Captain Blood (1935) - film review

England, 1685.  Dr Peter Blood is convicted of treason when he treats a wounded man who took part in an uprising against King James II.  Sentenced into slavery, he is transported to the British colony at Port Royal, Jamaica.  Here, the handsome physician immediately draws the attention of a young woman, Arabella Bishop, who persuades her father, Colonel Bishop, to buy him to work on his plantation.  Bishop is a cruel master who abuses his slaves and Blood resolves to escape.  His opportunity comes when a flotilla of Spanish ships launches an all-out attack on the town.  In the confusion, Blood escapes with a party of slaves and makes off with one of the Spaniards’ ships.  Knowing that they can never return to England, Blood and his loyal followers decide to pursue a career in piracy.  Their exploits will become legendary...

The first true swashbuckler of the sound era is particularly noteworthy in that it launched the careers of two of Hollywood’s greatest stars - Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, both of whom were virtually unknown when the film was made.  Robert Donat was originally considered for the male lead but when ill health prevented him from taking the part Warner Brothers took a gamble and gave it to an inexperienced Australian bit player named Errol Flynn.  The film made Flynn an overnight star and he would be Hollywood’s most bankable actor for at least a decade.

Captain Blood was based on a popular historical novel by Rafael Sabatini and was directed by the Hungarian Michael Curtiz, who became one of Hollywood’s most highly regarded filmmakers in the ’30s and ’40s.   Curtiz was both a great auteur and a great technician, as this film demonstrates, with its magnificent set piece action sequences and sumptuous chiaroscuro photography which adds immensely to the mood and poetry of the piece.  Curtiz and Flynn worked together on a dozen films, including other swashbuckling epics such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and The Sea Hawk (1940).

Whilst Errol Flynn dominates this film with an extraordinary energy and charisma, there are also some memorable contributions from his co-stars.  Olivia de Havilland, then only 19, exudes charm and sophistication as Flynn’s love interest; this is the first of many films where the two actors appear together, forming one of Hollywood’s most iconic screen couples.  Basil Rathbone gives great value, as ever, as the villainous French buccaneer, although his attempt at a French accent is so bad that it borders on the criminal.  The 27-year old supporting actor Ross Alexander appears destined for great things but his career ended in tragedy two years later when a string of personal disasters drove him to commit suicide.

Although it was made on a relatively tight budget, Captain Blood has the feel of a lavish blockbuster and was to be the template for future Hollywood adventure films of this kind.  Warner Brothers weren’t willing to build full-size ships and shoot scenes at sea.  Instead, the sequences on the main decks were filmed on a soundstage whilst the naval battle scenes were realised using 18 foot long miniatures of the ships in a large water tank.  Thanks to some inventive camerawork and slick editing (which included the cunning insertion of shots lifted from some earlier films), the results are spectacular for a film of this the period.  With its bravura performances, impressive production values and rollicking sense of fun, Captain Blood remains one of the slickest and most enjoyable of the great Hollywood swashbucklers.

© James Travers 2009

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