POTC Old-School

So I just watched the immensely entertaining 1930s swashbuckler "Captain Blood" starring Errol Flynn. I think it is undeniable that POTC was very much inspired by this film. Much of the costumes and set design simply looks like black-and-white versions of the same thing, and there are a number of other uncanny similarities as well, some of which I will list here:
1) Emphasis on silly side-characters for comic relief.
2) An early attack on a harbor by pirates is shot almost identically to the attack at the beginning of POTC.
3) Tortuga is shown a pirate-happy place full of rum and women.
4) While in Tortuga, a guy even throws water on another guy to wake him up like in POTC.
5) There is an emphasis on how important the governor's daughter (well, niece here) is for ransom to a crew of pirates.
6) There is an attack on Port Royale, just like in POTC.
7) It is mentioned that if anyone breaks the pirate law, they will be marooned on an island with a pistol that has ONLY ONE BULLET!!!

Also, I'm betting that the third POTC movie will have a battle in the riggings and crow's nests of a ship, since that is the climax of "Captain Blood." You heard it here first! And as some of you know, my POTC predictions have been right so far.

Tonight also marks the first night where I drank alcohol with one of my parents. I guess there's a first time for everything.

In other geek-related news, the next Batman movie has officially been announced as "The Dark Knight." I like this title quite a bit. Heath Ledger has also officially been cast as The Joker. I am NOT such a fan of this. I really like Heath Ledger, but he doesn't seem to Jokerish to me, but we'll see...