Captain Blood (DVD)

God bless Warner Bros!

I liked the movie but I'd definitely rate it below The Sea Hawk, which was tighter, had a bigger budget that showed and Korngold's best soundtrack by far. Capt. Blood though provided one of the biggest breakthrough performances ever by an actor, set the tone for later pirate epics and you're right Flynn just dominated the picture. In fact by the end I felt almost tired hearing Flynn's exhortations to his crew to hoist the mainsails and shouting out orders around constantly! The screenplay was a bit chatty and it's interesting to compare it to The Sea Hawk's trimmer dialogue, as well as the general progression from 1935 to 1940 moviemaking. Basil Rathbone was great in his short role of the French pirate and could handle the fencing with aplomb. No need for a double that Henry Daniell required in The Sea Hawk! (Though he made a good villian)

I thought that though the film had a limited budget it was very well made, the cinematography was very good and the "look" of the Port Royal set seemed pretty darn realistic for a set-bound picture. Some of the battle scenes using miniatures suffer when compared to our modern effects. The fencing duel between Rathbone and Flynn was filmed on Laguna Beach in LA. (<: Careful viewers will notice that The Sea Hawk borrowed several shipboard battle clips from Capt. Blood- which apparently had been used even before that in silent films! The studio got their money's worth from that footage I'd say.

Of the many Flynn films I've seen I'd rate The Sea Hawk #1, followed in no particular order by Capt. Blood, Objective Burma! The Dawn Patrol, Robin Hood and The Charge of the Light Brigade. He always looked a bit out of place in his westerns.