The Sea Hawk (1940 film)

The Sea Hawk
Film poster
Directed byMichael Curtiz
Written byHoward Koch
Seton I. Miller
Produced byHenry Blanke
Hal B. Wallis
StarringErrol Flynn
Brenda Marshall
Claude Rains
CinematographySol Polito
Edited byGeorge Amy
Music byErich Wolfgang Korngold
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • July 1, 1940 (1940-07-01)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,701,211[1][2]
Box office$2,678,000[2]
$2 million (US)[3]
3,280,538 admissions (France) (1947)[4]

The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American adventure film from Warner Bros. that stars Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the launch of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. Its screenplay was written by Howard Koch and Seton I. Miller. The rousing musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold is recognized as a high point in his career.

The film was both an adventure film and a period piece about Elizabethan England's struggles with Spain, but it was also meant as a pro-British propaganda film to build morale during World War II and to influence the American public into having a more pro-British outlook.

  1. ^ Behlmer, Rudy; Balio, Tino, eds. (June 15, 1982). "Introduction". The Sea Hawk. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0299090142.
  2. ^ a b Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 20 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  3. ^ "Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money since 1914?". Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. The Argus. Melbourne. March 4, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved August 6, 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Box office figures for 1947 France". Box Office Story.