Yellowbeard

David Bowie not only starred in a lot of great films, he also popped up in cameo's in everything from Zoolander to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. One of my favorite cameo's of his was in the 1983 pirate comedy Yellowbeard.

This was a who's who of comedy at the time, featuring three members of Monty Python, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, and John Cleese. Some of the Mel Brooks players, Madeline Khan, Marty Feldman, Kenneth Mars, and Peter Boyle. Cheech And Chong, and classic British comics Peter Cook and Spike Mulligan.

Chapman is the main star as Yellowbeard, a pirate just released from prison for tax evasion. The Royal Navy hoped to find the whereabouts of his hidden treasure during his stint, but Yellowbeard never gave in. He hid the map at his wife's, Madeline Khan, pub. He returns to find that she has destroyed the map but has had it tattooed on the head of their offspring, Martin Hewitt. Yellowbeard reluctantly brings his son along and gathers a crew to find the treasure, with the Navy hot on their trail.

Everyone is really funny in this, especially Chapman as the crass Yellowbeard. And did I mention David Bowie has a cameo?

Oddly enough, Chapman, Cook, The Who's drummer Keith Moon, and maverick filmmaker Sam Peckinpah came up with the idea of doing a pirate movie over dinner one evening. Chapman and Cook wrote the screenplay with Moon playing Yellowbeard. Moon had to back out due to health reasons and Chapman stepped in.

The studio had a lot of issues with the film. They didn't want Peckinpah to direct because he was a bit of a wild card, and hired up and comer Mel Damski. Adam Ant was originally slated to play the Hewitt role, but had to back out due to his busy schedule. The filmmakers wanted Sting as his replacement, but the studio felt that his casting would make the film "too British." So they brought in Endless Love star Hewitt. The studio also wanted more plot and less emphasis on the supporting cast. The script under went many rewrites.

This was a huge flop when it was released, but I always thought it was hysterical. It might not fly with a lot of audiences today because some of it is pretty offensive and un pc, but it sure is funny.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.