Adventures of Don Juan (1948)

Expected more

Excellent adaptation.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

You could look at it cynically and view Adventures of Don Juan as a career life support, seeing Errol Flynn going to back to doing what made him famous in the first place after a string of unsuccessful pictures at the box office but it is none the less Errol Flynn returning to do what he does best. Despite not having done a swashbuckler since The Sea Hawk in 1940, Adventures of Don Juan manages to recapture the magic of his earlier days in this very dialogue driven swashbuckler. Flynn's signs of ageing are increasingly apparent but considering his health and status as a star this would have been the final time Flynn could have headlined a big budget production such as this.The Technicolor here doesn't have the striking vibrancy of The Adventures of Robin Hood but the beautiful, detailed backdrops and very large scale sets with immaculate attention to detail are superb. The only complaint I have production wise is the very obvious use of footage taken from The Adventures of Robin Hood which sticks out from the rest of a movie which was filmed a decade later. It's a shame they couldn't get Michael Curtiz to direct for one last Flynn adventure or Erich Wolfgang Korngold to do the music score, none the less Max Steiner's score does the job. I also previously knew Viveca Lindfors as the teacher from the 1985 comedy The Sure Thing. To see her 37 years earlier play a Spanish queen in the 17th century was such a contrasting role.Unlike John Barrymore's take on Don Juan in 1926, Flynn's Don Juan uses the character's insatiable lust for woman for laughs rather than for tragedy (I doubt a film in tone of the Barrymore Don Juan could be made during the code era). Flynn's Don Juan is a charmer but with a tad buffoonery to him, who's love making antics threaten relations between England and Spain. However Flynn injects some John Barrymore into his performance with his manner of speaking, which it should then come as no surprise that Flynn would later portray Barrymore in Too Much, Too Soon. What is also taken over from the Barrymore Don Juan is the famous breathtaking epic dive down the stairs; and it does not disappoint. The two villains in Adventures of Don Juan, the King of Spain (Romney Brent) and the Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas) attempt to hatch a plan to build an armada in secret for world conquest and use shady tactics along the way such as abducting subjects by force for the navy. This was only a few years after the Second World War had ended and the memories of Hitler where still vivid in people's minds. Robert Douglas channels a bit of Basil Rathbone in his performance while the partnership between these two villains is the classic Emperor/Darth Vader set up; with one figure taking the public limelight and the other pulling the strings behind the scenes; as the Duke de Lorca puts it, "I have no desire to sit on a throne, I much prefer to stand behind it".

Last night I again watched one of my all time favorites, 'The Adventures of Don Juan' starring the amazing Errol Flynn and talented, lovely Viveca Lindfors. I've seen it many times before, this was the first time I viewed the copy from my TCM Errol Flynn collection DVD set. The quality of this video was excellent, better than I had ever seen the film look before. In fact I can not imagine it looking any sharper even on a blue-ray version. Perhaps because my blu-ray player is supposed to enhance DVDs too, not sure. Each scene was colorful sharp and impressively detailed, almost like a painting needing to be paused and admired. I can see why it won an Oscar for 'Best Costume Design, Color'. Also it was nominated for 'Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color'. The music by Max Steiner is as good as any swashbuckler ever had IMO. Sadly the movie was a box office flop at that time and the budgets on later Errol Flynn films were cut dramatically. Too bad cause it deserved better. This was the last of his greatest costume action movies, IMO. The special features section on the DVD includes a commentary on the film by director Vincent Sherman, I look forward to listening to that and the insights he shares.There were a few more Flynn action swashbucklers yet to come, they never achieved the grander of this work and those before it. I know most would consider one of his earlier films better examples of Flynn at his best, for me this has a special place among them as a favorite. Perhaps it's because Errol Flynn was so much like Don Juan, even in the last scene you could substitute his name for that of the famous Spanish lover when he says to Leporello (Alan Hale) " My dear friend, there's a little bit of Don Juan in every man, and since I am Don Juan, there must be more of it in me! " I love that line.

Errol Flynn is best remembered today for the four classic swashbuckler roles that he played in the 1930s and 1940s.The first three were made when he was young, robust and in the fullness of his prime----"Captain Blood" (1935), "Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and "The Sea Hawk" (1940). They constitute the cumulative record of a dashingly handsome man whose charm, grace and sheer zest for life leap from the screen.The last----and least known of the four----is "Adventures of Don Juan" (1948). In many ways, it is the most interesting. While he is no longer young----and clearly shows the effects of a life probably too well lived---it represents everything that he ever learned about portraying this kind of hero. "Don Juan" is also the last time we will ever see Flynn in all his glory (in a beautifully restored Technicolor rendition) as our adventurous rogue (albeit an aging one) pursuing his final great quest. It's a pity that most of us will never see this film on a large screen.The TCM DVD for "Don Juan" contains a wonderful commentary track featuring the late director of the film, Vincent Sherman, and the eminent film historian, Rudy Behlmer. It is indispensable in giving the viewer a true appreciation of the film and the many elements that went into its creation.A prior reviewer pointed out that Don Juan's final scene with the Queen reminded him of the Ronald Colman version of "Prisoner of Zenda" (1937). Colman's last scene with Princess Flavia (played by Madeleine Carroll) seems to be the source of the similar one in "Don Juan." In "Zenda," Princess Flavia laments that duty and honor must come before true love. In "Don Juan," it is our hero who instructs the Queen on the very same subjects. Personally, I prefer "Don Juan" for its more touching and natural sentiment.This film should be viewed by anybody interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood who wants to see just how classic films were made---and one of cinema's true stars in his last hurrah!

This was Errol Flynn's first swashbuckler in almost a decade, thanks to a string of World War II roles, and it was arguably his last great costume adventure. As he neared the age of 40, the king of the Hollywood bad boys was beginning to show the effects of hard living, but in the role of Don Juan he is still perfectly convincing as both a fighter and a lover. And it doesn't hurt that his best sidekick, Alan Hale, is along for the romp. The film, set in an idealized version of Renaissance Spain, skillfully balances romance, action and humor. Viveca Lindfors is stunningly beautiful as the courageous queen: No wonder all the male characters -- good, bad or pathetic -- find her irresistible. And the rousing Max Steiner score makes you want to cheer every sword stroke. That's a lot of cheering.