The Golden Hawk

Last updated

The Golden Hawk
The golden hawk - poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sidney Salkow
Written by Frank Yerby
Robert E. Kent
Based on The Golden Hawk
by Frank Yerby
Produced by Sam Katzman
Starring Rhonda Fleming
Sterling Hayden
John Sutton
Cinematography William V. Skall
Edited by Edwin Bryant
Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Production
company
Esskay Pictures
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • October 17, 1952 (1952-10-17)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Golden Hawk is a 1952 American historical adventure film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Rhonda Fleming, Sterling Hayden and John Sutton. [1] It is based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Frank Yerby. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

French sea captain Kit 'The Hawk' Gerardo sails the seas in the 17th century in command of the ship Sea Flower, seeking out Spanish pirate Luis del Toro, believing him responsible for the death of Kit's mother Jeanne Buoyant.

A female pirate who calls herself Captain Rouge disguises herself as a Dutch maid to board a vessel, then shoots and wounds Kit when he attempts to make romantic advances. Kit kidnaps a woman, Bianca, the betrothed of del Toro, and demands 10,000 pieces of gold for her safe return. Del Toro pays, then surrounds Kit with three of his ships to take it back. Rouge wants half the loot for herself. In a raid of Jamaica on orders of the king, Kit discovers that the property once belonged to Rouge, who is a British subject, Lady Jane Golfin, trying to retrieve the riches that have been illegally taken from her family.

Bianca, in love with Kit, betrays him and Kit ends up tried, convicted and sentenced to hang. Del Toro intervenes on his behalf, however, and reveals that Kit is his own son.

Cast

Production

Frank Yerby's novel was published in 1948. [4] The book was a best seller, selling 1,863,000 copies. [5] In 1951 it was announced Sterling Hayden and Rhonda Fleming would star in a film version. [6] Helena Carter played the second female lead. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Bonham Carter</span> English actress (born 1966)

Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award and an International Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards.

The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sword-and-sandal</span> Genre of largely Italian-made historical or biblical epics

Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum, is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time, such as Samson and Delilah (1949), Quo Vadis (1951), The Robe (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), and Cleopatra (1963). These films dominated the Italian film industry from 1958 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by spaghetti Western and Eurospy films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Read</span> English pirate

Mary Read, fictionally known as Mark Read, was an English pirate about whom there is very little factual documentation. She and Anne Bonny were two famous female pirates from the 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the "Golden Age of Piracy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Hayden</span> American actor (1916–1986)

Sterling Walter Hayden was an American actor, author, sailor, model and Marine. A leading man for most of his career, he specialized in westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s, in films such as John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar (1954), and Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956). He became noted for supporting roles in the 1960s, perhaps most memorably as General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhonda Fleming</span> American actress and singer (1923–2020)

Rhonda Fleming was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Katzman</span> American film producer and director

Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Age of Piracy</span> Maritime piracy from the 1650s to the 1730s

The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Reed (actor)</span> American actor (1916–2001)

Walter Reed was an American stage, film and television actor.

<i>Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows</i> 2001 biographical television miniseries

Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows is a 2001 American two-part, four-hour biographical television miniseries based on the 1998 book Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir written by Lorna Luft, the daughter of legendary singer-actress Judy Garland. The miniseries was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and originally broadcast in two parts on ABC on February 25 and 26, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batman: Leatherwing</span>

Leatherwing, also known as Batman: Leatherwing, is a DC Comics Elseworlds story published in Detective Comics Annual #7 in 1994. It was written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Enrique Alcatena, who also devised the plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swashbuckler film</span> Subgenre of the action film genre

Swashbuckler films are a subgenre of the action film genre, characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. While morality is typically clear-cut, heroes and villains alike often follow a code of honour. Some swashbuckler films have romantic elements, most frequently a damsel in distress. Both real and fictional historical events often feature prominently in the plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Hagney</span> Australian actor (1884–1973)

Frank Sidney Hagney was an Australian actor. He is known for his work on It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Ride Him, Cowboy (1932) and The Sea Beast (1926).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Farrell</span> American actor and comedian (1921–2004)

Tommy Farrell was an American actor and comedian who appeared in over 100 films and TV series between 1944 and 1983. He was best known for his sidekick roles in the Hollywood Golden Age.

Norman "Rusty" Wescoatt was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 80 films between 1947 and 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sutton (actor)</span> British actor (1908–1963)

John Sutton was a British actor with a prolific career in Hollywood of more than 30 years.

<i>Fortunes of Captain Blood</i> 1950 film by Gordon Douglas

Fortunes of Captain Blood is a 1950 pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the original 1922 novel and subsequent collections of stories written by Rafael Sabatini, Fortunes was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious swashbuckler.

<i>Double Crossbones</i> 1951 film by Charles Barton

Double Crossbones is a 1951 American comedy adventure film distributed by Universal International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Charles Barton, and stars Donald O'Connor and Helena Carter. It was shot in Technicolor and was released on January 22. The story is of shopkeeper apprentice Davey Crandall becoming a pirate after being accused falsely of being involved of selling stolen goods.

<i>The Golden Hawk</i> (novel) 1948 novel

The Golden Hawk is a 1948 historical novel by the American writer Frank Yerby. It was his third published novel, and was a popular success ranking sixth on the Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels that year.

References

  1. "The Golden Hawk". NY Times. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  2. The Golden Hawk at the TCM Movie Database
  3. "Of Local Origin". New York Times. October 17, 1952. p. 33.
  4. Watson, Wilbur (May 2, 1948). "Balloon Prose: The Golden Hawk. By Frank Yerby. 346 pp. New York: The Dial Press. $3". New York Times. p. 226.
  5. "magazine of BOOKS: Two Best Sellers of 1948 Now Past Million Mark Hansen, Harry". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 19, 1948. p. e8.
  6. "FILMLAND BRIEFS". Los Angeles Times. September 18, 1951. p. B7.
  7. Vagg, Stephen (February 14, 2020). "Helena Carter: An Appreciation". Filmink.