THE SEA HAWK is usually listed with THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and CAPTAIN BLOOD as Errol Flynn's finest films, an honor it richly deserves. Filmed in 1940, at the peak of Flynn's popularity, before the sensational rape trial and revelations of his hedonistic lifestyle combined to tarnish his reputation and gradually make his screen persona more of a roué and less heroic, the film combined all of the classic 'Flynn' elements; spectacular battles, a chaste but passionate romance, wonderful camaraderie, a thoroughly despicable villain, and a climactic light/shadow sword fight finale to top things off, accompanied by the fabulous music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. This is a FABULOUS film adventure!
Based on the privateering adventures of Sir Francis Drake and the 'Sea Dogs' of Elizabethan times, the WB lifted the title from a Rafael Sabatini novel, and changed the 'Sea Dogs' to 'Sea Hawks' (which DOES sound more romantic!). Flynn is Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe, a brilliant commander in the 'Horatio Hornblower' mold, adored by his crew (led by the irreplaceable Alan Hale, of course!), admired by his fellow Sea Hawks, and even respected by his Spanish adversaries. As the film opens, his ship, the Albatross, having crossed the Atlantic in record time, takes on a giant Spanish galleon carrying the new Ambassador to England (Claude Rains, in a small but memorable role) and his daughter, Maria (played by the luminous Brenda Marshall, who has always been unfairly judged as a 'substitute' for Olivia de Havilland; Miss de Havilland would have been totally wrong in the role of an innocent Spanish girl!) After a breathtaking battle, featuring the kind of cutlass-swinging pandemonium director Michael Curtiz was famous for, Thorpe is victorious, and the Spaniards and their cargo are transferred to the Albatross. (Wonderful Hispanic actor Gilbert Roland has a nice bit as the Spanish captain, granted the right to be the last to leave his sinking ship).
Thorpe is immediately smitten by Maria, but, in true Hornblower fashion, is uncomfortable trying to talk to her, much to the amusement of his crew! This discomfort doesn't apply to ALL women, however; to Queen Elizabeth, wonderfully portrayed by Flora Robson (for the second time, as she'd played the Virgin Queen in the earlier FIRE OVER ENGLAND), Thorpe displays a rakish charm that she secretly adores. (This was Flynn's second film in two years dealing with the monarch; as lover/potential usurper to a more neurotic Elizabeth, played by Bette Davis, in 1939's THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, she chopped off his head...something Davis, who despised Flynn, would have liked to have done in real life, as well!)
Despite the growing love between Maria and Thorpe, he has a brilliant scheme, attacking a Spanish treasure port in Central America by land, so he's off again, with Elizabeth's secret blessings. Unfortunately, traitorous Lord Wolfingham (played to slimy perfection by Henry Daniell), figures out the plan, and warns the Spanish, who defeat Thorpe and his crew in the jungle (a wonderful, sepia-toned sequence), then subjects the survivors to a life chained to the oars of a Spanish galleon. Discovering Wolfingham's duplicity, and ultimate goal of power after the Spanish Armada crushes England, Thorpe and his crew manage to break free of their chains, capture the Spanish ship, and race back to England, culminating in a spectacular climactic duel between Thorpe and Wolfingham, and Elizabeth's rousing "We'll build an Armada" speech added to the script to inspire an audience witnessing the beginning of WWII.
A rousing adventure, THE SEA HAWK marked the pinnacle of Errol Flynn's rollercoaster career, and is a true classic of the genre!
Based on the privateering adventures of Sir Francis Drake and the 'Sea Dogs' of Elizabethan times, the WB lifted the title from a Rafael Sabatini novel, and changed the 'Sea Dogs' to 'Sea Hawks' (which DOES sound more romantic!). Flynn is Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe, a brilliant commander in the 'Horatio Hornblower' mold, adored by his crew (led by the irreplaceable Alan Hale, of course!), admired by his fellow Sea Hawks, and even respected by his Spanish adversaries. As the film opens, his ship, the Albatross, having crossed the Atlantic in record time, takes on a giant Spanish galleon carrying the new Ambassador to England (Claude Rains, in a small but memorable role) and his daughter, Maria (played by the luminous Brenda Marshall, who has always been unfairly judged as a 'substitute' for Olivia de Havilland; Miss de Havilland would have been totally wrong in the role of an innocent Spanish girl!) After a breathtaking battle, featuring the kind of cutlass-swinging pandemonium director Michael Curtiz was famous for, Thorpe is victorious, and the Spaniards and their cargo are transferred to the Albatross. (Wonderful Hispanic actor Gilbert Roland has a nice bit as the Spanish captain, granted the right to be the last to leave his sinking ship).
Thorpe is immediately smitten by Maria, but, in true Hornblower fashion, is uncomfortable trying to talk to her, much to the amusement of his crew! This discomfort doesn't apply to ALL women, however; to Queen Elizabeth, wonderfully portrayed by Flora Robson (for the second time, as she'd played the Virgin Queen in the earlier FIRE OVER ENGLAND), Thorpe displays a rakish charm that she secretly adores. (This was Flynn's second film in two years dealing with the monarch; as lover/potential usurper to a more neurotic Elizabeth, played by Bette Davis, in 1939's THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, she chopped off his head...something Davis, who despised Flynn, would have liked to have done in real life, as well!)
Despite the growing love between Maria and Thorpe, he has a brilliant scheme, attacking a Spanish treasure port in Central America by land, so he's off again, with Elizabeth's secret blessings. Unfortunately, traitorous Lord Wolfingham (played to slimy perfection by Henry Daniell), figures out the plan, and warns the Spanish, who defeat Thorpe and his crew in the jungle (a wonderful, sepia-toned sequence), then subjects the survivors to a life chained to the oars of a Spanish galleon. Discovering Wolfingham's duplicity, and ultimate goal of power after the Spanish Armada crushes England, Thorpe and his crew manage to break free of their chains, capture the Spanish ship, and race back to England, culminating in a spectacular climactic duel between Thorpe and Wolfingham, and Elizabeth's rousing "We'll build an Armada" speech added to the script to inspire an audience witnessing the beginning of WWII.
A rousing adventure, THE SEA HAWK marked the pinnacle of Errol Flynn's rollercoaster career, and is a true classic of the genre!