Errol Flynn in his first swashbuckler for Warner Brothers is a rare treat indeed. This timeless classic can be viewed again and again without a sense of monotony.
Everything is right in this 1935 film classic. What more can you ask for?
The dashing Flynn with his swordplay and action.
The ravishing Olivia in romance.
The devilishly suave villainy of Basil Rathbone.
Michael Curtiz at his height of spectacular action.
Sumptuous production by WB
And last but not in any way least --- Aaah that Korngold score. Put all the above together and you have a once in a lifetime combination which set off a series of such movies with the same team.
In the beginning it is rumored that Errol lacked self-confidence and had to re-shoot many scenes. He could not have been better cast for his first blockbuster than as Dr.Peter Blood a man wrongfully enslaved by a tyrant king later turning to piracy and then as the Governor of a Crown Colony. Perhaps Flynn was living a part of his own life as he had earlier in his native Tasmania been an accomplished sailor and a rebel and had sailed the Pacific solo in a light sail boat before reaching Hollywood.
Olivia de Havilland stands up well in her portrayal as Arabella spiting her uncle to free his slaves.
The battle scenes are terrific as one would expect from director Curtiz but with a difference - this was his first. He set himself high standards after Capt Blood and make no mistake his later films were also great actioners.
Basil Rathbone that great actor is a trifle under-shadowed by a slight case of miscasting but delivers as the French pirate Levasseur. The climatic duel with Flynn is superb but one has to understand that Rathbone was the accomplished fencer to Flynn being above an amateur. He was to later repeat his defeats to Flynns swordplay in later films.
Captain Blood also brought us the music of the great Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Korngold captures the flavors of the seafaring pirates with the majesty of the ocean waves but my personal favorite has to be "the Ship in the night' the background score when Arabellas ship is passing Bloods pirate vessel in the high seas.
One can go on and on about Captain Blood but to sum up it can be said that this movie has given such joy and excitement to over four generations and will continue for the next few.
Everything is right in this 1935 film classic. What more can you ask for?
The dashing Flynn with his swordplay and action.
The ravishing Olivia in romance.
The devilishly suave villainy of Basil Rathbone.
Michael Curtiz at his height of spectacular action.
Sumptuous production by WB
And last but not in any way least --- Aaah that Korngold score. Put all the above together and you have a once in a lifetime combination which set off a series of such movies with the same team.
In the beginning it is rumored that Errol lacked self-confidence and had to re-shoot many scenes. He could not have been better cast for his first blockbuster than as Dr.Peter Blood a man wrongfully enslaved by a tyrant king later turning to piracy and then as the Governor of a Crown Colony. Perhaps Flynn was living a part of his own life as he had earlier in his native Tasmania been an accomplished sailor and a rebel and had sailed the Pacific solo in a light sail boat before reaching Hollywood.
Olivia de Havilland stands up well in her portrayal as Arabella spiting her uncle to free his slaves.
The battle scenes are terrific as one would expect from director Curtiz but with a difference - this was his first. He set himself high standards after Capt Blood and make no mistake his later films were also great actioners.
Basil Rathbone that great actor is a trifle under-shadowed by a slight case of miscasting but delivers as the French pirate Levasseur. The climatic duel with Flynn is superb but one has to understand that Rathbone was the accomplished fencer to Flynn being above an amateur. He was to later repeat his defeats to Flynns swordplay in later films.
Captain Blood also brought us the music of the great Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Korngold captures the flavors of the seafaring pirates with the majesty of the ocean waves but my personal favorite has to be "the Ship in the night' the background score when Arabellas ship is passing Bloods pirate vessel in the high seas.
One can go on and on about Captain Blood but to sum up it can be said that this movie has given such joy and excitement to over four generations and will continue for the next few.