TV review – “Errol Flynn Theatre – The Duel” (1957) **

Errol Flynn didn’t often play villains during his career – the closest he got was something like That Forsyth Woman or Master of Ballantrae – so it’s fascinating to see him as an out-and-out black hat in this episode of his own television anthology. 

He plays an English lord, a skilled duellist and scoundrel. He’s short of money so he plans to marry his ward – despite the fact his ward wants to marry an officer. The officer would challenge Errol to a duel but the ward is scared of Errol’s ability. Eventually the duel happens… but Errol freaks out and dies of apoplexy.

It’s a rather intriguing ending to an intriguing episode. The period detail is pleasing for a low budget, but the acting is poor; Errol is the best, but even he is a bit too obviously “acting – still, he’s better than the ward and her boyfriend, both of whom are atrocious.

Movie review – “Not Quite Hollywood” (2008) ****

Half a masterpiece. I love it because I’m a big fan of the era, ozploitation, Ginnane and Trenchard Smith, Richard Franklin, etc. The film is full of energy and colour and pretty much uses the majority of nude scenes from those films, if you’re so interested, so that they’re located in the one convenient locations. It also has Quentin Tarantino talking about the films with a lot more insight than most of our critics (eg pointing out that no one shoots cars better than an Aussie).

It has flaws, though. For one thing it’s too much of a celebration – it doesn’t really deal with the criticisms of the movies in enough detail – in particular the misogyny inherent in a lot of them (there are an awful lot of tits and bush – and the cocks of John Holmes and Graeme Blundell as well, admittedly but more tits and bush; and the female point of view is limited to actors who appeared in them).

Also the issue of how these films fit in our national consciousness isn’t really dealt with - something important since many of them were financed using government tax breaks and direct funding. Alvin Purple made a lot of money, fine – but can you justify government money in Pacific Banana? Was Ginnane entitled to import all those overseas actors for his movies? (You don’t have to say he was wrong, but I think the other point of view needs to be better elucidated.)

It also doesn’t dig into the characters enough. There are key figures throughout – Trenchard-Smith, Grant Page, Ginnane, Everett de Roche – but we never really get to known what makes them tick, or go with them on any sort of emotional journey. Didn’t Ginnane go bankrupt? What’s the real reason why Sandy Harbutt never made another film?

(NB I also would quibble though that these films have been ignored over the years – David Stratton devoted many pages to them in his two books on the Australian film industry.)

TV review – “Colgate Comedy Hour – Abbott and Costello – Guest Starring Errol Flynn” (1952)

Abbott and Costello had their own sitcom but they also occasionally hosted the popular variety show Colgate Comedy Hour. This was a combination of routines, patter, sketches, songs and dances, not all of which involved the star duo. Martin and Lewis also hosted the show and to be honest they were a lot better than Abbott and Costello – more energy, fresher routines. Still, it’s good to see the boys doing their schtick.

The main reason I watched this episode was to see Errol Flynn, who was a special guest star. Apparently he was friendly with the boys - he mentions playing practical jokes on them in My Wicked, Wicked Ways.

He only appears in two sketches, and one of those he pops in and out – but in the other one he gets to perform the old classic (aka thoroughly road-tested) sketch, “Slowly I Turned”. This popped up in several Abbott and Costello movies. Flynn performs it with enthusiasm – to be honest, too much enthusiasm, he goes overboard and doesn’t quite have his on stage timing (it is performed live in front of a crowd). I’m a big fan of Errol’s comic abilities and am convinced that with a big more practice in front of a live crowd he could have given a knock-out performance. Here though – not so good.

Movie review – “San Antonio” (1945) ***

As the war came to an end, Errol Flynn found himself back in Technicolor for this popular reprise of Dodge City – it even reuses the theme music. Errol plays a cattle rancher whose stock has been run off by baddies so he heads back from San Antonio to get revenge. On the way he runs into Alexis Smith, a snooty saloon singer (who has a sort of chaperone, Florence Bates, performing the same role as Una Merkel did in Robin Hood)

Smith was a terrific foil for Errol in Gentleman Jim but she isn’t here. I couldn’t put my finger on it why – maybe in Gentleman Jim Errol was such an egotist it was easier for her to bounce of him or something. I don’t know why they didn’t repeat it – they start doing it, then stop not long into the relationship. And Smith spends half the film whining to Errol that she didn’t have anything to do with his mate’s death, which is boring.

The script is from two top writers, Alan Le May and W R Burnett and is okay, though it goes on too long. The director was David Butler, who has a list of unmremarkable credits but does a competent job. Certainly it’s a colourful movie with plenty of extras and elaborate sets; it has more of a musical flavour: in addition to Smith’s numbers (some of which are, to be honest bland), Errol is first seen strumming the guitar and he does a little waltz with Smith.

The support cast lacks a bit of power – when the bloke who plays Errol’s best friend dies, you don’t really feel anything (where’s Alan Hale?). There is S K Sakall, but the film makes the mistake of turning this comic souffle into a plot important character by having him witness the murder. The two villains aren’t bad, though there is not really enough action apart from a spectacular final shoot out in the saloon (and a fight in the church). But they even stuff this up by having Errol not get one of the baddies, and there’s this tacked on climax where he fights the baddy on another day. Bad structure.


Some bright lines of dialogue: “Is it a Western custom to push yourself on other people?” “Yes ma’m, that’s how the West was settled”. Also Errol tells Alexis Smith “we don’t see pretty girls like you down that often – I guess that’s why we have to pay for it” – surely this is a refence to prostitution?

Movie review – “Don’t Bet On Blondes” (1935) **

Warner Bros were known for their fast-talking tough guy stars: Lee Tracey, Robinson, Bogart, Pat O’Brien. The smooth-talking Warren William doesn’t quite seem to fit, though he tries. Although a B picture (running under 60 minutes) it was directed by Robert Florey and has Guy Kibee in the cast.

Williams plays a Broadway bookie who moves into the insurance business. He takes an insurance policy from an eccentric Southerner (Guy Kibee) against said Southern’ers daughter (Claire Dodds) from being married – the sort of silly plot that works well enough to pass the time, eg One Night in the Tropics. But they stuff it – they don’t get Williams to romance her until the film is half way over; Claire finds out about it and romances Williams back – but she tells Kibee? How come? Who cares?

The film is best known (if it is known at all) for featuring Errol Flynn in a support role as one of Dodd’s suitors. He’s handsome though moustache-less and is a lot more comfortable in front of the camera than he was during In the Wake of the Bounty – though of course he’d been to Northampton Rep during the mean time. He has two scenes, one chatting with Dodd at a golf course, and another one out to dinner with William’s minions trying to stuff up his romance with Dodd.

The main faults of the film are the wonky structure, William’s flat performance in the lead, and the lack of chemistry between Williams and Dodd. It’s an okay idea for a screwball comedy – it’s kind of a shame in a way that Errol Flynn didn’t get the chance to play the lead, he would have been a lot better.

Play review – “Stallion of Death” by Drew Fairley

Enormously enjoyable romp, a sort of pastiche of Aussie bush melodramas that flourished 1890s-1910 eg Squatter’s Daughter, Breaking of the Drought. It has a little something to say too about armband history, though that is not belaboured. Excellent performances: Gibson Nolte is a name to watch.

Movie review – “Istanbul” (1957) **

Errol Flynn’s first Hollywood film for a while starts promisingly with some gorgeous technicolour shots of Istanbul from a plane as Errol flies into town. He meets some old friends – a suspicious police detective and a black nightclub singer (Nat King Col, singing ‘When I Fall In Love”) – and when the song triggers a flashback you’ll start thinking “that’s a bit like Casablanca”… a comparison only reinforced when the flashback reveals he romanced a Ingrid Bergman-like German (Cornell Borchers), and Errol plays an adventurer (a pilot)

Errol wants to marry Boucher and gets involved in some shady jewel shenanigans – then he thinks that the girl is dead. Then she turns up with a new husband and amnesia – at which point the film goes off the rails. It’s far too much of a coincidence for the girl to turn up at the same time, and there’s not a lot of emotional power in the scenes between Errol and the girl (because she doesn’t remember him) and the stolen jewels plot gets dull. The writers commit the unforgivable script flaw of actually resolve the jewel plot and killing the baddie with ten minutes to go… leaving ten minutes of boring amnesia stuff. The girl gets her memory back and races to the airport… but Errol has gotten the plane. But then the plane goes back. Like who cares?

This lacks a name support cast - though to be fair the bunch they’ve got acquit themselves pretty well, including Leif Erickson, Nat King Cole and Colonel Klink from Hogans Heroes. A more serious flaw is it doesn’t really exploit its location, either in terms of story or production value (most of it was shot in Hollywood; location footage is limited to a bit at the beginning). (cf The original version of this – the 1947 film Singapore – where the lead couple were torn apart via the invasion of Singapore.)

There’s also a not very funny subplot about an annoying American couple where the wife is a flirt – he winds up giving her a black eye at the end and we’re supposed to find it funny.

It’s a real shame since I’m partial to melodramas about pilots set in exotic corners of the globe. The script is based on a story by Seton I Miller who wrote some of Errol’s best movies (and also the Alan Ladd potboiler Calcutta, about a pilot in an exotic city) - but there are other names on the credits too so maybe the mess that is the script isn’t his fault. I enjoyed Errol’s performance. He’s obviously a fading beauty, and in some scenes slurs a little, but he’s also smooth and has sad eyes that give depth to his part.