The Sea Hawk (1940)

Geoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for the attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills on the sword.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Howard Koch (screen play), Seton I. Miller (screen play)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Errol Flynn	...	Geoffrey Thorpe
Brenda Marshall	...	Doña Maria
Claude Rains	...	Don José Alvarez de Cordoba
Donald Crisp	...	Sir John Burleson
Flora Robson	...	Queen Elizabeth
Alan Hale	...	Carl Pitt
Henry Daniell	...	Lord Wolfingham
Una O'Connor	...	Miss Latham
James Stephenson	...	Abbott
Gilbert Roland	...	Capt. Lopez
William Lundigan	...	Danny Logan
Julien Mitchell	...	Oliver Scott
Montagu Love	...	King Phillip II
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Eli Matson
David Bruce	...	Martin Burke

Storyline

Geoffrey Thorpe is an adventurous and dashing pirate, who feels that he should pirate the Spanish ships for the good of England. In one such battle, he overtakes a Spanish ship and when he comes aboard he finds Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal. He is overwhelmed by her beauty, but she will have nothing to do with him because of his pirating ways (which include taking her prized jewels). To show his noble side, he suprises her by returning the jewels, and she begins to fall for him. When the ship reaches England, Queen Elizabeth is outraged at the actions of Thorpe and demands that he quit pirating. Because he cannot do this, Thorpe is sent on a mission and in the process becomes a prisoner of the Spaniards. Meanwhile, Dona Maria pines for Thorpe and when he escapes he returns to England to uncover some deadly secrets. Exciting duels follow as Thorpe must expose the evil and win Dona Maria's heart.

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Plot Keywords:

queen elizabeth i | spanish armada | pirate | grappling hook | naval battle | 

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Taglines:

Never before so many thrills! Never such adventure, such romance! Sail to high adventure with 'The Robin Hood of the Sea.'

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beggars of the Sea

Filming Locations:

Laguna Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,000,000, 31 December 1940

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 109 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White Black and White (Sepiatone) (Panama Sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contract writer Delmer Daves completed his screenplay in 1936, but by that point, the studio already had several other projects lined up for Errol Flynn, all adventure pictures.

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Goofs

The story takes place in 1588. The flint-lock muskets and pistols used in the film were not in use until two-hundred years later.

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Quotes

[first lines]
King Philip II: The riches of the New World are limitless, and the New World is ours - with our ships carrying the Spanish flag on seven seas, our armies sweeping over Africa, the Near East, and the Far West; invincible everywhere... but on our own doorstep. Only northern Europe holds out against us; why? Tell me, why?

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Connections

Edited into The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)

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Soundtracks

Strike for the Shores of Dover
(1940) (uncredited)
Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Lyrics by Jack Scholl and Howard Koch
Sung by the oarsmen when they take over the ship
Played also in the score

User Reviews

The boys do know how to swash their buckle!

The boys do know how to swash their buckle! By "the boys," I mean the team that made "Captain Blood" in 1935 and "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" three years later, in 1938.

Two years after Robin Hood, in 1940, the boys then made this wonderful, fun classic. "The Sea Hawk" is nothing short of wonderful four-star entertainment.

Of course, this team, aka "the boys," was comprised of the greatest swashbuckling star of them all, Errol Flynn (better even than Doug Fairbanks Sr.): the greatest director of swashbucklers in th history of cinema, Michael Curtiz; the finest composer of unforgettable anthemic soundtracks, Erich Wolfgang Korngold; and the happiest, jolliest, laughingest sidekick of them all, Alan Hale, Sr.

The lovely Olivia De Havilland would also naturally be included here except that for whatever reason, she was replaced by Brenda Marshall in "The Sea Hawk." Bummer! Marshall is a talented and pretty actress - but she can't tough De Havilland, especially when teamed with ol' "In Like" Flynn.

Flynn and his "legal" pirates are put through their paces in this one, even braving fever in the jungles of Panama as they fight a traitor and the King of Spain (the rat) - oh, and that all-time great rat, good old Claude Rains.

ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!! Swash me buckle, me hearties, Errol Flynn's on watch!