Fight Clip Club: Captain Blood

Since you prefer it this way, ya muckrake!

I promised you more pirates, and this week, I am delivering. This time, it’s an old, old classic, and fought by two of the very best (not to mention most famous) theatrical fencers in cinema: Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone. Flynn himself is synonymous with that concept of ‘La!’ that I describe in my swashbuckling details, and I can’t believe I haven’t covered an Errol Flynn fight before now!

You’ll notice in this fight, that the safety (distancing, fencing technique, sword points on or off line) is way different than sword fights you’ll have seen in newer films. In the 1930s, Hollywood was still using fencing masters instead of those trained for safe versions of fights for actors to perform. As such, you can surely imagine the stories of these two men having been wounded frequently whilst performing this fight. You can see how close in they are, and how rough they are physically with each other as well.

But let’s look at this in more detail after the paywall, shall we? Take a gander at this classic swordfight, and I’ll meet you under the clip.

Fight Clip Club is the only paywalled series on Zuko’s Musings, including my memoir and Problematic Tropes series. To join Fight Clip Club, either upgrade to paid, or drop me a line and I’ll set you up.