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Nov 23, 2014toniob rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is not only a good film but also a good CD. Be sure to watch the extras, and the CD is put together as if one is attending the movies in 1935, complete with newsreel & a cartoon. This was the first major American role for both Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The documentary about the making of Captain Blood is quite informative, but a bit misleading about Ross Alexander and the reasons for his later suicide. This occurred 13 months after his first wife's suicide (also an actress), when he was heavily in debt & Warner Brothers was reducing the significance of his roles. Captain Blood is based on a novel by Rafael Sabitini (1875-1950), the illegitimate son of the English Anna Trafford and the Italian Vincenzo Sabatini, both opera singers. Among his first major publications was Scaramouche, followed in 1922 with Captain Blood; Sea Hawk in 1924; of his works, 21 were adapted to screen or TV. The first lines from Scaramouche grace his headstone: "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."