The Sea Hawk (1924 film)
Encyclopedia
The Sea Hawk is a 1924
silent movie
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 Rafael Sabatini
novel of the same name
.
), 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.
. It premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City
, about twelve days before its theatrical debut. A movie with the same title
(but an entirely different plot) was made in 1940
, starring Errol Flynn
. In the remake, 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. The life-sized replicas were considered so well recreated, that Warner Bros repeatedly used them in later nautical films.
Due to Lloyd recognizing that moviegoers of 1924 would be put off by miniature models, he instructed that full-sized ships be created for use in the film at a cost of $200,000. This was done by outfitting existing crafts wooden exteriors designed by Fred Gabourie, known for his work in constructing props used in Buster Keaton
films. 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.
Referenced in The Lost World
, when the explorers return to London, there is a shot of the London Pavilion
with a flashing sign advertising a showing of
The Sea Hawk.
All cast members are now deceased.
1924 in film
-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
silent movie
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
about an English noble sold into slavery who escapes and turns himself into a pirate king. Directed by Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd was a film director, scriptwriter and producer...
, the screen adaptation was written by J. G. Hawks based upon the Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure.-Life:Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother and Italian father...
novel of the same name
The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1915. The story is set over the years 1588–1593, and concerns a retired Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a ...
.
Plot
At the instigation of his half brother Lionel (Lloyd HughesLloyd Hughes
Lloyd Hughes was an American silent film actor.-Life and career:Born in Bisbee, Arizona, Hughes received his education at the Los Angeles Polytechnic School. He sought a career as an actor early in life, and his clean-cut appearance and ability soon gained him recognition...
), Oliver Tressilian (Milton Sills
Milton Sills
Milton Sills was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century....
), a wealthy baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, is shanghaied and blamed for the death of Peter Godolphin (Wallace MacDonald
Wallace MacDonald
Wallace Archibald MacDonald was an Canadian silent film actor, and film producer....
), 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
Enid Bennett
-Career:Born in York, Western Australia, Bennett started her film acting career in 1916, first starring in Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, with two other films that same year...
) 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
Frank Currier
Frank Currier was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 133 films between 1912 and 1928. He also directed 19 films in 1916...
), 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.
Background
The movie is based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, The Sea HawkThe Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1915. The story is set over the years 1588–1593, and concerns a retired Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a ...
. It premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, about twelve days before its theatrical debut. A movie with the same title
The Sea Hawk (1940 film)
The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The film's screenplay by Howard Koch and Seton I...
(but an entirely different plot) was made in 1940
1940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
, starring Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
. In the remake, 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. The life-sized replicas were considered so well recreated, that Warner Bros repeatedly used them in later nautical films.
Due to Lloyd recognizing that moviegoers of 1924 would be put off by miniature models, he instructed that full-sized ships be created for use in the film at a cost of $200,000. This was done by outfitting existing crafts wooden exteriors designed by Fred Gabourie, known for his work in constructing props used in Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
films. The ocean scenes were filmed off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
'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.
Referenced in The Lost World
The Lost World (1925 film)
The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O...
, when the explorers return to London, there is a shot of the London Pavilion
London Pavilion
The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of, and facing, Piccadilly Circus in London...
with a flashing sign advertising a showing of
The Sea Hawk.
Cast
- Milton SillsMilton SillsMilton Sills was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century....
as Sir Oliver Tressilian - Enid BennettEnid Bennett-Career:Born in York, Western Australia, Bennett started her film acting career in 1916, first starring in Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, with two other films that same year...
as Lady Rosamund Godolphin - Lloyd HughesLloyd HughesLloyd Hughes was an American silent film actor.-Life and career:Born in Bisbee, Arizona, Hughes received his education at the Los Angeles Polytechnic School. He sought a career as an actor early in life, and his clean-cut appearance and ability soon gained him recognition...
as Lionel Tressilian - Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as Capt. Jasper Leigh - Marc McDermottMarc McDermottMarcus McDermott was an Australian-born American actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death.-Early life and career:...
as Sir John Killigrew - Wallace MacDonaldWallace MacDonaldWallace Archibald MacDonald was an Canadian silent film actor, and film producer....
as Peter Godolphin - Bert WoodruffBert WoodruffBert Woodruff was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 64 films between 1916 and 1931. He was born in Peoria, Illinois and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Jim Bludso...
as Nick - Claire Du BreyClaire Du BreyClaire Du Brey was an American actress. She appeared in over 200 films between 1916 and 1959.She was born in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 100 years, 11 months....
as Siren - Lionel BelmoreLionel BelmoreLionel Belmore . When he was born, Wimbledon was in Surrey. He was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century, appearing with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lily Langtry and other famous actors. He entered in films from 1911...
as Justice Anthony Baine - Christina MonttChristina MonttCristina Montt , was a Chilean film star of silent and early sound films.-Early life:She was born in Chile in 1895 into the well-known, political Montt family. Her granduncle, Manuel Montt, was twice president of Chile...
as The Infanta of Spain
- Albert PriscoAlbert PriscoAlbert Prisco was an American actor. He appeared in 28 films between 1921 and 1935.-External links:...
as Yusuf-Ben-Moktar - Frank CurrierFrank CurrierFrank Currier was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 133 films between 1912 and 1928. He also directed 19 films in 1916...
as Asad-ed-Din - William Collier Jr. as Marsak
- Medea Radzina as Fenzileh
- Fred DeSilva as Ali
- Kathleen KeyKathleen KeyKathleen Key was an American actress who achieved a brief period of fame during the silent era. She is best remembered for playing Tirzah in the 1925 film Ben-Hur. Key was the great-great granddaughter of Francis Scott Key, composer of "The Star Spangled Banner", and a distant cousin of author F...
as Andalusian Slave Girl - Hector SarnoHector SarnoHector V. Sarno was an Italian-born American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 183 films between 1912 and 1948.He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Pasadena, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Tsmanni - Robert BolderRobert BolderRobert Bolder was an English film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 99 films between 1912 and 1936.He was born in London and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* His New Job...
as Ayoub - Fred SpencerFred SpencerFred Spencer was an American animator who worked at Walt Disney Productions. He was considered an authority on Donald Duck and wrote an influential analysis of the character.-Career:...
as Boatswain
All cast members are now deceased.
Reception
When the film was released, a New York Times critic called it, "far and away the best sea story that's yet been done up to that point". It held that unofficial status for years.External links
- The Sea Hawk at Silentera.com