He was admired for his athletic swordsmanship. (He listed fencing among his favourite recreations.) His character lost to Errol Flynn twice: in a duel on the beach in Captain Blood and in an elaborate fight sequence in The Adventures of Robin Hood. He was also involved in noteworthy sword fights in Tower of London, The Mark of Zorro, and The Court Jester. Rathbone earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performances as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936) and as King Louis XI in If I Were King (1938). In , he played one of his few heroic roles in the 1930s, as a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) squadron commander brought to the brink of a nervous breakdown by the strain and guilt of sending his battle-weary pilots off to near-certain death in the skies of 1915 France. Errol Flynn, Rathbone's perennial foe, starred in the film as his successor when Rathbone's character is promoted.
He was admired for his athletic swordsmanship (He listed fencing among his favourite recreations) His character lost to Errol Flynn twice in a duel on the beach in Captain Blood and in an elaborate fight sequence in The Adventures of Robin Hood He was also involved in noteworthy sword fights in Tower of London The Mark of Zorro and The Court Jester Rathbone earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performances as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936) and as King Louis XI in If I Were King (1938) In  he played one of his few heroic roles in the 1930s as a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) squadron commander brought to the brink of a nervous breakdown by the strain and guilt of sending his battle-weary pilots off to near-certain death in the skies of 1915 France Errol Flynn Rathbone's perennial foe starred in the film as his successor when Rathbone's character is promoted