Summary
The eponymous wraith returns to Earth to aid his descendant, elderly Emily Stowecroft. The villains want to kick Emily and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Steve Walker gets caught in the middle of the squabble after evoking Blackbeard's ghost.
Good for
- Date night
- Family movie night
- Friends night
Skip it if
- You want dark or edgy material
Where to watch
Fingerprint
At a glance
Critics vs audiences
Critics and audiences agree
Critics 77Audiences 75GoodWatch 75
Tomatometer82%
Metascore71
User score9.5
Audience score71%
IMDb6.8
Letterboxd · 5 K ratings3.3/5
Running time
1 h 46 min
A typical length for comedies, +6 min on the typical 100
typical 100106Half of all comedies run 91–111 min.
Reach
Streams in 49 countries, rent or buy in 4 more
+39Released
1968
February 8, 1968
58 years ago
Genres
ComedyFantasyFamilyLanguage
English
Original language
Also spoken
FrenchMade in
United States
Rated
- GUnited States
Yes: it's rated G in the United States, and the viewing guide lists it for kids.
What's in it
- ViolenceMild
- Gore, disturbing imagesLittle or none
- Frightening scenesMild
- Sex, nudityLittle or none
- Dark themesLittle or none
Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsDate NightFamily Movie NightFriends NightParty VibeIntergenerationalKidsPartner WatchPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensBackground WatchComfort WatchDrop-in FriendlyPure Escapism24 of 37
Peter UstinovCaptain Blackbeard
Dean JonesSteve Walker
Suzanne PleshetteJo Anne Baker
Elsa LanchesterEmily Stowecroft
Richard DeaconDean Wheaton
Joby BakerSilky Seymour
Elliott ReidTV Commentator
Norman GrabowskiVirgil
Kelly ThordsenMotorcycle Officer
Michael ConradPinetop Purvis
Herbie FayeCroupier
George MurdockHead Official
Hank JonesGudger Larkin
Ned GlassTeller
Gil LambWaiter
Alan CarneyBartender
Ted MarklandCharles- LNLou NovaLeon
Charlie BrillEdward
Herb VigranDanny Oly
William FawcettMr. Ainsworth
Betty BronsonOld Lady- EBElsie BakerOld Lady
- KMKathryn MinnerOld Lady
Directing · 2
- Robert Stevenson Director
- Arthur J. Vitarelli Second Unit Director
Writing · 3
- Bill Walsh Screenplay, Producer
- Don DaGradi Screenplay
- Ben Stahl Novel
Camera · 1
- Edward Colman Director of Photography
Editing · 1
- Robert Stafford Editor
Sound · 2
- Robert F. Brunner Original Music Composer
- Robert O. Cook Sound Supervisor
Art · 4
- Hal Gausman Set Decoration
- John B. Mansbridge Art Direction
- Carroll Clark Art Direction
- Emile Kuri Set Decoration
Costume & Make-Up · 3
- Bill Thomas Costume Design
- La Rue Matheron Hairstylist
- Gordon Hubbard Makeup Artist
Other crew · 3
- Dick Warlock Stunts
- Eustace Lycett Special Effects
- Robert A. Mattey Special Effects
Tropes
More like this
Similar
Most like Blackbeard's Ghost overall
Nearest on the related map: closest in everything it does to you, not one trait
- Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)
GoodWatch score 80 - Missing Link (2019)
GoodWatch score 72 - The Borrowers (1997)
GoodWatch score 65 - The Gendarme in New York (1965)
GoodWatch score 63 - The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
GoodWatch score 74 - Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
GoodWatch score 62 - Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
GoodWatch score 74 - The Dish (2000)
GoodWatch score 78 - The Navigator (1924)
GoodWatch score 73 - We're No Angels (1955)
GoodWatch score 74 - Secondhand Lions (2003)
GoodWatch score 66 - I Married a Witch (1942)
GoodWatch score 82 - The Gendarme Gets Married (1968)
GoodWatch score 68 - The Road to El Dorado (2000)
GoodWatch score 60 - Forgotten Island (2026)
GoodWatch score 81 - Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur (2011)
GoodWatch score 70
Same genre
More family movies
- Coco (2017)
GoodWatch score 87 - Toy Story (1995)
GoodWatch score 91 - Inside Out 2 (2024)
GoodWatch score 79 - Zootopia 2 (2025)
GoodWatch score 80 - Madagascar (2005)
GoodWatch score 63 - Aladdin (1992)
GoodWatch score 86 - Beauty and the Beast (1991)
GoodWatch score 87 - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
GoodWatch score 63