Captain Blood

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"In like Flynn" became a catch phrase evermore.

And with the release of "Captain Blood" in 1935, Errol Flynn officially took over the reins from Douglas Fairbanks (who made his last film in 1934) as Hollywood's greatest swashbuckler.

Yes, "Captain Blood" has any number of notable distinctions, not the least of them being Flynn. After he appeared in several smaller roles, Flynn's arrival as Doctor Peter Blood made him one of the biggest stars of all time. The movie was made for relatively little money, but it went on to become what many viewers and critics feel is one of the greatest pirate adventures of all time. And the movie was the start for one of Tinseltown's most notorious, scandalous, and legendary figures of all time, which Flynn recounted in his 1959 autobiography, "My Wicked, Wicked Ways."

Casey Robinson adapted the screenplay for "Captain Blood" from the 1922 novel (based in part, no doubt, on the exploits of Sir Henry Morgan) by Rafael Sabatini, the fellow who gave us such other high romances as "The Sea Hawk," "Scaramouche," and "The Black Swan." Equally important, I think, the film began a long association between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz, the pair going on together to produce "The Charge of the Light Brigade," "The Perfect Specimen," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "Dodge City," "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex," "Virginia City," "The Sea Hawk," "Sante Fe Trail," and "Dive Bomber."

Interestingly, none of this might have happened if Robert Donat hadn't passed on the role of Dr. Blood, and the relatively unknown Flynn hadn't been chosen to replace him at the last minute. Donat went on to win an Oscar a few years later as Mr. Chips. Serendipitous for all involved, I suppose.

If there's any problem with "Captain Blood," it's a problem every actor should enjoy. Flynn is so energetic, so gallant, and so charismatic in the film that there really isn't anybody else in the picture memorable enough to hold a scene with him; meaning that neither the heroine, played by Olivia de Havilland, nor the villains, played by Lionel Atwill and Basil Rathbone, are strong enough to do the film justice. So, it's Flynn's film from beginning to end, and he handles it wonderfully.

The story begins in 1685, as Dr. Peter Blood explains to his housekeeper that he is a former professional soldier who "hung up the sword and picked up the lancet," became "a man of peace and not of war; a healer, not a slayer." But circumstances force him back into the fight when he's arrested for attending to a man wounded in a rebellion against King James II. Blood and many of his friends are convicted of treason and sentenced to slavery in the Americas. At Port Royal he's bought by Miss Arabella Bishop (de Havilland), the beautiful daughter of a rich, local landowner and slave driver, Colonel Bishop (Atwill). It's clear that the lovely and very single Miss Bishop takes a liking to the young rogue at first sight.

Naturally, it isn't long before Blood and his companions escape the island, capturing a Spanish ship in the process, and become pirates on the high seas. Blood's only regret appears to be his leaving the beautiful Arabella behind. "And thus," we're told in bold text, "Captain Blood began his career of piracy...with a ship, a handful of men, and a brain...carving a crimson career...until his name became the terror of the Caribbean...the pride and toast of every buccaneer of the brotherhood of the Coast...Blood!"

The second half of the film recounts Blood's exploits as a pirate, and, needless to say, an adventurous reunion with Arabella amid much derring-do. Blood proves as chivalrous as he is smart and daring, one of his cardinal rules being that neither he nor his men are ever to harm a woman. And we get to see Flynn fence with Rathbone (as the treacherous pirate, Levasseur), a prelude to their famous duel later on in "Robin Hood."

As for the technical aspects of the production, they vary widely. The music is first-class, having been arranged by the noted classical composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who was just turning his attention to Hollywood in 1935 and went on to become one of the leading figures in film music. His score for "Captain Blood" is often grand and heroic, in the mold of Richard Strauss before him and undoubtedly an inspiration for John Williams to come. The sets, however, are mostly sparse, the film's cost apparently being kept to a minimum. Yet director Curtiz makes the most of them, with many of the indoor scenes reflective of the German Expressionist movement a decade earlier.

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