The Crimson Pirate (1952)

This is a great little vehicle for an almost 40 year-old Burt Lancaster to demonstrate his star quality (and not inconsiderable athleticism) alongside his long time friend and fellow acrobat Nick Cravat in this really quite enjoyable swashbuckler. The plot is all pretty routine stuff; pirate versus unpopular King, and the script probably ought not to go too near a microscope, but it isn't there to educate or inform, but to entertain - and it does. It's action packed, colourful and in the days before the computers did most of the work - a well staged, good looking film.