The Sea Hawk

This is yet another vintage film that I'm only just catching up with, some 70 years after its initial release and this probably has a lot to do with how indifferent I feel about it. Whilst I've always found Errol Flynn charming with great charisma I sensed a strain on both here. Brenda Marshall is wooden in the extreme and there is absolutely no chemistry between her and Flynn. Claude Rains, too, seems oddly ill-at-ease possibly because unlike his Captain Renault in Casablanca he is not permitted to display the impish side of his character and come on as more of a lovable rogue than black-as-night villain. Even the swordplay was lacklustre and it's too easy to say that Henry Daniell is a poor substitute for Basil Rathbone. I've given it five out of ten whereas had I seen it earlier I may have gone to seven or eight.

EF does a decent job of buckling his swash in this B&W (why no color, it's 1940)? It's interesting how the B&W turns to sepia when they hit Panama and then back to B&W once back in England. I liked Flora Robson as QEI in this and both Henry Danielle (his sword fighting scenes with EF are a hoot; he obviously couldn't duel so a double was used and then close up of just his head bobbing around to make it look like he was actually doing it)and Claude Raines made perfect villains. The obligatory female interest in this epic was kind of sappy looking and couldn't act, but provided a means for Errol to get back into see QE after his return from Panama. I recently overdosed on film noir and accidentally discovered pirate movies so was looking for something in blinding Technicolor with red headed sultry vixens. Oh, well...tonight I'm watching Flame and the Arrow with Virginia Mayo so my redhead fix will be quite satisfied I'm sure. I saw a VividColor MellerDrama with her and Arlene Dahl (or was it Rhonda Fleming & Arlene Dahl)...whatever...when they were both on screen, I needed sunglasses. I'm off subject. A pretty good movies, I gave it six, maybe give it more as I view others.

It is no wonder I suggest, when one reads the credits for 'The Sea Hawk", (1940) that it was made into a splendid and memorable motion picture. It is a Warner brothers "A" effort, a B/W answer to "Gone With the Wind". Warners was called the 'outlaw studio' because its tsars had a habit of making films about men who were either criminals or revolutionaries against a U.S.. the studio's bosses seemed to mistrust more than anyone else did. In this case the government they chose to study is Elizabeth I's Protestant England, she herself considered an enemy of the mighty Catholic Empire of Spain under Philp II. To counter Spain's attempt to destroy England, as she had overrun her ally The Low Countries (Benelux), England's Queen expanded the building of Henry VIII's fleet and bettered her father's design by refusing to waste money and men in wars and by making her navy's ships smaller and more swift than Spanish galleons. Hero of this film is rebellious but loyal Geoffrey Thorpe played adequately as a very young and promising fellow by Errol Flynn. He and others are disowned publicly but privately backed in their conducting of raids on Spanish shipping. In the film, Geoffrey is returning from one such raid with a prize, including a captured Spanish lady he is falling in love with, to whom, for love, he has returned her jewels. Elizabeth I is furious at this but is softened; and Thorpe goes off on his greatest adventure to the New World, to go after the Spanish Empire's annual treasure fleet. Betrayed to the Spaniards and captured in Panama, he and his men escape imprisonment in a slave galley, make their way through swamps, win a battle, and return to England in time to expose traitors, and save Elizabeth. His reward is the lady, who has waited for him, and the chance to serve England further. In the huge cast with Flynn are splendid ,Alan Hale, the great Flora Robson reprising her "Fire Over England" role as Elizabeth, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, powerful Henry Daniell, pretty but rather weak Brenda Marshall as the lady he loves, Julien Mitchell, Montagu Love, Gilbert Roland, William Lundigan, Ian Keith, Una O'Connor, Jay Silverheels and Robert Warwick. This expensively-mounted production was written by Seton I Miller of the "Mississippi Gambler" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" fame with Howard Koch. Director Michael Curtiz was in charge of this sumptuous offering; the music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold is justly famous;the credits for 'The Sae Hawk read like a who is who in Hollywood; makeup was by Perc Westmore, cinematography by Sol Polito, art direction by Anton Grot and gowns by Orry-Kelly. Special effects were by Byron Haskin. Watch for the slave galley scene; this is the scene adapted by William Wyler for Ben Hur's galley setups. This is a stirring and very entertaining film, with everything from an amusing monkey to great acting to clever dialogue as Slizabeth inspires, scolds but brilliantly misleads those who would thwart her course--to make England secure in her pre-Imperial days from Spain's tyrannical ambitions.

1902. That's when the first color short was made. 1939. "Gone With The Wind" and "The Wizard Of Oz." Both in remarkable color. I mention that because when I watched this 1940 film by cheapo Warner Brothers (who certainly made fine movies), I kept thinking what a shame it was that considering the budget film, WB didn't throw in a bit more money to make it in color. This films cries out for color!!!!! Of course, one of the reasons it's in black and white is that some scenes from the 1924 silent version were cut into the production. A few scenes in the print used on TCM have badly deteriorated. Perhaps the best performance in the film is that of Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth. This is a rousing tale, although for me, there are a number of Flynn movies that I would place above it. Historically, apparently it's not very accurate. Perhaps Flynn's best acting in the tale is when he is a prisoner -- essentially a galley slave -- aboard a Spanish ship...Flynn not in control. There are a number of fine character actors here, including Flynn's frequent sidekick Alan Hale, but, from my perspective, none of the roles stand out. Worth seeing once, or maybe twice, but this title won't sit along side other Flynn movies on my DVD shelf.

The most sombre of Errol Flynn's 3 great adventure films (the others are Captain Blood and Robin Hood), this dark movie has none of the sexy romping or witty banter that enliven the other two. It has, however, plenty of passion, if not the romantic kind. The Sea Hawk dramatises the need for the US to enter World War II, with sixteenth-century Spain standing in for Nazi Germany, and analogies to wartime Europe every few minutes. At the beginning, Flynn's privateers board and sink a Spanish ship, freeing its galley slaves (ie, victims of Nazism). The Spanish heroine is horrified when she sets eyes on them for the first time, and Flynn later tells her he realised, when he saw her expression, that she was not as cold as he thought (ie, decent people should sympathise with the conquered nations, not act as if the suffering doesn't exist because they don't see it). There are forceful speeches by Flynn, Queen Elizabeth, and her ministers about England's policy toward Spain, whose king we have heard saying that he wants to conquer the whole world to satisfy his own ambitions. The Queen says that King Philip may not be planning to attack England and she doesn't want to make him angry. Flynn says why would he be building up a navy if he didn't intend to use it. The Spanish ambassador rebukes Flynn for freeing the galley slaves, who he says were properly tried and sentenced under Spanish law. Flynn replies that an Inquisition court and slavery are not what any Englishman would recognise as proper--he seems to stop just short of saying "cruel and unusual punishment"! The Queen is warned that England may find herself all alone in a world of enemies. The courtiers who oppose antagonising Spain are shown as doing so because they are profiteering traitors, not because they have different ideas. So the Queen can be regarded as a stand-in not only for Churchill but for Roosevelt. When Flynn and his men are betrayed, and then captured by the Spaniards and made into galley slaves, they manage to slip their chains and then silently wait below decks for the Spanish to pass by, one at a time, and then pull each one down below and overpower him--in other words, they literally become underground fighters. The film ends with a fiery speech from Queen Liz, who says who the hell is King Philip to tell us what to do, and promises to turn all the trees in England into ships to fight those Spanish bastards, with everyone cheering her on. For an utterly persuasive combination of argument and emotion, this was a pitch for the US entering the war that should have won all the Warner Brothers honorary knighthoods.

I am still trying to understand why people think this movie is so great. First of all, it is miscast and it also leaves too many loose ends. What happened to Claude Rains' character? After the jungle scenes, he was gone and it was not explained what happened to him. Plus the boring swordfight between Errol Flynn and Henry Daniell did not help. The only enjoyment I got out of this movie was seeing two of my favorite actors [Ian Kieth and Victor Varconi], even though they only had small parts.

The Sea Hawk is a very, very enjoyable film. Is it Errol Flynn's best film and role? No, The Adventures of Robin Hood gets that honour for both. Also, The Sea Hawk is slightly overlong, and the print for this film is quite washed out and grainy, a film as good as this needs a restoration. Minor complaints aside, the swashbuckling is energetic and beautifully choreographed, the production values are top notch, Korngold's score is superb, Curtiz's direction is great, the script is witty and the story is brisk and entertaining. The cast are also excellent, Flynn makes for a gallant, charismatic and dashing hero and while slightly underused fine actor Claude Rains is superb as he takes on villain duty. In conclusion, a fine film, flawed but endlessly entertaining with lots to like. 8/10 Bethany Cox

While among the finest of Hollywood's swashbuckling classic films, the fine performances of its stars are still eclipsed by the rousing musical score of Erich Korngold. His music is timeless and an outstanding example of Hollywood's least appreciated contributors- the composers of film music. The art of film scoring, matching each scene with just the right music, has never received the recognition and accolades it truly deserves. The contributions of Korngold, Alfred Newman, Victor Young, John Barry, Henry Mancini, Maurice Jarre, John Williams and countless others are incalculable to the success of the films they scored. When Dorothy Hamill won her Gold Medal for Ladies Figure Skating at the Winter Olympics, she skated to music from "The Sea Hawk." Korngold's classic score was still fresh and stirring decades later.

There a only a couple of things that make this fall short of classic status, and they are not enough to keep it off of anyone's list of favorite/best adventure films. The film is somewhat overproduced. The settings are too opulent, the costumes too magnificent, and the score is almost too rousing. This is particularly true when Flynn and his entire crew start singing, backed up none too discreetly by the entire Warners chorus and orchestra. Who sings while climbing riggings, anyway? The other shortfall is the absence of color. Warners was known for their cost-consciousness, but it is ironic to note that a bit of trimming in the costuming and settings department would have probably allowed them to use the tri-color process, which was used to such spectacular effect in The Adventures of Robin Hood. That said, the Sea Hawk possesses an embarrassment of riches. The semi-historic story line is strong, as are the performances of a truly stellar cast. Flora Robson, Claude Rains are tremendous, and Henry Daniell darn near out-sneers Basil Rathbone as the duplicitous villain. Brenda Marshall is no Olivia de Havilland, but she doesn't have do be; its nice to see Errol flirting with another comely wench. Errol himself is also a treat. This was 1940, before his rape trial and before he got tired of movie making. He is obviously engaged in the production, and is at his most dashing self in pushing it along. Perrenial sidekick (on and off screen) Alan Hale is outstanding as well in his portrayal of...Well, Alan Hale. Best of all is the score, composed by gool old erich Wolfgang Korngold. It is no coincidence that his music is at the heart of Flynn's best movies. It matches the action scene for scene in a manner again reminiscent of Robin Hood. Although I cannot rank this as Flynn's best vehicle, there is a solid minority of Flynnatics who do. A compelling argument can be made for it.

What really makes "The Sea Hawk" good is the great adventurous story. It's filled with action, romance and adventure. A true swashbuckler. Errol Flynn really is one superb hero. Not only has he got the right looks but he also was a very talented actor who unfortunately died far too early at the age of 50. I also love how the rest of the characters are portrayed such as Elizabeth I and the 'gentleman' villains. Also the love story is done good in a non-distractive way and Brenda Marshall really was one beautiful woman! Still its funny to see how much more polite the English are portrayed than the Spanish. Not only do they politely capture all the Spanish soldiers but they also find time to free all the galley slaves and take them ALL on their ship back to England. It really is funny to see how black and white the story is at times. But this is really my only small point of critic about this movie. A very entertaining adventurous swashbuckling movie with some wonderful music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. After more than 60 years it hasn't lost any of its power and therefor is recommendable to everyone, even those who aren't familiar with 'classics'. 9/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/