The Sea Hawk

"Dashing... romantic... Errol Flynn at his thrilling best!"

1940 2h 7m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 164

Adventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.

“Dashing... romantic... Errol Flynn at his thrilling best!”

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Cast

Errol Flynn
Captain Geoffrey Thorpe
Brenda Marshall
Doña Maria Alvarez de Cordoba
Claude Rains
Don José Alvarez de Cordoba
Donald Crisp
Admiral Sir John Burleson
Flora Robson
Queen Elizabeth
Alan Hale
Carl Pitt
Henry Daniell
Lord Wolfingham
Una O'Connor
Miss Latham

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Seton I. Miller, Howard W. Koch
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

86 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Sol Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Errol Flynn and Brenda Marshall and Claude Rains carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Dashing... romantic... Errol Flynn at his thrilling best!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0033028 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. Sol Polito behind the camera. Erich Wolfgang Korngold scores. George Amy cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
286 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Sol Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Errol Flynn and Brenda Marshall and Claude Rains carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Dashing... romantic... Errol Flynn at his thrilling best!".
8IMDB entry: tt0033028 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sol Polito
Original score: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Editing: George Amy
Costume design: Orry-Kelly
Makeup / hair: Perc Westmore
Runtime: 127 min · 2h 7m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,700,000
Box office: $2,000,000
Return: 118% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Sea Hawk (1940)

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Michael Curtiz

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-23
★ 8/10
First things first. This has virtually nothing at all to do with the 1924 Frank Lloyd version nor, indeed, does it have very much to do with the original Rafael Sabatini novel either - but it is still probably my favourite Errol Flynn film. The story is (very) loosely based on the courageous activities of the privateers who raided the Spanish treasure ships during the reign of Elizabeth I of England (rather convincingly portrayed here by Flora Robson). Flynn seizes an ambassadorial galleon on which are travelling Claude Rains and Brenda Marshall, and a tale of espionage, secrecy, love and skullduggery ensues for an exciting couple of hours. Korngold always had the skill to add something special with his score to these seafaring adventure films - and he does in abundance here too (though perhaps not the songs with the shockingly terrible rhymes!?). Henry Daniell is also worthy of mention as the duplicitous "Lord Wolfingham" and Michael Curtiz is at his action-packed best as he offers us loads of swash, buckle and a thoroughly enjoyable piece of cinema that you ought to see on the big screen if you get a chance.

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