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Topic: The Sea Hawk-2x400ft.b/w.
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Andrew Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 784
From: dundonald,belfast,co.antrim,northern ireland.
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted February 25, 2007 07:33 PM
When Derek Simmonds of Derann got the U/A deal,back in the late 70's,i thought he was mad.Who would want to buy old films,like Adventures of Robin Hood,Angels with dirty faces and the like....
Well i was totally wrong,Robin Hood became the packeage movie of 1979,it got rave reviews in both the uk and usa.
Anyway i want to give my views on this,another Derann/U/A release.
After the stirring theme ,which opens the film,we are on board a spannish gallon,bound for England.
On board is the new ambasstor to the court of Elizabeth the first
Claude Raines,and his niece,Brenda Marshell.
The captain warns of english pirates-Sea Hawks-Raines has hardly had time to draw breath,when almost out of nowhere the Albratross
appears.Captained by Errol Flynn,both his vessel,and the spanish
gallery,draw along side each other.
What follows is still one of the best action sequences ever.tons of stuntmen,swoop down and fall in all directions.truly brillant.
The spanish are soon defeated,and Flynn frees the gallery slaves,many of whom are Englishmen.
Raines isnt to happy,and boars Flynn's ship;his niece is even more cold and states..Iwould rather drown than except your hosiptaltly...
However on the way back to England,she mellows,soon the cliffs of dover are sighted,and the freeded slaves,-England.This is were part one ends.
Part two.Opens at the court of the queen,Lord Wolfingham(Henry Daniel);introduces Raines to the queen,played by Dame Flora Robson.
Soon flynn enters,and after much disagreement between the queen,and Thorpe(Flynn),so gets her guards to take him to her private rooms.
Once there,Thorpe asks the queen for permission to attacked the spanish convoy,on the land,not sea.
However the spanish are one step ahead,and in the jungle,strike!
Thorpe is captured,and condemmend to the gallay;but you can't keep Flynn chained for to long,he soon free,and makes it back to England,along with most of his men.
Waiting,at the port of Dover,is Raines who plans to leave,while his niece,wants to stay.He kisses her goodbye,she gets back into the coach,were Thorpe is waiting.
They both confess their love,and Thorpe slips out in the nick of time,in his attempt to see the queen.
Thorpe is then confronted by Wolfingham,cue for a duel to the death,as both he and Thorpe,clash sabers.A brillant piece of filming,as shadows are cast on the walls...Exciting.
The oily villian pays with his life,Thorpe is knighted by the queen,as Korngold's brillant music brings this movie to a close.
You know they just don't make films like this anymore,i dont think Hollywood would know how to.
This is real enterinment with a capital E,action all the way in this,one of the best Warner titles ever released by Derann.Andy.
PrintB
SoundB.
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Tony Stucchio
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 625
From: New Jersey
Registered: Dec 2005
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posted June 29, 2011 08:33 PM
My only complaint about this is that they wasted footage on repeating the main titles on the second part. I didn't time it, but it was probably between 1 and 2 minutes. Overall, they did a great job in capturing all the main scenes and keeping the story flowing. It is a little hard to follow if you haven't seen the full-length feature recently. I would have used the extra footage (instead of the titles) on reel 2 to have a little bit more of the "escape from the galley as slaves" scene. To me, this was the most suspenseful part of the full-length feature -- it generates a lot of tension which is lost in the cut-down. But to cut down a 2 hour feature into about 36 minutes is not easy -- my complaints are minor and I probably couldn't have done a better job given the constraints. Interestingly enough, reel 1 ends with cast credits (first card only) while reel 2 doesn't. So if you combine onto an 800 foot reel, and are a nauseating purest (like me), you'll have to add the end of reel 1 to the end of reel 2.
On my copy, the reels are nearly full but I noticed that they have 3 inch hubs rather than 2 inch. I've never seen this before -- really not a 400 foot reel.
BTW, does anyone have a consolidated list of all the Derann cut-downs, particularly the Warner/UA ones?
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