In "The sea hawk" Errol Flynn plays Geoffrey Thorpe. A pirate who attacks Spanish galleons without the official permission but with the informal approval of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
The story is situated in the time that Philip II of Spain builds an Armada to conquer England.
"The sea hawk" is a typical Errol Flynn vehicle, but not as good as "The adventures of Robin Hood" (1938, Michael Curtiz and William Keighley). In that film (and many others) Olivia de Havilland was the female co-star. In "The sea hawk" Brenda Marshall plays Dona Maria, the love interest of Geoffrey Thorpe. She plays rather well, but fails to make us forget Olivia completely.
The film invites the viewer to to make a connection with the present, which at that time was of course the Second World War, Philip II playing the role of Hitler. This is particularly obvious in the speech of Queen Elizabeth I at the end of the film.
"And now, my loyal subjects, a grave duty confronts us all: To prepare our nation for a war that none of us wants, least of all your queen. We have tried by all means in our power to avert this war. We have no quarrel with the people of Spain or of any other country; but when the ruthless ambition of a man threatens to engulf the world, it becomes the solemn obligation of all free men to affirm that the earth belongs not to any one man, but to all men, and that freedom is the deed and title to the soil on which we exist."
This speech is very much like and made me think of the one in "The King's speech" (2010, Tom Hooper).
One of the consequences is that the story in the 1940 version of "The sea hawk" has very little in common with the 1924 version of "The sea hawk" (Frank Lloyd).
The film is shot in black and white. In the Caribbean scenes the film is tinted brown to suggest a warm climate. This is a very old trick in black and white films. The first time I saw it was in "The phantom carriage" (1921, Victor Sjöström) in which brown was used for interior scenes (warm) and blue for exterior scenes (cold).
The story is situated in the time that Philip II of Spain builds an Armada to conquer England.
"The sea hawk" is a typical Errol Flynn vehicle, but not as good as "The adventures of Robin Hood" (1938, Michael Curtiz and William Keighley). In that film (and many others) Olivia de Havilland was the female co-star. In "The sea hawk" Brenda Marshall plays Dona Maria, the love interest of Geoffrey Thorpe. She plays rather well, but fails to make us forget Olivia completely.
The film invites the viewer to to make a connection with the present, which at that time was of course the Second World War, Philip II playing the role of Hitler. This is particularly obvious in the speech of Queen Elizabeth I at the end of the film.
"And now, my loyal subjects, a grave duty confronts us all: To prepare our nation for a war that none of us wants, least of all your queen. We have tried by all means in our power to avert this war. We have no quarrel with the people of Spain or of any other country; but when the ruthless ambition of a man threatens to engulf the world, it becomes the solemn obligation of all free men to affirm that the earth belongs not to any one man, but to all men, and that freedom is the deed and title to the soil on which we exist."
This speech is very much like and made me think of the one in "The King's speech" (2010, Tom Hooper).
One of the consequences is that the story in the 1940 version of "The sea hawk" has very little in common with the 1924 version of "The sea hawk" (Frank Lloyd).
The film is shot in black and white. In the Caribbean scenes the film is tinted brown to suggest a warm climate. This is a very old trick in black and white films. The first time I saw it was in "The phantom carriage" (1921, Victor Sjöström) in which brown was used for interior scenes (warm) and blue for exterior scenes (cold).