The Sea Hawk (1940) on Netflix
Approved19402h 7mActionAdventureHistory
King Philip II of Spain builds an armada to invade England. Geoffrey Thorpe raids Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and captures the vessel carrying the Spanish ambassador's niece, Doña María.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.6/1011,679 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
King Philip II of Spain intends to destroy England and sends Don Álvarez as his ambassador, hoping to calm Queen Elizabeth I's worries about the fleet he is assembling. At home, the queen's ministers press her to build a navy, but she holds back to spare her subjects' purses. The privateer Geoffrey Thorpe, commanding the Albatross, takes the ambassador's vessel at sea and carries Don Álvarez to England along with Doña María, the ambassador's niece. Thorpe is charmed by her and gives back the jewels his crew seized from her. Doña María joins the queen's household. The Sea Hawks are called before the queen, who scolds them publicly for raiding Spanish shipping. In private, Thorpe proposes capturing a Spanish treasure fleet coming from the Americas, and she allows the voyage.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Sea Hawk (1940)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- King Philip of Spain was presented as an allegorical Hitler in The Sea Hawk, which was intended to build British morale during World War II and to push the American public toward a more pro-British outlook.
- The Sea Hawk began as an adaptation of Rafael Sabatini's 1915 novel of the same name, but Seton I. Miller wrote a new story called Beggars of the Sea, inspired by Sir Francis Drake, and Sabatini's name stayed in the marketing for its commercial value.
- No commercial recording of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score was planned when The Sea Hawk opened, and it was not until 1962 that a piece of the music appeared on an LP titled Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
