Cutthroat Island (1995)

Director: Renny Harlin

Cutthroat Island is a fun little Pirate adventure. Geena Davis plays Morgan Adams a female pirate that is in search of her fathers hidden treasure. Unfortunately for her, her uncle, Dog, is after it too. To really mix it all up the British navy is involved. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon, not to spectacular either.

Arrrrgh, law:

1. In Port Royal there is a shot of Pirates being hanged. Let us not forget that Piracy is the first international crime to sport Universal Jurisdaiction, due to its threat to all nations.

2. There is pirate law itself. On the ship there is an orderly system with each person filling and office. There are some good pirate law moments on board as well as a mutiny wherein the legal system itself is overturned.

3. The Jolly Roger is the flag of the ship, which sets it outside the jurisdiction of all states, but at the same time (due to universal jurisdiction) sets it within the juirsdiction of all. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

4. Dog swaps sides to the British Navy in order to gain a pardon. As a result he is made a privateer, essentially a legal pirate.

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World Gone Mad (1933)

Director: Christy Cabanne

In this mediocre showing from the beginnings of Hollywood, we find bad writing, bad cinematography, and a lot of lawyers. Essentially there is a murdered DA and the new DA and a reporter are trying to get to the bottom of it. There is some love interest that is all muddled up. Its boring as hell.

Old boring law:

1. A bootlegger who is in good with the District Attorney is asked to “fight the DA to the finish.” The loyalties of bootleggers being what they are, he aquiesces. To make the hit he sets the DA up with a promise of evidence in a big case. After his death the DA is made out to be a drinking womanizer.

2. At one point a brief case is called a “lawyers bag.”

3. The new DA is looking to capture the men who murdered the old DA because “people look to the law to protect them.” He claims that he would shoot the criminals himself “if the law allowed,” but instead he will send them away for as long as the law allows. A very noble chap.

4. We find out that the penalty for kidnapping is life in prison.

5. The murder is an attempt to cover up corporate looting. This sort of stock fraud was pertinent as this was made in the wake of the great depression. Thus we get a bit of the criminal end of corporate law.

6. A hit on the new DA fails. He is in denial that he is a target and is told that DA’s “don’t just have accidents.”

7. A bit of legal theory: “Smith and Wesson make all men equal, and equality is the basis of all democracy.”

8. The bad guys are planning to leave the country on a yatch: pre harsh immigration law days.

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