Chick Flicks At the Movies: Dancing Pirate (1936)

Dancing Pirate (1936). Musical. Director: Lloyd Corrigan. Cast: Steffi Duna, Charles Collins, Frank Morgan and Rita Hayworth(uncredited).

Jonathan Pride, a handsome dance instructor in 1820 Boston. on his way to visit relatives, is kidnapped by pirates and forced to work as a galley boy. When the pirate ship arrives at the port of Las Palomas, Jonathan, wearing pirates clothes, makes his escape. Everyone in Las Palomas, including Governor Alcalde and his daughter senorita Serafina, believes that Jonathan is a pirate, leading to a series of hilarious complications. Featured in the cast are the Dancing Cansinos, Rita Hayworth was just beginning her own screen career. I really enjoyed watching this movie's dance numbers, costumes , scenery and sword fighting. Charles Collins, is a wonderful dancer. I wonder why he never achieved fame the way Fred Astaire did?
Dancing Pirate Full Movie.

Collins made his Broadway debut in 1927 in Harry Aksts Artists and Models (1927). He went on to star in several Broadway productions during the 1930s, including Ripples (1930), Smiling Faces (1932), Say When (1935), Conjur Man Dies (1936), Macbeth(1936), and Sea Legs (1937). During this time he also began to perform in Hollywood musical films beginning with Shave It with Music in 1932. His other film roles during this decade included the roles of Baxter in Paree, Paree (1934) and Jonathan Pride in Dancing Pirate (1936). He also recorded music for the 1934 film Those Were the Days. Collins performed in two more films during the 1940s: Syncopation (1942) and Swing Hostess (1944). He recorded the song "Don't Dilly Dally on the Way" for the 1946 film London Town. He returned to Broadway in 1945 to portray Boris Kolenkhov in You Can't Take It with You, and again in 1947 to portray Gaston in The Red Mill. In 1951 he made his first television appearance as a guest star on the Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok program. He appeared in small parts in three more films during the 1950s, Confidence Girl (1952), The Steel Trap (1952), and A Blueprint for Murder(1953), after which his career considerably slowed down. After a more than 25 year absence from Broadway, Collins returned to New York in the 1973 for his final Broadway appearance in the musical Shelter. He later served as the stage manager for the Broadway musical Platinum. Info From : IMDb database.