Key Insights
- Film Background: Nate and Hayes is a pirate movie written by John Hughes, aiming to capitalize on the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Character Transformation: The film portrays the real-life pirate Bully Hayes as a heroic figure, distancing from his notorious past.
- Box Office Performance: Despite its interesting premise, Nate and Hayes flopped at the box office, earning only $1.9 million.
- Cult Following: The film gained a cult following after its release on video and cable, becoming a nostalgic piece for fans of 80s cinema.
When you think of swashbuckling high adventure, let’s get real—the hero that you think of isn’t Tommy Lee Jones. Rather, you think of his The Fugitive nemesis, Harrison Ford, right? Well, ten years before that movie, Hollywood, aiming to capitalize on the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark, aimed to make a slew of high-adventure movies, and Tommy Lee Jones, who was best known for Coal Miner’s Daughter, got his chance to play a swashbuckling hero in a pirate movie called Nate and Hayes. And—it was written by none other than John Hughes. That’s right—John Hughes of Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club wrote a pirate movie. So why haven’t you ever heard of it? Let’s dig into the complicated history of 1983’s Nate and Hayes.
The Era of Raiders of the Lost Ark Clones
In the golden age of Hollywood, swashbucklers were one of the most popular genres, particularly pirate movies, with Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power and others the kings of the genre. Yet, it tapped out sometime in the fifties, but Hollywood tried to make some new ones a few times in the seventies, eighties and nineties. Without exception, they were all major flops, with one of them, Cutthroat Island, even bankrupting a studio. When Disney made Pirates of the Caribbean in 2003, everyone thought they had lost their minds—only for the film to turn into one of the biggest hits of the decade. Nate and Hayes was one of the movies that was considered a textbook example of why pirate movies didn’t work for contemporary audiences, although unlike other contemporary pirate flicks, like the Robert Shaw-led Swashbuckler or the Roman Polanski flop, Pirates, Nate and Hayes was less influenced by Errol Flynn and owed a lot more to Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg.
You see, in 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark came out and was such a resounding success that it reverberated through the industry. Every studio wanted their own Raiders of the Lost Ark, and as Spielberg and producer George Lucas had been openly inspired by thirties and forties Saturday matinees, as well as pulp action heroes and old-time stories of high adventure, everyone started to riff on the formula. It started with two TV rip-offs, Tales of the Gold Monkey and Bring ’Em Back Alive, but as it takes longer to make a movie than a TV series, it was only in 1983 that the first Raiders clones hit theaters. There was Tom Selleck—the one-time pick to play Indiana Jones—in High Road to China, while Roger Moore found himself running through jungles in the James Bond movie Octopussy, which was heavily indebted to the film.
Turning the Real Bully Hayes into a Swashbuckling Hero
Nate and Hayes came out later in the year. It actually hailed from Paramount Pictures, the studio that produced Raiders, but ironically, that aspect might be what spelt its inevitable doom. It was actually a New Zealand production, with their nascent film industry looking to exploit how exotic the terrain was. To do so, the New Zealand producers looked to history and made an infamous American-born pirate named Bully Hayes the hero. The real-life Bully Hayes was a notorious South Seas pirate, infamous for raping, pillaging, and most notoriously of all, engaging in the practice of “blackbirding,” which was the trade of indentured labourers and—despite it being outlawed—slaves.
Not much of a hero to hang your movie on, right? As such, writers David Odell and John Hughes—yes, THE John Hughes—dropped pretty much all the facts about Bully’s life, other than the fact that he was an American and a pirate. In the movie, he’s a swashbuckling hero who, in the opening moments, states explicitly that he’s never raped or pillaged, and he’s shown to despise blackbirding. This rumor about him is chalked up to the fact that his former partner, Ben Pease, also a pirate, is the actual slave trader, and the one to do all the raping and pillaging—only to leave evidence behind that it was Bully and not him. In the movie, he is an Indiana Jones-like hero. Sure, he’s a bit of a scoundrel, but he has a moral code and is the film’s hero. In the movie, which was directed by British TV journeyman Ferdinand Fairfax, Bully has just delivered a missionary, Nathaniel Williamson (the Nate of the title), and his betrothed, Sophie, to a South Seas island where they are to be missionaries. Sophie, who doesn’t want to be a missionary, secretly loves Hayes, who is too honour-bound to return her affection. Nathaniel is a pious wet blanket, but no sooner are they deposited at their island home than it’s attacked by Pease and his men, who take Sophie as a prisoner they want to sell as a slave, leaving Nathaniel for dead. Yet he survives and thinking Hayes is responsible looks for revenge. Soon he realizes Bully is innocent and both team up to try save Sophie whom they both love from Pease.
Tommy Lee Jones as an Unlikely Action Hero
While atypical casting Tommy Lee Jones is actually great as Hayes. Wearing his hair long and sporting a beard those who only know him as an older character actor might be surprised at his youthful vigorous appearance here. He delivers an energetic performance as swashbuckling Hayes with him having plenty of sword fights and hand-to-hand scraps. He’s also funny delivering a ton of one-liners that seem to have largely been written by Hughes. Jones wasn’t the star he would later become but was relatively well known having acted in seventies hits The Eyes of Laura Mars and The Betsy in heartthrob parts before co-starring in Coal Miner’s Daughter. It wouldn’t be the only time in eighties that he nearly became an action star with him also appearing in cult action hit Black Moon Rising. Ironically it was only when he lost his youthful good looks and became more rugged and wan-looking that Hollywood and audiences took notice with him hitting superstar status in middle age.
His co-star was another actor whom Hollywood was molding as leading man Michael O’Keefe who’d had major success in Caddyshack. Like Jones stardom didn’t happen for him but he became noted character actor working steadily over long career. He’s actually quite good as Nate starting off as total wimp but then over course film becoming tougher more rugged with pirate life seemingly agreeing with him to point when he and Bully finally rescue Sophie who is played by lovely Jenny Seagrove he’s no longer jerk he once was now swashbuckling hero willing let her take up with Bully if that’s what makes her happy only for her to be won over by this new version Nate meaning he actually gets girl in end. Seagrove is similarly good as initially naive Sophie who views Bully as man who will whisk her away from dull life only take lot more agency as film goes on. By time Nate comes her rescue they are equals seem like they might actually get well-deserved happily ever after.
The film also has strong villain in sordid Ben Pease played by Australian Max Phipps who wanted revenge because in duel Bully accidentally blew his balls off. Oops. The movie also had good score by Trevor Jones which is very much high-adventure tone movie as well nice set design even if low budget sometimes makes look little too much like slightly elevated TV. Nevertheless though it’s pretty solid early-eighties adventure movie with TERRIFIC ending where imprisoned Hayes rescued by now-outlaw Sophie Nate duo who are like pirate version Bonnie Clyde following their adventures with Bully.
Did Similarities to Indiana Jones Doom Nate and Hayes?
So why then did it flop so resoundingly? Here’s where it gets interesting. When movie delivered Paramount it contained two sequences that were VERY similar set pieces featured their then-upcoming Indiana Jones and Temple Doom. This wasn’t case one film copying other it just worked out way. Nate and Hayes opens with scene where Hayes escapes by cutting rope bridge which is exactly like one classic moments in Temple Doom,and stunt they were going use all marketing planned out. It also has scene where heroine slowly lowered into fiery pit has saved heroes which also happens Willie Scott in Temple Doom. Perhaps not wanting upset Spielberg Lucas giving too much buildup movie such strong similarities their own, Nate and Hayes was only given cursory release where made $1.9 million. It was such non-event that it actually retitled overseas as Savage Islands. It did however pick up bit cult following once hit video cable aired regularly throughout decade. It would eventually get DVD Blu-ray release thanks Tommy Lee Jones’ later notoriety. While not great movie any means it’s fun eighties flick well worth checking out if—like me—you’ve exhausted your supply prime eighties action need dip deeper catalogue.
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