The Spanish Main: Difference between revisions

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Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 15 Oct 1944: A1. </ref>
Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 15 Oct 1944: A1. </ref>


By the end of the month Sanders was out and replaced by [[Arturo de Cordova]] with Robert Fellows to produce.<ref>SCREEN AND STAGE: Los Angeles Times 13 Oct 1943: 12. </ref> Because the film was expensive it was not made immediately. In July 1944 RKO announced it as part of its slate for the following year.<ref>RKO-RADIO PLANS 50 FEATURE FILMS: Heavy Schedule Includes 171 Shorts -- Also to Release for Noted Independents
By the end of the month Sanders was out and replaced by [[Arturo de Cordova]] with Robert Fellows to produce.<ref>SCREEN AND STAGE: Los Angeles Times 13 Oct 1943: 12. </ref> Because the film was expensive it was not made immediately. In January 1944 RKO announced that O'Hara would be replaced by [[Laraine Day]] who had signed a contract with the studio.<ref>SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: RKO to Borrow Laraine Day for Two Pictures a Year New York Times 27 Jan 1944: 15. </ref>

New York Times 26 July 1944: 16</ref>
In July 1944 RKO announced it as part of its slate for the following year by which stage O'Hara was back on the project.<ref>RKO-RADIO PLANS 50 FEATURE FILMS: Heavy Schedule Includes 171 Shorts -- Also to Release for Noted Independents
New York Times 26 July 1944: 16</ref> In August RKO signed Walter Slezak to a two-picture a year deal the first of which was to be ''The Spanish Main''.<ref>Linda Darnell to Play Lead in 'Hangover Square' New York Times 16 Aug 1944: 22. </ref>


[[Anne Dvorak]] and Binnie Barnes both auditioned for the second female lead.<ref>Hedda Hopper LOOKING AT HOLLYWOOD
[[Anne Dvorak]] and Binnie Barnes both auditioned for the second female lead.<ref>Hedda Hopper LOOKING AT HOLLYWOOD
Line 66: Line 68:
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. 1 Nov 1944: 19.</ref> The budget was expexted to be at least $1,750,000.<ref>HOLLYWOOD GOES TO SEA: MORE HOLLYWOOD DATA
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. 1 Nov 1944: 19.</ref> The budget was expexted to be at least $1,750,000.<ref>HOLLYWOOD GOES TO SEA: MORE HOLLYWOOD DATA
By FRED STANLEYHOLLYWOOD. New York Times 26 Nov 1944: X1.</ref>
By FRED STANLEYHOLLYWOOD. New York Times 26 Nov 1944: X1.</ref>

In May 1945 Hollywood was affected by a strike of crew members. This held up shooting on the film which still had 28 days of filming minatures to go.<ref>SCREEN NEWS: Strike Holds Up Latest Errol Flynn Film
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. 10 May 1945: 19. </ref> By then the ''Wall Street JOurnal'' said the cost was two and a quarter million dollars.<ref>Movies in 1945: Hollywood to Step Up Output Wall Street Journal 20 Mar 1945: 1. </ref>

==Release==
==Release==
The film was successful and made a profit of $1,485,000.<ref name="rko">Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 206</ref><ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref>
The film was successful and made a profit of $1,485,000.<ref name="rko">Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 206</ref><ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref>

Revision as of 05:55, 1 February 2020

This article is about the film. For the Caribbean coast, see Spanish Main.
The Spanish Main
Poster
Directed byFrank Borzage
Written byGeorge Worthing Yates
Herman J. Mankiewicz
Produced byFrank Borzage
StarringMaureen O'Hara
Paul Henreid
Walter Slezak
Binnie Barnes
CinematographyGeorge Barnes
Edited byRalph Dawson
Music byHanns Eisler
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • October 4, 1945 (1945-10-04) (U.S.[1])
Running time
100 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million[2]
Box office2,819,971 admissions (France)[3]

The Spanish Main (1945) is an adventure film starring Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak and Binnie Barnes, and directed by Frank Borzage.[4][5] It was RKO's first all-Technicolor film since Becky Sharp ten years before.

Cinematographer George Barnes received an Oscar nomination for Best Color Cinematography. Though a box office hit upon its first release, the film is chiefly remembered today for its lavish and intricate score by Hanns Eisler.

Plot

Dutch sea captain Laurent van Horn (Paul Henreid) is shipwrecked off the coast of the Spanish settlement of Cartagena. After being held and sentenced to death, Van Horn and his crew manage to escape. Five years later, Van Horn has established himself as the mysterious pirate known only by the name of his ship: The Barracuda. After infiltrating the vessel ferrying her to her wedding, they capture Contessa Francisca Alvarado (Maureen O'Hara) who has been arranged to marry the corrupt governor (Walter Slezak). Wishing to avoid further bloodshed aboard the escort ship, Francisca offers to marry Van Horn if he will spare the escort, to which he agrees. Over time Francisca and Van Horn become attracted to each other and set out to defeat the villainous governor Don Juan Alvarado and treacherous pirates Du Billar (John Emery) and Capt. Black (Barton MacLane).

Cast

The film includes the character Anne Bonny (Barnes), in a fictionalized account of the real-life well-known female pirate. Walter Slezak played a similar (but less dastardly) role in the 1948 film The Pirate.

Production

In October 1943 RKO announced the film would be their big spectacle of the following year, to star Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, George Sanders and Walter Slezak. It was based on an original story and script by Aneas MacKenzie[7] Although Henreid was under contract to Warner Bros, he had an existing commitment with RKO to make one film a year dating from his appearance in Joan in Paris.[8]

By the end of the month Sanders was out and replaced by Arturo de Cordova with Robert Fellows to produce.[9] Because the film was expensive it was not made immediately. In January 1944 RKO announced that O'Hara would be replaced by Laraine Day who had signed a contract with the studio.[10]

In July 1944 RKO announced it as part of its slate for the following year by which stage O'Hara was back on the project.[11] In August RKO signed Walter Slezak to a two-picture a year deal the first of which was to be The Spanish Main.[12]

Anne Dvorak and Binnie Barnes both auditioned for the second female lead.[13]

"Pirate pictures always make money," said producer Robert fellows.[14]

Filming started November 15, 1944.[15] The budget was expexted to be at least $1,750,000.[16]

In May 1945 Hollywood was affected by a strike of crew members. This held up shooting on the film which still had 28 days of filming minatures to go.[17] By then the Wall Street JOurnal said the cost was two and a quarter million dollars.[18]

Release

The film was successful and made a profit of $1,485,000.[19][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Spanish Main: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Stengel, Fred (4 February 2018). "14 RKO Pictures to Exceed a Million". New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ French box office of 1948 at Box Office Story
  4. ^ Variety film review; October 3, 1945, page 20.
  5. ^ Harrison's Reports film review; October 6, 1945, page 158.
  6. ^ Freese, Gene Scott (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 75. ISBN 9780786476435.
  7. ^ Looking at Hollywood Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 4 Oct 1943: 18.
  8. ^ 'Great Lover' Demands Action: Henreid Fears His Public Will Be Cloyed With Romantic Heroes Film's'Great Lover' Craves Action Roles Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 15 Oct 1944: A1.
  9. ^ SCREEN AND STAGE: Los Angeles Times 13 Oct 1943: 12.
  10. ^ SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: RKO to Borrow Laraine Day for Two Pictures a Year New York Times 27 Jan 1944: 15.
  11. ^ RKO-RADIO PLANS 50 FEATURE FILMS: Heavy Schedule Includes 171 Shorts -- Also to Release for Noted Independents New York Times 26 July 1944: 16
  12. ^ Linda Darnell to Play Lead in 'Hangover Square' New York Times 16 Aug 1944: 22.
  13. ^ Hedda Hopper LOOKING AT HOLLYWOOD Los Angeles Times 13 Oct 1944: 11.
  14. ^ Miss O'Hara, Paul Henreid, To Head 'Spanish Main' Cast: Hollywood Letter By Frank Daugherty. The Christian Science Monitor 9 Feb 1945: 5.
  15. ^ Warners Plan Remake of '3 Men on a Horse' Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. 1 Nov 1944: 19.
  16. ^ HOLLYWOOD GOES TO SEA: MORE HOLLYWOOD DATA By FRED STANLEYHOLLYWOOD. New York Times 26 Nov 1944: X1.
  17. ^ SCREEN NEWS: Strike Holds Up Latest Errol Flynn Film Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. 10 May 1945: 19.
  18. ^ Movies in 1945: Hollywood to Step Up Output Wall Street Journal 20 Mar 1945: 1.
  19. ^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 206
  20. ^ Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Spanish_Main&oldid=938598950"