The Black Pirate, a 100-year-old pirate adventure, is streaming free online

The Black Pirate turned 100 on March 8, 2026. Douglas Fairbanks plays an initially unnamed survivor who vows revenge for his father’s murder, becomes the Black Pirate, infiltrates the crew of his enemies, and saves a princess played by Billie Dove. Made as a silent picture before talkies took hold, the film was produced specifically to be a color pirate movie.

Fairbanks had argued that black-and-white pirate films were disappointing, and the picture used Technicolor’s two-strip process to yield a restrained palette that can feel at once naturalistic and painterly. Audiences still notice the stunts and large-scale staging: Fairbanks’s athletic feats, waves of extras, and the now-classic knife-into-a-sail descent, achieved through a tilted sail, pre-ripped fabric, and hidden wires.

The effects don’t always read as strictly realistic, but their craftsmanship remains striking.

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