Scalawag ** (1973, Kirk Douglas, Mark Lester, Neville Brand) – Classic Movie Review 10,252

Kirk Douglas directs himself in the 1973 adventure film Scalawag as Pete, a ‘yo-ho-ho’ one-legged pirate searching for hidden treasure in Mexico.

Scalawag is an unsubtle reworking of Treasure Island, with decent sets, costumes and scenery, lovely Technicolor photography by Jack Cardiff, a ripe peg-legged performance from leering Douglas and a suitably over-the-top support cast.

Never as bright, witty or sparky as it should be, this Yugoslavian-filmed swashbuckler is one of only two films directed by Douglas.

Mark Lester (Oliver) plays Jamie, Douglas’s young partner in adventure.

Douglas’s second and last film as director is Posse (1975).

The screenplay is by Albert Maltz and Sid Fleischman.

Also in the cast are Neville Brand, David Stroud, Lesley-Anne Down, Phil Brown, George Eastman, Danny DeVito, Phil Brown and Mel Blanc (providing the voice of Barfly the Parrot).

It was shot in Yugoslavia and in the studio at Centralni Filmski Studio Kosutnjak, Belgrade, Serbia.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,252

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