Snow day = movie day!

What with all the snow and layers of ice that decorated the world this morning, I chickened out and stayed home, which translated into vegging in front of the TV, watching the last of my Christmas DVDs. It was a lovely day.

Hellooooooo, ladies!

First up was San Antonio, the case for which notes, "Despite his Tasmanian roots and elegant British accent, Flynn made an ideal all-American cowboy. With his steely gaze, lean frame, and understated humor, he tamed the West in eight thrilling sagebrush sagas." Amen to that. He is a wonderful cowboy, basically because he is a wonderful anything. Pirate, pilot, boxer, George Armstrong Custer, I don't care, as long as he smiles that smile at me. Yum.

I worked my way through my Flynn Westerns box set this weekend, also viewing Montana, Rocky Mountain, and Virginia City. Flynn's sidekick in two of these films was S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, and I'm of two minds about that. On the one hand, "Cuddles" is absolutely adorable in everything he does, which usually includes a lot of bumbling (and how awesome is it that he always had his nickname in the credits?). On the other hand, there's few things more out of place in a Western than a chubby guy with a thick Hungarian accent. Alan Hale is my preferred Flynn buddy, but Sakall turned out to be an acceptable, if somewhat unsuitable, substitute. My all time favorite Flynn western, though, is Dodge City.

I also polished off the last of my Warners Gangsters Vol. 4 set with Invisible Stripes, and Kid Galahad. We'll talk about those next time.

Snuggly blankets and hot chocolate in front of a cozy fire

That's what the Andy Hardy movies are to me. When TCM shows them, they usually do a chunk of them in a row in one day. I think I've seen most of them now, the most recent block being shown over Christmas, which was the perfect time for them, what with the gooey family feelings and all.

They are, of course, a completely unrealistic picture of family life -- even more so now than when they were made. And yet, I love them, and watching them is so relaxing. For one thing, you always know what to expect -- Andy falls for girl, gets in some kind of (totally harmless) trouble, has man-to-man talk with Dad -- and yet the details of the story are different each time, so there's a combination of old and new which keeps my interest.

Even as the feminist in me kind of recoils from Mother Hardy's obvious belief that she's just a mere woman who can't even balance her checkbook, there is something comforting in watching her fuss over the children or bustle around in the kitchen -- and what dinners she makes! And the men always come to the table in coats and ties! It's hard to believe that people actually lived that way, although my dad tells stories of the days when men walked the boardwalk at the Jersey shores in coats and ties and hats, the women in dresses and pantyhose and gloves. There is a style about it (and classic films in general, from the manners to the decor) that seems so quaint today, but it's a style I enjoy.

My current box set dream is an Andy Hardy box set...and my birthday is next month, Ted Turner! Hear my cries! For your benefit, here's a list of the films (and in checking IMDB to create the list, I notice Mickey Rooney currently has 323 movies to his name...wow!):

• A Family Affair (Lionel Barrymore was the original Judge Hardy, but I like Lewis Stone much better)
• You're Only Young Once
• Judge Hardy's Children
• Love Finds Andy Hardy
• Out West with the Hardys
• The Hardys Ride High
• Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
• Judge Hardy and Son
• Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
• Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
• Life Begins for Andy Hardy
• The Courtship of Andy Hardy
• Andy Hardy's Double Life
• Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
• Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
• Andy Hardy Comes Home

Hmm. Maybe I haven't seen most of them after all.

Dr. Clitterhouse, you ARE amazing!

Today I would like to speak of my current classic movie boyfriend, Edward G. Robinson. Between TCM's Eddie G. day on "Summer Under the Stars" and a DVD or two, it has been a regular Ed-fest around here.

Last night I watched The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse. Having watched Little Caesar on Sunday, it was naturally quite a contrast to see Robinson as a character who is intelligent, urbane, cultured, kindly, and has a gentle speaking voice. From what I've read about him, this seems like a role that would be fairly close to his real life (well, except for one thing, which I'm not going to specify because it would spoil the ending). It was a treat to see him in this role after all the "Meh, see?" squealing of LC. Although that also has its place, and I love him in those roles, too.

The movie had my attention from the start; I thought I understood the premise from the summary on my cable recording, but it took me awhile to be sure one way or the other. I love a movie that keeps me guessing like that, and has a few tricky turns on the way to the ending (one plot point in particular had me very surprised). To me, this is one of the most satisfying kinds of movie viewing experiences.

The roles of the gang members and police were filled by some familiar and well-loved character actors (Ward Bond, Allen Jenkins, Donald Crisp, Maxie Rosenbloom), which always adds more to a movie for me. As corny as it sounds, it's like running into old friends to see them listed in the opening credits. You know they're going to give a solid performance, no matter what the role. I enjoyed the interactions between the gang members and Dr. Clitterhouse; I found the respect they had for their "professor" rather touching.

The movie is being released on October 21 as part of the Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 4, and it's already on my Amazon wish list.

Next up on the discussion list: Confessions of a Nazi Spy.

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Yesterday I watched the 1934 movie "The Barretts of Wimpole Street," with Norma Shearer, Charles Laughton, and Frederic March. Today it is chilly, and pouring rain. On the surface, these two facts may seem unrelated. To me, however, the nasty weather makes me envy Norma Shearer, who got to play most of this role reclining on a beautiful chaise lounge in front of a toasty fire with Flush, the adorable cocker spaniel, curled up in her lap. Right now, that sounds like heaven. (I can't find a picture of Norma in the role, but her lovely chaise lounge looked something like this, only more old-fashioned, with the buttons set deep in the upholstery).

I liked the movie quite a lot. Norma was very good as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and looked just gorgeous in those long curls. I thought Maureen O'Sullivan was too shrill as her sister Henrietta. I understand Henrietta's thwarted love affair and conflicts with their father were to lend drama to the story, but O'Sullivan gave it too much drama, in the scenery eating style you often see in old movies. When she shrieks at her father, "Is it nothing to you that I shall hate you for this to the end of my life?" and he answers, "Less than nothing," I was actually a little bit on his side. And her crying jag as she clings to his knees...dear, please get up and show some dignity. For all our sakes. I found O'Sullivan delightful as a "modern" girl, Dorothy, in "The Thin Man." There, her energy works well with the character. Here, in this period drama, she seems out of place.

It has been said that the scenes between Elizabeth and her father were toned down to lessen the suggestion of his incestous feelings for her. Charles Laughton famously replied, "They can't censor the gleam in my eye," and he was so right. It's rather subtly done at first; you don't get the idea right from the start that he's panting after his own daughter. He just seems like a big old control freak, who dominates over all his children. As the movie progresses, more and more hints come out that Elizabeth is his favorite child, in both (relatively) good ways and really, really bad ways. He's a master at manipulating her (and the rest of his children) with guilt trips.

Then there is the scene near the end, right before she runs away to marry Browning, where her father grabs her and goes on and on about how the family will move away to the country and Elizabeth will be his confidant and his comfort and...okay, now it's extremely icky. Sneaking out of the house with only the clothes on her back and her dog suddenly seems like a great idea. And she does. In a final touch of evil, Laughton orders one of Elizabeth's brothers to find her dog, take it to the vet, and have it destroyed. Henrietta triumphantly informs her father that Elizabeth has taken the dog with her.

Frederic March as Robert Browning...eh, March has never really done anything for me. He was good in "Anna Karenina," and "Susan and God," but I never see a movie listing and think to myself, "oooh, Frederic March, yay!" You don't actually see Browning much in the movie, so March made his usual non-impression on me.

Overall, I would recommend this movie, and was disappointed to learn that it's not out on DVD yet. In my world, it would be released as a Norma Shearer boxset with the following other movies (I'm only choosing ones that have not already been released on DVD):

Idiot's Delight (seeing Clark Gable perform "Puttin' on the Ritz" should be on every classic movie lover's list)
Strange Interlude
Romeo and Juliet
Riptide
Private Lives

Two of Norma's movies have recently been released on DVD as part of the Forbidden Hollywood, Vol. 2 collection: "The Divorcee" and "A Free Soul."

Aw, yeah!

By a lucky accident, I have discovered the following new/about to be released DVD sets:

The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection

The Myrna Loy & William Powell Collection

Barbara Stanwyck Signature Collection

I don't know what to say, except...I'm just so happy! I have to do serious Amazon browsing more often.

Gable vs. Gable

I received my Gable box set right on time, and I've been working my way through the movies since then. Some of them I had already seen: Dancing Lady, China Seas, and Wife vs. Secretary (now I can sell my VHS tapes on eBay). The other weekend was an action double feature with Boom Town and San Francisco. Last night was Mogambo, which of course I had to compare with its previos incarnation, Red Dust.

Mary Astor vs. Grace Kelly? Eh, I could take or leave either of them. Grace was a little too uptightly British, I thought. Mary Astor did the shooting scene better. It was easier to believe her outraged emotions. Grace just screamed and twirled around and hid her face in her hands in a cliched bit of overacting.

Jean Harlow vs. Ava Gardner? This one was closer, but I'm going to have to give it to Jean here, because I just adore her. Her character, as a prostitute, was tougher and in a way, more interesting, and therefore more of a contrast to the other woman (Grace/Mary) than Ava's society lady character was.

Gene Raymond vs. Donald Sinden? I guess we'll call this one a tie. I like Gene as an actor better mainly due to his role in Sadie McKee, but Donald did a good job as the husband. He seemed alittle less clueless than Gene Raymond sometimes. But only a little.

Philip Stainton was quite likeable as Gable's sidekick, Brownie. I don't remember the equivalent character in Red Dust, if there even was one (it's been a few years since I saw it) so Stainton wins by default. He was jolly and fun but also serious about his job and the dangers of the jungle.

As far as the love story goes, I'm about even with both versions of Gable pining away after the saintly English wife. Even though I prefer Harlow to Gardner, I did like Gable's relationship with the latter better. There seemed to be more fondness between the two. In RD I got the impression Gable thought of Harlow as little more than a warm body. He's so mean to her sometimes, you wonder how she can go on loving him. There was more genuine liking and tenderness between Gable and Gardner.

As it stands, the box set is an excellent one. I stand by my earlier thought that I would have substituted one of the Gable action movies with Spencer Tracy for the great gangster film Manhattan Melodrama. Since Jeanette MacDonald doesn't do much for me, I would have pulled San Francisco for MM.

So many of Jean Harlow's movies have now been released on DVD on their own and as part of other people's box sets, that there aren't a whole lot left (she only made 41, and that's generously including the bit parts) for a "signature collection" set of her own (and she absolutely should have one). Here's what I would include in her set:

Bombshell
The Girl From Missouri
Hold Your Man
Red-Headed Woman
Reckless (well, maybe not; not such a great film)
Suzy (I'm kind of lukewarm about this one; her undying love for cad Cary Grant kind of annoyed me)

A lot of her other movies I have never seen, so I can't really say for sure which ones I would include. Additional options include:

Saratoga
Personal Property
Riffraff

I'm only counting movies that aren't on DVD already (and there's more than I thought). Of course some could be rereleased, like they did with Mildred Pierce when they made the Joan Crawford box set.

Again I ask: Ted Turner, are you listening? ;)

It's Alive!

No, no, not Frankenstein. The Clark Gable Signature Collection! He should have been the first to get one, being the "King of Hollywood" and all, but at least he has one now. Or he will, come June. I've already pre-ordered mine.

I found the selection of movies somewhat surprising:

Dancing Lady
China Seas
San Francisco
Boom Town
Wife vs. Secretary
Mogambo

First, I thought I was the only one who adored Dancing Lady and thought it a great example of Gable's work. He is good in that film (everyone is), but I think instead I would have selected Forsaking All Others, which is a fabulous witty drawing-room romatic comedy with some great zingers in the dialogue. It's just a joy to watch. I've talked about it before.

China Seas I like, but I would have picked Red Dust for a Jean Harlow/Gable pairing for this set, especially since Mogambo was also chosen, and it's a remake with Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly in the female roles. Maybe that would have seemed repetitive, but on the other hand, it could be interesting to compare the two.

I love Wife vs. Secretary and would have chosen that one myself. It's another great example of Gable being wonderfully happy-go-lucky, and it also has romance and some drama. Also great costars in Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, and Jimmy Stewart. It was one of Harlow's rare "good girl" roles, and her favorite, so that makes it doubly a good choice.

I've never seen San Francisco or Boom Town, so I'll have some comments about those after I get my boxed set in June. I'm counting the days. ;) If they wanted a "tough guy" role, which I suspect these are, I would have chosen Manhattan Melodrama in place of one of those.

Next up, I would LOVE to see a box set of Joan Crawford/Clark Gable movies. This set would include:

Chained
Possessed
Strange Cargo
Dance, Fools, Dance
Laughing Sinners
Forsaking All Others
Love on the Run

Come on, Ted Turner. Make my day. :)

Either I'm psychic...

...or someone up there is listening to me, because I just found out a Bela Lugosi DVD collection is being released this September. And it contains all of the movies I picked in my previous entry.

Spooky...

Return of the Box Set

I had so much fun last time creating my own box sets, I decided to have another go. As an aside, imagine how much money the studios could make if they made their movies -- all their movies, including the old ones, whether released on VHS but not DVD, or not ever released commercially at all -- available for download to burn to DVD, a la Napster. I would be downloading black and white movies until the cows came home. Ted Turner, call me! I’ll let you have the idea for a modest fee. ;)

So, next up is...

Flynn and Hale: The Buddy Movie Collection

1. Adventures of Don Juan
2. Dodge City
3. Adventures of Robin Hood
4. Desperate Journey
5. Footsteps in the Dark
6. Gentleman Jim
7. Prince and the Pauper
8. Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
9. Santa Fe Trail
10. Sea Hawk
11. The Sisters
12. Virginia City

I would have sworn Alan was also in Captain Blood. My bad. Anyhow, some of these movies I’ve never seen, and some I’ve seen where Alan has the bittiest of bit parts (Prince & Pauper, for example) but any pairing of Alan and Errol (yeah, we’re all on a first name basis) is full of buddy goodness. These guys started the genre. Well, as far as I’m concerned. Okay, I guess technically Laurel & Hardy came earlier, and others before that, but I’m talking action buddy, not comedy buddy. Although Alan can be very droll.

Bela Lugosi: Only the Good Movies (or ones I’ve heard are good)

1. Dracula
2. Murders in the Rue Morgue
3. White Zombie
4. The Black Cat (1934)
5. The Raven
6. Black Friday
7. Son of Frankenstein
8. Ghost of Frankenstein

Poor Bela. So underrated, so typecast. So delicious with the haunting eyes and exotic accent. I’m tentative on Rue Morgue because I’ve heard good and bad about it. So we could trim that one and leave it at seven. Ed Wood would make kind of a nifty addition, though, now that it’s finally released on DVD. For real. Not to be withdrawn later. Sheesh.

You could do a Lugosi and Karloff "good movies" set, which would have maybe four of five movies (IMHO). If that sounds slim, keep in mind that James Dean’s collection is only three. The...only three movies he ever made (or at least the only ones he made in which he wasn’t an uncredited extra). Now that’s fame.

Make your own box set!

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. Well, actually, Borders thought of it already; I think it was last summer. Buy 3 DVDs, get the 4th one free, and you got a handy little sleeve that you could color yourself. I checked it out, but none of the movies appealed to me. Mostly action, sci-fi, that kind of stuff. I’m going to pretend I have the power to release movies on DVD, and create a few box sets that need to be created, posthaste. Major studios and Ted Turner, are you listening? Here we go...

Joan Crawford: The Best of the 1930s

1. Dance, Fools, Dance
2. Laughing Sinners
3. Possessed (1931, obviously)
4. Rain
5. Dancing Lady
6. Sadie McKee
7. Chained
8. Forsaking All Others
9. Love on the Run

Okay, this would obviously be a rather hefty box set**, but I would totally buy it. The new Garbo one coming out this fall has seven sound movies (eight if you count both the German and English versions of Anna Christie) plus three silents and a documentary on ten discs for $69.94 (Amazon price). So how about nine Crawford movies for, say, $49.95? There are more good movies of hers from the 1930s, I just picked my favorites. You could also toss in Letty Lynton, I Live My Life, Gorgeous Hussy, The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, or The Bride Wore Red.

**Pausing to look over some of the other "signature collection" box sets, I see that 9 movies in a set wouldn’t be outrageous at all. Here’s how many movies are in various other box sets:
Cary Grant – 5
Judy Garland – 7
Hitchcock – 9
Errol Flynn – 5, plus a documentary
John Wayne – 4
Hepburn & Tracy – 3, plus a documentary
Elizabeth Taylor – 4

So the bigger, the better is now my motto!

Moving on, let’s take a look at Jean Harlow, who should have had a box set long ago.

Jean Harlow: The Signature Collection

1. Hell’s Angels
2. The Public Enemy
3. Platinum Blonde
4. Red-Headed Woman
5. Red Dust
6. Hold Your Man
7. Dinner at Eight
8. Bombshell
9. China Seas
10. Wife vs. Secretary
11. Libeled Lady
12. Saratoga

I think that would about do it. Most people would probably take out Hold Your Man as it’s not one of her better known films, but I included it because I adore it. Also Saratoga could go, because it is kind of morbid to play "spot the body double." So that would make it an even ten. There’s room to fiddle – I could easily take out China Seas and put in The Girl from Missouri. I find myself inexplicably fascinated with Reckless, but that was pretty much a bomb, so we’ll skip it.

How about...

Judy and Mickey: The Collection

1. Babes in Arms
2. Babes on Broadway
3. Strike Up the Band
4. Love Finds Andy Hardy
5. Life Begins for Andy Hardy
6. Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
7. Girl Crazy

Or you could just whip up an Andy Hardy box set, although the last one, Andy Hardy Comes Home, has always seemed like a depressing idea to me.

Oh! How could I have almost neglected to mention...

Clark Gable: The Signature Collection

1. Red Dust
2. It Happened One Night
3. Manhattan Melodrama
4. Mutiny on the Bounty
5. Test Pilot
6. Idiot’s Delight
7. Mogambo
8. Run Silent, Run Deep
9. The Misfits

I know I’m missing a lot here, because there are quite a few of his films I haven’t seen. I know there’s one or several documentaries out there, so toss your favorite in. Another idea would be a Clark Gable and Joan Crawford collection.

Norma Shearer: The Signature Collection

1. The Divorcee
2. A Free Soul
3. Private Lives
4. Strange Interlude
5. Riptide
6. The Barretts of Wimpole Street
7. Romeo and Juliet
8. Marie Antoinette
9. Idiot’s Delight

I skipped The Women because it’s been released by itself as well as part of Joan’s new box set. Marie Antoinette should be released on DVD right now, just by itself, because it is a wonderful film, and Norma is fabulous in it.

Other random films that I’d love to see on DVD, not necessarily as part of a box set:

Jane Eyre
No Man of Her Own
I Love You Again
To Each His Own
Love Crazy
The Raven
The Black Cat (1934)

Okay, whoever owns the distributions rights to these movies, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Get cracking!

Dodge City

Errol Flynn slips into some buckskin for his first (I believe) western, Dodge City, along with a boatload of character actors: Alan Hale (with the biggest part in which I think I've ever seen him), Victor Jory (egad, it's Jonas Wilkerson, the evil overseer of Tara!), Guinn Williams (who appeared in yesterday's movie You'll Never Get Rich), Gloria Holden (it drove me mad trying to recognize her, and I couldn't, I had to look it up -- I saw her in Dracula's Daughter), Henry Travers (hi, Clarence!), and Frank McHugh, who I just adored in the Powell/Loy movie I Love You Again.

I think I prefer Errol when he's buckling swashes (or is it swashing buckles?), but I enjoyed him as a cowboy/cattle herder/reluctant yet effective sherriff, too. Olivia de Havilland is always beautiful and delightful as his love interest; as Robert Osbourne pointed out during the special feature, in most (if not all) of their movies together, their characters hate each at first, then end up falling madly in love. Usually when Errol insists upon it, but who could resist him, anyway?

I was never much for westerns, and I don't think this movie is going to make me run out and start renting them by the wagonload, but I did like it, mostly for the enjoyable performances by all the actors mentioned above. My grandfather was a big western fan, and he and my mom would go to the movies almost every week. I don't know why, they just never grew on me. I'll take a WWII movie for action and adventure over a western.

I have now officially seen all the movies in the Errol Flynn box set. Now I can rest up for the Garbo set coming out in September. ;)

Upcoming DVD goodness

God bless the studios that are deciding to release classic movies on DVD, thereby eliminating my need to feverishly bid for VHS tapes on eBay. Coming up this summer we have:

• The Complete Thin Man Collection (August 2)
• Garbo: The Signature Collection (September 6)
• Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (August 16)
• The Damned Don't Cry (June 14)
• Possessed (June 14) [I wish they'd release Joan's other movie called Possessed on DVD.]
• The Star (June 14)
• Humoresque (June 14)

And so on. I've completely reorganized my Netflix queue to keep up. Yes, I am that nerdy. The first 3 items listed above are already on my wish list at Amazon. I already have Possessed and Humoresque on tape; I liked them okay, but not really enough to rush out and buy the DVD, too. I've never seen The Star, and I don't always like Bette Davis, but I'll give it a test drive.

The most recent movie viewed is You'll Never Get Rich. The verdict: okay. Fred is always good, Rita was lovely as usual, Robert Benchley is cute, and a shout-out to Garry Owen, who was also in Hold Your Man, one of my favorites (although IMDB doesn't even list him in the full cast, the title is listed on his page). I like military movies, and backstage dramas, and I got two for the price of one here.

50's Musicals and Queens of England

In that order. It was a triple feature this weekend...first up was The Band Wagon, something I bumped to the top of my Netflix queue when I got a hankering for some Fred Astaire, after watching Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer. I know, go figure. I also bumped Singin' in the Rain to the top, so that was my Saturday double feature, a pair of 50's musicals.

I like musicals, as a general rule, although I'm not really one of those people who's nuts about them. I'll pick a good weepy 30's drama first. And I prefer my classics in black and white; once the studios went Technicolor, boy, did they go color. Hot pink and neon green and electric blue and that day-glo yellow "Casino number" set from Rain...pass me the sunglasses. Some of the color combos on the costumes, too...no sane human wears those combinations. I prefer a nice, silvery-toned black and white film, thanks. Plus, the dancing they do in some of these musicals is too avant grade for my taste. Give me Astaire and Powell doing a tap to "Begin the Beguine" rather than Gene Kelly slinging Cyd Charisse around while the brass blares. Not that there's anything wrong with that kind of movie, it's just not my first choice.

So, with that in mind, I sat down to watch The Band Wagon and, finally, Singin' in the Rain, one of those movies people always talk about: "You haven't seen it? Ever? What is wrong with you?" I very much enjoyed the premise of Rain, with the story being about the transition from silent movies to sound (although that did make the Casino number seem even more out of place). Fred's starting to look a little creased around the edges in Wagon, but he still can dance, and how. Gene's character of Don Lockwood reminded me of Harry Palmer from For Me and My Gal, one of my all-time favorite movies, ever. And, of course, Gene is extremely easy on the eyes. Especially mine. ;)

Today it was one of the movies from the Errol Flynn box set, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. I've been especially looking forward to this one because I have a great interest in Tudor history, I have a whole shelf of books in my library on the subject. I was impressed by how Bette Davis looked, and also her acting, although I thought there was a bit too much begging for a queen in the scene where she sees Essex for the last time before his execution. Errol Flynn, always good in tights, and an all-around wonderful job as Earl of Essex. I can already tell this is one I'll be watching over again quite often. As in Warner's release of The Adventures of Robin Hood, they put together on the DVD a "Warner night at the movies," with a cartoon, newsreel, preview (of Dark Victory), and a short subject. It really sets the atmosphere of going to the movies, and having it be a whole event, which to me is a part of what watching classic movies is all about.

Captain Blood, redux?

The Master of Ballantrae

starring Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Beatrice Campbell, Anthony Steel

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Flynn tries to recapture his Captain Blood days, and does a so-so job. The plot of Master of Ballantrae is somewhat similar to Captain Blood (our hero gets on the wrong side of a tyrant, escapes danger to live the life of a pirate, and returns home and/or to his one true love) but in comparing the two Ballantrae comes off the worse; Flynn looks his age and then some (although he still looks fabulous in tights, even if they are plaid), and his lady love (Beatrice Campbell) is certainly no Olivia de Havilland. On the plus side, Roger Livesey, as Col. Francis Burke, is a suitably entertaining sidekick. I couldn't get into the other characters enough to care what happened to them (the parts of the storyline without Flynn are only average at best), but it's always fun to watch Errol swashbuckling away.

P.S. The Errol Flynn Signature Collection is being released on April 19. Yay!