The Sea Hawk

A brave English knight, betrayed by his brother, kidnapped by pirates, and captured by Spaniards, takes up a new identity under the Moors as 'Sakr-el-Bahr,' -the Sea Hawk - to become the scourge & terror of the Spanish navy near Gibraltar.

Although sadly neglected for years, this is a splendid swashbuckler, full of action & romance, which should please the fans of silent cinema adventure. Much more faithful to Rafael Sabatini's original novel than the Errol Flynn 1940 version, this is a film which can stand on its own worthy merits. Given excellent production values by First National, the rousing sea battle sequences are especially worthy of mention. Using full scale ships, they possess an aura of authenticity not possible with models. Indeed, some of these nautical scenes were extracted for years for use in other films.

Milton Sills gives a grand performance as the hero. Although lacking in bravura athletic skills, he becomes almost Fairbankian by the film's conclusion. (He even resembles Fairbanks in the shipboard scenes, surely no mere accident.) Appearing in movies since 1914, this was the film which made Sills a major star, and he would be given other popular, courageous roles before his career - and life - were ended by a heart attack in 1930, at the age of 48. Although he had appeared in 85 films, Milton Sills is all but forgotten today.

Beefy Wallace Beery, blustering & bullying as usual, steals all his scenes as a pirate captain who becomes Sills' toady. Enid Bennett is beautiful as the young Cornish woman beloved by the Sea Hawk. Lloyd Hughes gives a good performance as Sills' faithless half-brother. Wallace MacDonald is the very picture of a violent young bully. Lionel Belmore appears briefly as a friendly magistrate. Elderly Frank Currier & young William Collier Jr. both do well in roles that exude Moorish duplicity. Quick eyed movie mavens may spot George O'Brien as a galley slave.

Although the film has been tinted & toned, notice the nice extra touch during the 3 shots of the Basha's nighttime visit to the Sea Hawk, in which the flickering torches have been hand colored a theatric yellow.

Composer Robert Israel has given the film's restored print a very fine organ score which interpolates familiar melodies from as far afield as Gilbert & Sullivan.

In the brave, bold swashbuckling days when Queen Elizabeth reigned, and waves crashed mightily onto England's Cornish coast, seafaring knight Milton Sills (as Oliver "Noll" Tressilian) courts neighboring pretty Enid Bennett (as Rosamund Godolphin). Ms. Bennett's brother Wallace MacDonald (as Peter Godolphin) doesn't want her to wed Mr. Sills, calling him a "blood-thirsty buccaneer!" Their guardian, Marc McDermott (as John Killigrew), agrees, and swords are raised. Sills is merciful, but likewise handsome young half-brother Lloyd Hughes (as Lionel "Lal" Tressilian) kills Mr. MacDonald in a duel.

Covering for his beloved brother, Sills allows himself to be blamed for Mr. Hughes act. Hughes is anything but grateful, making a deal with dastardly Wallace Beery (as Jasper Leigh) that lands Sills on a slave ship. While using his muscular frame on a ship's galley slave row, Stills gets cozy with partner Albert Prisco (as Yusuf-Ben-Moktar). The brawny men successfully break the chains that bind them, but Mr. Prisco dies in sniper fire. Making his escape, Stills rejects Christianity and converts to the Moslem faith of his deceased friend. Sills changes his name to "Sakr-el-Bahr" ("The Sea Hawk"), and enacts his revenge...

"The Sea Hawk" had audiences coming back for multiple viewings, and was a big hit for First National; it also moved director Frank Lloyd further into the small circle of epic filmmakers. The film boasts big - and big-looking, thanks to Lloyd's incredible use of the picture frame - production values; and, it is beautifully paced. Watch how well Lloyd fills the screen during the "interrupted wedding" between Hughes and Bennett. Much of the seafaring footage was plundered to insert in later Warner Bros. films - and, it's likely not all of the stolen scenes were returned to the original; witness, for example, Sills' escape from slavery.

Critically acclaimed, as well as popular, "The Sea Hawk" was cited as the year's "Best Picture" by "Motion Picture" magazine. "Photoplay" declared "The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln" the winner, while "Film Daily" had "The Thief of Bagdad" edging out "The Sea Hawk" by one vote. Moreover, the later two immediately began placing high on "all-time" greatest film lists. The heroic Sills may be uncommonly staid; but, in hindsight, this is preferable to the usual overplaying. Hughes performed exceptionally; he rose to #6 in a "Motion Picture" star poll, with Sills behind at #13. Bennett has relatively little to do, but Mr. Berry certainly makes a good impression; soon, he would become the biggest star from the cast, which has a dozen notable actors.

******** The Sea Hawk (6/2/24) Frank Lloyd ~ Milton Sills, Lloyd Hughes, Wallace Beery, Enid Bennett

Sea Hawk, The (1924)

*** (out of 4)

Oliver Tressilian (Milton Sills) goes from a rich man to slave and then works his way back up in this faithful adaptation of Rafael Sabatini's famous novel. Most people know the 1940 Errol Flynn version, which is considered a major classic but that version left me rather flat when i watched it a couple years ago. This silent version isn't a classic but to me it's somewhat more entertaining. The funny thing is that I praised the Flynn version for various battle scenes but it turns out that many of them were lifted from this film because Warner felt they couldn't top the scenes here. The battle scenes here are certainly the highlight and the slave mutiny is full of excitement. Sills, a major star in the silent era who is now forgotten, delivers a very strong performance but the screenplay doesn't offer him too much outside the lover/fighter part. Wallace Beery is also good in his role as another Captain but Enid Bennett is rather lame as the love interest. Towards the end of the film there's some nice tinted scenes but the real surprise was the hand colored flames, which appear in three scenes.

Long thought lost or incomplete the Sea Hawk survives much the way i was seen in 1924. A long costume film about pirates it was directed by the dependable Frank Lloyd and stars Milton Sills. My only complaint with the DVD is that the film has been bathed in re-tint & re-tone. The color at times can be so rich one can't see details in the film. I'd much rather have seen the movie in pure black & white. At times this movie can remind one of Ben-Hur released a year later, especially in the at-sea sequences. As far as the filmmaking, everything is top notch but it is still 1924. That camera will not move but the pictorial capture is beautiful. Lloyd is dependable and like many Hollywood directors he won't give anything more than dependability. Kind of like Harry Beaumont directing Beau Brummel that same year. Lloyd, at least at this time, won't think of panning the camera or a deep soft focus as would King Vidor or Alan Crosland. But what he gives us is exquisite & exciting. I was glad to finally see this film after so many years. dir. Frank Lloyd, First National.

Frank Lloyd was definitely the director of sea adventure films. Definitely, entirely, absolutely. And I am sure there are many other gems that are forever lost, silent gems of course. But this one was at least saved, so let's take advantage of it...It is not below nor bettter than the Michael Curtiz's remake starring Errol Flynn, in terms of production design, budget, I mean. Not at all, and the technical elements were not the same either.... Let's consider this please. For me Frank Lloyd would deserve a total research of his filmography, despite the fact that the bulk of it is lost. Back to this one, of coourse the action sequences are jaw dropping, for this period of time: the 1920's...A must see.