Captain Blood (Warner Bros.) (1935)

ining Rafael Sabatini’s olitan Productions more than $1,000,000. ‘«Captain Blood’’ is said to have cost Cos Above are three noted nen stars who have important roles in the picture which opens at the Sey i TO a, eer From left to right they are “David Torrence, Guy Kibbee and Robert Barrat. Mat No. 207—20c Iwo Months Required To Film Movie Sea Battle ery Move In Fierce Fighting For “Captain Blood” Planned In Advance . Given his choice between commanding one of two opposg forces in a real battle or directing a reel battle, Michael lutiz would be inclined to accept the former commission. He’s convinced that the job mld require much less advance planning and that the per y would be simpler; that it _ mal risk would not be much greater. The noted director pointed out that even major single gagements between large forces idiom last more than a few days. athe other hand, a synthetic film wit he directed for the Cos‘wpolitan production, ‘<¢Captain od,’ now showing at the Matre, as a First National rease, took two months to film. ‘Gurtiz began laying the framewk of his battle campaign imwliately after he had been given & assignment of directing the wture. The exact amount of time he yat poring over battle plans can wt be accurately estimated, inaswh as many other details pro wted themselves into his prepartios—story conferences, easting ad costuming details, set building | ad the like. Curtiz pointed out that in actual attle the combatants simply pitch land fight until one side emerges ‘etorious. In a film battle, this is wt possible. Such a spectacle in ‘ietures must be broken up into a imdred-odd parts — long shots, ‘dium shots, close shots, various amera angles. Cartiz laid his plans accordingI,devising the routine for a battle frankly believes is the most Netacular of its type ever filmed. Blood and his crew, of course, Merge victorious in the end. But ww to achieve this end with the Mids greatly against the buccaneer ad yet make the victory ring true, "8a hard problem. Ross Alexander in “Captain Blood’? at the | Strand. Mat No. 105 10¢ _a discussion of several with cameramen, technicians, and others, Curtiz decided tip & course requiring Blood’s to sail into the harbor to disthe fort at the entrance exunging fire with one French ship ——— while the other, the Diligent, was blasting the town itself, some two miles distant. Blood first engaged the ship firing on the fort. After a bitter short-range exchange of fire, a well-placed shot from the pirate ship, the Arabella, penetrated to the powder magazine of the French vessel, causing it to blow up and sink. Meanwhile, the Diligent had swung about and was hurrying to the aid of its sister ship. The Arabella, having disposed of her first opponent, met the other French ship half way. Grappling irons were hurled aboard the French vessel and Blood’s crew, led by the officers, boarded the Diligent. When Curtiz finally began filming the battle scene he started with the long range navigating scenes. Then he switched to stunts—quick thrilling flashes of men tumbling from spars high above the decks (there were nets to eatch them below) close, vicious struggles on crows’ nests, men swinging through the air from one ship to the other at the ends of grappling ropes, groups of men being crushed under collapsing portions of decks or being swept to death by the ends of lashing ropes dragging from toppling masts. A group of Hollywood stunt men spent more than two weeks on this spectacular work alone. Then Curtiz began the actual boarding scenes. It took a week to film this spectacle alone. All this, incidentally, for a sequence that lasts twenty minutes in the finished production. ««Captain. Blood’’ is Rafael Sabatini’s most powerful drama. The all star cast jneludes Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, Robert Barrat and hundreds of others. The screen play is by Casey Robinson. P88 Lt i! Takes Full Year To Make Picture “Captain Blood” Final scenes for ‘‘Captain Blood,’’? Cosmopolitan Produetion’s speetacular adventure pieture, which comes to the . Theatre on as a First National release, were filmed in Palm Canyon, near Palm Springs. These were love scenes between Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, playing the leading roles in the picture, and marked the end of a strenuous twelve weeks. All told, ‘‘Captain Blood’’ has been a year in the making. After the sereen play had been written, additional weeks were spent taking film and voice tests of players for more than forty speaking parts. The design and construction of sets, including seven sailing vessels of the type used in the seventeenth century, occupied the tech nical departments for months. Under Michael Curtiz’ direction the filming of the picture moved along on schedule in spite of many difficulties. At times the company was divided into three working units. The battle scenes which climax the picture required two full weeks of dangerous and exciting work on the part of one of the largest technical crews ever assigned to a single picture. Heading the cast of ‘‘Captain Blood’’ are two young players, who are expected to achieve early stardom by virtue of their work in this production. These are Mr. Flynn and Miss de Havilland who are aided by such film favorites as Lionel Atwill, Guy Alexander, Basil Rathbone, David Torrence, Hobart Cavanaugh, Robert Barrat, Forester Harvey, J. Carroll Naish, George Hassell, Mary Forbes and many others. Kibbee, Ross Actor Breaks Three Rapiers In Duel A rush order for additional rapiers was sent out when Errol Flynn, who plays the title role in the Cosmopolitan picture ‘<Captain Blood,’’ now showing at the = _ Theatre, broke three of them during the filming of scenes in which he has a duel with a rival pirate, played by Basil Rathbone. Olivia de Havilland plays opposite Flynn in Rafael Saba tini’s immortal story. Some Pirate! Guy Kibbee, no longer a ‘‘ butter and egg man,’’ but a pirate im ‘Captain Blood,’’ the Cosmopoli tan production coming to the aaa Theatre on ; demonstrates the original shoulder holster, which modern gangsters have adapted to their own use after 300 years. Mat No. 106—10c C Ss To portray ‘*Captain Blood’’ Sabatini’s most lovable scoundrel in the Cosmopolitan production of the same title which opens at the ....... Theatre on , Errol Flynn, Olympic hero and world adventurer, was lured from the London stage. He is the image of the ro mantic pirate pictured by the author. Mat No. 205—20c ‘Captain Blood’ Costumes Amaze Even Screen Folk Designer Thinks Ladies May Take Cue From Clothes Of The Men With the filming of ‘‘Captain Blood,”’ production now showing at the the Cosmopolitan Theatre, the entire studio found itself struck with amazement over. the quaintness of the costumes. Never, say the old-timers, has a picture been decked out with such a lavishness and beauty of period clothes, even on a costume pictures. Filmed from the Raphael Saatini novel laid in the 17th century, ‘‘Captain Blood,’’ of course, deals with lovely ladies, dashing men of daring and wit—and pirates. An assemblage of these, on the first day’s shooting schedule, left studio onlookers gasping at the pictur esque color of the scene. But when Olivia de Havilland, playing the leading role of Arabella, walked on the set, there wasn’t even a gasp left. She had them both breathless and speechless. Underneath she wore long stock ings of heavy silk, the seventeenth century equivalent of step ins, which happened to be of tucked, ruffled white lawn, to the knees, and a tucked white lawn camisole. Then there and what a corset! shoulders with ribbon straps, it reaches almost to the knees, and is complete with whalebone stays running both ways, eyelets lacing up the front, and two tabs by means of which the wearer keeps it pulled down. All this is done in pink slipper satin, and modestly finished off with an underskirt-flounce reacil ing from the end of the corset to the ankles. The petticoat is next, for the seventeenth century maiden was modest in the extreme, and never would have thought of going with was a corset Hung on over the wide pink satin out a rustling, swishing, taffeta petticoat. This one is of white taffeta. Seven yards of it, in fact, hung on from a tiny waist band, and get ting fuller as it nears the floor. Forty yards of ruffles—the bind made by gathering a narrow band of material down the middle and pulling the ragged edges into frills lot famous for the success of its with the blade of a knife—trim the petticoat. That, with the pink silk flounce from the corset—covered with fifty yards of three-quarter inch Val lace with sixty pintucks between the rows, and an eight yard-around dust ruffle underneath all—manages to make the dress itself stand out quite some! Now, at last, comes the dress. This is a ‘‘simple little number’’ of pistachio Lavin green velvet. colored satin anil Fifteen yards of the velvet are used, over it goes a pannier effect in the satin, that takes up eight more yards. Sleeves are short an| puffed, gathering into a ruffle that demurely covers Olivia’s dimpled elbows. The neckline is cut low on the fitted Basque-type bodice, and is outlined in front with ivory velvet gardenias. Olivia also made of shirred topped with more velvet gardenias, and wears a scarf of white Chan tilly lace over her hair. When the folks around the set finally got their breaths, they saul they’d never seen such a costume. But that’s them. Olivia wears an even dozen ¢os tumes in ‘‘ Captain Blood,’’ mak from handbag, satin carries a pistachio only one of complete side-saddle, correct en wardrobe riding habit — the skirt kind — to the semble to wear when being cap tured by a pirate. Oddly enough, however, it is themasculine costumes, exemplified by those worn by Errol Flynn as the handsome Captain Blood, that are expected to set a new modern style trend. ing a Page Twenty-seven ——.