Saturday, September 20, 2008

TV review – “Goodyear Theatre - The Golden Shanty” (1959) **

Errol Flynn’s television performances are of varying quality but he’s quite happily cast here as a travelling salesman in the old west – the shonky nature of the character suits Errol’s dodgy persona. This has extra resonance in that it was his last on screen dramatic performance.

The plot has Errol once seeling a worthless gold mine to a poor sucker (Peter Hansen) –then discovers the sucker has build a saloon out of bricks which contain gold. This means he needs to smooth talk the man’s wife (Patricia Barry) in order to buy the saloon. Because he’s got no money he gets his offsider ro pinch bricks and melt down gold to raise enough money – while he buys time be sweet talking the wife.

Errol always made a good rogue and he’s fun here. Barry isn’t bad – perhaps a bit too pretty to be suckered in by Flynn’s antics (imagine say Marjorie Main or someone in the role). The script is fairly so-so. Arthur Hiller directed this.

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