The Second in a Series of 75th Anniversary Year Tributes to Errol Flynn’s Sea Hawk:
“When the Ruthless Ambitions of a Man Threaten to Engulf the World …”
[From Queen Elizabeth I’s Stirring Speech in The Sea Hawk]
The Anti-Nazi, Pro-British Symbolism of The Sea Hawk – One of Winston Churchill’s Favorite Ant-Nazi Motion Pictures:
Initially, Elizabeth I Stood In for Neville Chamberlain, advocating “Our Safety Lies in Diplomacy, Not Force”
Later She Converts to Churchill Condemning Hitler, proclaiming:
“The Earth Belongs Not to Any One Man, But to All Men”
King Philip II, of course, Stood In for Hitler
The Spanish Armada was a Metaphorical Representation of the Nazi Much-Feared War Machine
I Believe, Too, That Errol, In This Anti-Nazi Context, Could be Viewed as Representing America, Who, Without Open and Official Acknowledgement, is Secretly Aiding England in It’s Defense Against Hitler’s Attempt to Conquer and Destroy the “Puny Rock-Bound Island”.
Pointing at Deutchland – In a Film with no LITERAL references to Germany (But Many Metaphorical Ones)
As King Adolph, I mean King Philip II, states as he points toward Germany:
“With Our Ships Carrying Our Flags to the Seven Seas, with Our Arms Sweeping Over Africa, the Near East and the Far West … Invincible Everywhere But On Our Own Doorstep … a Puny Rock-Bound Island Secretly Gives Aid to Our Enemy ….
“You Know as Well as I that We will Never Keep Northern Europe in Submission Until We have a Reckoning with England.”
Production Notes:
Howard Koch, the Great Writer of The Film, was Known to be a Noted Anti-Fascist.
Errol Very Much Liked and Approved of Howard Koch’s Anti-Nazi Rewrite, Which Gave the Movie Great Currency and Importance.
Erich Korngold, Being So Personally Harmed and Endangered by the Third Reich, Must have Been Extra-Inspired to Write and Record His Masterpiece Score, One of the Greatest Film Scores in History.
The Warners Took Great Pride in Producing This Anti-Nazi Party Film, Though the Company was Accused by Some of being Late to the (Anti-Nazi) Party.
Sol Polito’s Magnificant Black & White Cinematography Adds Gravitas and an Ominous Edge to the Film, Making King Adolph’s Nazi Armada All the More Sinister
Insinuating the Insidious Nazi Allusion Further, There Appears to be Nazi Cross-like Imagery in the Inquistion Courtroom Scene.
Special Reception Note:
A Group of Jewish Children Orphaned by the Holocaust and Relocated to the UK Viewed the Film for the First Time in 1945. They were Reported to have Given Errol’s Performance an Exceptionally Huge and Heartfelt Ovation, Immediately Recognizing the Anti-Nazi Feeling of the Film.
— Tim
