Charles McGrew This movie could have been great, and it certainly shows flashes of brilliance. But they are flashes only (and generally in the use of language -- probably written by Peter Cook), and are separated by tiresome pirate-based skits that (kind of) hang together. My rating of 6 is for the flashes, and not the tiresome-ness.Cheech Marin and Peter Boyle dig into their parts and play with gusto, but everybody else seems to be sort of standing around a lot and saying things to get us to the next scene of people standing around. James Mason plays Charles Laughton gamely, but Marty Feldman is mostly wasted. John Cleese seems to be acting in an entirely different movie all together. The best line (by Spike Milligan) is spoken by a character not even given a name. A shame, really.

The_Film_Cricket There aren't enough pronouns in the world to adequately describe how insuffereable "Yellowbeard" really is. It has no laughs. Not one. None. Nada. Bupkis. Zip. Zero. Not even a smile. The best this movie can muster is stone-faced indifference. The movie begins, actors move around, there are sets, there are costumes, things happen and eventually there are closing credits. Not one scene is the slightest bit interesting. An hour after you've seen it, you've forgotten it. A week after you've seen it, you can't remember the title. As a comedy, it's a dead zone. "Sophie's Choice" had more comic zeal.Let me give you an example of the comedy at work here. There's scene aboard The Spanish Main, in which the captain (Tommy Chong, sporting a lisp) rummages through his newfound treasure, repeating "I'm the wealthiest person in the world! I'm the wealthiest person in the world!" He tells his first mate (Cheech Marin) that he intends to keep the treasure rather than turn it over to the king. Just to make sure that his second-in-command doesn't squeal, the captain orders him to bang his head on the floor until further notice. The first mate does so until a long time has passed and he looks up and notices that the captain has fallen asleep. That scene is actually worse than I've described it.That's the spirit of this movie. The jokes fall like stones. There's no structure or energy to it at all. If it has any value at all it proves, at least, that you can't just throw funny people into period costumes and expect comic gold. They need good dialogue, situations, and interesting characters. The approach here begins and ends with the idea that it's a comic parody of pirate movies. That's not enough. Pirate movies are so bizarre in and of themselves that they seem to rise above parody.The story is so innocuous that it is hardly worth the effort, but for completion sake here goes: In 17th century England, the dreaded pirated Yellowbeard (Graham Chapman, in a blond afro wig) is sent to prison for 20 years for his evil deeds. Once his sentence is up he is given 140 more, so he escapes and goes looking for his loot. That leads to all manner of characters running here and there trying to be the first to find it. Unknown to Yellowbeard, he now as a son. Unknown to everyone, the map to the treasure is tattooed on his scalp. Late in the film there's a story element that resembles "Mutiny on the Bounty," but that scene is paced so slowly that you feel as if you're watchiing amateur night at the Rotary club. Even"Yellowbeard" himself doesn't work. Chapman is a fine comedian but Yellowbeard, as a character, is more irritating than threatening. He disappears for large chunks of the movie and you don't miss him when he's gone.That's pretty much all you need to know. And it's probably funnier describing it then it is watching it. It's a pretty sad experience watching the best comics around doing scene after scene of what amounts to comic drywall. The cast includes some of the members of the Monty Python troup: John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman; Most of the supporting cast of "Young Frankenstein": Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars. Then there's Cheech and Chong, James Mason, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, Bernard Fox, David Bowie, Susanna York, Peter Bull. Yet, it all goes horribly wrong because these people are expected to simply make things happen. They wear garish period costumes and walk around on period sets, and yet nothing of any interest happens. Nothing.All through this film, I kept thinking of the opening of "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" which features a 17-minute sketch involving a group of elderly office clerks from a small accounting firm rebelling against their corporate masters. The commandeer their office building and run it down the financial district like a pirate ship, raiding and taking over other corporations. That scene had bite. It had wit. And we hadn't seen it before. There's nothing like that in "Yellowbeard." This movie is seen, heard and quickly forgotten.1/2 (of four)

mark.waltz Finally! A pirate film even worse than "The Pirate Movie!". Somebody must have spent hours watching every Three Stooges short in an effort to put together this miserably violent supposed comedy that has not one chuckle, chortle or guffaw. When you've got Madeline Kahn, Cheech and Chong, Marty Feldman and John Cleese and can't get one laugh, you know you're in trouble. Add on veterans Peter Boyle, Beryl Reed, James Mason, Susannah York and Peter Cook who seem to be really desperate for work here, given the most humiliating lines and revoltingly sexist gags.It all concerns a search for abandoned pirate treasure, the map tattooed on the title character's head to the island where it was dropped off. Non-sensical in structure and filled with offensive references to rape, prostitution and decapitation, this is a disaster for all concerned. The most obvious abuse of talent comes with Madeline Kahn who strains for even a grin (although she makes me wonder through her performance how she would have been as "Sweeney Todd's" Mrs. Lovett or "Les Miserables'" Madame Thenardier) and James Mason who ruins any assemblance of dignity reflected by his more than 40 years of film credits with this one bomb.The bosoms of the ladies of all ages (including the matronly Reid who is defiled by the title character in one tactless scene, fortunately out of view from the camera) are pushed up to the max. Among the few slightly amusing gags (which didn't get laughs, only slight ironic smiles) include a prostitute hidden in an alligator carcass to get aboard Mason's men-only ship, and the reaction to a bratty little girl who gets a well-deserved kick. Other than that, this is a pirate movie that deserves to remain permanently hidden forever in Davey Jones' locker.

Lee Eisenberg Peter Boyle's death yesterday brings to mind all his movies, including the rather silly "Yellowbeard". The movie features Graham Chapman as the title character, an 18th-century pirate who gets released from jail to help the British government find his treasure. That's when he finds out that he has a son who has little desire to be a pirate. From there, much of the movie consists of sword fights, one-liners, and Cheech & Chong. Overall, I thought that it was a little bit lamer than it could have been, but I agree with a previous reviewer that it's just neat to see all these people together in a movie. The flick is little more than a way to pass time, but there's a few laughs along the way. Also starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Marty Feldman (in his final role; the movie is dedicated to him), Peter Cook, Kenneth Mars, Spike Milligan, and David Bowie in a cameo.And remember: he has a big yellow beard.