Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Errol Flynn shows what a brilliant actor, athlete and the ability to light up the screen with his presence. Only 4 or 5 actors in history could do that along with Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart and a couple of others. A movie you can watch as many times as you want and never lose that magic that Hollywood was able to create, and unfortunately no longer can.

NOTES: Originally it was intended to remake the 1924 version of Sabatini's novel. Delmer Daves prepared a script. However, this idea was scrapped. Instead an original screenplay, "Beggars of the Sea", by Seton I. Miller, revised by Howard Koch, was used. (This was Koch's first screenplay. He had signed with Warners on the strength of his sensational radio script for "War of the Worlds".)In the climactic sword duel, Flynn was doubled by Don Turner and Henry Daniell by both Ned Davenport and Ralph Faulkner. Negative cost: $1,700,000. Shooting commenced 1 February 1940 and took 68 days (20 behind schedule), finishing 19 April 1940.Nominated for the following Academy Awards: Art Direction (black-and-white), Sound, Music Score, and Special Effects. (These awards were respectively won by Pride and Prejudice, Strike Up the Band, Tin Pan Alley and The Thief of Bagdad.)COMMENT: Arguably the best of Flynn's swashbucklers, The Sea Hawk is an ingratiatingly acted, superbly paced and marvelously expensive tale, embellished by Curtiz's forceful direction, Polito's stunning photography and Korngold's rousing, welcomely intrusive score. Money has been spent like pirate gold on extras, costumes and sets. Even without knowing the budget, it's obvious the film has been realized with enormous care and craftsmanship.Flynn makes a gentlemanly Thorpe. His scenes with Robson have an unusual and special flavor, a delightful parrying which producer Wallis did not appreciate because these lines were adlibbed by Koch, Flynn and Curtiz on the set. Wallis hated tinkering with the script and also tried to hold back the director's constant attentions to the fight and action scenes. In both respects, he was unsuccessful. Curtiz's varied camera set-ups with their strikingly in-depth compositions and his dramatically inventive angles (the thrilling overhead pan along the deserted ship as Flynn and his buckos climb back aboard) lend the whole film a wonderful atmosphere of high-spirited derring-do and romantic excitement.Fortunately the love interest doesn't get in the way of the lavishly-staged action. No wonder Olivia de Havilland turned the part down! Newcomer Brenda Marshall (she had made only one previous film: Espionage Agent) was assigned. She's capable enough but lacks charisma and color. Nonetheless, this role was probably the high point of her career. (In real life, she married William Holden in 1941, retired from pictures in 1943, made a brief comeback in 1949 and 1950.)Due to Curtiz's skill, none of the film's production problems show up on the screen. Henry Daniell was reportedly "absolutely helpless" with a sword. He is obviously doubled in the long shots, but the close-ups are quite effective and that is Flynn himself the double is often dueling! With that sonorously evil voice of his, Daniell really makes a marvelous villain, completely wiping the floor with poor old Donald Crisp (whose part is pretty small to boot). His co-conspirator, the satanically costumed Claude Rains, also has a high time, while Francis McDonald likewise shines as a properly slimy henchman.Alan Hale and Una O'Connor reprise their usual sidekick roles, William Lundigan (later to become a rather dreary if minor leading man) is reasonably effective in a small spot as one of Thorpe's crew (a group which includes a meatier characterization for J.M. Kerrigan and a surprisingly piddling bit for Edgar Buchanan). Gilbert Roland's role is also not over-large, though it's important enough to give us a sense of disappointment that his acting is slightly wooden. Among the character players, Halliwell Hobbes and particularly Alec Craig deserve our full admiration.It's interesting that some of the cleverly effective directorial touches we remember from the film (the close-up of the spinning globe with Hobbes' voice off-camera) turn out from an examination of the written screenplay to be Koch's devices not Curtiz's. Yet Curtiz alone embell¬ished the scene on the deserted ship with that stunningly dramatic overhead shot. What is more, Curtiz (and Korngold) have given the whole scene much greater atmosphere (and length). Our only complaint with his direction is that very occasionally he falls back on old-fashioned tricks like speeding up the action by under-cranking the camera. These obvious lurks date the film and actually lessen its impact. Fortunately, there are few of them. The miniature ships are maybe just a tiny bit obvious too, though quick cutting helps their disguise. A few snips of "old" stock footage are also thrown into relief by Polito's superbly contrasted "new" photography.Quibbles aside, The Sea Hawk is one of the great sea-sword-and-cannon entertainments of the cinema. Basil Rathbone fans were naturally disappointed their champion (who was incidentally first choice for the role) somehow missed out on Wolfingham, but Daniell's impersonation in my opinion is equally enthralling. As for the broodingly atmospheric sets, the edge-of-the-seat film editing (e.g. the intricate intercutting between Marshall and Flynn in the sequence in which she misses the sailing of "The Albatross"), and the dazzling panache of Curtiz's direction, who would deny (or forego) such excitement? The Sea Hawk's appeal is the same as Robin Hood's or Captain Blood's: White is right. The dashing spirit of romance and adventure is seen to triumph splendidly over all the machinations of enemy and fate.Acted with enthusiasm and realized on the grandest of scales, The Sea Hawk is a masterpiece of cinematic enchantment.

Errol Flynn stars in this exciting story that stems from greed for the British throne from Queen Elizabeth and control of England. When King Philip of Spain plots against her and plants Henry Daniell as a spy in her midst, the plot is set in motion. Claude Rains is a Spanish ambassador who is sailing to Queen Elizabeth to play nice to her, accompanied by his niece, played by Brenda Marshall (one of the rare times Olivia de Havilland didn't the leading role in an Errol Flynn adventure film.) Of course, Brenda is oblivious to the deviousness about her. But, on their way, their ship is attacked by a British ship, headed by Geoffrey Thorpe, played by Errol Flynn. This lack of goodwill and respect for other countries gets him in trouble with his Queen, but he knows an enemy when he sees one. So, all this gets the viewer get into the intrigue and makes for a very exciting experience with a great rousing score by Korngold accompanying it. Errol has never looked better and delivers the goods as only he can (who doesn't love a rascal), while Brenda Marshall seems to have a more reserved and refined beauty about her, in contrast to Olivia's sweetness and flirtatious coyness she had with Errol. A romantic moment comes when Errol tells Brenda, when she appears so radiant with roses in her arms, that he will always think of her as "My lady of the roses." Supporting actors Rains and Daniell have never been better and this film has a bunch of recognizable faces for the crew about Errol: Alan Hale (the actor who made the most films with Errol,) Edgar Buchanun, William Lundigan, David Bruce, and J. M. Kerrigan just to name a few. There are a few more but I can't think of them all. Granted, this has only one major duel, but it's a great one. Oh, and Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth is inspiring. She was one of the best actresses of her time and the speech she gives at the end of the film is very well written and makes a great impression on the viewer with her direct delivery. With grand adventure to experience, this is one Errol Flynn film that is as good as Robin Hood, Captain Blood and Don Juan. Missing this means you don't love Errol Flynn films. What's wrong with you?

I have honestly never seen any pirate films other than the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and this film was just as good as I would expect a pirate movie to be. Plenty of action and sword fighting, and a good naval battle right in the first ten minutes or so. Admittedly, it was a little difficult to tell who was who during the battle scene on the ships. Since the two crews looked a lot alike and with all the cuts that were being made back and forth between different points of action. However, I enjoyed the movie quite a lot. Plenty of action and sword fighting to satisfy my tastes. I may very well look into more pirate films thanks to The Sea Hawk.