jem132 Review of Adventures of Don Juan

Adventures of Don Juan (1948)

I really liked it, and I wasn't expecting to

[8/10 · 4 January 2009]

Errol Flynn is back in swashbuckling costume eight years after the excellent "The Sea Hawk", and it feels like he never went away. I was expecting this film to be not that good, and I imagined Flynn as looking tired and puffy as a result of his wild lifestyle. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It's a wonderful piece of entertainment. Of course, the plot is really no different from any other swashbuckler, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun. Flynn is perfectly cast as Don Juan- really, who else can you picture but the Tasmanian Devil in the role? This film is about Don Juan in love, with his Queen (a suitably regal Viveca Lindfors), and putting his life on the line for Spain. Aside from the natural ageing process, and looking a little puffy around the face, Flynn is as attractive, charming and witty as ever. Alan Hale, his sidekick in many of his previous films, joins in again. He's Don Juan's loyal friend who keeps the horses under the boudoir window so Flynn can make a quick get-away if a jilted husband bearing a sword arrives. We even have Una O'Connor there, which makes us all sigh and remember Robin Hood. The Warners team do a great job in creating a fresh new swashbuckler for more cynical Post-War audiences (Flynn character is more knowing and sarcastic, but in a good way), whilst being an affectionate tribute AND send-up to the earlier great classics. I guess Warners capitalised on news of Flynn's rape trial and reports of his hedonistic lifestyle in creating this film. But Flynn seems to take it in good humour. The costumes, sets and colour are first rate, as is Max Steiner's stately score. And the last line is a classic!