{"id":16054,"date":"2011-02-25T14:30:08","date_gmt":"2011-02-25T21:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16054"},"modified":"2022-06-22T09:59:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T16:59:24","slug":"sea-hawk-the-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16054","title":{"rendered":"Sea Hawk, The (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;By now you know the purpose of the Sea Hawks: in our own way to serve England and the Queen.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Poster.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Poster-150x300.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-16055\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Poster-150x300.gif 150w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Poster-64x128.gif 64w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Poster.gif 163w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA privateer (Errol Flynn) and his men in Elizabethan England are captured by Spaniards, and must find a way to escape the galleys in time to warn Queen Elizabeth I (Flora Robson) about the presence of a traitor in her court.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Hale Films<\/li>\n<li>Claude Rains Films<\/li>\n<li>Donald Crisp Films<\/li>\n<li>Errol Flynn Films<\/li>\n<li>Flora Robson Films<\/li>\n<li>Henry Daniell Films<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Michael Curtiz Films<\/li>\n<li>Pirates<\/li>\n<li>Royalty and Nobility<\/li>\n<li>Slavery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary argues that this &#8220;Errol Flynn swashbuckler is as good an old-time adventure as you&#8217;ll find&#8221;, and nominates it as one of the Best Pictures of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book. He notes that it possesses &#8220;great ships, sea battles, swordplay, spies, slaves, [and] Spaniards&#8221;; a &#8220;rousing score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold&#8221;; &#8220;exuberant and stylish direction by Michael Curtiz (who, as usual, makes great use of light, shadows, and space)&#8221;; &#8220;a strong, spirited script&#8221;; &#8220;a marvelous group of supporting actors&#8221; (including Flora Robson, Claude Rains, Henry Daniell, Una O&#8217;Connor, Alan Hale, and others) &#8212; and &#8220;even a little smooching&#8221; (though Flynn&#8217;s romance with beautiful but boring Brenda Marshall is definitely the weakest aspect of the story). Most importantly, however, he notes that it stars &#8220;Flynn, the talking pictures&#8217; greatest adventure hero&#8221;, who is once again a pirate and once again &#8220;champion of the underdog, in this case the England of 1585 that is being set up for conquest for Spain&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>While I find nearly every aspect of this adventure flick to be in fine order, I&#8217;ll admit that Flora Robson&#8217;s &#8220;splendid&#8221; performance as Queen Elizabeth I remains its greatest personal enjoyment for me. As Peary so accurately explains, Robson presents the Queen &#8220;not as a man in a woman&#8217;s body but a woman of intelligence, wit, high spirits, temper, strength, and love for country and subjects; she&#8217;s no prude, she just prefers ruling men to loving them&#8221;. And speaking of its historical grounding, the parallels made between the film&#8217;s &#8220;imperialist and evil&#8221; Spain of 1585 and Nazi Germany are indeed &#8212; as many have pointed out &#8212; rather overt, with Robson &#8220;start[ing] out like Neville Chamberlain, willing to appease the aggressors rather than risk war&#8221;, but eventually &#8220;becom[ing] as dogged as Winston Churchill&#8221;. As Peary argues, much like <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5660\">1942&#8217;s <em>Casablanca<\/em><\/a> (also directed by Curtiz), this is ultimately a thinly &#8220;veiled propaganda piece that attempts to get Americans solidly into the war effort&#8221; &#8212; but it&#8217;s easy to overlook such metaphorical heavy-handedness in the face of what amounts to a bracingly vigorous, finely mounted adventure flick in its own right. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson-1024x636.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"398\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson-1024x636.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson-768x477.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson-1536x955.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Robson.png 1559w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Errol Flynn as Captain Thorpe<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn-1024x620.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"388\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47144\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn-1024x620.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn-768x465.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn-1536x930.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Flynn.png 1581w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine supporting performances<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines-1024x626.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"391\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines-1024x626.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines-768x469.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines-1536x939.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Raines.png 1579w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Authentic period detail<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat-1024x627.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"392\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat-1536x941.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Boat.png 1569w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical-1024x623.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"389\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical-1024x623.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical-768x468.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical-1536x935.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Historical.png 1585w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The exciting climactic duel (between Flynn and Henry Daniell)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel-1024x622.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"389\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel-1024x622.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel-768x466.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel-1536x933.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Sea-Hawk-Duel.png 1569w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>E.W. Korngold&#8217;s score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an adventure classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0033028\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1576flyn.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down to fourth review)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/16933\/the-sea-hawk#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;By now you know the purpose of the Sea Hawks: in our own way to serve England and the Queen.&#8221; Synopsis: A privateer (Errol Flynn) and his men in Elizabethan England are captured by Spaniards, and must find a way to escape the galleys in time to warn Queen Elizabeth I (Flora Robson) about the presence of a traitor in her court. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alan Hale Films Claude Rains Films Donald Crisp Films Errol Flynn Films Flora&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16054\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16054"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84981,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16054\/revisions\/84981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}