Captain Blood
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Movie Reviews of Captain Blood
Movie Review: a classic of injustice overcome
Summary: 5 Stars
"You speak treason!"
"Fluently."
Errol Flynn's witty reply comes from "Robin Hood," another of his hugely entertaining swashbucklers, but it also captures the soul of his pirate classic, Captain Blood. A justly enduring adventure, Captain Blood showcases Flynn at his youthful fiery best, as well as superb casting, terrific action sequences (one of film's most compelling sword duels, set on a pirate beach)and Olivia De Havilland--sparks fly, to be sure! But its greatness lies not just in its swordfights and battles, but in its rousing story of injustice overcome against great odds.
The charge of treason against Blood was unreasoning and injust in the extreme; he was merely a doctor treating the wounded of the English civil war. Sentenced without regard to his innocence, he is sent to a hellhole prison island in the Caribbean and must join a daring escape with other nothing-to-lose prisoners.
After the escape, he turns to piracy--ironically, a "brotherhood" of rough-hewn democracy and loyalty at the very opposite end of the spectrum from the society which cruelly imprisoned him over an imagined political crime. As a pirate Captain, Blood is fair and just--again, in stark contrast with the government which so wrongly convicted and enslaved him.
The female interest, Olivia de Havilland, at first heaps scorn on him as a low-life traitor who obviously deserved his fate; this being Hollywood, she eventually sees the error of her assumptions and falls for the dashing pirate.
While all of this sounds like typical adventure, its timelessness rests partly on its subtext of injustice and suffering being defeated not by working through an oppressive, corrupt "system" but through comradeship and an anti-hero idealism: though we be pirates, we hold to a code of honor, and plunder only the wealthy.
There is a mythic quality to this storyline, of course, but there is also a very clear "anti-hero" thread to Blood's rejection of "official" justice and his embrace of a rough-and-ready justice dealt out with the blade of a sword and a broadside of cannons.
This must have resonated especially powerfully with Depression-era audiences.
What was the Depression if not a heaping of undeserved poverty on innocents? The "system," controlled by a self-serving financial and political elite, had failed spectacularly; this film depicts a scenario in which the struggles to escape the imprisonment of poverty and passivity are eventually rewarded--but only after the "crew" adheres to a shared set of just rules: the pirates' code of honor and the election of a strong, idealistic, fair-minded captain.
The great irony at the heart of this film is that true justice lies not with the system but with the pirates, the supposed renegades. Captain Blood achieves his redemption not by docilely awaiting "justice" from his overlords (their verdict was basically an appeals-free death sentence), but by escaping prison and fighting the system of wealth and privilege on the high seas.
It is interesting to speculate what might have become of Captain Blood in the film world of the 1970s, the heyday of anti-heroes. Perhaps Blood would have rejected clemency and remained a pirate. But in the 1930s, the "system" was viewed as capable of recognizing injustice and correcting it. Was this a political subtext or simply story-telling? If you consider the widespread suffering of people during this time, you might find a message not for 1685 but for the era in which the film was made (1935, at the height of the Great Depression). The movie was based on a book, of course, but Hollywood changed book-based stories at will when the ending didn't suit the message they wanted to send ("The Good Earth," by Pearl S. Buck, for example, had a much different ending than the movie of the same name.)
Regardless of any subtexts, we root for Captain Blood precisely because he was wronged, and we find great satisfaction in his contempt for the harsh and faulty judgment of his corrupt government. We cheer when he looses a broadside into his "betters" who so breezily sent him to a death-camp. Great adventure, great story, great message: Blood was forced to overcome injustice by breaking out of the system rather than passively awaiting a justice which would never have come.
Movie Review: The King Is Back
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been steaming for some time now about the dearth of Errol Flynn offerings in DVD format. The excellent "Objective Burma" has been out for a while (a first rate war movie with a first-rate performance by Flynn as its centerpiece), as has "Santa Fe Trail" (with Flynn pal Ronald Reagan as "sidekick"), and "Kim", and "The Master of Ballantrae" and "The Prince And the Pauper", but...except for the brilliantly awesome "Adventures of Robin Hood" (which gives Kevin Costner a swift kick in the rear)... the truly classic Flynn starrers have remained on VHS for way too long.
That deficiency has now been remedied with a veritable FLOOD of Flynn DVD releases, with...hopefully....several more to come, including "Gentleman Jim", "The Dawn Patrol", "Adventures of Don Juan", and, certainly the FABULOUS "Charge of the Light Brigade".
The cavalry charge in this last is unforgettable and is still considered the greatest horse-action sequence ever put to film, even up to the present CGI era. When Flynn leaps his mount over the last barricade into the Russian gun emplacement on the Balaklava Heights, and comes face to face with Henry Brandon's mass-murdering "Surat Khan", there's no viewer alive who doesn't feel his/her blood pressure kick into overdrive. The heart and mind together yell "GET him"!
But all these glorious thrills notwithstanding, the 1935 "Captain Blood" started it all and remains, to this day, the single greatest pirate movie ever filmed.Designed as a vehicle for a popular actor of the time Robert Donat ("Mr. Chips"), Donat bowed out to other committments and Warners went to re-casting. Among those screen-tested was Flynn, and he made a solid impression with the producers. A few more testings and Flynn STILL turned in the best "showing' and the studio decided to take a HUGE gamble and go with this unknown. Flynn . paired with the 18-year-old Olivia DeHavilland...his beloved "Livvie"...begame the biggest "overnight star sensation" in Hollywood history" (his closest competition being the late James Dean), and "Blood"...Jack Warner's biggest risk...one of his greatest studio triumphs.
Physician Peter Blood, caught up as an innocent on Monmouth's Rebellion in the 1680s, is condemned as a traitor and sent to Jamaica as a slave. Bought by Arabella Bishop ("Livvie"), he earns the enmity of her father , Lionel Atwill (Col. Bishop) . Blood chafes at slavery and leads a mass escape from the Bishop plantation. He and his fellows turn pirate and are very successful at it.
A series of buccanner adventures follow..including a superb tideline duel with Basil Rathbone that pre-sages their classic Robin Hood duel three years later. Flynn killes Rathbone's character and saves a captive Arabella Bishop from "Levasseur's"
lecherous designs.
Later, pardoned by the new British King, William of Orange, Blood and crew take commissions in William's navy and sail against the French "fleet" (not even a squadron, actually...only two vessels) beseiging Port Royal. After a thrilling sea battle and hot-lead-&-cold-steel boarding of the enemy's last vessel, the day is won.
Flynn gets the governorship and the girl...and almost unparalled stardom across America and, shortly, the world.
As much as the impression has persisted over time that actors like Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and even John Wayne "carried" Warner Brothers through the late 1930s and 40s, that impression is erroneous. Errol Flynn "carried" WB in those days. HE was the "box office money machine"...the "Franchise". And all of that began with "Captain Blood". It is rousing to this day. And, as the Barnes & Noble clerk...mid-20s, spiked hair, earring...who sold me this DVD said, "This guy is BOSS! He blows Depp right off the dock and into the water!!!!". Hear! Hear! What an ASTUTE young man!!!!!!
Movie Review: A Severely Under-Rated Film, and a Delightful Night at the Movies
Summary: 5 Stars
To begin with, I don't understand why Captain Blood is frequently dismissed, only considered worth mentioning because it was the film that made Errol Flynn a star. I'll admit that I'm a relative novice when it comes to classic pirate films as well as classic Flynn films (I haven't even seen Robin Hood yet!), but this film was so rich that I can't imagine a wider knowledge of the genre diminishing its grandeur.
I approached this film looking for a good sword-fight. I'd never seen a swash-buckler film and felt I was missing out. In that respect, Captain Blood might almost seem like a disappointment. It takes a very long time to get to any real action, and there's only one memorable duel in the film. However, what I found instead was an instantly likable, earthy protagonist, at war with himself as well as his nation, all while cracking witty one-liners and endearing the audience with his vibrant sincerity. Add to this a highly compelling plot about revenge and self-realization, a masterful ensemble cast, countless laugh-out-loud moments that truly feel earned as opposed to obligatory, excellent pacing that manages to prevent a two hour film from ever feeling dull, a very convincing and endearing romantic sub-plot, and exceptional special effects for the time period (delivered in excess at the film's climax). No, the action doesn't come quickly or frequently in this film, but what you get in its place makes the wait more than worthwhile. My wife and I will be watching this film again and again.
I think it's also worthwhile to mention Leonard Maltin's "Warner Night at the Movies," included on this disk. It features a hand-picked selection of short reels that would have been shown at the movies along with Captain Blood in 1935. I've always wanted to see something like this on a DVD extra features menu. Finally, I can see a classic film in something close to its original context, amidst a myriad of reels from varied genres -- a true Depression Era variety show. Each of the reels has a charm of its own, from the explicitly budget-conscious trailer for A Midsummer Night's Dream ("At Popular Prices") to a news reel in which Bruno Hauptmann is sentenced to death for kidnapping the Lindburgh baby and FDR pledges to keep the United States out of the emerging conflict in Europe. Add Charlie McCarthy, an early Warner Brothers cartoon, and a big band performance to the equation, and you're set for one fine evening at the 1930s movies. My only regret with this feature is that you can't watch all the reels together. Each must be accessed individually on the special features menu.
Regarding the particulars of this transfer of the film, the picture is quite clear, and, though a few lines of dialogue get lost here and there, the sound is relatively good for a film from the mid-1930s.
All in all, this is a treasure of a DVD. Any fan of classic films, pirate or otherwise, would be amiss to pass this one up.
Movie Review: A brief comment
Summary: 5 Stars
This film remains my favorite Errol Flynn flick. His first major role, it was a stunning debut and perhaps was never surpassed despite all the great roles and movies that followed his spectacular debut. Originally set to feature already established actor Robert Donat in the lead role, he bowed out because of health problems. Leslie Howard and Clarke Gable were also considered for the roles, but the negotiations broke down, and basically Flynn got the role by managing to be in the right place at the right time.
Basil Rathbone is also great as well as de Haviland and Atwill, and one can't ask for a better cast than that. At the time, Flynn was only 26 and de Haviland only 19, and the on screen chemistry between them is one of the charms of the film. Miniatures were used to create the ship battles, and unless one looks closely, it's hard to tell that they're not real ships at all. But this was 60 years ago and computer special effects were still many decades in the future. Based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, who todays seems forgotten like many of the other adventure writers of the day, Sabatini also wrote The Sea Hawk, The Black Swan, Scaramouche, and The Wake of the Red Witch, the Sea Hawk being made into another notable Flynn movie. The movie remains one of the great classics of the golden age of adventure films, and it's still worth your time and money to rent or watch today.
Prior to becoming an actor, Flynn had what could best be described as a checkered employment and academic history. He was expelled from a prestigious grammar school in Sydney. He then got a job in the export/import business, but then was fired from that job in 1927 for "borrowing" money from petty cash. Flynn then briefly tried sports, becoming a semi-professional boxer for a short time. Then in 1928, he went to New Guinea to seek his fortune prospecting for gold. His claim was only marginally successful, but he remained in New Guinea for nearly four years, during which time he engaged in various activities, both legal and illegal, including growing tobacco, working as a cadet police officer, and even working in the slave trade. During this period he came down with malaria, always a risk in the tropics, which continued to plague him periodically for the remainder of his life.
By the way, Flynn's father was a professor and a marine biologist of note, who was eventually invited to Oxford or Cambridge (my aging memory can't recall which at this point), and one can only imagine what his father thought of his son's fame and movie career. :-)
Movie Review: "Captain Blood (1935) ... Errol Flynn ... Michael Curtiz (Director) (2005)"
Summary: 5 Stars
Warner Bros. Pictures presents "CAPTAIN BLOOD" (1935) (119 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill & Basil Rathbone
Directed by Michael Curtiz
The quintessential swashbuckler. Irish doctor Dr. Peter Blood (Flynn) is wrongly sentenced to deportation and slavery to the Caribbean. He plans an escape and now seeking vengeance forms an alliance with the French buccaneer Capt. Levasseur (Bathbone). However during their reign of piracy they capture Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland) and Blood's feelings are betrayed when he challenges Levasseur over her.
Atwill played many a screen villain, but I'm not sure he was ever better as the pompous blundering oaf Colonel Bishop. My favorite scene is when Flynn routs out the Spanish pirate attack on Port Royal by seizing the pirate ship. When Atwill comes on board to thank those who turned the tables on the pirates he gets quite a reception. The dialog in this scene and the final result of this oaf being tossed into the harbor is priceless.
Quintessential Flynn in his "breakout" role is outstanding and a fabulous Eric Wolfgang Korngold score that still rings true today.
Special mention goes out to Basil Rathbone, flawlessly cast as a French corsair.
BIOS:
1. Michael Curtiz [aka: Manó Kertész Kaminer] [Director]
Date of Birth: 24 December 1886 - Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary)
Date of Death: 10 April 1962 - Hollywood, California
2. Errol Flynn [aka: Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn]
Date of Birth: 20 June 1909, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Date of Death: 14 October 1959, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
3. Olivia de Havilland
Date of Birth: 1 July 1916 - Tokyo, Japan
Date of Death: Still Living
4. Basil Bathbone [aka: Philip St. John Basil Rathbone]
Date of Birth: 13 June 1892 - Johannesburg, South Africa
Date of Death: 21 July 1967 - New York City, New York
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 119 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (10/28/2008)