Captain Blood

Captain Blood (1935) marked the first collaboration of Warner Brothers' action dream team: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, director Michael Curtiz and composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Of all Hollywood's pirate films, Blood is among the most elegantly crafted and entertaining.

Dr. Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) treats a man wounded in the Monmouth Rebellion against King James II (Vernon Steele), leading to Blood's arrest for treason. Blood is sent to Port Royal, Jamaica as a slave, but his medical skills win him the favor of the gouty Governor (George Hassell). He woos Arabella (Olivia de Havilland), pretty daughter of cruel Colonel Bishop (Lionel Atwill), all the while plotting his freedom. Blood takes advantage of a Spanish raid to escape, with a crew of fellow prisoners, and becomes the most feared pirate of the Caribbean.

Working on Rafael Sabatini's classic novel, Captain Blood is pure pulp fantasy. Blood is a nautical Robin Hood, driven to a life of piracy by an unjust king. His wild lifestyle mixes excitement with improbable chivalry: of course these pirates will neither rape nor pillage. They get plenty of loot, lots of adventure and free time boozing and whoring on Tortuga. Even dismemberment yields a hefty Workers' Comp sum. Never has a life of crime seemed more appealing.

Casey Robinson's script deals heavily in irony. Blood gets purchased by Arabella for a few quid, then later buys her freedom for a fortune. The finale is even more overt, with Blood turning tables on his tormentor Bishop. Like Samuel Mudd (hmm...), Blood becomes a traitor through observing the Hippocratic oath. When bad King James is ousted, Blood gets a chance to prove his patriotism by taking on an entire French squadron.

Michael Curtiz stakes his claim as a premier action director. He cheats a bit here, inserting battle scene from a silent version of The Sea Hawk (1924) and using some unconvincing backdrops. Even so the action scenes are extremely thrilling and impressive, with some stirring montage work to boot. The final battle is especially effective, with dozens of sword-clanging extras, blazing cannons and miniatures blown sky-high with explosives. It's quite a thrill, borrowed footage or no.

One undeniably original scene is Blood's swordfight with a dastardly French pirate (Basil Rathbone). Intricately choreographed (by Fred Cavens) and excitingly staged, it requires no overwrought acrobatics but simple skill and intricate footwork. This sequence presages even more impressive combats in The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk. All remain the standard by which cinematic swashbuckling is judged.

Errol Flynn became an instant star, establishing his persona as a dashing gentleman buccaneer "chivalrous to the point of idiocy." Olivia de Havilland marks her first of eight pairings with Flynn, already a feisty and appealing partner. Lionel Atwill's one-note baddie isn't very interesting but Basil Rathbone has a superb bit as a slippery corsair.

Captain Blood stands as one of the all-time great pirate films. With its simple story, iconic characters and wonderful sense of fun, it remains top-shelf entertainment.