The Sea Hawk
by Michael Curtiz
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Errol FlynnDirector: Michael Curtiz
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 127 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- A British sea captain is given permission by Queen Elizabeth I to commit acts of piracy against the Spanish armada and colonies in the New World.Running Time: 127 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION Rating: NR Age: 012569522923 UPC: 012569522923 Manufacturer No: 65229
Movie Reviews of The Sea Hawk
Movie Review: "By now you know the purpose of the Sea Hawks - in our own way, to serve England and the Queen."
Summary: 5 Stars
As they say, they don't make movies like this any more. Back in the '30s and '40s, when Hollywood established the watershed mark in terms of sheer cinematic spectacle, no one swashed his buckle more vigorously than Errol Flynn. 1940's THE SEA HAWK probably isn't as celebrated as THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD or CAPTAIN BLOOD, but this is still a terrific, highly watchable film. THE SEA HAWK combines high seas piracy in the 16th century with royal intrigue and one of those ardent romances Errol Flynn usually finds himself caught up in. When you're a dashing idol of millions, hotties throwing themselves at you happens with yawn-inducing frequency. It's actually a bit amusing that, in this film, Flynn's character, so dedicated to his career, finds himself at a loss when confronted with the fairer sex.
Ten minutes into the film, after the treacherous King Phillip II of Spain has unveiled his plot of world domination, we finally catch a glimpse of Captain Geoffrey Thorpe (Flynn) and his fine plundering galleon, the Albatross, prowling the seas for Queen and country (but without the Queen's official blessing *wink wink*). In one of those epic-scaled, everything but the kitchen sink action sequences, Thorpe and his gung-ho crew assault and take out a Spanish ship and take hostage the Spanish monarch's ambassador to England, Don Alvarez (Claude Rains), and Don Alvarez's beautiful niece Doña Maria (Brenda Marshall). Brenda Marshall is no Olivia de Havilland - and she's certainly not as spirited - but, still, her eye candy meter registers strong.
Captain Thorpe is a rascal but a loyal one, and so Queen Elizabeth tends to forgive him his well-meaning transgressions. She's pretty fond of him, actually. So when he hatches a scheme which would garner the royal coffers a whale of a booty at the expense of Spain, she bends an ear. Soon the Albatross sails away on its "trading expedition up the Nile." Don Alvarez, the sneaky Spanish ambassador, doesn't quite buy it. The venue shifts to Panama and, interestingly, the black & white picture then takes on a sepia tone. Robert Osborn, a host on the awesome TCM Channel, explains that footage from Warner Brothers' earlier 1924 version of the film - which was shot in sepia - was integrated into this version to flesh out the action sequences in Panama and to save money. This 1940 film decided to match the original's sepia tones so as to make the integration more seamless and also so that the back-and-forth transitioning from black-and-white to sepia didn't induce illness from the viewers. After around 18 minutes, the film returns to its normal black and white color. Not too long after, Captain Thorpe gets wind of Hitler's plan to launch air raids over Engla- er, I mean, King Phillip's formation of the Spanish Armada and imminent invasion of England.
Errol Flynn is complemented by a cast of wonderful character actors. I've never seen Claude Rains turn in a bad performance, and Flora Robson shines as a sly Queen Elizabeth. And how can you not hiss at Henry Daniell's perfectly slimy Lord Wolfingham? Alan Hale - maybe most memorable for playing Little John in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD - reteams with Flynn and again plays the right hand man, this time as the reliable Mr. Pitt. Donald Crisp ("Sir John Burleson") and Gilbert Roland ("Captain Lopez") are other familiar faces, if you dig early Hollywood cinema.
Stuff like this is why I love them old flicks. See THE SEA HAWK for the charismatic Errol Flynn, for the stirring period adventure and the extravagant production values, and also for composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold's ridiculously magnificent score. Korngold's score is so rousing it can make a quiltmaking party seem adventurous. To quote UC Davis Professor of Film Lincoln D. Hurst in the bonus featurette: "You really wonder if Errol would've been quite so brave as he was without that music." For the trivia hounds, note that a huge maritime stage was built on the Warner lot to accommodate the high seas action, as well as two full-sized ships. However, the film's penny pinchers pinched pennies by borrowing costumes and sets left over from Flynn's previous flick THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX. Note also that THE SEA HAWK, at the time of its release, served as a rallying cry for English audiences. The similarity between Spain and Nazi Germany was drawn intentionally. And if it opened some American eyes, then that was probably cool, too. Queen Elizabeth's impassioned call for mobilization which closes out the film was a speech which Winston Churchill himself reportedly had admired.
And there's even a cute monkey.
Some good stuff in the DVD's bonus features. Under the "Warner Night at the Movies" banner (with an introduction from movie critic Leonard Maltin), we get a brief Movietone newsreel from 1940 highlighting the Battle of Britain raid, a trailer for Flynn's western VIRGINIA CITY, the black-and-white Porky Pig cartoon "Porky's Poor Fish," and a wickedly satiric comedy short "Alice in Movieland" which features Joan Leslie as an aspiring actress newly arrived in Hollywood, the poor girl (00:21:39 minutes). The gem, however, is "The Sea Hawk: Flynn in Action," a fine featurette (00:17:31 minutes) which gives us behind-the-scene looks and insights about the film. And there's THE SEA HAWK theatrical trailer.
Summary of The Sea Hawk
Features include:
?MPAA Rating: NR
?Format: DVD
?Runtime: 127 minutes
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