ESSENTIAL MOVIE!!! It doesn't get much better than this when it comes to swashbucklers. This film made Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland into major movie stars. This is Flynn's second movie in America but his first starring role; for de Havilland it was her third film. Warner Bros. took a big chance when they cast these two in the lead roles; the story behind all of this is some interesting stuff that's told in one of the bonus features.
Dr. Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is a well respected physician in England. During the rebellion against King James II (Vernon Steele) his friend, Jeremy Pitt (Ross Alexander), arrives at his home asking Dr. Blood to treat a wounded man. The wounded man is a rebel but this doesn't bother Blood, he's a humanitarian & he's bound to do the right thing, politics aside. The Royal forces come in, arrest everyone in the house for aiding & comforting the enemy. In a sham trial a huge group of men are condemned to hang. All the men admit to being guilty except for Blood, he proclaims his innocence saying he was there only to help a wounded man & that his sympathies were not necessarily with the enemy. Shortly before all are to be hung King James II is convinced not to execute the men but to send them to the colonies in the new world & be sold as slaves.
They arrive in Jamaica at Port Royal where they are sold, the vast majority are bought by Col. Bishop (Lionel Atwill). When Bishop wants to inspect Blood's teeth Blood gets obstinate. This leads to an immediate dislike between the two. Bishop's niece, Arabella (Olivia de Havilland), intervenes purchasing Blood because Bishop has decided to pass because Blood appears to be too troublesome. Blood resents what Arabella has done so there is friction between them as well.
The colony's governor is Steed (George Hassell) who suffers from a case of gout. There are only two doctors in the colony & they don't do very well by the governor. Blood is then called in to treat the governor & does a wonderful job. This elevates Blood's status causing him to be on call to the governor. This doesn't set well with Col. Bishop but there's little he can do about it. Blood is now more free to move around & searches for a way to escape the island. He enlists the aid of a local, Honesty Nuttall (Forrester Harvey), to purchase a small ship & supplies. Arabella has observed Blood doing this though she doesn't know exactly what he's up to. She later confronts him but decides not to turn him in. The whole plan is ruined when the Spanish attack Port Royal & capturing it. Blood & his band of men take over the Spanish galleon & save the town. Col. Bishop isn't appreciative enough to grant them their freedom so they toss him overboard & commander the ship & become pirates.
Dr. Blood now becomes Capt. Blood, one of the most feared pirates in the New World. While in Tortuga Blood is convinced by the French pirate, Capt. Levasseur (Basil Rathbone) to become partners. Blood does this against his better judgment but does it nonetheless. Levasseur later captures Arabella & Lord Willoughby (Henry Stephenson) which leads to a duel between Blood & Levasseur in which Levasseur is killed. This is one of the best sword duels you'll ever see on film. Rathbone had the reputation of being the very best in Hollywood with a sword. Blood now owns Arabella still harboring ill feelings toward her but his better self wins out; he grants her her freedom & demands that she do the same for him. He deciders to return her & Lord Willoughby to Port Royal. By this time Col. Bishop has been appointed governor & he wants to recapture Blood at all costs.
Upon arriving at Port Royal the pirates find the town under attack by two ships of the French. Blood decides to drop his two prisoners off at a nearby beach not wanting to aid the British or Bishop. Lord Willoughby, at this time, appeals to Blood's loyalty to England but Blood is too bitter to fight for his country. Willoughby reveals that he's been sent by the King to pardon Blood & his men & assist them in the war against the French. Blood refuses for he has many reasons for not liking King James. Willoughby informs him that the king he is referring to is William of Orange. This changes everythingfor the pirates & they rescue Port Royal once again. The special effects here are noticeably done with miniatures, not being very realistic, but, let's remember, this is 1935.
In the end Blood is made the new governor of Jamaica, he gets Arabella & gets his revenge on Col. Bishop though it's done good-naturedly.
The movie is b&w & is shown in the full screen version. This film was 70 years old when transferred to disc, there are a few spots in the movie where there are "age spots" but nothing that will distract from the enjoyment of the movie. There are some bonus features where Warner Bros. enables you to feel like you saw this movie at the theater. Leonard Maltin opens this with "Warner Night at the Movies 1935". This includes a newsreel, a musical short "Johnny Green and His Orchestra", a comedy short "All American Drawback" that features Charlie McCarthy, the cartoon "Billboard Frolics", trailers & the new featurette "Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler Is Born". This last bonus feature is very informative.
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Cuaig McCuaig
Flynn and De Havilland. Brilliant
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