Captain Blood (1935 film) was $1,242,000. The lead role was originally offered to Robert Donat, who had starred in the successful 1934 film "The Count of Monte Cristo". The asthmatic Donat turned down the role, concerned that the action sequences would be too strenuous for him. A series of screen tests with various actors led to an unknown Australian actor named Errol Flynn. In January 1935, Warner Bros. signed the young actor and brought him to Hollywood after seeing him in a British B picture "Murder at Monte Carlo". For the female lead role, Jean Muir was originally picked to play opposite Donat, but
The Raven (1935 film) suggested that cinema owners write letters to local high schools and colleges, urging their teachers to suggest the film to students. Too strong for 1935 tastes, with its themes of torture, disfigurement and grisly revenge, the film did not do particularly well at the box office during its initial release (much like another 1935 horror movie, MGM's "Mad Love", starring Peter Lorre), and indirectly led to a temporary ban on horror films in England. With the genre no longer economically viable, horror went out of vogue. This proved a devastating development at the time for Lugosi, who found himself losing