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.[2] It premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City, twelve days before its theatrical debut.[3]

The Sea Hawk
1924 theatrical poster
Directed byFrank Lloyd
Produced byFrank Lloyd
Screenplay byJ. G. Hawks
Intertitles:
Walter Anthony
Based onThe Sea Hawk
by Rafael Sabatini
StarringMilton Sills
Enid Bennett
Lloyd Hughes
Wallace MacDonald
Marc McDermott
Wallace Beery
Music byModest Altschuler
Cecil Copping
John LeRoy Johnston
CinematographyNorbert F. Brodin
Edited byEdward M. Roskam
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated First National Pictures
Release date
  • June 14, 1924 (1924-06-14) (U.S. theatrical)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Box office$2 million[1]

Plot

At 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

Production

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.[2] 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.[4] 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.[2][5][4]

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.[6][5] The life-sized replicas were considered so well recreated, that Warner Bros. repeatedly used them in later nautical films.[7]

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 (1925); 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.

References
  1. "FILM WORLD". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. October 19, 1934. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  2. Wood, Bret. "The Sea Hawk (1924)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  3. Progressive Silent Film List: The Sea Hawk at silentera.com
  4. "The Sea Hawk (1924)". Movie Diva. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  5. Druxman, Michael B. (1975). Make it Again, Sam: a Survey of Movie Remakes (illustrated ed.). A. S. Barnes. ISBN 978-0-498-01470-3.
  6. Sabatini, Rafael (2002). The Sea-Hawk (reprint ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. p. viii. ISBN 978-0-393-32331-3. The Sea Hawk, 1924.
  7. 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.
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