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Mittwoch, 16. November 2011

Let's watch.. ..Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn did about 12 films with director Michael Curtiz – of whom he was no big fan. Nevertheless it’s great to watch the films they did together

- and one of them I am about to present:

THE SEA HAWK (1940)

1586. The king of Spain (Montagu Love – again in a royal part..) dreams of conquering the world (Does any other person like that living in 1940 come to your mind?? Yeah.. You got it!) and sends his attaché Don José Alvarez de Cordoba (Claude Rains – magnificent – do I have to tell you that?) to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. (the marvellous Flora Robson – also not her first time in a royal part..) where Lord Wolfingham (Henry Daniell) is more than avid to join any intrigue. With Don José travel his niece Maria (Brenda Marshall – one of the most beautiful women Errol Flynn ever worked with..) and her maid Miss Latham (also a classic cast: Una O’Connor).

In the English Channel their ship is captured by Captain Geoffrey Thorpe (Errol Flynn –honestly, who did you expect??) and his crew (incl. the wonderful Alan Hale) who are in service to Queen Elizabeth. Of course Maria and Captain Thorpe don’t get along too well – in the beginning..

"They say that Elizabeth surrounds herself with beauty in the hope that it may be contagious."



Please watch out for Donald Crisp as Sir John Burleson – how could I write about this film without mentioning him?

For this is a Michael Curtiz film you’ll see some really beautiful "shadow shots"


– which inter alia make the scene in which Captain Thorpe returns with his men to an apparently left ship to one of the creepiest scenes I ever saw in a swashbuckler.. If you listen with open ears you will clearly notice that this film is also political – actually I think it’s hard to not notice it..

Speaking of listening: again the score is delivered by the great Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Though the film was actually a black and white movie it later was digitally colorized - I only know the b/w version - so I can't tell you anything about the "new look"..

What I always find hard to believe is that Errol Flynn’s character is supposed to be shy towards women.. … yeah.. sure...

Just for fun:

This picture was taken during the filming of THE SEA HAWK at Errol Flynn’s ranch – the puppy is one of the first litter of Rhodesian Lion Hounds ever to be born in the USA.

I hope you're enjoying the show!

Yours

Irene

5 Kommentare:

  1. I am not that familiar with Errol Flynn, so I am looking forward to this series. This sounds like an exciting film.

    By the way, I am having problems with my Blogger dashboard. This post never came through on my reading list. (It seems that the blogs I've begun following in the last couple months keep disappearing from my dashboard.) But I've added the link to the sidebar of my blog.

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  2. I love Errol Flynn!! You probably already know of my obsession with him. I do like this film a great deal, although I think it would have been fun if Olivia had been cast opposite him (well, fun for me, not necessarily for her). Anyway. I do enjoy this movie but the whole slave sequence never fails to creep me out a little too much. I hate watching it. I tend to turn to Captain Blood when I need some nautical Errol. Great post!

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  3. Thank you, Patti - actually it seems like we have a little blogger problem again - hope this will be fixed soon.. Thank you for adding "the show" to your sidebar!

    CAPTAIN BLOOD would also be my film of choice, Sally.. - though I really like THE SEA HAWK.. Thank you for all your very nice comments!

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  4. Great highlights of a great movie! One of my favorite scenes from Sea Hawk is the one in which Brenda Marshall is in the rose garden and the camera follows Flynn. It's a beautiful scene and shows how wonderful B&W film can be, and what a truly gifted Curtiz was. Flora Robson almost walks away with the movie; she was fantastic. Thanks for all the Errol!

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  5. So true, Cagneyfan! That rosegarden-scene is sheer beauty! Glad you agree with our first guest star!

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