The Sea Hawk

This is definitely an Errol Flynn classic, meaning one of his best films and the charismatic star of the mid-'30s to mid-'40s did a number of entertaining ones. He's best known - on screen, that is - as a swordsman from his "Captain Blood" and "Adventures of Robin Hood" days, but he also was terrific as boxer James J. Corbett in "Gentlemen Jim" and as western star "Wade Hatton" in "Dodge City."

He's great here as pirate "Geoffrey Thorpe" and what makes this pirate movie different is that half of the action scenes are on land, not sea. (They on are on island, or back in the castle of Queen Elizabeth). Flynn captains "The Albatross" and is a privateering ship captain for her Majesty the queen in the 1500s. They are battling the Spanish in this story. The real bad guys are some of the turncoats in Elizabeth's court.

The film is interesting even with its length of over two hours. It keeps a good balance of drama, action, romance and suspense, never overdoing any of those.

While it's hard to beat the entertainment duo of Director Michael Curtiz and actor Flynn, Brenda Marshall as "Doria Maria," Thorpe's love interest, doesn't quite cut it. Olivia de Havilland usually played his female interest, and - although that doesn't require she play in every Flynn movie - they could have found someone more attractive and likable than Marshall who, justifiably, had a thin career. Her casting in here is a big mystery to me.

Whatever, Flora Robson was fun to watch as "Queen Elizabeth." Claude Rains and Henry Daniell played their normal bad-guy roles well and Thorpe's crew, led by Flynn's best friend Alan Hale, are all entertaining guys.

I enjoyed the sepia-tone sequence when Flynn and the boys go for the gold on the Panama island. That was a nice, little visual twist to this black-and-white movie..

Not to be left out is the sweeping score, under the direction of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which is one of the more magnificent ones you'll hear in a classic film.

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.

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

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It's Erich Wolfgang Korngold who carries "The Sea Hawk". He picks it up at the first frame with a rousing trumpet fanfare; he follows the story all the way from England to Panama, where a kind of syncopated not-jazz-exactly with saxophones makes its way into the score; he even bursts into song (well, not him personally) when Captain Thorpe's and his crew win through to freedom - and, after so much musical participation, that moment when the sailors become a chorus never strikes me as unnatural.

Korngold's brisk motion would count for nothing if the actors or the direction or the story were lethargic, of course - and they aren't. Errol Flynn plays an "I know I'm breaking international law, but hey, I'm charming and dashing and the Spaniards aren't" role - and hey, he IS charming and dashing, and the Spaniards aren't. A lot of films are described as roller-coaster rides. Many of them are just one thing after another, and don't feel at all like a single ride in a single vehicle. With "The Sea Hawk", I'm not sure about the vehicle, but we ARE taken on a single, swift ride. Few adventure films can beat it.

I'm always up for some good, old-fashioned swashbuckler fun, and The Sea Hawk is one of the most amusing entries in that field. Directed by specialist Michael Curtiz and starring the legendary Errol Flynn. They previously worked together on `Captain Blood', the film that started the trend of popular sea adventures. Even though Captain Blood has a lot more range and features more plot-diversity, The Sea Hawk definitely is more spectacular and the swordfight sequences are far more exciting. The cinematography on this action sequences has seemly improved in the period between the two films. Errol Flynn portrays Geoffrey Thorpe, captain of the Albatross. He's a Sea Hawk and those privateers serve and protect the English Queen in their own particular way. The greedy King Phillip of Spain has set his mind to conquering Britain as well and to cover up his plans, he politely sends an ambassador to meet the Queen. However, Captain Thorpe and his crew boycott the Spanish and they righteously foresee a war between the two nations. Things are getting even more complicated when some prominent members of the British counsel turn out to be betrayers and – of course – Capt. Thorpe falls in love with the beautiful niece of the Spanish ambassador.

Errol Flynn clearly developed more charisma over the years and he already looks a lot more believable in his role of privateer now. He's excellently supported by Alan Hale who plays his first crewmember, Mr. Pitt. Flora Robson seems to make a career out of playing Queen Elizabeth's look-alike, since it already is the third film in which she plays this role. The best actor in the cast (even beating Errol Flynn) obviously is Claude Rains with in his terrific role of the vicious Spanish ambassador. The Galleons (both the Spanish as the British) look great and some historical aspects (like slavery and inquisition) are greatly included. The Sea Hawk is excellent, well-made fun and a must for all the nostalgic movie lovers.