Greitzer — pirates

"A betrayer among them? Or a trap?"

―Greitzer to Cutler Beckett^[src]

Greitzer was an officer of the East India Trading Company. At the time of the conflict with the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court, he served aboard the HMS Endeavour, the flagship of Lord Cutler Beckett, as one of his lieutenants. Lieutenant Greitzer most notably assisted Lord Beckett as the Endeavour was in pursuit of the Black Pearl, finding a breadcrumb trail that Will Turner left for the Endeavour and the armada to follow the Pearl to Shipwreck Cove, where a battle raged, Beckett met his death, the Endeavour was destroyed, and the armada fled.

Biography

Little is known of Greitzer's early life other than that he became an officer of the East India Trading Company, eventually serving aboard the HMS Endeavour, the flagship of Lord Cutler Beckett, as one of his lieutenants.^[2] Lieutenant Greitzer was aboard the Endeavour when the conflict with the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court began. Following the escape of two pirate ships, the Black Pearl and the Empress, both sailing off in in the hopes of reaching Shipwreck Cove, Lord Beckett ordered that the Endeavour pursue the Pearl.^[1]

Lieutenant Greiter assisted Lord Cutler Beckett in finding a breadcrumb trail.

About one day later, in another part of the ocean, the Endeavour's repairs were finally done and the ship was in pursuit of the Black Pearl. Lord Beckett stood on deck, staring out to sea, as Lieutenant Greitzer scanned the horizon with a spyglass. Suddenly Beckett spotted movement in the far distance, squinted, and then turned to the lieutenant and demanded curtly for the spyglass. Greitzer handed over the spyglass, and Beckett peered through it.^[2] The Endeavour happened upon a flock of seagulls congregating around something floating in the water, a dead body, one of Lord Beckett's men killed in the Black Pearl's escape, tied to a barrel with a note that bore the symbol of the East India Trading Company. Lieutenant Greitzer assisted Lord Beckett, using a knife from his pocket, to cut a bottle from the wrist of one of the corpses. As Beckett looked at the note, Greitzer interrupted, pointing at the distant horizon, where there was another tower of circling seagulls attracted to a corpse, another in a breadcrumb trail by Will Turner, who was aboard the Pearl, left for the Endeavour to follow. Greitzer questioned whether there was a betrayer among the pirates or if this was a trap. Lord Beckett told him that it was no more than the gambit of a skilled opponent and ordered Greitzer to adjust the Endeavour's course, hoping to catch up to the Black Pearl before they ran out of bodies.^[1]

Lieutenant Greitzer was still aboard the Endeavour when Lord Cutler Beckett and the Endeavour crew prepared for the final stand between Beckett's armada and the Brethren Court's ragtag fleet, a battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman. However, after Will Turner became the new captain of the Dutchman upon Davy Jones' death, the Pearl and the Dutchman turned against the Endeavour and began to fire. When Beckett couldn't say anything, Lieutenant Theodore Groves gave the order to abandon ship, and Greitzer, along much of the Endeavour's crew, jumped overboard into the sea.^[1] His further fate is unknown.

Behind the scenes

Lieutenant Greitzer first appeared in media relating to the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,^[1] notably T.T. Sutherland's junior novelization.^[2] Despite having speaking lines, the character was uncredited and portrayed by David Meunier.^{[citation needed]}

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's original screenplay for At World's End, the character was only known as "the Lieutenant" during the scene where Sir Cutler Beckett see the tower of seagulls and the bread crumb trail left by Will Turner, with Beckett ordering an Ensign to adjust course.^[3] By a late production draft titled Calypso's Fury, the character was named "Lieutenant Greitzer" and ordered to adjust course by Lord Beckett.^[4] Although the character was unnamed in the final cut of the film,^[1] Greitzer's name was retained in the junior novelization.^[2]

While unconfirmed, Greitzer may have been named after Lindsay Greitzer, the assistant to director Gore Verbinski on the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films.^[5]^[6]^[7]