It had happened a few times before.
It's happened since. People are rarely happy
about it.
Errol
Flynn in action. |
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In 1935, Hollywood took a fantastic
and popular novel, one of extraordinary lyrical
wit and finesse, and blew it up into an action-packed
piece of bombast. What followed however was very
strange. Some might call it a miracle. A classic
was created. But, as those who've read Rafael
Sabatini know, there is still treasure undiscovered
in this pirate adventure for those with the spirit
to search.
Hollywood's greatest have
almost all been rewards of risk. In 1935 Errol
Flynn had yet to become a star; never even played
a supporting role in an American movie. Olivia
de Havilland was not yet a household name and
Erich Wolfgang Korngold had no motion picture
credits whatsoever. Captain
Blood changed all that.
Flynn as Peter
Blood. |
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Dr. Peter Blood is imprisoned by
the King of England for tending to a wounded warrior
in violent opposition to current rule. Forced
into the Caribbean slave market, his skills as
a physician and demand for justice raises the
ire of his owner and the heartbeat of his owner's
niece. Blood voices regret at having not been
part of England's insurgency and bands together
with a crew of slaves plotting escape. When their
brilliant plan is foiled at the last minute and
all seems lost, the Spanish suddenly attack the
British governed island, offering Blood's
crew a chance to escape in the chaos by stealing
a Spanish ship. Now an enemy of both warring factions,
Peter Blood has little option but to become a
pirate of the high seas.
However, this Sabatini-created pirate
is hardly the typical scallywag swaggering between
Tortuga pubs. Captain Peter Blood is a gentleman
pirate, aware that his notorious escapades will
drift into the ears of his former owner's
niece.
Epic
sea battle. |
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Warner Bros. produced this Sabatini
novel with unusual respect for the story but also
with respect for their shareholders, which is
not so unusual. The parts cut were the brilliant
tactical battles at sea that built Blood's
reputation. These would have been super-expensive
to shoot (with no chance of splicing in pieces
from old silents). Unfortunately, losing these
chapters leaves us with little of the trickster
strategist that makes Peter Blood so convincingly
a great pirate.
With Warner's confidence
earned by Blood's huge success many from
this same creative team were reunited for the
more extravagant presentations of The
Adventures of Robin Hood and The
Sea Hawk (another Sabatini novel).
Today it seems every pitch session
in Hollywood begins with the words, “It's
a remake of…" Has anyone thought of
doing a remake of Captain
Blood? A TV mini-series could be great,
so that the whole of Sabatini's novel is
given a more loyal cinematic presentation. It's
not like Hollywood can say, as they did throughout
the 1990's, that no one wants to see a pirate
movie. (Stephen Jared)
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