The Sea Hawk (1924 film)
- June 14, 1924 (1924-06-14) (U.S. theatrical)
The Sea Hawk is a 1924 American silent adventure film about an English noble sold into slavery who escapes and turns himself into a pirate king. Directed by Frank Lloyd, the screen adaptation was written by J. G. Hawks based upon the 1915 Rafael Sabatini novel of the same name.[3] It premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City, twelve days before its theatrical debut.[4]
Plot
At the instigation of his half brother Lionel (Lloyd Hughes), Oliver Tressilian (Milton Sills), a wealthy baronet, is shanghaied and blamed for the death of Peter Godolphin (Wallace MacDonald), brother of Oliver's fiancée, whom Lionel actually has slain. At sea Oliver is captured by Spaniards and made a galley slave, but when he escapes to the Moors he becomes Sakr-el-Bahr, the scourge of Christendom. Learning of Rosamund's (Enid Bennett) impending marriage to his half brother, he kidnaps both of them, but to avoid the risk of giving her to Asad-ed-Din (Frank Currier), the Basha of Algiers, he surrenders to a British ship. Rosamund intercedes to save his life, and following the death of Lionel they are married.
Cast
- Milton Sills as Sir Oliver Tressilian
- Enid Bennett as Lady Rosamund Godolphin
- Lloyd Hughes as Lionel Tressilian
- Wallace Beery as Capt. Jasper Leigh
- Marc McDermott as Sir John Killigrew
- Wallace MacDonald as Peter Godolphin
- Bert Woodruff as Nick
- Claire Du Brey as Siren
- Lionel Belmore as Justice Anthony Baine
- Cristina Montt as The Infanta of Spain
- Albert Prisco as Yusuf-Ben-Moktar
- Frank Currier as Asad-ed-Din
- William Collier Jr. as Marsak
- Medea Radzina as Fenzileh
- Fred DeSilva as Ali
- Kathleen Key as Andalusian Slave Girl
- Hector Sarno as Tsmanni
- Robert Bolder as Ayoub
- Fred Spencer as Boatswain
- S.E. Jennings as Captain of Asad's Guards
- Henry A. Barrows as Bishop (uncredited)
- Carl D. Bruner as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
- Edwards Davis as Chief Justice of England (uncredited)
- Andrew Johnston as Sir Walter (uncredited)
- Theodore Lorch as Turkish Merchant (uncredited)
- Louis Morrison as Innkeeper (uncredited)
- George O'Brien as Galley Slave (uncredited)
- Kate Price as Innkeeper's Wife (uncredited)
- George Romain as Spanish Commander (uncredited)
- Walter Wilkinson as Oliver's Young Son (uncredited)
- Nancy Zann as Spanish Slave Girl (uncredited)
Production
Director Frank Lloyd recognized that moviegoers of 1924 would be put off by miniature models, and instructed that full-sized ships be created for use in the film at a cost of $200,000.[3] This was done by outfitting the wooden exteriors of existing craft to the design of Fred Gabourie, known for his work in constructing props used in Buster Keaton films.[5] The ocean scenes were filmed off the coast of California's Catalina Island, with 150 tents set up on the island for housing and support of the film's 1,000 extras, 21 technicians, 14 actors, and 64 sailors.[3][6][5]
A movie with the same title (but an entirely different plot) was released in 1940, starring Errol Flynn. The studio used some key scenes from battles in the 1924 film. They spliced the scenes into the 1940 film, thinking they could not have been done better.[7][6] The life-sized replicas were considered so well recreated, that Warner Bros. repeatedly used them in later nautical films.[8]
Reception
When the film was released, a New York Times critic called it, "far and away the best sea story that has ever been bought to the screen".[9] It held that unofficial status for years.
In other media
The film is referenced in The Lost World (1925) when the explorers return to London and there is a shot of the London Pavilion with a flashing sign advertising a showing of The Sea Hawk.
Some of the film's sea-battle footage was used in the 1935 film Captain Blood.
References
- ^ "The Sea Hawk". June 11, 1924. p. 24.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help) - ^ "FILM WORLD". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. October 19, 1934. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ a b c Wood, Bret. "The Sea Hawk (1924)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
- ^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Sea Hawk at silentera.com
- ^ a b "The Sea Hawk (1924)". Movie Diva. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Druxman, Michael B. (1975). Make it Again, Sam: a Survey of Movie Remakes (illustrated ed.). A. S. Barnes. ISBN 978-0-498-01470-3.
- ^ Sabatini, Rafael (2002). The Sea-Hawk (reprint ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. p. viii. ISBN 978-0-393-32331-3.
The Sea Hawk, 1924.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (April 7, 1994). "A Bounty of Rescued Celluloid Movies: The 1924 'Sea Hawk' launches UCLA's monthlong Festival of Preservation tonight". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1, Calendar, PART–F. Retrieved November 25, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "The Screen - A Sea Story". New York Times, p22. June 3, 1924. p22.
External links
- The Sea Hawk at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie
- The Sea Hawk at the TCM Movie Database
- The Sea Hawk at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Lobby poster
- Fritzi Kramer, The Sea Hawk (1924) A Silent Film Review at moviessilently.com
- v
- t
- e
- The Gentleman from Indiana (1915)
- Jane (1915)
- The Reform Candidate (1915)
- The Tongues of Men (1916)
- The Call of the Cumberlands (1916)
- Madame la Presidente (1916)
- The Code of Marcia Gray (1916)
- David Garrick (1916)
- The Making of Maddalena (1916)
- An International Marriage (1916)
- The Stronger Love (1916)
- The Intrigue (1916)
- Sins of Her Parent (1916)
- The World and the Woman (1916)
- The Kingdom of Love (1917)
- The Price of Silence (1917)
- A Tale of Two Cities (1917)
- American Methods (1917)
- When a Man Sees Red (1917)
- Les Misérables (1917)
- The Heart of a Lion (1917)
- The Blindness of Divorce (1918)
- True Blue (1918)
- Riders of the Purple Sage (1918)
- The Rainbow Trail (1918)
- For Freedom (1918)
- The Man Hunter (1919)
- Pitfalls of a Big City (1919)
- The World and Its Woman (1919)
- The Loves of Letty (1919)
- The Woman in Room 13 (1920)
- The Silver Horde (1920)
- Madame X (1920)
- The Great Lover (1920)
- A Tale of Two Worlds (1921)
- Roads of Destiny (1921)
- A Voice in the Dark (1921)
- The Invisible Power (1921)
- The Grim Comedian (1921)
- The Man from Lost River (1921)
- The Eternal Flame (1922)
- The Sin Flood (1922)
- Oliver Twist (1922)
- The Voice from the Minaret (1923)
- Within the Law (1923)
- Ashes of Vengeance (1923)
- Black Oxen (1923)
- The Sea Hawk (1924)
- The Silent Watcher (1924)
- Her Husband's Secret (1925)
- Winds of Chance (1925)
- The Splendid Road (1925)
- The Wise Guy (1926)
- The Eagle of the Sea (1926)
- Children of Divorce (1927)
- Adoration (1928)
- Weary River (1929)
- The Divine Lady (1929)
- Drag (1929)
- Dark Streets (1929)
- Young Nowheres (1929)
- Son of the Gods (1930)
- The Way of All Men (1930)
- The Lash (1930)
- The Right of Way (1931)
- East Lynne (1931)
- The Age for Love (1931)
- A Passport to Hell (1932)
- Cavalcade (1933)
- Berkeley Square (1933)
- Hoop-La (1933)
- Servants' Entrance (1934)
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
- Under Two Flags (1936)
- Maid of Salem (1937)
- Wells Fargo (1937)
- If I Were King (1938)
- Rulers of the Sea (1939)
- The Howards of Virginia (1940)
- This Woman Is Mine (1941)
- The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
- Forever and a Day (1943)
- Blood on the Sun (1945)
- The Shanghai Story (1954)
- The Last Command (1955)
- Saboteur (1942)
- The Spoilers (1942)
- Invisible Agent (1942)