Review of The Sea Hawk (1940) by Kevin S — 10 Nov 2007

I remember seeing this when I was 10-11-ish and being swept away by it. At the time I thought it was almost as great as Star Wars so my expectations were high when it finally came out on DVD, though I was concerned it might be a huge disappointment. I needn't have worried: This is not only the greatest swashbuckler ever made but also a damn fine movie in its own right. Funny, exciting, thrilling, touching - the whole bit. Errol Flynn is dashing, Brenda Marshall is beautiful, Henry Daniell ("Garbitsch" in The Great Dictator) is slimy... Two hours of perfection!

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So, having recently finished reading Flynn's autobiography (hugely recommended), I thought it was time to give this movie a re-watch. And, yep, it's still the greatest swashbuckling story ever told. I can only come up with two very minor quibbles: First, it's a damn shame that Warner didn't spend that extra bit of cash and shot it in Technicolor like Elizabeth and Essex and Robin Hood. Don't get me wrong though, the black and white cinematography is fantastically beautiful. Second, Brenda Marshall is perfectly fine as the heroine; her only fault is... not being Olivia de Havilland.

Flora Robson is so good as Elizabeth that one can only wonder how much better Elizabeth and Essex would have been with her playing the part. With all due respect to Bette Davis, she was way too fidgety in that one.

Some might accuse Henry Daniell of being no patch on Basil Rathbone (Flynn's adversary in Captain Blood and Robin Hood), but just listen to the venom that drops from his delivery of the "Have you nine lives, Captain Thorpe?" line. Brilliant. And it's followed by perhaps the best swordfight ever put on film (mind you, poor Daniell could barely hold a sword so he was doubled most of the time).

And Korngold's score... He was the John Williams of those times. Most of those Flynn movies wouldn't be half as good without Korngold, and I think The Sea Hawk is his best work.