People

By Guy D. Garcia

Even on dry land his scowl could sink a ship. So Walter Matthau had no trouble at all swashbuckling himself into the character of the peg-legged Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red in Roman Polanski's Pirates. The idea of making a period film appealed to him because "I get to act instead of just being Walter Matthau." But apart from the acting, it has not been a barrel of yo- ho-hos. His beard itched for the first five months, dragging around in his 30-lb. costume has been a drudge, and the wooden leg is not exactly comfortable. Filming has been taking place in the Seychelles islands and Tunisia for seven months, and the end is still over the horizon. So far, Matthau, despite a 1966 heart attack, has remained unscathed. "I'm looking for wood," he jokes, "and knocking." Arrgh, matey, you don't have to look any farther than that blasted leg.