Amazon.com Essentials:
The swashbuckler had been around long before Errol Flynn drew a
cutlass, but the Tasmanian-born bit player reinvigorated the genre with his
mix of dashing good looks, haughty insolence, and alluring confidence.
Adapted from the novel by Rafael Sabatini (who also penned
The Sea Hawk), this
rousing adventure chronicles the travails of Peter Blood
(Flynn), a righteous doctor unjustly sold into slavery for treating the
wounds of rebels, a kind of British Dr. Mudd. Sent to a Jamaican plantation
where he toils under the brutal whip of Lionel Atwill and seethes with
passion for his fair niece (the astonishingly beautiful Olivia de
Havilland),
he escapes from bondage with his fellow prisoners and becomes the gentleman
rogue pirate of the Caribbean. Director Michael Curtiz builds from one set
piece
to another, including a nimble beachside sword fight with pirate nemesis
Basil Rathbone and climaxing with a grand sea battle that belies the film's
modest budget. Flynn's bravado and charisma are apparent from his entrance,
but once he leaps into action he takes command of the picture, overcoming
his still-green dramatic skills with sheer personality. Captain Blood
made
stars of Flynn and de Havilland and catapulted Curtiz to the top ranks of
Warner directors. The three reunited for some of the studio's best-loved
adventures: The Charge of the
Light Brigade, The
Adventures of Robin Hood, and
Dodge City.
--Sean Axmaker
