Yellowbeard
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| Yellowbeard | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster. |
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| Directed by | Mel Damski |
| Produced by | Carter De Haven |
| Written by | Graham Chapman Peter Cook Bernard McKenna David Sherlock (uncredited) |
| Starring | Graham Chapman Peter Boyle Richard 'Cheech' Marin Tommy Chong Peter Cook Marty Feldman Martin Hewitt Michael Hordern Eric Idle Madeline Kahn James Mason John Cleese Kenneth Mars Spike Milligan |
| Music by | John Morris |
| Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
| Editing by | William H. Reynolds |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | June 24, 1983 |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Yellowbeard is a 1983 comedy film, that was co-written and acted by Monty Python member Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, Bernard McKenna and David Sherlock, and directed by Mel Damski. The film co-starred Peter Boyle, Cheech & Chong, Madeline Kahn, Peter Cook, Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman (in his last film appearance). Fellow Monty Python members Eric Idle and John Cleese also starred, although Cleese only played a part out of loyalty to Graham Chapman. He has said that he found the script to be one of the worst he's ever read. David Bowie had a cameo as The Shark.
[edit] Plot
The pirate Yellowbeard (Chapman), having been incarcerated for 20 years for tax evasion despite his years of terrorising the high seas ("Often forcing his victims to eat their own lips..."), manages to survive the whole of his jail sentence but has not disclosed the whereabouts of his vast treasure. The Royal Navy then hatches a plot to increase his sentence by a good 140 years, knowing that he'll escape in a rage to set out for his treasure. This he does, recruiting a motley crew of companions along the way. Things go slightly wrong when his former shipmate-turned-traitor Bosun Moon (Boyle) press gangs his companions and gets them on a ship of their own in hopes of finding the treasure for themselves. With the navy hot on their trail, they eventually find the island and the battle for the treasure commences.
[edit] Production
Marty Feldman died of a heart attack while filming in Mexico City in 1982. As a result, his character is killed off during the film, in an insert that was filmed afterwards. Famed cartoonist Sergio Aragones was filming a role at the same studio during Yellowbeard's production and encountered Feldman the day before Feldman's death, scaring him. Aragones has told this story at conventions and in his issue of Solo, with the punchline "I killed Marty Feldman".
Both 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 Graham Chapman's mother.
[edit] External links
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