Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

MartinHafer Raphael Sabatini wrote several dozen wonderful adventure novels in the early 20th century. They were very popular and are a nice blend of action, adventure, romance and history. I've read about 30 of them and enjoyed every one of them. Most have never been made into films, but a few (such as "Captain Blood" and "The Black Swan") have. In the case of "The Sea Hawk", Hollywood made their own version and a few years later DIDN'T. Let me explain. The 1924 version of "The Sea Hawk" is pretty close to Sabatini's novel. However, the more famous Errol Flynn version from 1940 is practically nothing like the book other than the title. I am not 100% sure why they did this--the original story was exciting. I suspect, however, that Warner Brothers used an entirely different story and kept the title because this was intended as pure propaganda. At the time, Britain was at war with the Nazis and the film was meant to glorify the British fighting spirit against all odds--including Spanish invaders. The 1940 film is about the time of the Spanish Armada--England's greatest military triumph. Now I am not saying the Flynn film is bad, I love it, but it's NOT the Sabatini story at all. It's a shame, as the Sabatini story is quite exciting.Milton Sills plays Sir Oliver Tressilian--a man who used to be a privateer for England during the time of Queen Elizabeth. These days are behind him and he's retired to his country estate. He wishes to wed his neighbor, Lady Godolphin, but things always seem to get in the way. First, her family refuses and insult his honor. Then, his own half-brother kills one of the Godolphins and Sir Oliver protects him--only to have his no-good half-brother try to sell him into slavery to the Moors!! However, instead of selling him, the ship's captain (Wallace Beery) becomes friends with Sir Oliver and is about to return him to England...when, a Spanish ship attacks and all of the crew members and Sir Oliver are taken prisoner and made Spanish galley slaves! Eventually, when the ship with Sir Oliver is taken by Barbary pirates (from Muslim North Africa), Sir Oliver is able to work his way up in the Barbary navy to command his own ship. Soon, using the skills he developed as a privateer, he is able to make a huge name for himself. But what about his wicked half-brother and his fiancée? Well, see the film and find out for yourself!! This film has an amazingly complex plot, a wonderful story, very good acting, GREAT costumes...it has it all. And, it's exciting from start to finish--making it one of the best silent epics you can see today. There really isn't much to dislike about this lovely film and I am thrilled that it stayed so faithful to the original source material.

Linda_S I joined this film in progress on TCM earlier this month. Well this film kept me riveted to my seat. Milton Sills' performance is so impressive, so dashing, so heroic that I was completely enchanted. The magic of movie-making. While this film has none of the advantages of modern special effects and lighting and so forth it is nevertheless a slam-bang, rip-roaring, adventure romance. There is something in this film that permits one to fully enter within the story, to suspend disbelief and to experience, if for that brief time, a land of fantasy that entertains as well as elevates. Superlatives are not hyperbole when it comes to The Sea Hawk.

bkoganbing This particular adaption of Rafael Sabatini's swashbuckling novel remains faithful to the original story. For those of us who are fans of the Errol Flynn version of The Sea Hawk and I consider it his best film, it has no resemblance to this silent film whatsoever.In a way that's good because both versions can truly stand on their own merits. Milton Sills is the lead in this version, playing Sir Oliver Tressilian, prosperous landowner in Cornwall. He's looking to wed Enid Bennett who is the daughter of an adjacent estate, but Sills has two problems, her brother Wallace McDonald who doesn't think Sills's family is good enough and Sills's half brother Lloyd Hughes who wants Bennett for himself.After this The Sea Hawk becomes a mixed version of The Master of Ballantrae and Ben-Hur. Sills is framed for McDonald's murder and captured by pirates who sell him to the Spaniards as a galley slave and then he gets rescued by the Moors.When Sills gets rescued by the Moors it's his good fortune that the Pasha of Algiers takes a liking to him and he becomes their top pirate with the fearsome name of Sakr El-Bahr, The Sea Hawk. The rest of the film follows a similar path of Sabatini's other work Captain Blood.Warner Brothers when they remade The Sea Hawk though they didn't use the story certainly did retain several of the battle scenes which the viewer will immediately recognize. This version is every bit as grand and grandiose as the better known sound film. Sills and Bennett do indeed remind one of Errol Flynn and Brenda Marshall. And Sills in treading on territory that Douglas Fairbanks staked out delivers a fine performance, though without the flair for dramatics that Fairbanks had.I'm definitely glad this silent classic is not lost.

Ron Oliver A brave English knight, betrayed by his brother, kidnapped by pirates, and captured by Spaniards, takes up a new identity under the Moors as 'Sakr-el-Bahr,' -the Sea Hawk - to become the scourge & terror of the Spanish navy near Gibraltar.Although sadly neglected for years, this is a splendid swashbuckler, full of action & romance, which should please the fans of silent cinema adventure. Much more faithful to Rafael Sabatini's original novel than the Errol Flynn 1940 version, this is a film which can stand on its own worthy merits. Given excellent production values by First National, the rousing sea battle sequences are especially worthy of mention. Using full scale ships, they possess an aura of authenticity not possible with models. Indeed, some of these nautical scenes were extracted for years for use in other films.Milton Sills gives a grand performance as the hero. Although lacking in bravura athletic skills, he becomes almost Fairbankian by the film's conclusion. (He even resembles Fairbanks in the shipboard scenes, surely no mere accident.) Appearing in movies since 1914, this was the film which made Sills a major star, and he would be given other popular, courageous roles before his career - and life - were ended by a heart attack in 1930, at the age of 48. Although he had appeared in 85 films, Milton Sills is all but forgotten today.Beefy Wallace Beery, blustering & bullying as usual, steals all his scenes as a pirate captain who becomes Sills' toady. Enid Bennett is beautiful as the young Cornish woman beloved by the Sea Hawk. Lloyd Hughes gives a good performance as Sills' faithless half-brother. Wallace MacDonald is the very picture of a violent young bully. Lionel Belmore appears briefly as a friendly magistrate. Elderly Frank Currier & young William Collier Jr. both do well in roles that exude Moorish duplicity. Quick eyed movie mavens may spot George O'Brien as a galley slave.Although the film has been tinted & toned, notice the nice extra touch during the 3 shots of the Basha's nighttime visit to the Sea Hawk, in which the flickering torches have been hand colored a theatric yellow.Composer Robert Israel has given the film's restored print a very fine organ score which interpolates familiar melodies from as far afield as Gilbert & Sullivan.