Review of The Sea Hawk (1940) by Lanfranco C — 19 Oct 2016

Another rousing swashbuckler from director Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn. This time Flynn is a pirate captain working for Queen Elizabeth I, plundering Spanish ships and freeing the galley slaves that have been entrapped by the Inquisition.

At his side is Alan Hale and others who may be familiar from earlier similar pictures. However, The Sea Hawk is a slight notch down from Captain Blood (1935) or especially Robin Hood (1938) because Brenda Marshall makes a duller love interest than Olivia de Havilland (Flynn's usual starring partner) and Henry Daniell is wicked but not quite as wicked as Basil Rathbone.

Both of these stellar co-stars turned this picture down to seek different horizons. Claude Rains is here but with little to do. Still there is no denying the thrilling adventure scenes, often shot in the giant Maritime soundstage at Warner Brothers where giant sailing ships battle each other and men leap from one to the other cutlasses drawn.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score undoubtedly adds to the effect.