ship carrying the Spanish ambassador Claude Rains and his niece Brenda Marshall who's English on her mother's side. That's it for Flynn.But Queen Elizabeth has some traitors in her midst. The clever Lord Wolfingham played by Henry Daniell is in the Spanish pay. Daniell was one of the best screen villains ever. He was always a cold and calculating individual and had a voice with a built in sneer. He very cleverly deduces Flynn's future plans and lays a trap for him. See the film and find out, but suffice it to say Daniell is no fool.Jack Warner saw that Flynn's films were always well scored musically. Flynn swashbuckled to some of the best film music ever composed. Here the composer is Erich Wolfgang Korngold, in other films with Warner Brothers, it's Max Steiner. Korngold's score isn't quite on par with the one he did for Robin Hood, but it's one you will not forget.This was the last film Errol Flynn did with director Michael Curtiz. David Niven in his memoirs made of Curtiz a figure of some fun, he was the guy with the fractured English who uttered the memorable phrase that became Niven's title for his memoirs, 'bring on the empty horses.' Flynn in his memoirs hated him with a passion in that Curtiz put his players in some dangerous situations without regard for safety. After this he refused to work with him. But between them, Curtiz and Flynn did some grand entertainment. Curtiz later won an Oscar for directing Casablanca.Flora Robson repeats her role as Queen Elizabeth, she had previously portrayed Elizabeth in Fire Over England back in the old country. It's probably the part she's most identified with in her career.Brenda Marshall who is probably better known for being Mrs. William Holden, pinch hits for Olivia DeHavilland. Olivia was trying to get some better acting roles that she knew she could do and not be a crinolined heroine all the time. Jack Warner refused to see her as anything else for a long time. Others in the cast who stand out are Alan Hale, Una O'Connor, Gilbert Roland and William Lundigan has a death scene that will haunt you for a long time.The Sea Hawk is also a film that made use of a film process known as sepia tone. It's probably the film best known for it. The whole sequence of when Flynn sails his ship, the Albatross, to Panama is photographed in sepia tone. It makes the film come out a kind of brackish yellow. Since Warner Brothers didn't want to spring for full technicolor, this process is effective in demonstrating the jungle heat that Flynn and his men and the Spaniards for that matter operate under.It is also no accident that this film was made in 1940 showing brave England refusing to buckle under to a tyrant from the European continent. Phillip II of Spain, played by Montagu Love, controlled a whole lot of the world's real estate at that point in time and wanted more. The meaning for the audiences of 1940 could not have been more clear.The Sea Hawk is grand entertainment. In my humble opinion Errol Flynn's best film and one of the best of the swashbuckling genre.

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!

treacherous agents . He matches swordplay, tongue in cheek and romance with ease making this his best ever. Claude Rains and Henry Daniel are unpleasantly debonair in their roles of Spanish spies. Brenda Marshall is adequate but just does not match up as one is always wishing Olivia alongside Errol as his lady love. Flora Robson re-creates her role as Elizabeth I and adds a great aura of grace and majesty in her depiction. One cannot but help feeling that her rendition is of such conviction that it makes one believe that Elizabeth could not but have spoken and behaved the way in which she is played. Michael Cutriz once again scores with his excellent action sequences but overall it is Korngold who enthralls the viewer with his sweeping score which is unforgettable. One cannot but recollect the similarities of this film to "Fire Over England" but the Hollywoodization of medieval England is more pronounced here. Some unforgettable scenes: The beginning of the film – the shadow of a dictator Philip of Spain covering the map of Europe wanting to covet England and her colonies bears a striking resemblance to Hitler and his dream all the more significant as the film was released in early 1940 when the Phoney war had just begun and Dunkirk was in the near distance. The swordplay between Flynn and the Spanish captain where he points out that the English are a practical people who do not sink with their ships – a veiled message to the Nazis that Britain would fight on even if all Europe was to fall? The speech by the Queen towards the end of the film where she warns her subjects of being prepared for the Armada that was poised to strike Hitler's Luftwaffe and The Battle of Britain and a distant appeal to America to join the fight against Fascism. Last but not least the scene where the freed slaves of the Spanish Galley look wistfully at the distant Cliffs of Dover and ex- slave Tuttle mouths just one word "England" which to me was the émigré Curtiz announcing to all of downtrodden Europe that their safe haven in the wake of the impending onslaught was indeed Britain. One can go on and on about Sea Hawk but a review needs to be concise. The greatest of a swashbuckler that does not age a bit and can be viewed over and over again.

on land, not sea. They on are on island, or back in the castle of Queen Elizabeth . Flynn captains "The Albatross" and is a privateering ship captain for her Majesty the queen in the 1500s. They are battling the Spanish in this story. The real bad guys are some of the turncoats in Elizabeth's court.The film is interesting even with its length of over two hours. It keeps a good balance of drama, action, romance and suspense, never overdoing any of those.While it's hard to beat the entertainment duo of Director Michael Curtiz and actor Flynn, Brenda Marshall as "Doria Maria," Thorpe's love interest, doesn't quite cut it. Olivia de Havilland usually played his female interest, and - although that doesn't require she play in every Flynn movie - they could have found someone more attractive and likable than Marshall who, justifiably, had a thin career. Her casting in here is a big mystery to me.Whatever, Flora Robson was fun to watch as "Queen Elizabeth." Claude Rains and Henry Daniell played their normal bad-guy roles well and Thorpe's crew, led by Flynn's best friend Alan Hale, are all entertaining guys.I enjoyed the sepia-tone sequence when Flynn and the boys go for the gold on the Panama island. That was a nice, little visual twist to this black-and-white movie..Not to be left out is the sweeping score, under the direction of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which is one of the more magnificent ones you'll hear in a classic film.

or the story were lethargic, of course - and they aren't. Errol Flynn plays an "I know I'm breaking international law, but hey, I'm charming and dashing and the Spaniards aren't" role - and hey, he IS charming and dashing, and the Spaniards aren't. A lot of films are described as roller-coaster rides. Many of them are just one thing after another, and don't feel at all like a single ride in a single vehicle. With "The Sea Hawk", I'm not sure about the vehicle, but we ARE taken on a single, swift ride. Few adventure films can beat it.

to note that a bit of trimming in the costuming and settings department would have probably allowed them to use the tri-color process, which was used to such spectacular effect in The Adventures of Robin Hood.That said, the Sea Hawk possesses an embarrassment of riches. The semi-historic story line is strong, as are the performances of a truly stellar cast. Flora Robson, Claude Rains are tremendous, and Henry Daniell darn near out-sneers Basil Rathbone as the duplicitous villain. Brenda Marshall is no Olivia de Havilland, but she doesn't have do be; its nice to see Errol flirting with another comely wench.Errol himself is also a treat. This was 1940, before his rape trial and before he got tired of movie making. He is obviously engaged in the production, and is at his most dashing self in pushing it along. Perrenial sidekick on and off screen Alan Hale is outstanding as well in his portrayal of...Well, Alan Hale.Best of all is the score, composed by gool old erich Wolfgang Korngold. It is no coincidence that his music is at the heart of Flynn's best movies. It matches the action scene for scene in a manner again reminiscent of Robin Hood.Although I cannot rank this as Flynn's best vehicle, there is a solid minority of Flynnatics who do. A compelling argument can be made for it.

films. Errol Flynn portrays Geoffrey Thorpe, captain of the Albatross. He's a Sea Hawk and those privateers serve and protect the English Queen in their own particular way. The greedy King Phillip of Spain has set his mind to conquering Britain as well and to cover up his plans, he politely sends an ambassador to meet the Queen. However, Captain Thorpe and his crew boycott the Spanish and they righteously foresee a war between the two nations. Things are getting even more complicated when some prominent members of the British counsel turn out to be betrayers and – of course – Capt. Thorpe falls in love with the beautiful niece of the Spanish ambassador. Errol Flynn clearly developed more charisma over the years and he already looks a lot more believable in his role of privateer now. He's excellently supported by Alan Hale who plays his first crewmember, Mr. Pitt. Flora Robson seems to make a career out of playing Queen Elizabeth's look-alike, since it already is the third film in which she plays this role. The best actor in the cast even beating Errol Flynn obviously is Claude Rains with in his terrific role of the vicious Spanish ambassador. The Galleons both the Spanish as the British look great and some historical aspects like slavery and inquisition are greatly included. The Sea Hawk is excellent, well-made fun and a must for all the nostalgic movie lovers.

sets eyes on them for the first time, and Flynn later tells her he realised, when he saw her expression, that she was not as cold as he thought ie, decent people should sympathise with the conquered nations, not act as if the suffering doesn't exist because they don't see it . There are forceful speeches by Flynn, Queen Elizabeth, and her ministers about England's policy toward Spain, whose king we have heard saying that he wants to conquer the whole world to satisfy his own ambitions. The Queen says that King Philip may not be planning to attack England and she doesn't want to make him angry. Flynn says why would he be building up a navy if he didn't intend to use it. The Spanish ambassador rebukes Flynn for freeing the galley slaves, who he says were properly tried and sentenced under Spanish law. Flynn replies that an Inquisition court and slavery are not what any Englishman would recognise as proper--he seems to stop just short of saying "cruel and unusual punishment"! The Queen is warned that England may find herself all alone in a world of enemies. The courtiers who oppose antagonising Spain are shown as doing so because they are profiteering traitors, not because they have different ideas. So the Queen can be regarded as a stand-in not only for Churchill but for Roosevelt.When Flynn and his men are betrayed, and then captured by the Spaniards and made into galley slaves, they manage to slip their chains and then silently wait below decks for the Spanish to pass by, one at a time, and then pull each one down below and overpower him--in other words, they literally become underground fighters. The film ends with a fiery speech from Queen Liz, who says who the hell is King Philip to tell us what to do, and promises to turn all the trees in England into ships to fight those Spanish bastards, with everyone cheering her on. For an utterly persuasive combination of argument and emotion, this was a pitch for the US entering the war that should have won all the Warner Brothers honorary knighthoods.

force out its Nazi-sympathizer king. Today, at the beginning of the Russian Century, Obama has drawn so many "red lines" near Russia that America's "leader" looks more like a simple "Harold" who has changed crayon colors from purple to scarlet. Errol Flynn, as SEA HAWK Captain Thorpe, proved to be QEI's "nuclear option," and her Wishy-Washiness forced him to self-activate. Churchill became England's nuclear attack dog during WWII. Now is the time for a hero of equal stature to Captain Thorpe and Churchill to rise to the occasion, and change today's policies of resigned acceptance and "possession is 110% of the law." The West must adopt a "Nuke first, explain later" policy. America's H-bomb arsenal is decaying every day it sits underground within our borders. QEI finally Nay-Sayed her court's appeasers, and instigated the naval fleet which won a British Empire. Some brave Patriot MUST activate America's sleeping nuclear giant soon!