Yellowbeard
Encyclopedia
Yellowbeard is a 1983 comedy film
by Graham Chapman
, along with Peter Cook
, Bernard McKenna
and David Sherlock
. It was directed by Mel Damski
, and was Marty Feldman
's last film appearance.
) was incarcerated for 20 years for tax evasion
— apart from his years terrorizing the high seas ("Often forcing his victims to eat their own lips..."). He survives the sentence but has not disclosed the whereabouts of his vast treasure ("...in spite of 20 years of rehabilitation. And torture."). The Royal Navy hatches a plot to increase his sentence by 140 years, knowing that he will escape in a rage to set out for his treasure. This he does, recruiting a motley crew of companions. He had left a map of the treasure in the chimney of his wife's pub, but she burned the map. She then tells Yellowbeard that she had the map tattooed on their son's head. Things go wrong when his former shipmate-turned-traitor Bosun
Moon's (Boyle
) press gangs
take over the ship. With the Head of the Secret Service (Idle
) hot on their trail, they eventually find the island, where a group of AWOL Spanish
Conquistador
s (Cheech Marin
and Tommy Chong
) have taken residence with their ill-gotten gains, and the battle for the treasure commences. During the battle he recalls the steps to his buried treasure saying "Stagger, Stagger, Crawl, Crawl" in reference to the injured state he was in when he hid the treasure.
, who wanted to play the lead role, but was dropped early on because of his obviously deteriorating health.
The film has a complicated development history, largely due to the amount of time it took to get funding. There are at least four versions of the script drafts. The one that's "truest to Graham and Bernard McKenna's original version" is published in the book Yellowbeard: High jinks on the high seas. Major differences between Chapman and McKenna's script and the one altered at Hollywood request are the original has less emphasis on minor characters, and more emphasis on the overall plot. Peter Cook is credited as a writer because in October 1980, Chapman asked Cook to help with one of the rewrites.
to Sting to Martin Hewitt
. Adam Ant was frustrated with production delays and quit. Sting wanted to play the role, but the Hollywood producers thought the film was becoming too British. Hewitt is quoted as saying that "Sting should have had my part. For crying out loud, I would have hired Sting over me any day."
Chapman's friend Harry Nilsson
created a preliminary soundtrack, including one song specifically for the movie. This was not used, because the producers felt he could not be relied on to finish it.
Three ships in the film were portrayed by MGM's Bounty II, built for the 1962 remake of Mutiny On The Bounty. The pirate ship was named the "Edith" after Chapman's mother.
Marty Feldman
died from a sudden heart attack while filming in Mexico City
in December 1982. As a result, his character is killed off late in the film in an insert shot that was filmed a few days after his death where a stunt double of his character falls into a pool of acid. Chapman said about Feldman's passing: "I try to look at the positive side... I take pleasure knowing that Marty was back on form for his last role."
Chapman was not allowed to assist with the editing, and his editing comments on the first cut were ignored. His comments included shortening the credits so that audience expectation was not too far raised, and making the jokes less obvious.
on the other hand gave the film one and a half stars and said "Yellowbeard is soon over and soon forgotten." Yellowbeard currently has a 22% rating at Rotten Tomatoes
indicating a "Rotten" overall reception by the critics.
Cleese played a part out of loyalty to Graham Chapman. He said he found the script to be one of the worst he'd read, although it is unclear which version he was referring to. In a 2001 interview, Cleese described Yellowbeard as "one of the six worst films made in the history of the world."
Although Eric Idle
names other movies as the worst he's made, he includes Yellowbeard in that list. However, "sometimes, the best times can be on the worst movies and vice versa, e.g., Yellowbeard, which I wouldn't have missed for the world."
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
by Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
, along with Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Bernard McKenna
Bernard McKenna (writer)
Bernard McKenna is a Scottish writer/producer who has written, or co-written, many hours of British television comedy. He is most noted for his work with Graham Chapman of Monty Python fame as well as his collaborations with Peter Cook and Douglas Adams...
and David Sherlock
David Sherlock
David Sherlock is a British writer and was the life partner of Graham Chapman of Monty Python, whom he met in 1966 in Ibiza.-Biography:David Sherlock was the inspiration for many Monty Python sketches, including "Anne Elk", and was the originator of the Python sketch "Death of Mary Queen of Scots"...
. It was directed by Mel Damski
Mel Damski
Melvin "Mel" Damski is an American director and producer of film and television.-Life and career:Damski was born in Manhattan, New York having Russian Jewish heritage. He has two brothers and one sister. Damski grew up in New York and attended Colgate University on a football scholarship...
, and was Marty Feldman
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
's last film appearance.
Plot
The pirate Yellowbeard (ChapmanGraham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
) was incarcerated for 20 years for tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
— apart from his years terrorizing the high seas ("Often forcing his victims to eat their own lips..."). He survives the sentence but has not disclosed the whereabouts of his vast treasure ("...in spite of 20 years of rehabilitation. And torture."). The Royal Navy hatches a plot to increase his sentence by 140 years, knowing that he will escape in a rage to set out for his treasure. This he does, recruiting a motley crew of companions. He had left a map of the treasure in the chimney of his wife's pub, but she burned the map. She then tells Yellowbeard that she had the map tattooed on their son's head. Things go wrong when his former shipmate-turned-traitor Bosun
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
Moon's (Boyle
Peter Boyle
Peter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
) press gangs
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
take over the ship. With the Head of the Secret Service (Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
) hot on their trail, they eventually find the island, where a group of AWOL Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
Conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s (Cheech Marin
Cheech Marin
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor and writer who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on Nash Bridges...
and Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
) have taken residence with their ill-gotten gains, and the battle for the treasure commences. During the battle he recalls the steps to his buried treasure saying "Stagger, Stagger, Crawl, Crawl" in reference to the injured state he was in when he hid the treasure.
Cast
- Graham ChapmanGraham ChapmanGraham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
as Captain Yellowbeard - Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
as Moon - Cheech MarinCheech MarinRichard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor and writer who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on Nash Bridges...
as El Segundo - Tommy ChongTommy ChongTommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
as El Nebuloso - Peter CookPeter CookPeter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
as Lord Lambourn - Marty FeldmanMarty FeldmanMartin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
as Gilbert - Martin HewittMartin Hewitt (actor)Martin Hewitt is an American actor. He is best known for his film debut as David Axelrod in Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love , as Dan in Yellowbeard and his role as Chad Douglas Fairchild in Zalman King's Two Moon Junction...
as Dan - Michael HordernMichael HordernSir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
as Dr Gilpin - Eric IdleEric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
as Commander Clement - Madeline KahnMadeline KahnMadeline Kahn was an American actress. Kahn was known primarily for her comedic roles in films such as Paper Moon, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, What's Up, Doc?, and Clue.-Early life:...
as Betty - James MasonJames MasonJames Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
as Captain Hughes - John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Harvey 'Blind' Pew - Kenneth MarsKenneth MarsKenneth Mars was an American television, movie, and voice actor. He may be best-remembered for his roles in several Mel Brooks films: the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in 1968's The Producers, and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp in 1974's Young Frankenstein...
as Mr Crisp and Verdungo - Spike MilliganSpike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
as Flunkie - Stacey NelkinStacey NelkinStacey Nelkin is an American film and television actress. She is well known for her role in the 1982 horror film Halloween III: Season of the Witch as Ellie Grimbridge. Her best-known TV role is on the soap opera Generations as Christy Russell in 1990...
as Triola - Nigel PlanerNigel PlanerNigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
as Mansel - Susannah YorkSusannah YorkSusannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
as Lady Churchill - Beryl ReidBeryl ReidBeryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
as Lady Lambourn - Ferdy MayneFerdy Mayne-Early life:He was born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel, in Mainz, Germany. His German father was the Judge of Mayence, and his half-English mother gave singing lessons. Because his family was Jewish, he was sent to England to protect him from the Nazis, and he stayed with his aunt, the photographer...
as Mr Beamish - John FrancisJohn FrancisJohn Francis may refer to:*John Francis , English cricketer*John Francis , cricketer*John Francis , American environmentalist...
as Chaplain - Peter BullPeter BullPeter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
as Queen Anne - Bernard Fox as Tarbuck
- Ronald LaceyRonald LaceyRonald Lacey was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30 year period and is perhaps best remembered for his villainous roles in Hollywood films, most famously Major Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark.-Career:Lacey attended Harrow Weald Grammar School and...
as Man with parrot - Greta Blackburn as Mr Prostitute
- Nigel Stock as Admiral
- Kenneth Danziger as Mr Martin
- Monte LandisMonte LandisMonte Landis is an American character actor best known for playing the comic foil in multiple episodes of The Monkees, most notably the Devil in "The Devil and Peter Tork".-Partial filmography:*The Mouse That Roared...
as Prison Guard - David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
as The Shark (uncredited) - Michael Mileham as The Coxan (uncredited)
Development
The original concept for the film was funded by Chapman's close friend Keith MoonKeith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
, who wanted to play the lead role, but was dropped early on because of his obviously deteriorating health.
The film has a complicated development history, largely due to the amount of time it took to get funding. There are at least four versions of the script drafts. The one that's "truest to Graham and Bernard McKenna's original version" is published in the book Yellowbeard: High jinks on the high seas. Major differences between Chapman and McKenna's script and the one altered at Hollywood request are the original has less emphasis on minor characters, and more emphasis on the overall plot. Peter Cook is credited as a writer because in October 1980, Chapman asked Cook to help with one of the rewrites.
Filming
Among the bewildering number of changes was the change of the lead from Adam AntAdam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
to Sting to Martin Hewitt
Martin Hewitt (actor)
Martin Hewitt is an American actor. He is best known for his film debut as David Axelrod in Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love , as Dan in Yellowbeard and his role as Chad Douglas Fairchild in Zalman King's Two Moon Junction...
. Adam Ant was frustrated with production delays and quit. Sting wanted to play the role, but the Hollywood producers thought the film was becoming too British. Hewitt is quoted as saying that "Sting should have had my part. For crying out loud, I would have hired Sting over me any day."
Chapman's friend Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
created a preliminary soundtrack, including one song specifically for the movie. This was not used, because the producers felt he could not be relied on to finish it.
Three ships in the film were portrayed by MGM's Bounty II, built for the 1962 remake of Mutiny On The Bounty. The pirate ship was named the "Edith" after Chapman's mother.
Marty Feldman
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
died from a sudden heart attack while filming in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in December 1982. As a result, his character is killed off late in the film in an insert shot that was filmed a few days after his death where a stunt double of his character falls into a pool of acid. Chapman said about Feldman's passing: "I try to look at the positive side... I take pleasure knowing that Marty was back on form for his last role."
Chapman was not allowed to assist with the editing, and his editing comments on the first cut were ignored. His comments included shortening the credits so that audience expectation was not too far raised, and making the jokes less obvious.
Critical reception
The film received some praise, The Los Angeles Times writing that "There are many moments of hilarity here". But it was not a big box office success and received mostly negative reviews. Various reasons are suggested, such as the peculiar combination of British and American humor, and it being poorly timed given the movie climate with other kinds of comedy being popular. DVD Verdict gives it 75 out of 100 and points out that if the film isn't a comedy classic, that it's still funny, at times hilarious. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
on the other hand gave the film one and a half stars and said "Yellowbeard is soon over and soon forgotten." Yellowbeard currently has a 22% rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
indicating a "Rotten" overall reception by the critics.
Cleese played a part out of loyalty to Graham Chapman. He said he found the script to be one of the worst he'd read, although it is unclear which version he was referring to. In a 2001 interview, Cleese described Yellowbeard as "one of the six worst films made in the history of the world."
Although Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
names other movies as the worst he's made, he includes Yellowbeard in that list. However, "sometimes, the best times can be on the worst movies and vice versa, e.g., Yellowbeard, which I wouldn't have missed for the world."