Modern-day kid is magically whisked back in time to pirate days, finding himself a passenger on none other than Blackbeard's ship; he schemes to get the ship's course turned around towards his home in Massachusettes by creating a phony treasure map. Producer-director Bert I. Gordon, who also wrote the original story treatment, probably wanted nothing more than to thrill underage matinée audiences with a little swordplay and larceny. He assembled a pretty good cast, but his production lacks color, spirit, verve and, most especially, decent special effects. Not a painful experience, and little Charles Herbert in the lead isn't too cloying, yet this scenario could surely use the Disney touch. *1/2 from ****
Review of The Boy and the Pirates
