The Curse of Bully Hayes

Being a writer, I sometimes find that bad films can be a good source of inspiration. Granted, I wouldn't pay anything more than a Netflix subscription to watch them, but when I do, I always try and ask myself what can be improved.

And because one of my current projects is a pirate story, this brings up one Unholy Grail of sorts in the form of Nate and Hayes, a 1983 adventure film starring Tommy Lee Jones in one of his early roles; a highly romanticised portrayal of William "Bully" Hayes, a pirate and smuggler who operated in the South Pacific during the 1850s up until his murder in 1877. In the film, Hayes is providing passage to a missionary named Nathaniel Williamson and his fiancée Sophie, when she is kidnapped by rival pirate Ben Pease. What follows is a traditional swashbuckling adventure with plenty of set pieces (including a rope bridge scene).

While Tommy Jones and the other actors do seem to be enjoying themselves, the story is minimal, the characters are flat, and action set pieces have all been done before (although that is sort of expected in a swashbuckler). It was ultimately a commercial failure, with audiences and critics alike regarding it as a blatant cash-in on the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark. This is where the 'curse' came into play; the film's failure prompted the Hollywood subconsciousness to regard pirate films as box office poison for the next twenty years. It wasn't until Pirates of the Caribbean came along that they changed their attitude. In fact, they were worried that Pirates of the Caribbean wouldn't be successful, and look how that turned out. Unless the fourth sequel scares them back into their shell, that is.

But is the film that horrible? Not really. There just isn't much to it. It's a B-movie, plain and simple. Something to accompany a night of drinking. It was actually the 'curse' that drew me to it.

The film is on currently Netflix, and great for rounding off your bank holiday.