The Sea Hawk
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Movie Reviews of The Sea Hawk
Movie Review: SIMPLY AN OLD FASHION SWASHBUCKLING ADVENTURE.....
Summary: 5 Stars
SEA HAWK..1940
written by: howard koch and seton l miller
directed by: michael curtiz
musical score by: eric wolfgang korngold
errol flynn- captain geoffrey thorpe
dame flora robson-queen elizabeth
brenda marshall-dona maria alverez
claude rains-don jose alverez
alan hale-carl pitt
una o'connor-marthe
a great battle between one of seven english privateer vessels....THE ALBATROS...and a spanish galleon ensues on the high seas.....fire from eight powerful cannons spew out fire and smoke across the decks into the narrowly crippled spanish tall ship....splitting her arthward ship right down to her abaft the beams...her sails tattered and torn...plunge onto her decks and she's in grave danger of sinking...
ever so slowly the captain of the albatros is revealed...our gorgeous flynn..he stands tall handsome and confident at the wheel...
"mr. pitt!" he shouts out orders to prepare to board the captured vessel..
flynn and his crew swing by rope..in pirate fashion..across the water from one ship to the other...along with gathering chests full of treasures jewelry and gold ....meant for the coffers of king phillip of spain....they discover several souls below deck....marshall..rains...her uncle...the ambassador to spain and o'connor her lady in waiting..
flynn takes one hard look at marshall and we know from the expression on his face..he is rendered speechless by her very presence and beauty....they and the rest of the spanish crew are immediately transported aboard the albatros just as the spanish ship sinks to the bottom of the sea....
during the voyage to england..there is a charming sequence where marshall stands on a balcony outside her room below deck...flynn stands above deck...he leans over the rail...hesitantly and awkwardly he starts up a conversation with her...during this exchange...he tells of the virtues of pirate etiquette..and tells her of an old english proverb.."those who sail without oars stay on good terms with the wind"...he and his company prowl the seas free as birds.....he remains boyishly tongue tied sporting devastatingly expressive brown eyes and that flynn smile..
enter dame robson and her court....back now on english soil...a spectacle at court to be sure...pomp and circumstance reign...the queen summons seven captains that comprise the SEA HAWK enterprise of privateers...everyone bows but where is flynn? in another delightful scene..flynn arrives at the queens court and we observe immediately that he is favored by her...she can not hide her girlish pleasure to see him and he knows this...later in her private quarters he presents her majesty with precious pearl on a gold chain and a clever little monkey brought back from his conquests....she appears enchanted with his surprises...
robson and flynn then enter into a lengthy conversation about defeating the spanish armada...flynn wants to make plans to sail the albatros on a secret mission to panama and surprise the enemy...in a rather poignant moment between the two...the queen acquiesce but looks in his eyes and says to him.."if you did so you would do it without the approval of the queen of england.....but with the great affection of elizabeth"...he kisses her ring and bows...
later in a scene in the lovely rose garden outside the palace...*one favored by my captain*...flynn greets marshall with a more than cordial yet still shy hello...his larger than life presence is undeniable as he approaches her...she is standing there with her arms full of long stem virginal white roses....he tells her that he and his crew will be gone for months on the high seas but...tenderly says..."i shall always think of you as my lady of the roses"...
typical.....
next we see flynn and his crew trudge through thick dense panamanian jungle after being ambushed by spanish soldiers who were already waiting to attack them....beaten and half dead they managed to survive and find their way back to the sea where the albatros is anchored and waiting....when they climb aboard her...they find another trap has been set for them by the enemy..flynn sees that it is of no use to try and fight and so surrenders his ship......they are taken prisoner at once and shortly there after end up in a spanish court of law....
flynn and crew are read charges against them...one such charge...item #36 "sorcery and other heretical practices"...lands them in a dark foreboding galley of a spanish vessel... condemned to row in irons for the rest of their natural born daz....
gosh i couldn't believe that would happen for very long.....and i was right!!!
captain thrope and his merry men.....oh wait.....wrong story.....flynn and his crew escape cleverly from their shackles and fight to the finish above deck with the lame crew of the spanish galleon.....next we see....they have returned to england and queen bess.....
flynn and rains have a remarkable swashbuckling sword wielding scene that would rival any well choreographed routine on broadway today...
flynn reunites lovingly with marshall in a romantic....passion filled scene of...you're not dead after all and im so happy to see you......
Movie Review: Grand Entertainment
Summary: 5 Stars
"You Spanish have a gift for hospitality, when your guests are in chains." -- Errol Flynn
The Sea Hawk is an exciting and romantic adventure set during the time of Queen Elizabeth of England, as Spain tried to plant its flag everywhere on the map. It is grand entertainment, handsomely photographed by Sol Polito and with a rousing score from Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Directed with panache by director Michael Curtiz, a dashing Errol Flynn displaying derring-do and lovely Brenda Marshall offering romance, it is one of the finest swashbucklers ever filmed. Flynn and Tyrone Power took turns in this heroic genre, each having some shining moments. No one ever really replaced Douglas Fairbanks at this sort of thing, but no one ever tried harder than Errol Flynn.
Not as good an actor as Power or Fairbanks, he had an athleticism and charm which made him perfect for this genre, however. He had been kicking around the studio going nowhere when Carole Lombard took a liking to him, inviting him to one of her famous parties at an amusement park, where he charmed the pants off every woman there and caused studio bosses to suddenly take notice of him; realizing he might have something after all. The rest is history, as they say. Flynn would never win any awards, but audiences ate him up, making him a huge star at WB, where he made some of the most entertaining swashbucklers of the era. The Sea Hawk is a sparkling example.
Everything is perfect in this film, from the lush black and white and sepia photography to a stellar cast, including Flora Robson as a terrific Queen, smart and with just a bit of a crush on pirate Geoffrey Thorpe (Flynn) who wants nothing more than to help his Queen, and keep England safe from Spanish greed. Of course, if he and his band of pirates profit more than just a little by slowing their progress, just as well. His ship is the Albatross, and the Sea Hawks are all that stand between England and Spain's King Philip, who is secretly preparing an armada to conquer England. Though the Sea Hawks are not officially backed by the Queen, her soft spot for Thorpe's good intentions and his loyalty to her leads to court intrigue as Elizabeth must deal with a crafty and very disloyal Lord Wolfingham (Henry Daniell), who is in league with Spanish Ambassador de Cordoba (Claude Rains).
Complicating matters is Cordoba's beautiful daughter, part English Dona Maria (Brenda Marshall), who warms to the pirate and falls in love. A secret mission given an unofficial nod from his Queen proves to be a trap, and before Thorpe and his crew can save England from Spain's treachery he will improvise a daring escape from the galley of a Spanish ship, romance Dona, and cross swords with Wolfingham. An exciting finish laced with romance makes everyone happy. Marshall is quite lovely and makes a fine heroine despite what some say, and Robson is fantastic as Queen Elizabeth, giving her life and humor. Flynn is a grand hero, and this film is perfect for what he had to offer as a star. The sepia-tone portion of the film harkens back to silent films as does the presence of Donald Crisp as the Queen's loyal advisor. Rarely has something set in 1585 been this exciting!
A lush romantic glow of ships sailing away by moonlight while a teary Brenda Marshall watches longingly blend perfectly with an exciting screenplay by Howard Koch and Seton Miller and the heroic deeds of charmer Flynn in one of his finest moments. A must see for fans of this genre.
Movie Review: My favorite swashbuckling film...
Summary: 5 Stars
The Sea Hawk is the one film that I saw as a kid and could not stop watching from start to finish. With breathtaking action, great acting, and a plot line that takes you all over the world [from England to South America and back] The Sea Hawk is one movie that you should see if you want to know what a real pirate movie is all about.
Errol Flynn stars as Captain Thorpe, a privateer who robs Spanish ships at the time when England and Spain were at war hundreds of years ago. After a great sea battle in the beginning of the moive [Yes there are guns, sword fights, and cannon fire galore!]Thorpe and his men sail back to England with their captured treasure as well as the Spanish ambassador who was sailing toward England to talk with Queen Elizabeth.
Joining the ambassador is his daughter Olivia [played by Brenda Marshall] who eventually [or should I say inevitably?] falls in love with Thorpe after several romantic scenes in a rose garden as well on Thorpe's ship, The Albatross.
The Sea Hawks are a group of privateers who rob pirate ships as well as Spanish ships in the name of the Queen as well as England. The ambassador is not too pleased with the way he was captured and treated by the men, but the Queen secretly applauds Thorpe for making him look like a fool in front of her.
Thorpe is soon sent on a mission to the isthmus of Panama to steal a great amount of gold that is shipped by Spanish troops by caravan to suport Spain's vast amount of wealth in the war. Being very poor compared to Spain, England's only hope it seems is to steal the gold and use it for itself in the war. The Albatross along with Thrope and his crew set sail to steal the gold.
I won't spoil the movie for you, but I will say that a great battle for the gold caravan takes place as well as other great storylines that involve treason, betrayal, and retribution. One involves a secret plot that is revealed involving a massive armada of Spanish ships that will attack England, and also a great sword fight near the end of the movie.
This is the movie that started the great chain of Pirate movies for new generations to see. But it is really nice to go back and watch some of the early ones. Sure the special effects aren't as good but the acting is terrific and there are plenty of great action scenes.
Extras include:
Flynn In Action - A showing of Flynn behind the scenes
Subtitles
And a newsreel on the movie called "Warner Night at the Movies - 1940"
This DVd is highly recommended
Movie Review: Best of breed
Summary: 5 Stars
Please note I saw this on TV so I can't comment on the quality of the video transfer.
This is probably the greatest swashbuckler of a movie ever made. For lusty, high seas adventure, nothing beats The Sea Hawk. Of Errol Flynn's greatest adventure movies, Robin Hood, Captain Blood, and the Sea Hawk, this is the most serious and the darkest of all of these films. He triumphs over the most adversity, and has more misadventures on the road to final victory, including being sentenced for life to being a galley slave. After the box office success of Captain Blood, Flynn was the most obvious choice for the leading role, and he turns in his most serious and intense performance, unlike his more light-hearted performances in Robin Hood and Captain Blood. These three movies are some of the greatest entertainment ever done for the silver screen; for another adventure franchise as popular or as great one had to wait 30 more years for the James Bond movies.
Some trivia about the film--the speech by the Queen of England was intended, as another reviewer here already mentioned, as a slap to the fascists and the Nazis in Germany. During the sea battle Flynn orders his ship to turn and pass by the stern of the enemy ship. This is known in naval strategy as "crossing the T," and was the way Admiral Nelson defeated the larger French and Spanish fleet in 1805 at Trafalgar. Typically it was done by crossing the bow so that only the bow guns could be brought to bear, but it was very difficult to do during the age of sail because of the limited speed and maneuverability of the ships. It became more doable in the 19th and 20th centuries when battleships with rotating turrets were built, and the ships were much faster with their steam-powered propulsion systems, from the triple-expansion steam engines of the late 19th century to the steam turbines of the 20th.
But getting back to the movie, all the lead actors turn in wonderful performances, de Havilland, Rains, Flynn, Hale, and a host of lesser names as well who look like they're having a whopping good time in this old-fashioned, lusty, adventure story on the high seas. Lastly, I think the sword play is the best of all of Flynn's movies, including Captain Blood. Michael Curtiz's direction is dead on and the movie also features a wonderful and rousing score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. This movie is truly a blast from the past, and they just don't make 'em like this anymore.
Movie Review: Best of the Flynn Swashbucklers
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the last of the Errol Flynn swashbucklers that began with CAPTAIN BLOOD. In my mind, it is also the best of them.
Flynn plays captain Geoffrey Thorpe, an English privateer under the reign of Elizabeth I. His mission is the liberate Spanish treasure and English prisoners held as slaves on Spanish galleys and galleases. It anyone's guess which he prefers but the whole situation is sticky since England and Spain are not at war. The Armada is still a few years in the future. Many English seaman are sure that it is coming but are having trouble making Her Majesty believe it really will be used against England.
Court intrigue plays its part. One of the Queen's ministers is a traitor in the service of Spain. He is doing everything he can to thwart the work of the Sea Hawks, the privateers that serve in place of a navy. Claude Raines plays the Spanish ambassador and does a great job of playing something other than a one dimensional villain. He has his good points as well. One of these is his niece, played by Brenda Marshall. She is Flynn's love interest and is a nice replacement for Olivia DeHaviland. Alan Hale plays the sidekick as is obligatory in any Flynn movie.
All of the supporting cast is, however, just support. This film is a vehicle for Flynn to show off, be daring, get the girl and play the hero. He never takes himself too seriously and that just lends to the air of fun. He is a rakish and roguish character that everyone can appreciate.
One of the nice things about this one is that by the time it was made, Flynn had learned how to fence. The action sequences are some of the best he ever shot and the cinematography of them is splendid as well. The image of the two swordsmen slashing their way across the throne room as their shadows engage in the same but larger than life duel on the wall is one of the great scenes out of Hollywood.
This DVD has some nice extra features on it. It contains the original newsreel, cartoon and short subject that the original film were released with. It also has a nice restrospective of the SEA HAWK. It's a nice package all around.