Captain Blood (1935)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Rafael Sabatini (novel)
Casey Robinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 December 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Slavery | Escape | Pirate | Governor | Caribbean

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars.

Cast

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
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		(novel "Captain Blood")
Casey Robinson		(screenplay)

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		(photographed by)
Hal Mohr		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
George Amy

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
Iron Eyes Cody	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	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)
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	....	music arranger
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)
Hertzel Effensachs	....	marine director (uncredited)
Hertzel 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)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1935) (USA) (theatrical) (for The Vitaphone Corp.)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The (1935) (USA) (theatrical) (as The Vitaphone Corp.) (for)
• Warner Bros. Films (1936) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1936) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Films (1949) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1971) (Finland) (TV) (1979) (2006)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1983) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• ClassicLine (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (1936) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Television (19??) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• 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:

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

Filming Locations:

Corona, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros.

Trivia:

No full-sized ships were used in the battle scenes. It was created by a combination of process shots, miniatures, and footage from the silent film, The Sea Hawk (1924), which was based on another Rafael Sabatini novel.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The courtroom scene is introduced by a shot of the royal coat of arms, in the form adopted in 1837. In the next scene, a window in the palace shows the shield correct for 1603-1707, reflecting the claim on the crown of France first made by Edward III of England in 1340.

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 Ninja's Force (1984)

Soundtrack:

Fugal Episode from Prometheus

The Greatest Pirate Film to Date

'Captain Blood' is not easily understood by a lot of viewers. Although far from a "love or hate" film, it is frequently characterized as "boring" and "unconvincing" by people who do not understand its subject matter---buccaneers of the Caribbean.

For a lot of people,"pirate" translates as "gruff bearded man with a wooden leg, a parrot on his shoulder, and a vocabulary consisting mostly of four words--"shiver me timbers" and "Aaaarrrrrrrgh!"

In other words their definition of pirate derives from fictional pirate Long John Silver. Captain Blood is a more romanticized figure, and tends to leave fans of buffoonish pirates flat. Peter Blood, the protagonist, is much more influenced by the dashing exploits of Captain Henry Morgan---with a physician's mantle thrown in, formulaically speaking, to give him added genteel qualities.

'Blood' is, for the most part, however, the most realistic of pirate films made to date. Substantially more so than, say, 'Pirates of the Caribbean'--which dazzles with special effects, but displays little understanding of the historical period.

The Jerry Bruckheimer film appears visually influenced by Barbara Cartland novels, and, like most pirate films, depicts Port Royal unrealistically. I cannot vouch for exactly what Port Royal looked like a few centuries ago--considering that it was destroyed once by an earthquake in 1692, and burned a decade later---but it's doubtful that it resembled a quaint cliff side tourist retreat in the Grenadines. In Captain Blood, Port Royal is seen as flat and sandy, with colonial Spanish buildings. This is more authentic; the real-life city was a captured Spanish colony built on a sandpit.

Similarly, in most respects Captain Blood is carefully constructed, and does not resort to the hackneyed and often silly stunts seen in most pirate films.....such as exploding buildings with gunpowder (for no particular reason), searching for buried treasure, Twentieth Century-style fistfights (and karate-kicks), female pirates in every ship's crew, anorexic women in ruffled skirts who kick ass, etc.

In terms of characterization, Captain Blood is a tour-de-force, depicting the practice of white slavery (quite common in the colonial era) and the escape of Blood's slave band to become a crew of buccaneers. He is pursued by his former slave owner, an insolent, hateful man named Bishop, as a matter of personal grudge. As opposed to the usual cops-and-robbers chase scenes with British soldiers we see in most pirate shows. (In real-life Caribbean colonies, privateers and pirates were often ignored by the authorities..if not,in fact,quietly encouraged behind the scenes.)

The ships in Captain Blood also move like real ships (slowly, and by wind power only), and the final battle sequence between Blood's galleon and a French Frigate is extraordinarily vivid, especially considering the special effects used when the original film was made (1935).

As with many pictures from the 1930s, the film is chock-filled with corny characters who provide "color", but in so doing, still leave a more lasting impression than modern-day characters who do nothing but grunt, sweat, and bleed.

This is a stunning and very likable action film--and head and shoulders above all other Hollywood pirate movies.

Perhaps the next Johnny Depp film will get it right, and surpass Captain Blood..but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.