Original Review
The first of the great swashbuckling films of the sound era, Captain Blood (1935) provided the first major roles for its two stars, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. It contains all the right ingredients in mostly the right proportions: gallantry, piracy, duels, sea battles, politics, and romance. Nothing about the film is perfect: the accents are of mixed authenticity, the quality of the acting is variable, and the fight choreography wavers between natural and wooden, but the film's totality outshines its components. Greater swashbuckling films would follow, but Captain Blood carved a wider path for them.
Writing: GoodDirecting: Good
Acting: Fair/Good
Cinematography: Good
Stunts: Good
Swordplay: Good
Panache: Good
Overall Rating: Good
Swashbuckling Rank: Good
[Originally posted in Cuparius.com on 27 March 2010.]
Extended Review
Captain Blood, directed by Michael Curtiz and adapted from the novel by Rafael Sabatini, is the story of one Dr. Peter Blood (played by Errol Flynn), an Irish physician in England who is charged with treason for administering medical aid to a rebel. Reviews, in my view, are not the place for spoilers, but suffice it to say that one thing leads to another and the good doctor becomes the eponymous Captain Blood, scourge of the Caribbean.
This is a movie that I appreciate more with each viewing. It's a solid pirate movie that served as the opening salvo of Flynn's career as the quintessential swashbuckler of the talkies. Most Hollywood adaptations of novels are as faithful as their depictions of history, and adaptations of historical novels are doubly damned, but the Hollywood swashbuckling film, judged as a unique genre in its own right, has had an enormous and continuing impact on filmmaking and popular culture. Captain Blood can rightly claim a share of the credit.
Written by: Casey RobinsonBased on: Captain Blood: His Odyssey by Rafael Sabatini
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Performed by: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland, Basil Rathbone, et al.
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