dir: Michael Curtiz | United States | 119 mins
A very enjoyable pirate romp, the first appearance of Errol Flynn and the first of several pairings with Olivia de Havilland. Basil Rathbone appears in a supporting role of a rival French pirate; Rathbone would go on to star in the Sherlock Holmes movies four years later. This would set a benchmark for future action adventures.
Set in the late 1650s, Flynn stars as Irish physician Peter Blood, who is arrested and then sentenced to death for aiding a wounded man who was part of a rebellion against the English king. On that king’s whim, instead he and the other rebels are instead transported to the West Indies to be slaves (apparently there’s a shortage). Blood craftily uses his impudent charm and medical skills to gain favour and some protection, and ends up being purchased by love interest Olivia de Havilland as a retort against her bullish father. Blood escapes with his men, taking to the high seas as a pirate against the global backdrop of Spanish, English and French rivalries and battles.
Adapted from a novel, there’s perhaps a little too much exposition in places, but the film never takes itself too seriously. Michael Curtiz’s direction is fresh and injected with moments of wit, and the narrative is fast-paced. The characters are near-caricatures in a fun sense, like the heroes and villains of adventure comics, and Errol Flynn is great fun; bold, headstrong, and a little supercilious, with a mischievous pirate cunning, he seems to be relishing the part and himself in it.
Here’s clearly a ‘good man’ from the start, as illustrated by his medical ethics and good humour, and as the film progresses he proves himself to be a cocksure romantic and a stirring leader careful to take his men’s views into account. But Curtiz doesn’t make him a saint, he uses his insolence and trickery (some might say deception) as tools for his ambitions as well as his physical skills and adaptability in moments of danger.
There’s some interesting themes around slavery and ownership, particularly when the tables are turned in the favour of our hero pirate (interestingly, the slaves are all-white, and one of the task-masters is black). The film is set against the politics of England at the time of the unpopular James II / (or VII in Scotland) provoked rebellions at home, and when the Catholic Spanish were warring against the Protestant English, but that’s mostly a backdrop and England feels a remote colonial power – all the action is overseas.
But don’t expect much historical complexity, this is a swashbuckling romance, with historical anachronisms, and all. Curtiz must have had fun selecting the rag-taggle collection of extras in his crew, cast as much for their weathered faces and appearance in pirate costume, as for their acting skills.
There’s some great action set-pieces. Rathbone and Flynn engage in an enjoyable swordfight on the shoreline (perhaps the only outdoor location in this otherwise soundstage-based film). While admittedly the narrative meanders during a succession of episodes at sea, the final battle where pirate Blood and his loyal crew join a skirmish between the English and French is thrilling. The action is never confusing despite the mix of fighting bodies, cannon fire and very similar looking boats, the editing and storytelling is brilliant, and the models and studio sets are effectively combined.
The first ever symphonic score for a movie adds to the derring-do tone, composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold with a little help borrowed from Franz Liszt. I loved a moment when the bugles (actually trumpets) sounded the attack, then developed into a full orchestrated score.
This was a big production for Warner Bros, with a high budget and they took a gamble on casting two relatively unknown leads, but it paid off handsomely. The film was a huge hit, although Curtiz just missed out on an Oscar win for best director. This early action adventure set a template for future action blockbusters including some more recent pirate yarns also set in the Caribbean.
Dave's film blog 