Uncertain Glory (1944) :
Brief Review -
Multiple theories of human conscience and Karma come together in this gem of a writing piece. Flynn's most underrated work before Objective Burma! The uncertainty of the writing makes this film a winner. Okay, so you have 100 minutes of runtime to write/tell your story; how many conflicts do you think you can sow in? Uncertain Glory actually makes you ask this question, and the answer is within the film. You expect a certain number of conflicts in 100 minutes, but this film surpasses that number only halfway. You start off with a banger of an idea, and you think that it might be the biggest conflict in the whole movie, but then you get to a dozen of them. It ultimately comes to the same ending, but wanders a lot before that. There is even a dialogue to cement that: "It's been a long road". "Yes, but it's coming to the right ending". The next one is about jingoism and patriotism: "He was a Frenchman!" It wasn't necessary, but somehow it filled the loop very well. The film is about a murder convict who is going to the guillotine anyway and decides to make his death worth it by saving 100 innocent men. The cop believes in him, but we know how criminals are. After so many hide-and-seek games, double crosses, and whatnot, he finally comes to what was planned. There is a freaking cat and mouse game of human conscience and karma crossing each other's paths many times, and every time you see it in a new way. Every 15 minutes, there is a new twist to the story. Believe me, it's a very engaging and interesting film with very clever writing. The screenplay loses a bit somewhere in the last quarter, but that's only because the earlier portion has been overwhelming. Errol Flynn had so many underrated films in his career, man. And this was one more. How can God be so cruel to the legend? But this was one of his best acts too. A little tampering, but Raoul Walsh gets the assignment right, and that's all that matters.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Multiple theories of human conscience and Karma come together in this gem of a writing piece. Flynn's most underrated work before Objective Burma! The uncertainty of the writing makes this film a winner. Okay, so you have 100 minutes of runtime to write/tell your story; how many conflicts do you think you can sow in? Uncertain Glory actually makes you ask this question, and the answer is within the film. You expect a certain number of conflicts in 100 minutes, but this film surpasses that number only halfway. You start off with a banger of an idea, and you think that it might be the biggest conflict in the whole movie, but then you get to a dozen of them. It ultimately comes to the same ending, but wanders a lot before that. There is even a dialogue to cement that: "It's been a long road". "Yes, but it's coming to the right ending". The next one is about jingoism and patriotism: "He was a Frenchman!" It wasn't necessary, but somehow it filled the loop very well. The film is about a murder convict who is going to the guillotine anyway and decides to make his death worth it by saving 100 innocent men. The cop believes in him, but we know how criminals are. After so many hide-and-seek games, double crosses, and whatnot, he finally comes to what was planned. There is a freaking cat and mouse game of human conscience and karma crossing each other's paths many times, and every time you see it in a new way. Every 15 minutes, there is a new twist to the story. Believe me, it's a very engaging and interesting film with very clever writing. The screenplay loses a bit somewhere in the last quarter, but that's only because the earlier portion has been overwhelming. Errol Flynn had so many underrated films in his career, man. And this was one more. How can God be so cruel to the legend? But this was one of his best acts too. A little tampering, but Raoul Walsh gets the assignment right, and that's all that matters.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.