Cheap The Sea Hawk (DVD) (Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall) (Michael Curtiz) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Sea Hawk

In one of his finest performances, Errol Flynn is Captain Geoffrey Thorpe, an English privateer modeled after Sir Francis Drake. War looms between Elizabethan England and Spain. We meet Captain Thorpe when he captures a Spanish ship carrying the new Ambassador, Don Alvarez, and his half-English niece, Donna Maria (played by a radiant Brenda Marshall). As Thorpe conveys the ambassador to England, sparks fly between him and Donna Maria, of the sort that let us know that they're made for each other.

At Queen Elizabeth's court, Thorpe's fellow "sea hawks" press the queen to build up a fleet, while her counselor Lord Wolfingham opposes them. Thorpe, with the queen's completely unofficial sanction, plans a blow against the Spanish, while his romance with Maria blossoms. But wait, why is Lord Wolfingham spending all that time with the Spanish Ambassador...

Besides Flynn and Marshall, the film boasts standout performances from Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth, Claude Rains as Don Alvarez (surprisingly sympathetic towards his niece and her love for Thorpe), and Henry Daniell as the sinister, well-named Wolfingham. Farther down the cast you have solid performances from the likes of Alan Hale, Una O'Connor and Donald Crisp.

The jewel in "The Sea Hawk's" crown is Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score. Korngold was the John Williams of his day, the master of the rich orchestral film score. Why he didn't win an Oscar for this, his finest score of all, is one of Hollywood's many mysteries.

But of course, so is the question of why Hollywood doesn't make movies like this anymore.

Flynn To The Rescue Again
The Sea Hawk is a more seriously toned swashbuckling tale than one would expect from Errol Flynn. However, since the film was released at the time when World War II was underway for England, that may be part of the reason. Flynn is more subdued than usual as an English privateer that finds himself a slave for the Spanish, after being trapped (as a result of English court intrigue) in Panama. The sequences in Panama were shot in a sepia tint that adds to the atmosphere of overwhelming heat and humidity and hopelessness in the swamps. Flora Robson is terrific as Queen Elizabeth, playing her with humour and more humanity than others have. Claude Rains gives his usual smooth performance as the Spanish ambassador. Alan Hale, Donald Crisp, and Una O'Connor support the movie with their always reliable acting. Brenda Marshall plays Rains' niece and Flynn's love interest,and although her performance is alright, Olivia deHavilland's absence is felt. Although the roles in the Flynn films may not of offered her much, deHavilland offered them a lot of energy and chemistry with Flynn, which this film could have used. The action sequences and the movie itself would have benefited from some tightening up by director Michael Curtiz, but on the whole this is a well crafted pirate tale that entertains.

One of the great swashbuckler films
A REVIEW BY NICK EVANGELISTA:
The Sea Hawk is one of the great swashbuckler films of all time. Errol Fylnn was in top form for the movie. The fencing is a joy to watch. As the author of The Encyclopdia of the Sword and The Art and Science of Fencing, and the publisher of Fencers Quarterly Magazine, I recommend it highly.