ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN

ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN (1948) is a classic Errol Flynn swashbuckler. Produced at Warner Brothers, the studio where Flynn made so many great films, DON JUAN is a rollicking, slightly tongue-in-cheek costumer which finds Flynn playing the legendary Spanish lover, a rake who pursues lovely young women all across Europe. He's aided in his escapades by stalwart companion Leporello (long time Flynn co-star and real life friend Alan Hale).

The action begins in England where Don Juan is mistaken as the Spanish suitor to a British princess. He and Leporello escape (using recycled footage from THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)) and, armed with a letter of recommendation from Count de Polan (Robert Warwick), they return to Spain to serve in the court of Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors).

Don Juan finds his true love in the form of the lovely queen but there's intrigue and menace afoot as Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas, in a Loki-esque look and performance), plots against the queen and her ineffectual husband, King Phillip III (Romney Brent). The Duke is aided by several henchmen, among them a young Raymond Burr as Captain Alvarez.

Don Juan faces many obstacles in exposing and overcoming the Duke's nefarious schemes and the narrative climaxes with a rousing sword fight between Don Juan and the Duke on an enormous staircase set.

ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN doesn't reach the heights of Flynn's greatest film, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, but it's a marvelously entertaining film nonetheless. The Technicolor cinematography by Elwood Bredell, drenches the screen in vivid hues, toned down only slightly from the first eye-popping three-strip Technicolor of earlier years. Legendary composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (who scored ROBIN HOOD), was originally set to provide the music here but he retired from film scoring by the time the film went into production and was replaced by Max Steiner, who delivers a terrific score. The costumes and sets are gorgeous and the performances are all good. Director Vincent Sherman keeps things moving at a good clip and Flynn hadn't yet started his long, slow slide into dissolution and debauchery that ultimately sank his career. He's not at the top of his form but he still delivers the goods.

If you're looking for accurate history, go read a book. If you want an exciting, funny and beautiful to look at, old fashioned swashbuckler starring one of the greatest action heroes of the cinema, check out ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN. Recommended.