Captain Blood
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Movie Reviews of Captain Blood
Movie Review: Captain Blood
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was Errol Flynn's favorite and has become one of our's! If you are an Errol Flynn fan, you won't want to miss this one! It's excellent!Movie Review: The best of the swashbucklers
Summary: 5 Stars
Captain Blood is the archetypal swashbuckler. Half a century later, it's still fun to watch! It's easy to see why Errol Flynn became a "star."Movie Review: Classic Swashbuckler
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie that made Flynn a star. One of five great pirate movies no collection should be without.Movie Review: A fantastic film and the DVD has some great features
Summary: 4 Stars
The Times
In 1935 the Great Depression was coming to an end thanks to President Franklin D Roosevelt. Unions were being formed (though not recognised as forms of labour organisations) and people, mainly women, were beginning to get more rights.
Studios began making bigger budget films and every major studio produced a film a week. Period Dramas were the most successful films and Gangster films were being phased out after the Production Code was introduced in 1934 by disgruntled citizens. Censorship became a major part of Hollywood and many ambitious directors were put out of work. The Code caused a lot of innovation and experimentation in films to die out and controversy in films were scarce. This `Code of Ethics' prevented studios from creativity in films and also crushed many director's free enterprises. A lot of works were cut down so much that directors refused to have their names in the credits or that (in non-fiction) films falsified information. Although it was a major violation of free media, films still found ways to break the boundaries.
Synopsis
Dr Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is a veteran of two wars, but has settled down in the English town of Bridgewater as a physician for many years. As a man of peace, Blood has saved many men and always sticks to his oath of serving any man who needs help. In 1685 Blood is arrested as a rebel sympathiser by King James II of England for treating a wounded rebel. Blood denies the charges at his trial and says that "his quarrel was not with the man's politics, but rather with his wounds".
Blood is sentenced to slavery along with many other rebels, and is sent to Port Royal to be sold. Blood is examined by Colonel Bishop (Lionel Atwill), and when he refuses to open his mouth for examination, Bishop beats him. As Blood is about to be bought to work in the mines, Ms Arabella Bishop, the Colonel's niece (Olivia DeHavilland), buys him to save him from a horrible fate in the mines.
Blood works as a slave for Bishops plantation, but eventually becomes the Governor's (George Hassell) personal physician. Blood becomes in good standing with the governor when Blood saves him from gout. The governor's previous physicians (Hobart Cavanaugh and Donald Meek) get out of a job and lose respect, so they offer to pay for a boat to help Blood and his fellow slaves escape.
The night of the escape, Spanish pirates attack the Port and sink their ship, so Blood and the other men take the Spanish ship. In order to congratulate the heroes who saved Port Royal, Colonel Bishop appoints himself governor and arrives at the boat. Blood throws Bishop overboard and the men begin to sail off, beginning their lives as honest pirates. Their code, `hurt no woman', `attack only the English ship', `each man who loses a limb in battle gets extra loot' and `kill as little people as possible'. Bishop swears that he will never rest until he has Blood, and undergoes a desperate manhunt.
Blood signs a partnership with fellow pirate, Captain Levasseur (Basil Rathbone), a ruthless French cut throat. Levasseur captures Arabella and an English emissary named Lord Willoughby (Henry Stephenson), and Blood offers to pay their ransom so that he might take them to safety. Levasseur refuses and he attacks Blood. After a brief duel, Captain Blood kills Levasseur and takes Ms Bishop and Lord Willoughby onto his ship.
Blood decides to take the two to Port Royal, but as they approach they notice French warships attacking the harbour. Lord Willoughby has been desperately seeking a conference with Blood, and as they sit out at sea he tells Blood his decree that the king has stricken him and all his men from slavery, forgiven all their pirating and has offered posts in his navy for all of Bloods men. Blood and his members laugh at the idea until they discover that King James II is not king and the new king William II of Orange, has realised that they were all good men unjustly accused and put into slavery. The men cheer and Blood proposes to take Port Royal back from the French for England and for good King William, in which his crew heartily agrees.
After a large battle, Blood destroys one ship and seizes the other and Port Royal is safe once more. Willoughby appoints Blood as the new governor and begins an investigation into Bishop for abandoning his post at war time and taking all his ships on an unsanctioned hunt for Blood.
Blood and Arabella start a relationship and Bishop is allowed to live by Blood, but is humiliated greatly that he is saved by his enemy.
Review
This film is one of the greatest examples of contracted films. The film was made by contract director Michael Curtiz (who had a very European style to his films) and included many contracted actors who were all very talented even in bit roles. The music for the film gives it a great advantage over other films of its days because many films had not incorporated music with their films as yet. The camera angles are amazing, and the use of shadows makes the film interesting in even the dullest of scenes.
Making Of
Captain Blood was a gamble for Warner Bros. After the success of `The Count of Monte Cristo', Warner Bros decided to make their own swashbuckling film, but most of the stars were unavailable. Robert Donat turned down the role and Brian Aherne was busy, so Warner Bros cast an entirely unknown actor in the main role of Captain Blood, Errol Flynn.
The film was relatively expensive despite the fact that no full sized ships were actually built. Many of the battle scenes were from the 1924 film `The Sea Hawk' and a lot of the films prosperity rode on the two unknown actors Flynn and DeHavilland.
For the duel scenes between Flynn and Rathbone, Rathbone (an experienced fencer) had to `go easy' on Flynn. Rathbone was a more superior fighter than Flynn even 3 years later when they had to duel in `The Adventures of Robin Hood'.
Errol Flynn was so nervous during this film that his first two weeks of shots were re-filmed after he had gained his confidence.
For the scoring, composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold had only 3 weeks to compose an entire score. Korngold would work on a Paramount Operetta in the days and at nights would compose the score for Captain Blood.
Captain Blood was a great success and made a star out of Flynn and DeHavilland, who later made 8 more films together.
Cast & Crew
Michael Curtiz, the director: Michael Curtiz was a Hungarian director who made more classics as a contracted director than other film maker. He is responsible for such films as `20,000 Years In Sing Sing' (1932 with Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis), `Doctor X' (1932 with Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and Arthur Edmund Carewe), `Mystery of the Wax Museum' (1933 with Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Holmes Herbert and Arthur Edmund Carewe), `The Charge of the Light Brigade' (1936 with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland and David Niven), `The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938 with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone), `Four Daughters' (1938 with John Garfield and Claude Rains. Curtiz was nominated for an Academy Award), `Angels with Dirty Faces' (1938 with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart), `Dodge City' (with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland and Ann Sheridan), `Yankee Doodle Dandy' (1942 with James Cagney and Walter Huston. Curtiz was nominated for an Academy Award), `Casablanca' (1942 with Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt and Claude Rains for which Curtiz won the Academy Award for Best Director), `Mildred Pierce' (1945 with Joan Crawford and Jack Carson) and `White Christmas' (1954 with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) just to name a few! Curtiz always knew how to get the best out of a performer, and worked on over 170 films in 50 years. Curtiz was born in 1886 in Hungary and started making films in Europe in 1912. He moved to the USA in 1926 where he became Warner Bros most valuable contracted director purely because he could film anything, any genre, so Warner Bros gave him many projects (basically all the projects that had no director or was turned down by others). Curtiz became renowned enough to eventually sign a new contract with Warner Bros where he got to choose the films he made (in about 1931). He continued to direct pictures at a slower pace in the 50's after he decided not to renew a contract with Warner Bros. Curtiz (with his thick Hungarian accent and meticulous behaviour) made many enemies with his crew, especially Errol Flynn (who worked with Curtiz 12 times!). Other than his amazing talent in filming, Curtiz also fought for Austria-Hungary in WWI and adopted a son in 1929. Curtiz was extremely strict on his films, and didn't let actors leave until he had the shot he wanted. On the set of Casablanca, actor Claude Rains hid an alarm clock on the set that went off at lunch time. When the alarm went off Curtiz was in the middle of shooting and Rains simply stopped and said, "My god!! I think it's lunchtime!". All the actors refused to continue until they got lunch, and Michael Curtiz threw one of his famous tantrums. Curtiz was one of the most respected directors on the Warner Lot and was fond friends with Jack L Warner, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains (who were all highly influential actors at Warner Bros). Curtiz's accent made it hard for people to understand him, and once when (during the filming of Casablanca) Curtiz decided a scene needed a poodle, the crew quickly got him a poodle dog only to find out that he wanted a `poodle' of water! Curtiz was a very exuberant personality right up until his death in 1962.
Errol Flynn as Dr Peter Blood: Errol Flynn was born in Tasmania in 1909 and was a rebel as a child and as a teenager. Errol Flynn was the direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, mutiny leader of the HMS Bounty. Errol caught the attention of Warner Bros after a film he made in order to scrape some cash. He quickly rose to fame after Captain Blood and became the undisputed king of swashbuckling films. Every film he appeared in was a classic ranging from romantic comedies, wartime dramas, westerns and adventure films. Flynn's social life gave him a reputation as a womaniser with charismatic charm and his hobbies (which included drinking, fighting, boating and sex, especially sex) were always in the spotlight. Flynn escaped 3 statutory rape charges, though it was mostly proved that it was generally the work of adoring fans and/or publicity stunts to keep up his bad boy image. Flynn's career steadily declined in the mid 1940's, but he made a comeback in 1948 as the ageing Don Juan in `The Adventures of Don Juan' (1948). Flynn's comeback was short-lived and as he aged he got fewer roles and had to get by on the little that he saved from his heyday. Flynn tried to become a serious actor on the stage and in films instead of just a heartthrob who saves the girl, and he did in the 50's in some respectable films. Errol Flynn made many friends including Olivia DeHavilland (who he appeared with in 9 movies) and Fidel Castro. In the late 1950's Flynn's alcoholism got the worst of him and he eventually died of a heart attack aged 50 in 1959.
Olivia DeHavilland as Arabella Bishop: Olivia DeHavilland was born in 1916 and her parents separated when she was 3, so she lived with her aunt in California. Olivia was discovered in her High School production of Shakespeare's `A Midsummer Night's Dream' by director Max Reinhardt. She later played in both his stage version and his film adaption of the play in 1935. After the film she signed a contract with Warner Bros where she played some roles that greatly disappointed her. She landed a role in `Captain Blood' which shot her to fame and later made numerous dramatic films. Olivia was loaned out to MGM for the classic `Gone with the Wind' (1939 with Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard) for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Academy Awards. DeHavilland then went back to Warner Bros where she made some good films, but after another loss to the academy awards in 1941 to her sister, Joan Fontaine, she demanded that Warner Bros give her more substantial roles, roles that she would be happy with instead of just the damsel in period dramas and romantic comedies. As a result DeHavilland was put on suspension by Warner Bros for violation of contract and she was out of work. When she returned she was told she had to make up for this six month suspension by working in a few more films that Warner had lined up for her. DeHavilland sued the studio and in a much publicised event, she won. Her movement became known as the DeHavilland decision where no contracted player would have to make up for lost time from the studio. DeHavilland was pleased that studios could no longer treat their stars like cattle, and returned to films in 1946 for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in `To Each His Own'. Olivia began working steadily, making one good film a year, instead of 4 or 5 bad ones. In 1949 she won the Best Actress Academy Award again for her portrayal in William Wyler's `The Heiress' (1949 with Montgomery Clift and Sir Ralph Richardson). She chose to appear in a few films for the rest of her career, and her later films included Robert Aldrich's `Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte' (1964 with Bette Davis, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead, Cecil Kellaway, Victor Buono, Mary Astor, Bruce Dern and George Kennedy), Airport'77 (1977 with Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Joseph Cotten, James Stewart, George Kennedy, Christopher lee and Darren McGavin), Irwin Allen's all-star `The Swarm' (1978 with Michael Caine, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, Henry Fonda and Fred MacMurray) and her last role on the TV film `Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna' (1986 with Omar Sharif, Rex Harrison and Christian Bale). Olivia DeHavilland is now retired and lives in quiet retirement in Paris. She is 94 years old and today is the only surviving cast member of `Gone with the Wind'.
Lionel Atwill as Colonel Bishop: Lionel Atwill was born into a wealthy family in 1885. Atwill began acting on the stage in the 1910's and had a successful run on Broadway between 1917 and 1931. Atwill began acting in sound films and was very popular as a villain. Atwill played almost every type of villain from mad scientist to sympathetic father. Atwill appeared in some of the first ever colour features in 1932 and 1933 in `Doctor X' and `Mystery of the wax Museum' (both starring Fay Wray and Arthur Edmund Carewe, both directed by Michael Curtiz). Atwill was just as successful as a police inspector, for which he played in Tod Browning's `Mark of the Vampire' (1935 with Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi and Donald Meek). He was frequently seen in supporting roles in many Warner Bros dramas and period pieces. Atwill made some considerable success as a mad scientist in Universal horror and appeared in `Man Made Monster' (1941 with Lon Chaney Jr), `Night Monster' (1942 with Bela Lugosi, Frank Reicher and Ralph Morgan) and `House of Dracula' (1945 with John Carradine and Lon Chaney Jr). My favourite performance of his was in the comedy `To be or Not to be' (1942 with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, directed by Ernst Lubitsch). Atwill appeared in many film series and acted in 2 Charlie Chan films, 2 Sherlock Holmes films, 4 Frankenstein films, 1 Dr Kildare film and 1 Abbott and Costello film. In 1943 Atwill's career was crushed after he went to court for holding a supposed "orgy" at his house. Atwill continued to act in B-grade films whilst he was on poverty row for the remainder of his life, appearing in a few A-grade pictures in less than memorable roles. Atwill passed away in 1946. He died of lung cancer. Atwill never received a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.
Sir Basil Rathbone as Levasseur: Basil Rathbone was born in 1892 in South Africa. His family was forced to flee South Africa after his father was accused by the Boers of being a British spy. Rathbone grew up in England and loved the theatre, but his father advised against it so he became a clerk. After a year Rathbone fled to a theatre group run by his cousin and was forced to work his way from the bottom. Rathbone fought in WWI and received the Military Cross for his services. He fought in the same battalion as Claude Rains. He made his debut on Broadway in 1921 and was promptly led to films. Rathbone was back and forth between London and New York until 1929 when he gave up the theatre to work on a film career. Rathbone had many roles which usually included romantic leads, sophisticated villains or sophisticated gentlemen. Rathbone's most memorable roles during the 30's and early 40's included his performances in Michael Curtiz's `Captain Blood' (1935 with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland and Lionel Atwill), `David Copperfield' (1935 with Lionel Barrymore and W C Fields), `A Tale of Two Cities' (1935 with Ronald Colman), `Anna Karenina' (1935 with Greta Garbo and Fredric March), the lead in `The last Days of Pompeii' 91935 with Alan Hale), `The Adventures of Robin Hood' (with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland and Claude Rains), the lead in `The Tower of London' (1939 with Boris Karloff and Vincent Price), `The Son of Frankenstein' (1939 with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill), `The Mark of Zorro' (1940 with Tyrone Power, directed by Rouben Mamoulian) and `The Black Cat' (1941 with Alan Ladd, Bela Lugosi, Gladys Cooper and Broderick Crawford). Rathbone had a lengthy career in drama and horror and appeared as Sherlock Holmes in 16 adaptions between 1939 and 1947. Rathbone felt that (although he had fame) the Sherlock Holmes character was killing his career, so he returned to the stage in 1946. Rathbone won a Tony in 1947 and left the stage soon after. Rathbone was knighted in 1949 for his services to the theatre in 1949 and kept busy in films in the 1950's and 1960's. He also appeared on many TV dramas and thrillers. Rathbone appeared spoofing his villainous roles in `The Court Jester' (1955 with Danny Kaye) and his greatest role in later life was in John Ford's all star `The Last Hurrah' (1958 with Spencer Tracy, Pat O'Brien, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, John Carradine, Frank McHugh and Wallace Ford). In Rathbone's later life he did a few films with American International Pictures, appearing in 2 Roger Corman classics `Tales of Terror' (1962 with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre) and `The Comedy of Terrors' with Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Joe E Brown). Rathbone was considered Hollywood's greatest sword fighter and even won a fencing championship whilst in the British Army, but on screen he was only ever allowed to win one duel. Rathbone died in 1967 of a heart attack, aged 75.
Henry Stephenson as Lord Willoughby: Henry Stephenson was a character actor born in 1871 and made his Broadway debut in 1901. Stephenson became one of the largest presences in Hollywood during the 30's and 40's and was in almost every costumed drama, historical biopic and period romance. Stephenson was famous as the gentleman, always calm, always kind and always offering words of wisdom to the hero/heroin and in real life his personality wasn't much different. He appeared frequently in Errol Flynn adventure films and his most memorable roles for me would be his portrayals as Mr Laurence in George Cukor's `Little Women' (1932 with Katherine Hepburn), Sir Joseph banks in `Mutiny on the Bounty' (1935 with Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone) which won best picture of 1935, Lord Willoughby in `Captain Blood' (1935 with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland and Lionel Atwill), Sir Charles Macefield in `Charge of the Light Brigade' (1936 with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Patric Knowles and David Niven), the Duke of Norfolk in `The Prince and the Pauper' (1937 with Errol Flynn and Claude Rains) and Sir Thomas Lancing in `Tarzan Finds a Son!' (1939 with Johnny Weissmuller, Ian Hunter and Maureen O'Sullivan). Stephenson had a long lasting friendship with actors Boris Karloff and C Aubrey Smith. Stephenson died in 1956 aged 85 after a career that lasted 90 memorable roles.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born in Vienna in 1897 and was a musician from a very young age. Korngold produced his first orchestral piece at the age of 14 and was a noted composer in Austria for many years. In 1935 Korngold was asked to do the musical score for `A Midsummer Night's Dream' (1935 with James Cagney and Olivia DeHavilland) by adapting a Mendelssohn score. He moved to Hollywood in 1935 upon completion of the score to escape from newly annexed Austria, where he signed a contract with Warner Bros. It took him only 3 weeks to compose the illustrious score for Captain Blood and he was nominated for an Academy Award. During World War II he was Hollywood's greatest composer, creating memorable scores for `Anthony Adverse' (1936 with Fredric March and Olivia DeHavilland), `The Sea Hawk' (1940 with Errol Flynn, Claude Rains and Henry Daniell) for which he received an Academy Award nomination and `Deception' (1946 with Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains) for which he wrote an entire sonata. Korngold won an Academy Award for the score of `The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938 with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone). Korngold would improvise scores by getting an orchestra for him to compose and writing the music while watching the scenes on a screen behind the orchestra. He was the first person to use this technique, but today many composers like John Williams and Danny Elfman compose like this. Korngold decided that the world of serious music was gone after the late 1940's and retired from film scoring. Korngold wrote some of his own orchestrations in the 1950's but kept to himself most of the time. He died in 1957 aged 60.
Hobart Cavanaugh as Dr Bronson: Hobart Cavanaugh was a character actor born in Nevada in 1886. Cavanaugh began acting in his youth and appeared on the stage until 1928 when he made his screen debut. Cavanaugh appeared in many films and signed a contract with Warner Bros in 1932. Cavanaugh became typecast as the clerk, the obedient husband or the old man next door and played these parts very well. In 1940 he played the hidden killer in Universal's `Horror Island' (with Dick Foran). Cavanaugh died in 1950 after appearing in almost 190 films.
Donald Meek as Dr Whacker: Donald Meek was born in 1878 and became a stage performer at the age of 8. He appeared in travelling shows and eventually came to the USA in 1912 making his Broadway debut in 1917. As a teenager he fought in the Spanish-American War (1898) and contracted yellow fever, losing most of his hair. He began playing roles older than he was because of this and became a character actor in Hollywood by the 1920's. He was a character actor for Warner Bros for many years, acting in over 100 supporting (ranging from minor to second billing) roles until his death in 1946.
Harry Cording as Kent: Harry Cording was a burly supporting actor who appeared as minor characters in A and B grade films throughout his career. Cording was cast as cockneys, chauffers or henchmen during his 30 year career, appearing in 8 separate Sherlock Holmes features of the 1940's. Cording died in 1954 after a lengthy career in TV and film.
Herbert Holmes as Captain Gardner: Herbert Holmes was a character actor born in 1882 and appeared in many films during the silent era. Though many films he appeared in were very successful, Holmes quickly degraded to a B-grade actor, or a supporting actor for A-grade films, and was often uncredited for many of his later performances in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Holmes appeared in 6 Sherlock Holmes films between 1939 and 1946 (with Basil Rathbone) and in 3 Bulldog Drummond films in the 1930's and 1940's. Holmes appeared in a few major films before his slow demise including Michael Curtiz's colour film `Mystery of the Wax Museum' (1933 with Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Edwin Maxwell and Arthur Edmund Carewe) and Tod Browning's `Mark of the Vampire' (1935 with Lionel Barrymore, Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi). Holmes was delegated to lesser roles and was stuck in the horror films of Universal Studios including a very small part in `The Ghost of Frankenstein' (1942 with Lon Chaney Jr, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Lionel Atwill, Ralph Bellamy and Bela Lugosi) where he was simply billed as Magistrate, The Invisible Agent (1942 with Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Peter Lorre) and `The Mummy's Curse' (1944 with Lon Chaney Jr). Holmes appeared uncredited in many films including Alfred Hitchcock's `Foreign Correspondent' (1940 with George Sanders and Edmund Gwenn). Holmes retired from acting in 1952 and died in 1956 in Hollywood.
Halliwell Hobbs as Lord Sunderland (uncredited): Halliwell Hobbs was born in 1877 in London and began a career on the stage in the 1890's and came to Broadway in 1906. Hobbs moved to films in 1929 as an elderly man and played many memorable roles. Hobbs had many appearances in films, including William Keighley's `The Prince and the Pauper' (1937 with Errol Flynn and Claude Rains), Frank Capra's `You Can't Take It With You' (1938 with James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore and Edward Arnold) which won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1938 and Ernst Lubitsch's `To Be or Not to Be' (1942 with Carole Lombard, Jack Benny and Lionel Atwill). He also appeared in many Warner Bros dramas and Universal horrors and suspense films including `The Invisible Man's Revenge' (1944 with John Carradine) and `Sherlock Holmes Faces Death' (1943 with Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Dennis Hoey). He turned to television in the 1950's and appeared in many dramatical shows like `Studio One' and `The Alcoa Hour'. Hobbs was a huge presence on Broadway from the 1940's well up into the mid 1950's. Hobbs died in 1962 of a heart attack, aged 84.
The DVD
The DVD for this film is great just like most Warner DVD's. Although Warners weren't really the kings of film in the 1930's and 1940's, they certainly are the kings of restoring classic films on DVD. This film includes `Warner's Night at the Movies' (hosted by Leonard Maltin) which is featured on almost every Warners Classic DVD's. This feature includes a newsreel, a musical short (Johnny Green and His Orchestra), a comedy short (All-American Drawback), a cartoon (billboard Frolics) and a theatrical trailer for another film from that year. The DVD also includes a 20 minute documentary on the film which is very informative entitled `Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler Is Born'.
Rating
Film: 4.5/5
DVD: 4.5/5
OVERALL: 9/10
Movie Review: Errol Flynn's First WB US Starring Role
Summary: 4 Stars
1935 black & white movie (though I'm sure there's a colorized TNT version out there somewhere). Action/Adventure/Swashbuckling
DVD features: Besides the movie (which can be heard in English or French and can be read in English, Spanish, or French), the DVD contains many Special Features. The Special Features include: Leonard Maltin hosted "Warner Night at the Movies 1935," which contains many things of the period that would have been shown on screen before the main feature like a newsreel, musical short, etc.; "Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler is Born" featurette (about the film: including Rudy Behlmer, Author/Film Historian, Lincoln D. Hurst and others; - the time period the film was created, and some of 1920s history; Robert Donat was originally offered the role of Captain Blood, he passed, and Warner Brothers didn't think anyone else under contract could play the role or not available; Flynn worked for WB England and did films in England and came over to the US to work under contract for WB US, and eventually was offered several chances to play the role (he previously had bit parts for WB US films); February 22, 1937 (a Monday) radio production of the film (audio); and a movie trailer of the film.
Credits: Starring Errol Flynn (Captain Peter Blood; "The Sea Hawk"), Olivia de Havilland (Arabella Bishop; "The Fifth Musketeer"), Lionel Atwill (Colonel Bishop; "Pardon My Sarong"), Basil Rathbone (Levasseur; "Queen of Blood"), Ross Alexander (Jeremy Pitt; "China Clipper"), Guy Kibbee (Hagthorpe; "Fort Apache"), Henry Stephenson (Lord Willoughby; "Mr. Lucky"), Robert Barrat (Wolverstone; "They Were Expendable"), Hobart Cavanaugh (Dr. Bronson; "Kismet"). Directed by Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca"). Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold ("The Sea Hawk"). Based on the book by Rafael Sabatini ("Captain Without a Country"). Screenplay by Casey Robinson ("The Earth is Mine").
Plot: Errol Flynn plays Peter Blood, a physician that escapes imprisonment and becomes a pirate (Captain Blood) in the 1600s (specifically, the movie starts in 1685). A rebellion breaks out in England and Blood, sitting out of the fighting (he has had enough of fighting), ends up on trial for treason. Why? He attempted to aid a traitor by attempting to treat his wounds (and his own temper and words to the soldiers inspecting the issue certainly didn't help). For this act, and by his own words at trial, Blood was convicted for treason and sentenced to hang until dead. Before that occurred (and the movie ended before it began), the "King's Whim" sends off Peter Blood, and some others, to Port Royal to be sold as slaves (for ten years), forever after barred from returning to England. Once in Port Royal, Arabelle Bishop buys Blood to keep him from the mines. And eventually, Blood escapes and becomes a pirate (don't want to give too much away here).
Review: First noticeable difference between this movie and most modern movies (beyond the black & white nature) is the obvious filming on stage look (there are some "real," non-staged scenes). Despite this comment, the "period" setting and costumes are impressive (and what you would expect from this type of film). The music is quite impressive and good (and quite properly sets the mood and creates atmosphere). The acting is quite good, and while the villains are obvious, they aren't clichés (as in they don't wear "black hats" as in a Western).
The movie is intriguing, the plot is good, and there is a certain amount of tension as the plot unfolds. Overall, I would rate the movie 4.34 stars.