Not much is left of the zesty 1935 original in this sequel to "Captain Blood." Instead of Errol Flynn as the handsome, graceful, and athletic doctor-turned-pirate, we have chubby, slope-shouldered, and slow Louis Hayward in an unbecoming wig.
I missed Flynn. I missed his dash, his devil-may-care spirit, his wry wisecracks, his carefree grin, his willingness to do anything for a buck. Louis Hayward has a more impressive voice than Flynn, and his ability to act may be about at the same level, but it takes more than that to be an effective protagonist in a swashbuckler. Pirates leap from ship to ship, and they swing on lines. They don't just mope around reciting their lines.
Hayward is still Peter Blood, bachelor of medicine and master of swordplay, as we are told by one of the heavies at the beginning. But just as the history is about to involve the lovely Olivia De Havilland, the ruler of La Hotcha or whatever the island is called, interrupts and Arabella Bishop disappears from the narrative.
There are some familiar elements -- the ship's crew imprisoned, Captain Blood disguised as a fruit peddler -- but this isn't a remake or even, really, a sequel. In the original, Peter Blood's being a doctor made a difference in the plot. Not here.
It's a tired script, directed by Gordon Douglas, an unpretentious hack. It's studio bound and there is some swordplay -- not very energetic -- and nice support from George Macready, always a serviceable villain, and from Patricia Medina, she of the anthracite irises.
But, overall -- ho hum.
I missed Flynn. I missed his dash, his devil-may-care spirit, his wry wisecracks, his carefree grin, his willingness to do anything for a buck. Louis Hayward has a more impressive voice than Flynn, and his ability to act may be about at the same level, but it takes more than that to be an effective protagonist in a swashbuckler. Pirates leap from ship to ship, and they swing on lines. They don't just mope around reciting their lines.
Hayward is still Peter Blood, bachelor of medicine and master of swordplay, as we are told by one of the heavies at the beginning. But just as the history is about to involve the lovely Olivia De Havilland, the ruler of La Hotcha or whatever the island is called, interrupts and Arabella Bishop disappears from the narrative.
There are some familiar elements -- the ship's crew imprisoned, Captain Blood disguised as a fruit peddler -- but this isn't a remake or even, really, a sequel. In the original, Peter Blood's being a doctor made a difference in the plot. Not here.
It's a tired script, directed by Gordon Douglas, an unpretentious hack. It's studio bound and there is some swordplay -- not very energetic -- and nice support from George Macready, always a serviceable villain, and from Patricia Medina, she of the anthracite irises.
But, overall -- ho hum.