This was my first film starring Errol Flynn, and I can only quote Disney's Robin Hood (1973) here: 'He's so handsome. Just like his reward posters.' Those lines are, of course, spoken by Maid Marian about Robin Hood himself - whose character in the 1973 animation is based on Errol Flynn's part in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Consider it an indirect yet personal compliment.
The Sea Hawk (1940) sees the actor in a similar role of a noble outlaw. Captain Geoffrey Thorpe (who is only referred to as the Sea Hawk in the film's title) is an English privateer, serving the Queen and the country by capturing Spanish ships. If that sounds familiar and the figure of Sir Francis Drake comes to mind, that would be because Thorpe's character is loosely based on Drake, with The Sea Hawk following the historical sequence of events. Somewhat.
The picture was released during World War II, and the film-makers aimed to both build wartime morale and arouse the pro-British sympathies of the American public. The conflict between England and Spain, between Queen Elizabeth I (Flora Robson) and King Philip II (Montagu Love) is presented as a metaphor for the Battle of Britain. The film's finale has Elizabeth I deliver a speech about freedom in a positively Churchillian manner.
In its main part, however, The Sea Hawk is an adventure - the grandiose, old-fashioned kind, like The Headless Horseman or The Three Musketeers. There are sword fights with furniture involved (is it ever a real sword fight otherwise?), palace intrigue, pirates, escaped prisoners, a prized monkey, mules laden with treasure, stolen letters, and miles of brocaded scenery. There is a romantic subplot, with Captain Thorpe falling for Doña María (Brenda Marshall). Marshall's acting can be best described as 'sincere pouting', but both the build-up and the resolution of the love story are satisfying.
(Fun fact: when we first encounter Doña María, she is seen playing tennis opposite her lady-in-waiting. That scene is cited in Disney's Robin Hood, where we first meet Maid Marian during her tennis match with Lady Kluck. The link between the two productions is confirmed further!)
In The Sea Hawk, good is obvious, as is moustache-twirling evil. When courage leads, luck follows, the way it tends to go in Romanticist fiction. In a way, the film's predictability adds to its enjoyment: it is a familiar story, told many times before, but let us gather to see it play out once again, while the world outside remains dark and complicated.
The Sea Hawk (1940) sees the actor in a similar role of a noble outlaw. Captain Geoffrey Thorpe (who is only referred to as the Sea Hawk in the film's title) is an English privateer, serving the Queen and the country by capturing Spanish ships. If that sounds familiar and the figure of Sir Francis Drake comes to mind, that would be because Thorpe's character is loosely based on Drake, with The Sea Hawk following the historical sequence of events. Somewhat.
The picture was released during World War II, and the film-makers aimed to both build wartime morale and arouse the pro-British sympathies of the American public. The conflict between England and Spain, between Queen Elizabeth I (Flora Robson) and King Philip II (Montagu Love) is presented as a metaphor for the Battle of Britain. The film's finale has Elizabeth I deliver a speech about freedom in a positively Churchillian manner.
In its main part, however, The Sea Hawk is an adventure - the grandiose, old-fashioned kind, like The Headless Horseman or The Three Musketeers. There are sword fights with furniture involved (is it ever a real sword fight otherwise?), palace intrigue, pirates, escaped prisoners, a prized monkey, mules laden with treasure, stolen letters, and miles of brocaded scenery. There is a romantic subplot, with Captain Thorpe falling for Doña María (Brenda Marshall). Marshall's acting can be best described as 'sincere pouting', but both the build-up and the resolution of the love story are satisfying.
(Fun fact: when we first encounter Doña María, she is seen playing tennis opposite her lady-in-waiting. That scene is cited in Disney's Robin Hood, where we first meet Maid Marian during her tennis match with Lady Kluck. The link between the two productions is confirmed further!)
In The Sea Hawk, good is obvious, as is moustache-twirling evil. When courage leads, luck follows, the way it tends to go in Romanticist fiction. In a way, the film's predictability adds to its enjoyment: it is a familiar story, told many times before, but let us gather to see it play out once again, while the world outside remains dark and complicated.