Movie Star Moment: Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster as Captain Vallo
in "The Crimson Pirate" (1952)

It's a moment in time, a cinematic prelude, after the Warner Bros. logo appears and before the opening credits. A man swings out on a rope, high above the deck of a tall sailing ship, starting on one yardarm and landing on another. The man is bare-chested, with chiseled features and great, gleaming teeth. He moves with the grace and agility of an acrobat, which he is. In medium close-up, he speaks straight into the camera: "Gather round, lads and lasses, gather round! You've been shanghaied aboard the last voyage of the Crimson Pirate. Remember, on a pirate ship, in pirate waters, in a pirate world, ask no questions. Believe only what you see." Then he swings out on the rope again, landing on another yardarm. "No!" he says, correcting himself. "Believe half of what you see!" The man is Burt Lancaster, at his absolute swashbuckling peak. That's really him up there doing the stunt work, and nobody, with the possible exception of Douglas Fairbanks, brought more full-blooded physicality to movies like this. Cue the music. Roll the credits. Bring on the pirates. The adventure's about to begin.