Sea Hawk, The

Galleon slaves strain against the oars warships blast cannonades of death and one of the great seafaring swashbucklers of the Silent Era (presented with added music) sails anew on DVD. Milton Sills, a stalwart silent-movie actor sure to be better known today if not for his untimely death, plays the gentleman pirate -- The Sea Hawk -- who escapes the treachery of a dastardly sea dog (Wallace Beery) and becomes the scourge of Spain's navy. Two-time Academy Award winner* Frank Lloyd helms the excitement, hewing closer to the Sabatini novel than would the later Errol Flynn movie, using full-sized ships during filming and finding his sea legs years before guiding 1935's Oscar -winning Best Picture Mutiny on the Bounty.

• drama