Captain Blood (1935)

Popularity:

Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Rafael Sabatini (by)
Casey Robinson (screen play)

Release Date:

28 December 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT & THRILLING SEA ADVENTURE EVER FILMED (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

After being wrongly convicted as a traitor, Peter Blood, an English physician, is sent to exile in the British colonies of the Caribbean, where he becomes a pirate.

Plot Keywords:

Governor | Slavery | Pirate | Escape | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars.

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	Peter Blood
Olivia de Havilland	...	Arabella Bishop
Lionel Atwill	...	Colonel 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
J. Carrol Naish	...	Cahusac (as J. Carroll Naish)
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Don Diego
George Hassell	...	Governor Steed
Harry Cording	...	Kent
Leonard Mudie	...	Baron Jeffreys
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Prosecutor (as Ivan Simpson)
Stuart Casey	...	Capt. Hobart
David Cavendish	...	Lord Gildoy (as Dennis D. Auburn)
Mary Forbes	...	Mrs. Steed
E.E. Clive	...	Clerk of the Court
Colin Kenny	...	Lord Chester Dyke
Maude Leslie	...	Mrs. Baynes
Gardner James	...	Slave
Vernon Steele	...	King James
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gene Alsace	...	Oliver Clark - Pirate (uncredited)
Sam Appel	...	Gunner (uncredited)
Reginald Barlow	...	Dixon (uncredited)
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Governor's Attendant (uncredited)
Wayne Castle	...	One-Legged Pirate (uncredited)
Yola d'Avril	...	Girl in Tavern (uncredited)
Florence Fair	...	Woman with Baby (uncredited)
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Lord Sunderland (uncredited)
Murray Kinnell	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	French Officer (uncredited)
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Jim Mason	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Tina Menard	...	Girl in Tavern (uncredited)
Louis Mercier	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Kansas Moehring	...	Pirate (uncredited)
John Northpole	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Artie Ortego	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Henry Otho	...	David Sampson - Pirate (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Frank Puglia	...	French Officer (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	French Captain (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Tom Steele	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Jim Thorpe	...	Pirate (uncredited)
David Thursby	...	Lookout on English Ship (uncredited)
Renee Torres	...	Girl in Tavern (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	Pirate (uncredited)
William Yetter Sr.	...	Pirate (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz

Writing credits
Rafael Sabatini		(by)
Casey Robinson		(screen play)

Produced by
Harry Joe Brown	....	producer (uncredited)
Gordon Hollingshead	....	producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller		(photography)
Hal Mohr		(photography)

Film Editing by
George Amy		(edited by)

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Lueker	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Sherry Shourds	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Robey Cooper	....	props (uncredited)
Harper Goff	....	set designer (uncredited)
John More	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Nathan Levinson	....	sound director (uncredited)
C.A. Riggs	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Jackman	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Gene Alsace	....	stunts (uncredited)
Iron Eyes Cody	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harry Dean	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kansas Moehring	....	stunts (uncredited)
Artie Ortego	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Pina	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Silver	....	stunts (uncredited)
Si Slocum	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buster Wiles	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William Classen	....	grip (uncredited)
Bob Davis	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
L. De Angelis	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Alan Ladd	....	grip (uncredited)
Buddy Longworth	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Mickey Marigold	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Robert Surtees	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Erich Wolfgang Korngold	....	musical arrangements
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Ray Heindorf	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Stanley Logan	....	dialogue director
Fred Applegate	....	continuity (uncredited)
Len Boyd	....	publicist (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	....	fencing master (uncredited)
Herzl Effensachs	....	marine director (uncredited)
Herzl Effensachs	....	water safety (uncredited)
Charles Farmer	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Ralph Faulkner	....	fight choreographer (uncredited)
Robert Lord	....	supervisor (uncredited)
Ann Robinson	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Jean Sepulveda	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Bob Splane	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Clarence Wertz	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. (A Cosmopolitan Production)
• Cosmopolitan Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1935) (USA) (theatrical) (as The Vitaphone Corporation)
• Warner Bros. Films (1936) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1936) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1936) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1951) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Associated Artists Productions (AAP) (1956) (USA) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1971) (Finland) (TV)
• CBS/Fox (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1983) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (LaserDisc)
• ClassicLine (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• RCA (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Television (19??) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• MGM/UA Home Video  VHS package design
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design
• Western Costume Company  costumes supplied by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

119 min | USA:99 min (re-release) | West Germany:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 (1949) | Finland:K-16 (1936) | Germany:12 (nf) | Netherlands:14 (re-rating) (1950) (one cut) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1936) (passed with cuts) | New Zealand:PG | Sweden:Btl (cut) | UK:PG | USA:Not Rated (DVD Rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #1552) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Corona, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros.

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While Lavasseur is lying in the surf after being killed in the duel with Peter Blood, waves splash over him from his head in the close-up, but from his feet in the longer shot. Also, the fresh blood coming out of the corner of his mouth is not washed away. It is still present and not washed away in the second shot of him at the end of the scene.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983)

Soundtrack:

Fugal Episode from Prometheus

Heroic swashbucklers and ferocious cannonade!

Nearly 80 years old and `Captain Blood' still is one of the greatest sea-adventures ever made. It initially served as an appropriate answer to `Mutiny on the Bounty', also released in 1935 and starring Clark Gable. This film launched the terrific career of Errol Flynn, who only appeared uncredited in other film until then. Captain Blood is a compelling and versatile story about a young Irish doctor, named Peter Blood. After giving medical attention to rebellions, he's sold as a slave to the wondrously beautiful Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland)…niece of the rancorous Colonel Bishop (Lionel Atwill). Blood escapes slavery and, together with his faithful crew, he starts a successful and diverse career as a pirate in the Caribbean sea. Yet, the unanswered love he feels for Arabella never really allows him to be fully free. Naturally, this film doesn't feature as many outrageous swordfights as in later pirate movies, but the decors and scenery are breath-taking and very inspired. Some neutral sequences (mainly in the beginning of the film) can be considered tedious, but long and delightful patriot speeches and exiting battles make up for those. Errol Flynn does a great job as the rebellious captain, even though his handsome looks don't really match the image of a feared pirate. Special mention goes out to Basil Rathbone, flawlessly cast as a French corsair. Highly recommended if you're a fan of classic and nostalgic cinema.