Trivia / The Sea Hawk

• Completely Different Title: In Germany, the film was released as Master of the Seven Seas.
• Dueling Works: With The Mark of Zorro (1940), another swashbuckler.
• Fake Brit: The Australian Errol Flynn plays an English hero.
• Fake Nationality: Just about anyone playing a Spaniard.
• Prop Recycling: The beautifully crafted costumes were made for an Errol Flynn film from the previous year, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Reusing them saved Warner Bros.. a huge amount of money, since the costumes were heavily researched, meticulously created and very expensive.
• Serendipity Writes the Plot: The final duel was shot in the shadows to hide the fact that the actor playing Lord Wolfingham couldn't fence.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Olivia de Havilland turned down the role of Doña María, as she was getting tired of being Typecast as Errol Flynn's Love Interest.
  • Basil Rathbone was supposed to play Lord Wolfingham. They ended up casting Henry Daniell, who didn't know how to fence.
  • Bette Davis was considered to play Queen Elizabeth I, a role she previously played in The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex opposite Errol Flynn and would play again in The Virgin Queen, but the role was deemed too small for such a big star.
• Working Title: Warner Bros. considered changing the title of the film to Beggars at Sea because the story differed so greatly from the Sabatini novel.