The Sea Hawk (1924 film)


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. It premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City, twelve days before its theatrical debut.

Plot

At the instigation of his half brother Lionel, Oliver Tressilian, a wealthy baronet, is shanghaied and blamed for the death of Peter Godolphin, 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 impending marriage to his half brother, he kidnaps both of them, but to avoid the risk of giving her to Asad-ed-Din, 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

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. 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. 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.
A movie with the same title 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. The life-sized replicas were considered so well recreated, that Warner Bros. repeatedly used them in later nautical films.

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.
The film was 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.