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==Plot==
==Plot==
[[Image:Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in Captain Blood trailer.JPG|left|200px]]
[[Image:Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in Captain Blood trailer.JPG|left|200px]]
In seventeenth century [[Kingdom of England|England]], Irish Dr. Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is summoned to aid Lord Gildoy, a wounded patron who had participated in the [[Monmouth Rebellion]]. Arrested while performing his duties as a physician, he is convicted of [[treason]] against the King and sentenced to death by the infamous [[George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys|Judge Jeffreys]] in the [[Bloody Assizes]], but by the whim of King James II (who sees an opportunity for profit), Peter Blood and the surviving rebels are transported to the West Indies to be sold into [[slavery]]. In the [[Kingdom of England|English]] colony of [[Port Royal]], Peter Blood is purchased by Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), the beautiful niece of the local military commander Colonel Bishop. Arabella, attracted by Blood's rebellious nature, does her best to improve his chances of living by recommending him as the personal physician of the local governor, who is suffering from a gouty foot.
In seventeenth century [[Kingdom of England|England]], Irish Dr. Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is summoned to aid Lord Gildoy, a wounded patron who had participated in the [[Monmouth Rebellion]]. Arrested while performing his duties as a physician, he is convicted of [[treason]] against the King and sentenced to death by the infamous [[George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys|Judge Jeffreys]] in the [[Bloody Assizes]], but by the whim of [[King James II]] (who sees an opportunity for profit), Peter Blood and the surviving rebels are transported to the West Indies to be sold into [[slavery]]. In the [[Kingdom of England|English]] colony of [[Port Royal]], Peter Blood is purchased by Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), the beautiful niece of the local military commander Colonel Bishop. Arabella, attracted by Blood's rebellious nature, does her best to improve his chances of living by recommending him as the personal physician of the local governor, who is suffering from a gouty foot.


Outwardly resentful towards Arabella for trying to do him favors, but on the inside silently appreciative for her support, Blood nevertheless continues to hatch a plan of escape for himself and his fellow slaves. The plan is almost foiled when Bishop gets suspicious and has one of the men flogged in an attempt to make him talk, and Blood is spared a similar fate when a Spanish squadron attacks the town, During the raid, Blood and his fellow slaves escape, seize control of the Spanish raiders' ship and sail away to begin a life of [[piracy]], in which Blood soon achieves incredible success and fame. When the old governor is unable to contain the pirate menace, Colonel Bishop is promoted to his post, and Arabella is sent to England for a recreational sojourn.
Outwardly resentful towards Arabella for trying to do him favors, but on the inside silently appreciative for her support, Blood nevertheless continues to hatch a plan of escape for himself and his fellow slaves. The plan is almost foiled when Bishop gets suspicious and has one of the men flogged in an attempt to make him talk, and Blood is spared a similar fate when a Spanish squadron attacks the town, During the raid, Blood and his fellow slaves escape, seize control of the Spanish raiders' ship and sail away to begin a life of [[piracy]], in which Blood soon achieves incredible success and fame. When the old governor is unable to contain the pirate menace, Colonel Bishop is promoted to his post, and Arabella is sent to England for a recreational sojourn.

Revision as of 01:26, 2 February 2013

Captain Blood
1935 US Theatrical Poster
Directed byMichael Curtiz
Written byCasey Robinson
Produced byHarry Joe Brown
Gordon Hollingshead
StarringErrol Flynn
Olivia de Havilland
Basil Rathbone
Ross Alexander
CinematographyErnest Haller
Hal Mohr
Edited byGeorge Amy
Music byErich Wolfgang Korngold
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
Dec. 25, 1935 (NY)[1]
Dec. 28, 1935 (LA)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Captain Blood is a 1935 swashbuckling film made by First National Pictures and Warner Brothers. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Harry Joe Brown and Gordon Hollingshead with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay, written by Casey Robinson, is based on the novel of the same name by Rafael Sabatini. It features a stirring musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Some of the impressive sea-battle footage was taken from The Sea Hawk (1924) (not to be confused with Flynn's 1940 film of the same name, though some of the footage was also reused in the initial sea battle scene).

The film stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland with Lionel Atwill and Basil Rathbone. It was the first of eight films co-starring De Havilland and Flynn, and in 1938, the two would be re-united with Rathbone in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Plot

In seventeenth century England, Irish Dr. Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is summoned to aid Lord Gildoy, a wounded patron who had participated in the Monmouth Rebellion. Arrested while performing his duties as a physician, he is convicted of treason against the King and sentenced to death by the infamous Judge Jeffreys in the Bloody Assizes, but by the whim of King James II (who sees an opportunity for profit), Peter Blood and the surviving rebels are transported to the West Indies to be sold into slavery. In the English colony of Port Royal, Peter Blood is purchased by Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), the beautiful niece of the local military commander Colonel Bishop. Arabella, attracted by Blood's rebellious nature, does her best to improve his chances of living by recommending him as the personal physician of the local governor, who is suffering from a gouty foot.

Outwardly resentful towards Arabella for trying to do him favors, but on the inside silently appreciative for her support, Blood nevertheless continues to hatch a plan of escape for himself and his fellow slaves. The plan is almost foiled when Bishop gets suspicious and has one of the men flogged in an attempt to make him talk, and Blood is spared a similar fate when a Spanish squadron attacks the town, During the raid, Blood and his fellow slaves escape, seize control of the Spanish raiders' ship and sail away to begin a life of piracy, in which Blood soon achieves incredible success and fame. When the old governor is unable to contain the pirate menace, Colonel Bishop is promoted to his post, and Arabella is sent to England for a recreational sojourn.

Some years later, whilst travelling back to the Caribbean, the ship on which Arabella and royal emissary Lord Willoughby (Henry Stephenson) are travelling is captured by Blood's treacherous partner, Captain Levasseur (Basil Rathbone) and the two personages held for ransom. Blood purchases them himself, relishing the opportunity to turn the tables on his former owner, but Levasseur objects vehemently and is killed in the ensuing duel.

Blood decides to take Arabella and Lord Willoughby to the safety of Port Royal. As they approach the port, they sight two French warships attacking the colony. Bishop and his men are nowhere to be found, since Bishop has deserted his post in his single-minded hunt throughout the Caribbean for Blood. Willoughby pleads with Blood to save the colony, but the captain and his crew to a man refuse to fight for James II of England. However, when Willoughby reveals that James II has since been deposed in the Glorious Revolution and that Willoughby has been sent by the new king, William of Orange, to offer a full pardon, emancipation, and a commission with the Royal Navy to Blood and his men, they joyfully change their minds at this good news and prepare for battle. After setting Arabella ashore, they approach the harbor disguised under French colors and save the colony in a pitched battle. As a reward, Blood is appointed the new governor of the colony and has the pleasure to deal with his hostile predecessor, now in serious trouble for dereliction of duty, and finally wins the hand and heart of Arabella.

Cast

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Award nominations

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and, despite not being nominated, Michael Curtiz received the second-greatest number of votes for Best Director, solely as a write-in candidate. Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Casey Robinson also failed to be nominated and also received substantially more votes for their work on this film than most of the official nominees.

The film was also nominated in the categories Music (Scoring), Sound Recording (Nathan Levinson) and Writing (Screenplay).[3]

Adaptations to Other Media

Captain Blood was adapted as a radio play on the February 22, 1937 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater with Flynn, de Havilland and Rathbone all reprising their film parts. This radio version is included in the Special Features of the DVD version compiled in 2005.

References

  1. ^ Brown, Gene (1995). Movie Time: A Chronology of Hollywood and the Movie Industry from its Beginnings to the Present. New York: MacMillan. p. 125. ISBN 0-02-860429-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) In New York, the film premiered at the Strand Theatre.
  2. ^ Full cast and crew at Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ "The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
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