>\n Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n Howard Thompson of the New York Times <\/em>lauded Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost<\/em>, deeming the film innocent fun. Said Thompson: \u201cThe Walt Disney people have delivered a delightful seasonal goody for the young and young-hearted, called \u2018Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost.\u2019 After a couple of limp herrings, the master\u2019s live-action unit is back on sure footing with the neat, perky and flavorsome little comedy-fantasy that arrived yesterday at neighborhood theaters.\u201d (1)<\/p>\n Newsday<\/em>\u2019s film critic was less enthralled with the effort, though he or she found it passable. In a blurb, this critic said, \u201cPeter Ustinov is pleasantly hammy as the ghost of a pirate accidentally summoned back to help Dean Jones deal with small town gamblers. A modest, okay film from the Disney studios.\u201d (2)<\/p>\n Deeds<\/strong><\/p>\n Blackbeard\u2019s attempt to perform a good deed raises the question of what actually constitutes a good deed. Although the pirate\u2019s efforts to help Godolphin\u2019s track team win the Broxton Relays seemingly result in sufficient funds to save the inn, the sabotage of the other schools\u2019 chances is hardly righteous. As Professor Baker tells Walker on a related subject, \u201cYour motives were good, even though your reasoning was perfectly idiotic.\u201d Cheating and poor sportsmanship are inherently immoral actions, so Blackbeard must procure the requisite money through other means.<\/p>\n Morals<\/strong><\/p>\n Coach Walker brilliantly uses his team\u2019s minuscule chances of winning the Broxton Relays to voice life lessons to his players. Walker says, \u201cI want you to look at this event not as an ordinary track meet but as a preparation for life. Some of you are going to be graduating soon. You\u2019re going to find the world out there full of nothing but trouble, frustration, and\u2026and strife. And I tell you right now that nowhere will you find a better preparation for that world outside than to be a member of this particular track team.\u201d<\/p>\n During the competition itself, Walker, to his credit, objects, at least for a while, to Blackbeard\u2019s interference even though said obstruction helps his team.<\/p>\n Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened to Godolphin College’s former track coach? Coupled with the film\u2019s later events, the description afforded Walker early in the movie by team captain Gudger Larkin (Hank Jones), namely that Walker\u2019s predecessor started talking to himself before becoming depressed and disappearing, may indicate an encounter with Blackbeard\u2019s ghost.<\/p>\n The television announcer at the Broxton Relays (Elliott Reid) says that Godolphin once had a great track team. What caused the program\u2019s decline?<\/p>\n Volume<\/strong><\/p>\n Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost <\/em>features an inordinate amount of yelling from various characters. One of the inn\u2019s co-owners, Emily Stowecroft (Elsa Lanchester), shrieks upon reading Walker\u2019s fortune and bellows the story of the curse inflicted upon Blackbeard by Aldetha.\u00a0 Additionally, Walker and Blackbeard continually berate each other, and the coach engages in a verbal argument with Professor Baker. The shouting renders the film uncomfortable at points.<\/p>\n Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n Though he is Godolphin\u2019s shot-putter, Gudger Larkin cannot lift the hood of Walker\u2019s car.<\/p>\n Godolphin\u2019s Dean, Wheaton (Richard Deacon), emerges as a frontrunner, moving from a proponent of cutting the track team at the beginning of the film to that squad\u2019s biggest cheerleader upon its shocking success at the Broxton Relays. Conversely, after lauding the winning tradition of Godolphin\u2019s football team early in the flick, Wheaton informs his stunned football coach, Pinetop Purvis (Michael Conrad),\u00a0 at the Broxton Relays, \u201cMay I tell you something Mr. Purvis? YAY GODOLPHIN GO! I hate football. YAY GODOLPHIN! I\u2019ve always hated football. GO, GO, GO!\u201d<\/p>\n Emily Stowecroft is quite literal, responding to Walker\u2019s request for \u201cliving accommodations\u201d with \u201cWe accommodate the living.\u201d Indeed, the inn accommodates the living, in addition to a certain pirate in limbo.<\/p>\n Walker overtly insults Blackbeard with the pirate standing right behind him.<\/p>\n Blackbeard may have been a great mariner, but he needs some more practice if he wants a driver\u2019s license. He should just let Walker drive, but that would not be any fun!<\/p>\n The waiter at Seymour\u2019s restaurant (Gil Lamb) repeatedly trips over Blackbeard, dropping large quantities of salad and ice cream, and falling into a lobster tank. He could be admonished to watch where he is walking, but such advice is useless here because Blackbeard is invisible.<\/p>\n Blackbeard, Walker, and Baker triumphantly march to a ballad.<\/p>\n Blackbeard\u2019s invisibility helps Walker win a faux shootout and fight against Seymour and his cronies.<\/p>\n The extended Broxton Relays segment is the film\u2019s comedic summit, with Blackbeard covertly interfering with the proceedings. His actions in the baton relay are especially uproarious.<\/p>\n Relationship to Other Disney Films<\/strong><\/p>\n Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost <\/em>was the second of three Disney films to star both Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette, following The Ugly Dachshund <\/em>(1966) and preceding The Shaggy D.A. <\/em>(1976).<\/p>\n Blackbeard is similar to the Beast from Beauty and the Beast <\/em>(1991) in that both characters must atone for past misdeeds to attain happiness, removal from limbo in the case of the former and reversion to a prince in the case of the latter.<\/p>\n Pirate films are crucial to Disney history. The company\u2019s first live action effort was Treasure Island <\/em>(1950), and, in recent years, Pirates of the Caribbean <\/em>has emerged as one of Hollywood\u2019s most popular film franchises. Four flicks in the series have been released\u2014Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl <\/em>(2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest<\/em> (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End <\/em>(2007), and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides <\/em>(2011)\u2014and another, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales<\/em>, is scheduled to premiere in 2017. Additionally, two of Disney\u2019s animated films, Peter Pan <\/em>(1953) and Treasure Planet <\/em>(2003), incorporate significant pirates.<\/p>\n Godolphin College is unique among Disney\u2019s fictitious movie colleges of the 1960s and 1970s in that it does not start with the letter \u201cM.\u201d The Absent-Minded Professor<\/em> (1961), Son of Flubber <\/em>(1963), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes <\/em>(1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don’t<\/em> (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World <\/em>(1975) occurred at Medfield College; The Misadventures of Merlin Jones<\/em> (1964) and The Monkey\u2019s Uncle <\/em>(1965) took place at Midvale College; and Merrivale College was the setting for The World’s Greatest Athlete<\/em> (1973). (3)<\/p>\n The track competition scene in Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost <\/em>is similar, albeit more slowly paced, to the basketball scene in The Absent-Minded Professor <\/em>and the football scene in Son of Flubber<\/em>.<\/p>\n In the Parks<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you want to see pirates? Do you want to see ghosts? Well, you can see both by riding a pair of classic Disney attractions, \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d and the \u201cHaunted Mansion,\u201d at California\u2019s Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World\u2019s Magic Kingdom.<\/p>\n Photo Copyright Rikki Niblett<\/em><\/p>\n When, during the movie\u2019s opening scene, the gas station attendant, Gudger Larkin, tells the just-arrived Walker that he is the captain of the track team, Walker responds, \u201cSmall world, isn\u2019t it!\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a Small World\u201d is a classic boat ride at both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World\u2019s Magic Kingdom.<\/p>\n Struggling to sleep with Blackbeard, Walker explodes, \u201cThat is absolutely it! Figment of my imagination or no figment, he can have his room, he can have his bed! I don\u2019t need it!\u201d At Epcot, guests can experience \u201cJourney into Imagination with Figment,\u201d a whimsical track ride hosted by a mischievous purple dragon, Figment.<\/p>\n Overall<\/strong><\/p>\n It is not Disney\u2019s funniest comedy, but Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost<\/em> features enough laughs and a sufficiently intriguing plot to keep viewers entertained.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n 1) Thompson, H. (1968, April 11). Article 3 — No Title. New York Times<\/em>, p. 51. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from http:\/\/0-search.proquest.com.alpha1.suffolk.lib.ny.us\/docview\/118194545?accountid=35174<\/a><\/p>\n 2) Other 30 — No Title. (1968, April 13). Newsday<\/em>, p. 37W. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from http:\/\/0-search.proquest.com.alpha1.suffolk.lib.ny.us\/docview\/917786122?accountid=35174<\/a><\/p>\n 3) Smith, D. (2012). Live-Action Films. In Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered<\/em> (pp. 133-134). New York: Disney Editions.<\/p>\n What do you think of Blackbeard\u2019s Ghost? Let me know in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Blackbeard's](\"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Blackbeards-Ghost-Pinterest-Rikki-400x400.jpg\")
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