Geoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for an attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills with the sword.
Geoffrey Thorpe (Errol Flynn) is an adventurous and dashing pirate, who feels that he should pirate the Spanish ships for the good of England. In one such battle, he overtakes a Spanish ship, and when he comes aboard, he finds Doña Maria (Brenda Marshall), a beautiful Spanish royal. He is overwhelmed by her beauty, but she will have nothing to do with him because of his pirating ways (which include taking her prized jewels). To show his noble side, he surprises her by returning the jewels, and she begins to fall for him. When the ship reaches England, Queen Elizabeth I (Dame Flora Robson) is outraged at the actions of Thorpe and demands that he quit pirating. Because he cannot do this, Thorpe is sent on a mission, and in the process, becomes a prisoner of the Spaniards. Meanwhile, Doña Maria pines for Thorpe, and when he escapes, he returns to England to uncover some deadly secrets. Exciting duels follow as Thorpe must expose the evil and win Doña Maria's heart.—Julie Sherman <[email protected]>
Captain Geoffrey Thorpe (Errol Flynn) is a privateer, one of several Sea Hawks, who, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I (Dame Flora Robson), keep the shipping lanes open. When he sinks a Spanish galleon carrying the new Spanish ambassador to England, Don José Alvarez de Cordoba (Claude Rains) and his niece Doña Maria (Brenda Marshall), the Queen is displeased since they are not at war. Thorpe and his kind are very wary of Spain and urge the Queen to build up the fleet. With the Queen's tacit approval, Thorpe goes to Panama to capture his enemies treasure, but they are betrayed. Brought before a Spanish court, he and his men are sentenced to the galleys as slaves. He manages to escape with proof that the Spanish Armada will sail against England.—garykmcd
King Philip II of Spain (Montagu Love) declares his intention to destroy England and after this "puny rockbound island as barren and treacherous as her Queen". He says that England gives aid to Spain's enemies.
He believes that world conquest will follow. He says his great wall map, one day, "will have ceased to be a map of the world; it will be Spain." He sends one of his courtiers, Don Alvarez (Claude Rains), as his ambassador to allay the suspicions of Queen Elizabeth I (Flora Robson) about the great armada he is building to invade England. In England, some of the Queen's ministers plead with her to build a fleet, which she hesitates to do in order to spare the purses of her subjects. The Queen says that a large fleet is a luxury that England cannot afford. The Chief of Admiralty says that Spain would be biding its time to build a fleet while they endure the attacks from the English pirates.
The ambassador's ship is captained by Lopez (Gilbert Roland). Alvarez wants his niece Dona Maria to be presented to the Queen before she chooses her new maids of honor. The Spanish ship is powered by the wind in its sail, and slaves manning the oars. Miss Latham (Una O'Connor) is Maria's English Duenna.The ambassador's ship is captured in route to England by the Albatross and her captain, Geoffery Thorpe (Errol Flynn). Lopez tries to defend the ship, but the English ship is agile and lighter and is able to avoid the cannons and archers of the Spanish ship.
In contrast, the gunners of the Albatross, Thorpe's ship are far more accurate and deadly in their shooting. The Spanish ship is grievously damaged, and it starts to sink in the English Channel. The Spanish ship is boarded, and the guards defeated. The Spanish ship surrenders to Thorpe. Thorpe frees the slaves and brings them on-board the Albatross. Thorpe strips the Spanish ship of everything of value.Thorpe frees the slaves and offers them a job on-board the Albatross. Thorpe says that the pirates serve England and the Queen in their own way.
Don Alvarez and his niece, Dona Maria (Brenda Marshall), are taken aboard and transported to England. Maria is livid at being hijacked by a thief and does not like the insult to Spain. But Thorpe gives her no options, while giving her due respect.Thorpe is immediately enchanted by Dona Maria and gallantly returns her plundered jewels. Her detestation of him softens as she too begins to fall in love.
Don Alvarez is granted an audience with the Queen and complains about his treatment at the hands of the English pirates; Dona Maria is accepted as one of her maids of honor. The Queen says that the Spanish fleet is also attacking English ships full of grain and other supplies and hauling them to England.
The "Sea Hawks", a group of 9 English privateers who loot Spanish ships for "reparations" appear before the Queen, who scolds them (at least publicly) for their piratical attacks and for endangering the peace with Spain. Thorpe tells the Queen that while he did attack Alvarez's ship, but he also found a large number of English slaves in his galley, whom he freed. Alvarez contends that the slaves were prisoners sentenced by the court. But Thorpe persists that the court of Inquisition is not a competent court to sentence English sailors.
The Queen dismisses the court but asks Thorpe to stay behind for a private consultation. The Queen is fond of Thorpe and takes his advise very seriously. The Queen says that while England may have the moral right on its side, the Spanish have the international law on their side.Captain Thorpe finally proposes a plan to seize a large caravan of Spanish gold in the New World and bring it back to England. The Queen is wary of Spain's reaction but allows Thorpe to proceed when he proposes that he will sail with a single ship, and if he is caught, the Queen can claim that England had no hand in the heist.
Suspicious of Thorpe's expedition, Lord Wolfingham (Henry Daniell), one of the Queen's ministers (and a secret Spanish collaborator), sends a spy to try to discover where the Albatross is really heading, but to no avail; the courtiers are told that Thorpe is going on a trading expedition up the Nile River in Egypt. Upon visiting the chart maker responsible for the chart for Thorpe's next voyage, Don Alvarez and Lord Wolfingham determine that he is really sailing to the Isthmus of Panama and order Don Alvarez's Spanish captain to sail ahead to set up an ambush.
When the Albatross reaches its destination, part of her crew seizes the caravan, but they fall into a well-laid trap and are driven into the swamps. Thorpe and a few others survive and return to their ship, only to find it in Spanish hands. Thorpe and his crew are returned to Spain, tried by the Inquisition, and sentenced to the galleys for the rest of their lives. In England, Don Alvarez informs the Queen of Thorpe's fate, causing his niece to faint. The Queen and Don Alvarez exchange heated words, and she expels him from her court.
On the Spanish galley, Thorpe meets an Englishman named Abbott (James Stephenson) who was captured trying to uncover evidence of the Armada's true purpose. Through cunning, the prisoners take over the ship during the night. They board another ship in the same harbor, where an emissary has stored secret incriminating plans. Thorpe and his men capture both and sail back to England with the plans in hand.
Upon reaching port, Thorpe tries to warn the Queen. A carriage bringing Don Alvarez to the ship which, unbeknownst to him, Thorpe had captured, also brings his niece. Don Alvarez boards the ship and is held prisoner.Captain Thorpe, dressed in the uniform of a Spanish courtier, sneaks into the carriage carrying Dona Maria, who has decided to stay in England and wait for Thorpe's return. The two finally declare their love for each other, and Maria helps Thorpe in sneaking into the palace. However, Lord Wolfingham's spy, who had escorted the ambassador and his niece, spots Thorpe and alerts the castle guards to stop the carriage and take Thorpe prisoner. Thorpe escapes and enters the Queen's residence, fending off guards all the while.
Eventually, Thorpe runs into Lord Wolfingham and kills the traitor in a sword fight.With Dona Maria's assistance, Thorpe reaches the Queen and provides proof of King Phillip's intentions. Elizabeth knights Captain Thorpe for his gallantry, with Dona Maria present, and declares her intention to build a great fleet to oppose the Spanish threat.
