Captain Blood [PG]

Irish physician Peter Blood lives a life of comfort and compassion for his fellow man. Until the night he is called to aid a rebel friend revolting against King James II and he is arrested, charged with treason and shipped off to Port Royal in the Caribbean as a slave. Although he falls for the beautiful mistress of the plantation he labours on, Peter desires freedom and revenge more and so he sets out to plan an escape for him and his fellows. However, on the night of the escape, Port Royal is attacked and taken by Spanish pirates, changing the course of Peter’s plans. He and his fellows attack the pirates’ ship and thus devote themselves to a life of piracy, with Peter soon becoming the most feared Captain on the seas. 

THIS MOVIE RULES! There can be no denying that the swashbuckling pirate subgenre is a true timeless classic because this 1930s flick; black and white, striped shirts, plumed hats and all, is tremendous, tremendous fun! The references to the Caribbean and Port Royal will obviously appeal to modern audiences who’ve come to know and love Barbossa and Captain Jack Sparrow, but I can say honestly that Captain Blood holds just as much joy, action, adventure, and thrills as any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! It’s got absolutely everything you want in a good pirate movie and it’s a true timeless epic on the high seas! 

Irish physician Peter Blood lives a life of comfort and compassion for his fellow man. Until the night he is called to aid a rebel friend revolting against King James II and he is arrested, charged with treason and shipped off to Port Royal in the Caribbean as a slave. Although he falls for the beautiful mistress of the plantation he labours on, Peter desires freedom and revenge more and so he sets out to plan an escape for him and his fellows. However, on the night of the escape, Port Royal is attacked and taken by Spanish pirates, changing the course of Peter’s plans. He and his fellows attack the pirates’ ship and thus devote themselves to a life of piracy, with Peter soon becoming the most feared Captain on the seas. 

This movie made our own Tasmanian Devil a star overnight. Errol Flynn is a captain I’d want to serve under. He delivers a performance that is suave, charming, cheeky, sophisticated, and then really moving and liberating. You cannot help but fall in love with him from the very first reel and of course his beautiful face, cheeky eyes, and athletic build are very strong contributing factors. I’ve got a new love! 

Captain Blood was the first in a string of romantic action and costume classics starring Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (most everyone will remember them together in The Adventures of Robin Hood) and from here it really was an otherworldly match made. As the beautiful, conflicted, and surprisingly plucky heroine, de Havilland delivers a lovely performance, showing off a little cheek and charm that can rival Flynn’s. 

The action sequences are absolutely fantastic and still pack the thrills. We’ve got these brilliant battles on the seas and ships with explosions, cannons, ships being blown to bits, shirtless men swinging on ropes and brandishing swords…it’s fantastic! And then there are the beautiful swordfights themselves with the legendary Bob Anderson displaying his craft as Flynn’s stunt double. For a little trivia now, because I want people to discover and love the late Bob Anderson; he’s the man responsible for the beautiful swordfights in The Princess Bride, Lord of the Rings, he was wearing the Darth Vader costume and fighting Alec Guinness in Star Wars, and funnily enough Pirates of the Caribbean. Worship him! The swashbuckling swordfights to be found in Captain Blood are just breathtaking and remain thrilling and memorable to this day. 

Starring Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, Robert Barrat, Hobart Cavanaugh, Donald Meek, Jessie Ralph, Forrester Harvey, Frank McGlynn Sr., Holmes Herbert, and David Torrence, Captain Blood is a fantastic movie filled with action, adventure, drama, politics, comedy, romance, revenge, and everything you could want in a pirate movie. It’s thrilling, liberating, romantic, sophisticated, suave, rollicking…IT’S JUST EFFING BRILLIANT and so much fun!