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]
| The Sea Hawk | |
|---|---|
 1924 theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Frank Lloyd |
| Screenplay by | J. G. Hawks Intertitles: Walter Anthony |
| Based on | The Sea Hawk 1915 novel by Rafael Sabatini |
| Produced by | Frank Lloyd |
| Starring | Milton Sills Enid Bennett Lloyd Hughes Wallace MacDonald Marc McDermott Wallace Beery |
| Cinematography | Norbert F. Brodin |
| Edited by | Edward M. Roskam |
| Music by | Modest Altschuler Cecil Copping John LeRoy Johnston |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Associated First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 123 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
| Budget | $800,000[1] |
| Box office | $2 million[2] |
Plot
editAt 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
edit- 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
editDirector 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
editWhen 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
editThe 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
edit- ^ "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
edit
- 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
