Captain Blood (1935)

An enslaved doctor and his comrades in chains escape and become pirates of the Robin Hood variety.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Rafael Sabatini (novel), Casey Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill

Nominated for 5 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Errol Flynn	...	Peter Blood
Olivia de Havilland	...	Arabella Bishop
Lionel Atwill	...	Col. Bishop
Basil Rathbone	...	Levasseur
Ross Alexander	...	Jeremy Pitt
Guy Kibbee	...	Hagthorpe
Henry Stephenson	...	Lord Willoughby
Robert Barrat	...	Wolverstone
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Dr. Bronson
Donald Meek	...	Dr. Whacker
Jessie Ralph	...	Mrs. Barlow
Forrester Harvey	...	Honesty Nuttall
Frank McGlynn Sr.	...	Rev. Ogle
Holmes Herbert	...	Capt. Gardner
David Torrence	...	Andrew Baynes

Storyline

Arrested during the Monmouth Rebellion and falsely convicted of treason, Dr. Peter Blood is banished to the West Indies and sold into slavery. In Port Royal, Jamaica the Governor's daughter Arabella Bishop buys him for £10 to spite her uncle, Col. Bishop who owns a major plantation. Life is hard for the men and for Blood as well. By chance he treats the Governor's gout and is soon part of the medical service. He dreams of freedom and when the opportunity strikes, he and his friends rebel taking over a Spanish ship that has attacked the city. Soon, they are the most feared pirates on the seas, men without a country attacking all ships. When Arabella is prisoner, Blood decides to return her to Port Royal only to find that it is under the control of England's new enemy, France. All of them must decide if they are to fight for their new King.

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Plot Keywords:

slavery | escape | pirate | governor | caribbean | 

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Taglines:

His sword carved his name across the continents - and his glory across the seas!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

28 December 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Capitaine Blood

Filming Locations:

Corona, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 99 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his biography, "My Wicked, Wicked Ways" Errol Flynn (an infamous prankster) states that he played many pranks on Olivia de Havilland. One of them was leaving a dead snake in her underwear, which she found when she went to put them on. After that she lived in terror of what prank he would pull on her next.

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Goofs

The Spanish pirate ship is shown flying a flag similar to the modern Spanish flag. The earliest use of this flag was 1783 for naval purposes, well over one hundred before the time shown. The correct flag at the time of the movie would be the Cross of Burgundy.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jeremy Pitt: Doctor Blood! Doctor Blood!
Mrs. Barlow: Who, who is it?
Dr. Peter Blood: That we'll know better when you've opened the door.
Mrs. Barlow: Me?
Dr. Peter Blood: My mistake, after I've opened the door.

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Connections

Featured in Supernatural: Wishful Thinking (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Fugal Episode from Prometheus"
(1850, revised 1855) (uncredited)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Adapted and Re-orchestrated by Hugo Friedhofer and Erich Wolfgang Korngold

User Reviews

"You've Saved My Money"--- "Can you swim Colonel Darlin'"

Talk about taking one long chance. The original star of Captain Blood was to be Robert Donat. But health reasons as they did often in Donat's career prevented him from doing this film. So Jack Warner gave the lead in this film to a contract player who had done a couple of bit parts in some B films and had done a lead in an Australian production of the Mutiny on the Bounty story.

Jack Warner not only created a star in Errol Flynn, but also created a new screen team in co-starring him with Olivia DeHavilland who hadn't done that much herself at Warner Brothers up to that time. Individually and together they were a vibrant and charismatic screen team and did eight films for the Brothers Warner.

They were so successful that they resented the typecasting. DeHavilland fought against it far more successfully than Flynn did. As legend has come down to us, Errol Flynn had other pursuits.

The story is that Doctor Peter Blood made a house call on a wounded rebel during the Monmouth rebellion in 1685 against James II. That house call got him a one way ticket to slavery on the island of Jamaica along with many other of the rebels. Olivia DeHavilland the niece of Lionel Atwill, the wealthiest man on Jamaica buys Flynn on a whim. An attack by Spanish pirates offers an opportunity for escape and Flynn and the rest of the rebels become pirates themselves.

Jack Warner provided his two unknowns with a good cast of supporting players. Basil Rathbone as Levasseur, Flynn's pirate rival, crew members Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, and Frank McGlyn, Sr., Henry Stephenson as the sympathetic Lord Willoughby, but most of all Lionel Atwill.

Atwill played many a screen villain, but I'm not sure he was ever better as the pompous blundering oaf Colonel Bishop. My favorite scene in Captain Blood has always been when after Flynn routs the Spanish pirate attack on Port Royal by seizing the pirate ship. When Atwill comes on board to thank those who turned the tables on the pirates he gets quite a reception. The dialog in this scene and the final result of this oaf being tossed into the harbor is priceless.

Love and romance, pirate battles, and a dueling scene between Flynn and Rathbone that was only topped by Rathbone and Flynn again in Robin Hood. It's all here and all for your entertainment for generations to come.