''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. It premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City, twelve days before its theatrical debut.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Sea Hawk''
at silentera.com

Plot

At the instigation of his half brother Lionel ( Lloyd Hughes), Oliver Tressilian (

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

), a wealthy

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, 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

as Sir Oliver Tressilian * Enid Bennett as Lady Rosamund Godolphin * Lloyd Hughes as Lionel Tressilian *

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' (1 ...

as Capt. Jasper Leigh * Marc McDermott as Sir John Killigrew * Wallace MacDonald as Peter Godolphin * Bert Woodruff as Nick * Claire Du Brey as Siren * Lionel Belmore as Justice Anthony Baine *

Cristina Montt Cristina Montt (May 10, 1895 – April 22, 1969), was a Chilean film star of silent and early sound films. Early life She was born in Chile in 1895 into the well-known, political Montt family. Her granduncle, Manuel Montt, was twice president ...

as The Infanta of Spain * Albert Prisco as Yusuf-Ben-Moktar * Frank Currier as Asad-ed-Din *

William Collier Jr. William Collier Jr. (born Charles F. Gall Jr.; February 12, 1902 – February 5, 1987) was an American stage performer, producer, and a film actor who in the silent and sound eras was cast in no fewer than 89 motion pictures. Biography William ...

as Marsak * Medea Radzina as Fenzileh * Fred DeSilva as Ali *

Kathleen Key Kathleen Key (born Kitty Lanahan; April 1, 1903 – December 22, 1954) was an American actress who achieved a brief period of fame during the silent era. She is best remembered for playing Tirzah in the 1925 film ''Ben-Hur''. Early life and car ...

as Andalusian Slave Girl * Hector Sarno as Tsmanni *

Robert Bolder Robert Bolder (20 July 1859 – 10 December 1937) was an English film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1912 and 1936. He was born in London and died in Los Angeles, California. In the early part of the 20th ...

as Ayoub * Fred Spencer as Boatswain * S.E. Jennings as Captain of Asad's Guards *

Henry A. Barrows Henry Arthur Barrows (April 29, 1875 – March 25, 1945) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 to 1936. Burrows performed in supporting roles for American, Astra, Biograph, Brentwood, Pathe, Universal, and Vitagraph studios. H ...

as Bishop (uncredited) * Carl D. Bruner as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited) * Edwards Davis as Chief Justice of England (uncredited) * Andrew Johnston as Sir Walter (uncredited) *

Theodore Lorch Theodore "Ted" Lorch (September 29, 1873 – November 12, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1908 and 1947. Biography Born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1873, Lorch appeared in several Three Stoog ...

as Turkish Merchant (uncredited) * Louis Morrison as Innkeeper (uncredited) * George O'Brien as Galley Slave (uncredited) * Kate Price as Innkeeper's Wife (uncredited) * George Romain as Spanish Commander (uncredited) * Walter Wilkinson as Oliver's Young Son (uncredited) * Nancy Zann as Spanish Slave Girl (uncredited)

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. This was done by outfitting the wooden exteriors of existing craft to the design of

Fred Gabourie Fred Gabourie (September 19, 1881 - March 1, 1951) was a technical director and department head. Gabourie was born in Tweed, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Seneca Indian tribe. He served in the Spanish–American War. He worked pri ...

, known for his work in constructing props used in Buster Keaton films. The ocean scenes were filmed off the coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

'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. 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. The life-sized replicas were considered so well recreated, that Warner Bros. repeatedly used them in later nautical films.

Reception

When the film was released, a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic called it, "far and away the best

sea story The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

that's yet been done up to that point". It held that unofficial status for years.

In other media

The film is referenced in '' The Lost World'' (1925) when the explorers return to London and there is a shot of the London Pavilion with a flashing sign advertising a showing of ''The Sea Hawk''. Some of the film's sea-battle footage was used in the 1935 film '' Captain Blood''.

References

External links

* *
Lobby poster
*Fritzi Kramer
''The Sea Hawk'' (1924) A Silent Film Review
at moviessilently.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Hawk 1924 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films directed by Frank Lloyd Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Pirate films American swashbuckler films First National Pictures films 1920s historical adventure films American historical adventure films 1920s American films Silent adventure films