Captain Blood (1935 film)

Captain Blood features a stirring and romantic musical score, the first of its type for a sound film, by Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. In 1935 Warner Bros. asked Korngold whether he was interested in writing an original dramatic score for Captain Blood. He at first declined, feeling that a story about pirates was outside his range of interest. However, after watching the filming, with a dynamic new star, Errol Flynn in a heroic role, alongside Olivia de Havilland, who had her debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he changed his mind.

After he accepted, however, he learned that he needed to compose more than an hour of symphonic music in only three weeks. The short time frame forced him to include about ten percent of the score using portions of symphonic poems by Franz Liszt. As such, he was unwilling to take credit for the entire film score, insisting instead that his credit be for "musical arrangement" only.[10]^:8[11]

Captain Blood became an immediate hit, with an Oscar nomination for the score.[12] As Korngold's first fully symphonic film score, it marked a milestone in his career, as he became the first composer of international stature to sign a contract with a film studio.[10]^:10[13] It also launched the career of Flynn and gave a major boost to de Havilland's, who would do another seven movies with Flynn. Korngold would score six more films starring Flynn.[10]^:21 In addition, it opened the way for other costumed, romantic adventures, which hadn't been seen since the silent era.[10]^:9

The production budget for the film was $1,242,000.[4]

The lead role was originally offered to Robert Donat, who had starred in the successful 1934 film The Count of Monte Cristo.[6] The asthmatic Donat turned down the role, concerned that the action sequences would be too strenuous for him.[14] A series of screen tests with various actors led to an unknown Australian actor named Errol Flynn. In January 1935, Warner Bros. signed the young actor and brought him to Hollywood after seeing him in a British B picture Murder at Monte Carlo.[14] For the female lead role, Jean Muir was originally picked to play opposite Donat, but after the actress turned down the offer, the studio focused on 19-year-old Olivia de Havilland, who had starred in three previous films that same year, including A Midsummer Night's Dream for director Max Reinhardt.[14]

Most of the film was shot on a sound stage in the summer of 1935. Some exterior scenes, such as the sword fight between Rathbone and Flynn, were shot on location at Laguna Beach, California standing in for a Caribbean shore (specifically, the fictional island of Virgen Magra, which translates from Spanish as "lean [as in meat] virgin"). The final battle sequence between Blood's pirate crew and the French ships used one of the largest technical crews assembled for a film, requiring 2500 extras.[4] For sea-battle footage, Curtiz used a combination of process shots, miniatures, and footage taken from The Sea Hawk (1924).[15]

During filming Flynn collapsed from a bout of malaria, which he had first contracted in New Guinea.

The film was a big hit, making Warner Bros a profit of $1.462 million.[16]

According to Warner Bros it earned $1,087,000 domestically and $1,388,000 overseas.[2]

Captain Blood had its premiere on December 26, 1935 at the Mark Strand Theatre in New York City[17] and was released in the United States on December 28, 1935. The film received positive reviews and notices and wide public approval.[8] Variety, one of the entertainment industry's leading trade publications of the period, also praised many aspects of Captain Blood. In its review of the film on New Year's Day in 1936, Variety does, however, cite weaknesses in the production, especially in its storyline:

'Blood' is a spectacular cinematic entry, which, while not flawless, is quite compelling. Its sundry little discrepancies, however, count against a more satisfying final tally. The inconsistencies, while not frequent, are rather prominent and at times irritating.

As, for instance, the climatic sea battle of the lone pirate ship (Blood's), now a volunteer in the cause of England, against the two French vessels. One French frigate stands idly by until Blood's corsair conquers one and then directs his attack on the other. The finale with the discomfited governor, in whose place Blood is appointed, is rather tent-twent-thirt [excessively melodramatic].

And underlying it all, as a productionary shortcoming, is the false premise of the titular Capt. Blood. Here is a gallant, engaging young blade who, under pirate's colors, repels the very aspects which first cement his brave appeal.[18]

Despite finding some flaws in the "scripting" of Captain Blood and in the presentation of some battle sequences in the film, Variety called Flynn's performance "impressive" and predicted that his work in the production would provide the young actor with "future big marquee values".[18]

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a tepid review, describing it on the one hand as his favorite of the films he reviewed that week, but describing it as "a fine spirited mix-up" and making pointed note of the "magnificently wrong characterization" of bad King James. Greene also pointed out that much of the film included anachronistic details related to clothing and setting.[19]

Filmink magazine later wrote: "Flynn was lucky – not just in being at the right place at the right time with the right lack of competition, but with his collaborators on Captain Blood."[20]

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and, despite not being nominated, Michael Curtiz received the second-greatest number of votes for Best Director, solely as a write-in candidate. Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Casey Robinson also failed to be nominated and also received substantially more write-in votes for their work on this film than most of the official nominees.

The film was also nominated in the categories Music (Scoring), Sound Recording (Nathan Levinson) and Writing (Screenplay).[9]

Also, the film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated[21]
• 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
  • Peter Blood – Nominated Hero[22]
• 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[23]