L'Aigle des mers

In "The Sea Hawk", hero Errol Flynn, director Michael Curtiz, and composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold provide great entertainment very similar to that in their earlier classic that starred Flynn as Robin Hood. Supporting actors Alan Hale, Claude Rains, and Una O'Connor also are back, joined by Brenda Marshall, Flora Robson, and Henry Daniell. The movie provides rousing action, a good story, and some memorable characters.

Flynn's character is Geoffrey Thorpe, who is a "sea hawk", a privateering ship captain in the late 1500's indulged by Queen Elizabeth (Robson) and allowed to raise havoc with Spanish shipping in a time when Spain's dominance was at its peak. The story in "The Sea Hawk", like the action in "The Adventures of Robin Hood", is loosely based on historical circumstances, although this time the tone is often more serious. This film is in black-and-white instead of Technicolor, giving it a different feel. (There is a very nice touch when the scenes in the New World are tinted in golden-brown, an effective way of emphasizing the different setting.) There are also extensive scenes of the suffering and humiliation experienced by the English galley slaves imprisoned by the Spanish fleet, instead of the very brief scenes of Saxon suffering in "Robin Hood". But the main emphasis is still on the swash-buckling action that made Flynn so popular.

There are ship-to-ship fights, chases, escapes, and of course sword fights. Flynn's charisma and infectious good nature are usually enough to carry even far-fetched action, and here the story itself is more than good enough to be worthwhile in its own right. "The Sea Hawk" is good, classic entertainment.

This is definitely an Errol Flynn classic, meaning one of his best films and the charismatic star of the mid-'30s to mid-'40s did a number of entertaining ones. He's best known - on screen, that is - as a swordsman from his "Captain Blood" and "Adventures of Robin Hood" days, but he also was terrific as boxer James J. Corbett in "Gentlemen Jim" and as western star "Wade Hatton" in "Dodge City."

He's great here as pirate "Geoffrey Thorpe" and what makes this pirate movie different is that half of the action scenes are on land, not sea. (They on are on island, or back in the castle of Queen Elizabeth). Flynn captains "The Albatross" and is a privateering ship captain for her Majesty the queen in the 1500s. They are battling the Spanish in this story. The real bad guys are some of the turncoats in Elizabeth's court.

The film is interesting even with its length of over two hours. It keeps a good balance of drama, action, romance and suspense, never overdoing any of those.

While it's hard to beat the entertainment duo of Director Michael Curtiz and actor Flynn, Brenda Marshall as "Doria Maria," Thorpe's love interest, doesn't quite cut it. Olivia de Havilland usually played his female interest, and - although that doesn't require she play in every Flynn movie - they could have found someone more attractive and likable than Marshall who, justifiably, had a thin career. Her casting in here is a big mystery to me.

Whatever, Flora Robson was fun to watch as "Queen Elizabeth." Claude Rains and Henry Daniell played their normal bad-guy roles well and Thorpe's crew, led by Flynn's best friend Alan Hale, are all entertaining guys.

I enjoyed the sepia-tone sequence when Flynn and the boys go for the gold on the Panama island. That was a nice, little visual twist to this black-and-white movie..

Not to be left out is the sweeping score, under the direction of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which is one of the more magnificent ones you'll hear in a classic film.

It's Erich Wolfgang Korngold who carries "The Sea Hawk". He picks it up at the first frame with a rousing trumpet fanfare; he follows the story all the way from England to Panama, where a kind of syncopated not-jazz-exactly with saxophones makes its way into the score; he even bursts into song (well, not him personally) when Captain Thorpe's and his crew win through to freedom - and, after so much musical participation, that moment when the sailors become a chorus never strikes me as unnatural.

Korngold's brisk motion would count for nothing if the actors or the direction or the story were lethargic, of course - and they aren't. Errol Flynn plays an "I know I'm breaking international law, but hey, I'm charming and dashing and the Spaniards aren't" role - and hey, he IS charming and dashing, and the Spaniards aren't. A lot of films are described as roller-coaster rides. Many of them are just one thing after another, and don't feel at all like a single ride in a single vehicle. With "The Sea Hawk", I'm not sure about the vehicle, but we ARE taken on a single, swift ride. Few adventure films can beat it.

While among the finest of Hollywood's swashbuckling classic films, the fine performances of its stars are still eclipsed by the rousing musical score of Erich Korngold. His music is timeless and an outstanding example of Hollywood's least appreciated contributors- the composers of film music. The art of film scoring, matching each scene with just the right music, has never received the recognition and accolades it truly deserves. The contributions of Korngold, Alfred Newman, Victor Young, John Barry, Henry Mancini, Maurice Jarre, John Williams and countless others are incalculable to the success of the films they scored. When Dorothy Hamill won her Gold Medal for Ladies Figure Skating at the Winter Olympics, she skated to music from "The Sea Hawk." Korngold's classic score was still fresh and stirring decades later.

The Sea Hawk is a very, very enjoyable film. Is it Errol Flynn's best film and role? No, The Adventures of Robin Hood gets that honour for both. Also, The Sea Hawk is slightly overlong, and the print for this film is quite washed out and grainy, a film as good as this needs a restoration. Minor complaints aside, the swashbuckling is energetic and beautifully choreographed, the production values are top notch, Korngold's score is superb, Curtiz's direction is great, the script is witty and the story is brisk and entertaining. The cast are also excellent, Flynn makes for a gallant, charismatic and dashing hero and while slightly underused fine actor Claude Rains is superb as he takes on villain duty. In conclusion, a fine film, flawed but endlessly entertaining with lots to like. 8/10 Bethany Cox