|
''The Sea Hawk'' is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The film's screenplay was written by Howard Koch and Seton I. Miller. The sparkling and rousing musical score is recognized as a high point in Erich Wolfgang Korngold's career. The film was digitally colorized in 1991. Colorized versions have been broadcast on American television and distributed on VHS tape, but only the black-and-white versions, both edited (109 minutes) and restored/uncut (127 minutes), have been released in DVD formats. Currently there are no plans to release the digitally colored version on DVD. ==Plot== The film begins with King Philip II of Spain (Montagu Love) declaring his intention to destroy England and after this "puny rockbound island as barren and treacherous as her Queen" is out of the way, he believes that world conquest will follow: he says his great wall map, one day, "will have ceased to be a map of the world; it will be Spain." He sends one of his courtiers, Don Alvarez (Claude Rains), as his ambassador to allay the suspicions of Queen Elizabeth I (Flora Robson) about the great armada he is building to invade England. In England, some of the Queen's ministers plead with her to build a fleet, which she hesitates to do in order to spare the purses of her subjects. The ambassador's ship is captured en route to England by the ''Albatross'' and her captain, Geoffery Thorpe (Errol Flynn). Don Alvarez and his niece, Doña María (Brenda Marshall), are taken aboard and transported to England. Thorpe is immediately enchanted by Doña María and gallantly returns her plundered jewels. Her detestation of him softens as she too begins to fall in love. Don Alvarez is granted an audience with the Queen and complains about his treatment; Doña María is accepted as one of her maids of honour. The "Sea Hawks", a group of English privateers who loot Spanish ships for "reparations" appear before the Queen, who scolds them (at least publicly) for their piratical attacks and for endangering the peace with Spain. Captain Thorpe finally appears and (in private) proposes a plan to seize a large caravan of Spanish gold in the New World and bring it back to England. The Queen is wary of Spain's reaction, but allows Thorpe to proceed. Suspicious of Thorpe's expedition, Lord Wolfingham (Henry Daniell), one of the Queen's ministers (and a secret Spanish collaborator), sends a spy to try to discover where the ''Albatross'' is really heading, but to no avail; the courtiers are told that Thorpe is going on a trading expedition up the River Nile in Egypt. Upon visiting the chartmaker responsible for the charts for Thorpe's next voyage, Don Álvarez and Lord Wolfingham determine that he is really sailing to the Isthmus of Panama and order Don Álvarez's Spanish captain to sail ahead to set up an ambush. When the ''Albatross'' reaches its destination, the ships is spotted by a native who reports it to the Spanish Governor. Part of Thorpe's crew seizes the caravan, but they fall into a well-laid trap and are driven into the swamps. Thorpe and a few others survive and return to their ship, only to find it in Spanish hands. Thorpe and his crew are returned to Spain, tried by the Inquisition, and sentenced to the galleys for the rest of their lives. In England, Don Álvarez informs the Queen of Thorpe's fate, causing his niece to faint. The Queen and Don Álvarez exchange heated words, and she expels him from her court. On the Spanish galley, Thorpe meets an Englishman named Abbott, who was captured trying to uncover evidence of the Armada's true purpose. Through cunning, the prisoners take over the ship during the night. They board another ship in the same harbor, where an emissary has stored secret incriminating plans. Thorpe and his men capture both and sail back to England with the plans in hand. Upon reaching port, Thorpe tries to warn the Queen. A carriage bringing Don Álvarez to the ship which, unknown to him, Thorpe had captured, also brings his niece. Don Álvarez boards the ship and is held prisoner, while Captain Thorpe, dressed in the uniform of a Spanish courtier, sneaks into the carriage carrying Doña María, who has decided to stay in England and wait for Thorpe's return. The two finally declare their love for each other, and María helps Thorpe to sneak into the palace. However, Lord Wolfingham's spy, who had escorted the ambassador and his niece, spots Thorpe and alerts the castle guards to stop the carriage and take Thorpe prisoner. Thorpe escapes and enters the Queen's residence, fending off guards all the while. Eventually, Thorpe runs into Lord Wolfingham and, after a sword fight, kills the traitor. With Doña María's assistance, Thorpe reaches the Queen and provides proof of King Phillip's intentions. Elizabeth knights Captain Thorpe for his gallantry, with Doña María present, and declares her intention to build a great fleet to oppose the Spanish threat. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Sea Hawk (1940 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|