''The Sea Hawk'' is a 1924 American silent

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

about an English noble sold into slavery who escapes and turns himself into a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

king. Directed by

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its preside ...

, the screen adaptation was written by J. G. Hawks based upon the 1915

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: '' The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k. ...

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), 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 14t ...

, is shanghaied and blamed for the death of Peter Godolphin (

Wallace MacDonald Wallace Archibald MacDonald (5 May 1891 – 30 October 1978) was a Canadian silent film actor and film producer. Biography MacDonald was born in Mulgrave, Nova Scotia, Canada, and attended school in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He started as a m ...

), 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 Enid Eulalie Bennett (15 July 1893 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian silent film actress, mostly active in American film. Early life Bennett was born on 15 July 1893 in York, Western Australia, the daughter of Nellie Mary Louise (''née'' Wa ...

) 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 Frank Currier (September 4, 1857 – April 22, 1928) was an American film and stage actor and director of the silent era. Career Similar to Theodore Roberts, Kate Lester, Ida Waterman, and William H. Crane, Currier had a long and succe ...

), 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

* Milton Sills as Sir Oliver Tressilian *

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'' ( ...

as Capt. Jasper Leigh * Marc McDermott as Sir John Killigrew *

as Peter Godolphin *

Bert Woodruff William Herbert "Bert" Woodruff (April 29, 1856 – June 14, 1934) was an American actor of the silent era. Woodruff was born in Peoria, Illinois, and was the son of Mrs. Hannah Woodruff. He performed on stage before he began acting on fi ...

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 o ...

as The Infanta of Spain *

Albert Prisco Albert Prisco (January 28, 1890 – ?) was an American actor born in Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city ...

as Yusuf-Ben-Moktar *

as Asad-ed-Din * William Collier Jr. 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 Hector V. Sarno (April 24,1880 – December 16, 1953) was an American film actor who began in the silent era. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1912 and 1948. He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Pasadena, California. Partial f ...

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. ...

as Bishop (uncredited) * Carl D. Bruner as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited) *

Edwards Davis Cader Edwards Davis (June 17, 1873 – May 16, 1936) was an American actor, producer, and playwright of vaudeville and the silent film era, known as a character actor. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he was an ordained Christian mi ...

as Chief Justice of England (uncredited) * Andrew Johnston as Sir Walter (uncredited) * Theodore Lorch 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 prim ...

, known for his work in constructing props used in

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

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 m ...

'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 Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

. 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 The London Pavilion is a building on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of Piccadilly Circus in London. It is currently a shopping arcade and part of the Trocadero Centre. Early history The first build ...

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