Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Movie review - Errol #23 - "Desperate Journey" (1942) ***

There is a fair bit of fun to be had with this film - for Aussies there's the sight of Errol Flynn playing an Aussie (at the beginning he sings a bit from Waltzing Matilda and says "Australians are fighting men"), the central idea is very strong (group of airmen shot down in occupied Germany wreck havoc), and Errol has a classic last line, "And now for Australia and a crack at those Japs".

It's very much in Biggles mode, making the war seem like a game (several of the crew die, but its just like losing points in a video game). No one really seems to take it seriously, least of all Raymond Massey as a screaming Nazi, casual Errol or jokey Ronald Reagan. Actually, serious Arthur Kennedy does (playing a Canadian accountant) - his clash with the more casual Errol form the basis of the inter-crew drama (though Ronnie was billed with Errol above the title his role doesn't have the same meat on it as Kennedy's). I enjoyed this a lot as a kid but it holds up less well over the years. Errol's later war films were a lot more serious.

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