The Buccaneer (1958 film)

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The Buccaneer is a 1958 film shot in Technicolor. It takes place during the War of 1812, and tells a heavily fictionalized version of how the pirate Jean Lafitte helped in the Battle of New Orleans and how he had to choose between fighting for America or for the side most likely to win, Great Britain. It is a remake of the a film of the same title of 1938 which starred Fredric March and Akim Tamiroff. The 1938 version was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, but he was seriously ill by the time the 1958 version was made, so he was only the executive producer on that one, leaving his then son-in-law, Anthony Quinn, to direct. It was the only film that Quinn ever directed. Henry Wilcoxon, DeMille's long-time friend, who made frequent appearances in his films, was the actual producer, and DeMille did not receive screen credit, though students of his films would probably say that his touch is obvious throughout the film.

The 1958 film stars Yul Brynner as Lafitte, with Charles Boyer in the Akim Tamiroff role. Charlton Heston plays a supporting role as Andrew Jackson. It was the second time that Heston had played Jackson, having portrayed him earlier in the film The President's Lady.

The Buccaneer is also the title of a flop 1925 play by Maxwell Anderson. However, Anderson's play is not about Lafitte, but about another famous pirate, Henry Morgan.