Swashbuckler films seem to be a thing of a bygone era. With the possible exception of The Walt Disney Company and their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise there hasn’t really been much of demand for the swashbuckler anymore. Renny Harlin tried his hand at it in the 90’s with Cutthroat Island which was a colossal failure; people in general just don’t show up for them anymore. Even looking at the Disney films these are more thrill park rides than swashbuckling adventures, filled to the brim with CGI artificiality. None of these has a lead that can rightfully be considered a swashbuckler the way the old films did, either. In the silent era Douglas Fairbanks held that mantle with such films as The Thief of Bagdad and The Black Pirate amongst others, showcasing an actor whose very aura reeked of adventurer, explorer, swashbuckler. By 1935, though, Douglas Fairbanks was on his way out, just one remaining credit on his resume. He died just four years later at the young age of 56. Taking his place in his first leading role was a young Errol Flynn who had that same feel to his performances that Fairbanks had, even playing some of the same roles he did like Robin Hood. Another contender for this kind of role, Clark Gable, would also star in a ship bound adventure this same year, Mutiny on the Bounty, a film that beat out Flynn’s film, Captain Blood, for the Best Picture Oscar. Gable was also nominated for his acting in it whereas Flynn was not.
Also new to the scene was Olivia de Havilland, a British actress who had appeared in a couple of films prior. Captain Blood would make her a star. Warner Bros. took great risk casting two relatively unknown actors as the leads in an expensive swashbuckler releasing in the heart of the Great Depression. Epic productions were considered a bad investment during a time in history when the average person couldn’t spare money on luxuries like movie tickets. Yet something in Olivia’s timeless beauty and Errol’s natural charisma made them the ideal stars of this type of picture. Their chemistry was so good the two would go on to star together again in The Adventures of Robin Hood three years later.
Captain Blood is the story of Doctor Peter Blood (Errol Flynn), a physician arrested for treating a wounded patron who participated in the Monmouth Rebellion. On trial, the doctor is sentenced to hang as aiding any rebel is considered treason against King James II and carries the death penalty. Instead of killing the rebels, King James II decides to profit off these men by transporting them to the West Indies and selling them into slavery instead. While there, Peter Blood is sold to Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), niece to the local military commander Colonel Bishop (Lionel Atwill), a merciless man who treats his slaves savagely. Arabella is attracted to Peter and uses her influence to introduce him to the governor who suffers heavily from gout. His relationship with the governor in turn protects him from the harshest of punishments from Colonel Bishop for a while but eventually the Colonel has had enough and intends to cane Peter Blood for his perceived insolence and for trying to render aid to a fellow slave who has been left beaten and chained up. A sudden attack from Spanish warships saves Peter from the vicious caning and he leads the rest of the slaves to capture one of the ships and sail off. Unable to return home to England they become pirates, seeking their fortune on the high seas, all while being pursued by Colonel Bishop who has sworn an oath to capture and hang Peter Blood.
This was not the first time Captain Blood was made into a feature film. A silent version of the original novel was made in 1923. This version, while hard to find, still exists and was screened as recently as 2018. Unfortunately I was not able to find a copy to watch alongside the remake to compare the two. I would have liked to have seen the differences, aside from sound, that the two films have from each other as well as how a different cast interpreted these characters. The 1935 version came about with the increased interest in films such as Treasure Island and The Count of Monte Cristo, both released the previous year. Warner Bros. saw this revived interest and, seeking to capitalize off it, greenlit a remake of Captain Blood.
To helm this new project, they turned to workhorse director Michael Curtiz, a European filmmaker who was invited by Warner Bros. to come to Hollywood and work exclusively for them. He would go on to helm over a hundred films in Hollywood, most for Warner Bros. including some of the greatest movies of all time. James Cagney and Joan Crawford both won their only Oscars under his direction. He made stars out of Bette Davis, de Havilland and Flynn as well as introducing the world to Doris Day. He had a workmanlike way of making films that never called attention to the process itself but had a simple brilliance to them. Consequently his films rarely ran over budget or time. When working on Captain Blood he reused footage from the silent film The Sea Hawk, repurposing the naval battle footage with added sound to enhance the amazing action sequences he shot for the movie.
One of the great strengths of Captain Blood are those action sequences. During the final act Captain Blood’s ship faces off against two French vessels. They take plenty of damage from the first one before sinking it, then get pummeled by the second, outmatched. Peter Blood leads a raiding party onto that second ship in an all out assault, capturing it. The on-board fighting is visceral and intense, coupled with images of large parts of their ship being blown to pieces along with some of his men. It’s brutal at times but Curtiz doesn’t linger too long on any of that violence. He also cuts it short jumping from a full on man-on-man cacophony on deck to the French soldiers surrendered with just a quick close-up of a cannon firing to divide the two scenes, signaling the end of the battle. It gets the point across without belaboring the whole fight.
All this amazing stunt work and naval battles would be wasted, though, without characters to route for. Flynn and de Havilland are great here but they are just a part of a larger ensemble that includes several colorful characters that stand out. Jeremy Pitts (Ross Alexander) is the navigator and good friend of Blood’s who Colonel Bishop flogged in an attempt to learn of any escape plans the men may have. He stands by his captain even when Peter makes orders he strongly disagrees with. Frank McGlynn Sr plays the Reverand Uriah Ogle whose scripture quoting adds just the right note of humor during some of the more intense scenes. And then there’s Levasseur (Basil Rathbone), a French pirate who captures Arabella Bishop and holds her for ransom, refusing to accept payment for her from Peter Blood. Peter tries to buy her, a nod to earlier when she bought him, and when that fails, the two men fight to the death for her.
The finale ends on a rather upbeat note. King James II has been removed from his rule and fled to France. The new King, William III has offered the slaves turned pirates full pardons and a naval commission in payment for the wrongs James II imposed on them. Upon defeat of the French invaders, Peter Blood is given the post of Governor of the very island he was originally enslaved on and Colonel Bishop has been removed from his position for ignoring the security of the island while blindly pursuing Peter Blood during a time of war. Arabella confesses to Peter that she loves him. The final reveal when Colonel Bishop is brought in to face the new governor is a bit too cute but plays up the playfulness of Errol Flynn and Olivia leaning into that playfulness.
Captain Blood has everything a swashbuckling adventure needs, action, romance, adventures on the high seas and more. The leads are charismatic and, more importantly, have good chemistry on screen. If there is anything to nitpick it would be that the film glosses over the more brutal acts Peter Blood had to have done to acquire his reputation and vast riches while pirating. Arabella addresses this, accusing him of killing and stealing and it gets dismissed by Peter with a look of embarrassment. This would have been done to keep his character the hero of the story as showing him killing and plundering innocent sailors would have turned audiences against him. Even addressing it though causes a problem with his character as he is presented as a man willing to risk his life to treat a traitor to the crown only to suddenly become a man who murders for treasure. The film is not going to look too deeply into this and it expects us not to either.
In the end it boils down to a romance on the high seas that draws some connections with slavery and piracy. It made stars out of the two leads and turned a tidy profit for Warner Bros. who also rode it’s popularity into the 1935 Academy Awards earning four nominations, though not a single one in the acting categories. It turns ninety years old next year and, some technological limitations aside, is still just as exciting to watch now as it was then. It’s a rousing adventure yarn that has stood the test of time and goes to prove a good action movie on the high seas doesn’t need a lot of expensive CGI to be effective, just a good story and great actors to make it come to life.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Hal B. Wallis, Harry Joe Brown and Gordon Hollingshead
Best Adaptation: Casey Robinson
Best Scoring: Warner Bros. - First National Studio Music Department
Best Sound Recording: Nathan Levinson
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Release Date: December 28, 1935
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Ross Alexander
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
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