Royal Flash (1975)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Such a frustrating disappointment

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The first few Flashman books were just marvelous, then they started to lose their spontaneity and they became as if written to a formula. However they were still pretty good and it wasn't until the very last couple that it was obvious that George McDonald Fraser had really lost his touch. He could still write wonderful books however (The Border Reivers, The Candlemas Road, his Burma book) it was just with Flashman that he became stale. After having said that he had a strange inclination to write slapstick books such as The Pyrates, which were truly dreadful and practically unreadable. His talent for slapstick however proved worthwhile with the scripts of the first two of the three The Three Musketeer films, the last of the three being not up to the standard of the first two, but still, he basically provided scripts that were funny and clever. So he was unpredictable in terms of quality, especially as he got older. But overall he was one of the best novelists and writers of all time. Which makes it hard to understand how he got it so terribly wrong with this movie. This strange inclination to turn to slapstick which sometimes worked out and at other times didn't brought this film completely undone. He was at the height of his powers when he wrote the script and yet he presented a Flashman that was not the Flashman of the books. It was cornball and silly and so dependent on puerile slapstick humor that if fails completely. The choice of Roddy McDowall as Flashman was disastrous. McDowall was/is a small man whereas Flashman was big, strong and assertive and he used his strength to pander to his particularly liking of being a bully. He was cunning and could appear to be likable and admirable if it suited him. As a result he was popular and respected by those who had never seen his real side, that of a coward, cruel and vicious. Mcdowall just comes across as a contemptible poltroon right from the start, snivelling and whining whereas the Flashman of the book hid his cowardice as much as he could. There is still a film to be made of Flashman and if true to the behavior of Flashman as his devotees would have it, it could be a great movie. This film is a travesty of the Flashman we all know and appreciate.

As a fan of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series I have seen this film many times and it's a treat to finally own a widescreen transfer on DVD. Royal Flash is the 1975 film based on the second "Flashman" novel of the same name. It stars Malcolm McDowell as Captain Harry Flashman, Oliver Reed as future German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, Britt Ekland as the chilly Princess Irma, and Florinda Bolkan plays the actress/mistress of mad Bavarian King Ludwig. Lola Montez. It also features the best Scrooge ever, Alastair Sim, and a pre-"Roger Rabbit" Bob Hoskins in minor but memorable parts. Fraser wrote the screenplay and the film was directed by Richard Lester. It is very similar in style to their collaboration on The Three/Four Musketeers films of 1973/1974, which also featured great locales, swordfighting galore and an ideal cast. OK, first, the BAD news: although I saw a 1975 preview screening in Ottawa I have never seen the original longer version, which apparently was released and trimmed to 102 minutes shortly after. Sadly, this footage, which apparently featured Lester regular actor Roy Kinnear in some scenes, does NOT appear on the DVD. There are some special features, including the theatrical trailer and a couple of mini-documentaries made around 2004. Another quibble some Flashy purists have expressed is that McDowell is not "stout" enough to play Harry. I think the natural devilment in Malcolm's performance more than makes up for his stature, and they even try to make him broad-chested in the film. I'm a Flashy purist too, and I prefer the tall lancer figure portrayed by Barbosa on the original book covers to the rather fat portraits on the current book covers. Finally, some have objected to the "slapstick" nature of the film, and perhaps these readers are more interested in Flashy's military campaigns than his rollicking amorous adventures. How much you like Lester's use of muttered quips and style of shooting will perhaps guide you: if you like "A Hard Day's Night", "Help!" or the Musketeers films you should enjoy this one. If you're looking for Kubrick, move along. Here's the GOOD news: the widescreen transfer is fine, the outdoor location shots still gorgeous and the movie is great fun. It is still a puzzle to me why such a fine film stiffed at the box office and was hard to find on TV or video for so many years. But you don't even have to be a fan of the books to enjoy this movie, or know the fascinating actual histories of Bismarck or Lola Montes to enjoy the larger-than-life characters. P.S. any resemblance to the classic "Prisoner of Zenda" is entirely deliberate. Eight out of ten stars, only because I hope the "lost" footage has survived and may be available in a (Blu-Ray, please!) version soon.

This is a fun flick. I've always liked the humorous fighting style that director Richard Lester brings to his films (The Three Musketeers/Superman I and II/Robin and Marion). This rollicking tale has a dash of that as well as the comic timing of Malcolm McDowell and the grandiose aspirations to rip off "The Prisoner of Zenda" in roundabout fashion.Royal Flash is an adaptation of the second novel of George MacDonald Frasier's hilarious historical fiction series about the 19th century British officer Harry Flashman, an admitted rogue and coward who always seems to end up smelling like roses. By placing Flashman in settings right out of history and populating his stories with real historical figures Mr Frasier has found the perfect way to inform as he entertains.The film follows Flashman from a torrid affair with the sadistic Lola Montez to a chance meeting with Otto von Bismark before sending him on a wild journey to a small European province where he's forced to imitate a prince and marry a princess and...Royal Flash is a good movie and I wish it had reached a wider audience so that I could have seen more of Harry Flashman on the screen. It is one of the weaker novels in the series, but plays well on film. McDowell is a perfect fit and the great Oliver Reed makes a convincing and intimidating Bismark.8.5 out of 10, but I'm admittedly biased. Seek out the movie, then read the books. Or vice-versa. You won't be disappointed.

Who else but that hate-to-love Malcolm McDowell could possibly do justice to one of literature's great scoundrels, Harry Flashman? In this George MacDonald Fraser spin-off of Thomas Hughes' classic Tom Brown's School Days, we are treated to some hilarious apocryphal tales involving such larger-than-life nineteenth-century figures as Otto von Bismarck and Lola Montez.This ripely visual Richard Lester production is sometimes a bit over the top, with gratuitous slapstick and audible guffaws and grunts. Nevertheless, on balance, a delightful romp, and a chance to see the wonderful Alastair Sim in one of his final appearances.