"ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" (1948) Review
I will be the first to admit that I have been a fan of several movies starring Errol Flynn for years. Ever since I was in my early teens. However, my preference for Flynn movies tend to be for those that were released during the first five years of his Hollywood career - between 1935 and 1941. However, I recently took a chance on viewing one of his films made during the second decade of his Hollywood career - the 1948 adventure film, "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN".
The character of Don Juan had originated some time in the early 17th century - actually in the 1630 Spanish play by Tirso de Molina called "El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra" ("The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest"). Only in de Molina's play, the character of Don Juan was portrayed as an evil man who seduced women, thanks to his ability to manipulate language and disguise his appearance. Over the next century or two, Don Juan had transformed into a wealthy libertine, who devotes his life to seducing women in the belief that he had plenty of time to repent later for his sins.
In the 1948 movie directed by Vincent Sherman, Flynn's character is a Spanish nobleman named Don Juan de Maraña, a charming libertine, whose penchant for seducing women has landed him in scandal after scandal for many years. The movie opened in the last few years of Elizabethan England, when Don Juan is caught in a diplomatic scandal after a dalliance with the British fiancée of a Spanish nobleman. An old family friend and Spain's ambassador to England, Count de Polan, advises Don Juan to return to Spain as soon as possible. He also sends a letter to Queen Margaret of Spain and consort to King Philip III, recommending that Don Juan serves as the Spanish court's fencing instructor to rehabilitate the latter's reputation.
Upon his arrival in Spain, Don Juan discovers that the country is under the thumb of the king's premier minister, Duke de Lorca, who also has the weak-willed Philip under this thumb. Don Juan also falls secretly in love with Margaret, but remains a staunchly loyal subject to both her and the king. Don Juan discovers a treacherous plan by de Lorca, who is holding the loyal Count de Polan as a secret prisoner. The Duke plans to depose the monarchs, usurp their power over Spain, and declare war on England. With the support of his friends at court, Don Juan heroically defends the Queen and the King against de Lorca and his henchmen.
If I did not know any better, I would have sworn that "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" reminded me of Flynn's 1940 movie, "THE SEA HAWK". Like the 1940 film, Flynn's character is trying to save his country and monarch from a scheming prime minister, plotting to take control of the throne. But there are differences. One, he is in love with a married royal figure, instead of a single noblewoman. Also, the film's narrative remains firmly land-locked, unlike the 1940 movie. And unlike "THE SEA HAWK", "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" has a strong underlying streak of comedy in its narrative and in its portrayal of most of the main characters.
Do I have any complaints about "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN"? Not really. The worst I can say about the film is that it seemed to lack an edge that a good number of Flynn's earlier swashbucklers had possessed back in the mid-to-late 1930s. Despite the plot regarding the Duke de Lorca's oppression of Spain and his plot to assume control of the throne, the screenplay written by Herbert Dalmas, George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz just seemed to lack some kind of real edge or darkness that could be found in "THE SEA HAWK" and a few of his other films between 1935 and 1941.
On the other hand, I cannot deny that "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" was a joy to watch. I found it to be a very entertaining film. It possessed a strong comedic streak. Some of Flynn's other adventure films had their moments of comedy, but a part of me began to wonder if "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" was basically a comedy-adventure. It certainly seemed so. And you know what? The strong comedic element really worked. I believe the topic of Don Juan's womanizing behavior provided a great deal of strong humor for this film.
Comedy or not, "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" provided some good dramatic moments - especially in scenes featuring the main character's interactions with Queen Margaret and the Duke de Lorca. And since this is an Errol Flynn swashbuckler, I have to bring up the film's action scenes. The movie did feature its share of action scenes, but I can only think of two that really impressed me. One featured Don Juan's fencing students fighting de Lorca's men around the beginning of the last action scene. The other happened to be Don Juan's main duel against the Duke de Lorca. It is fortunate that both Flynn and Robert Douglas were experienced on screen/stage fencers. Mind you, I still regard Flynn's duel against Henry Daniell's double in "THE SEA HAWK" as my favorite sword fight to feature the Australian actor. But I cannot deny that both he and Douglas managed to provide a first-rate duel in the movie's final action scene.
The performances in "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" were excellent. The movie provided either solid or first-rate supporting performances from Romney Brent, Robert Warwick, Helen Westcott, Fortunio Bonanova Jerry Austin, Mary Stuart and Douglas Kennedy. I was surprised to find Ann Rutherford, who was a MGM contract player in the late 1930s and early 1940s in this film. She gave a funny, yet sly performance as Dona Elena, the amorous older sister of one of Don Juan's students. Una O'Connor, a veteran of Flynn's two earlier films, provided a breath of comedic fresh air as the maid of one of Flynn's conquests. I was also surprised to find future television star Raymond Burr as Captain Alverez, one of the Duke de Lorca's villainous henchmen. I thought he gave a very solid performance. Robert Douglas, who must have made a career of portraying villains, was very effective as the traitorous and scheming Duke de Lorca. "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN" proved to be the last of 13 or 14 movies that Alan Hale co-starred with Flynn. Not only did Hale give a highly entertaining performance as Leporello, Don Juan's personal servant; both he and Flynn managed to continue their great screen chemistry they had maintained for over a decade.
I have to be honest. I thought Viveca Lindfors gave a strong and excellent performance as the high-minded and no-nonsense Queen Margaret. But for some reason, she seemed out-of-place in this movie and as Flynn's co-star. I think her presence in this film would have worked if there had been a lot less humor in the story. I could say that portraying Don Juan de Maraña seemed like a walk in the park for Errol Flynn. He seemed to portray the role so effortlessly. I suspect that certain film historians would be inclined to dismiss his performance . . . as they are inclined to dismiss his talent as an actor altogether. But I must admit that Don Juan has become one of my favorite Flynn roles. Mind you, I thought he handled his dramatic scenes with Viveca Lindfors and Robert Douglas with great skill. But I found Flynn's comedic acting in this movie to be exquisite. This was especially apparent in scenes in which Don Juan had expressed annoyance by the unwanted attention of enamored women or mild resentment by his inability to put his seductive reputation behind him.
Overall, I really enjoyed "ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN". I thought director Vincent Sherman did an excellent job of using Herbert Dalmas, George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz's screenplay to create an adventurous tale that also included romance, intrigue, action and a great deal of humor. And Sherman also worked well with a top-notched cast led by the talented and woefully underappreciated Errol Flynn.
"AMAZING GRACE" (2006-07) Review
Ever since the release of the 2013 Oscar winning film, "12 YEARS A SLAVE", there seemed to be this idea - especially with the British media - that Hollywood has remained silent regarding the topic of American slavery. I find this opinion ironic, considering my failure to find many U.K. films on British slavery.
When I first read McQueen's criticism of Hollywood's failure to produce a good number of films about American slavery, I decided to check the Internet to see how many slavery movies that the British film industry had produced. So far, I have only come across three - and one of them is "AMAZING GRACE", the 2006 movie about abolitionist William Wilberforce's efforts to end Britain's participation in the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Looking back upon "AMAZING GRACE", I could not help but feel that it would have made an appropriate companion piece to Steven Spielberg's 2012 movie, "LINCOLN". Although one focused upon the slave trade throughout Britain's Empire around the Georgian Era and the other focused upon the United States' efforts to officially end slavery during the last year of the Civil War, both explored the political impacts on the institution of slavery in their respective countries. But there were differences. "AMAZING GRACE" focused upon the end of Britain's official participation in the Atlantic slave trade and received only a few accolades. "LINCOLN", on the other hand, focused upon the end of slavery altogether (the country's participation in the slave trade ended around the same time as Great Britain) and received a great deal of accolades.
"AMAZING GRACE" begins in the middle of its story with a very ill William Wilberforce traveling to Bath with his cousin Henry Thornton and cousin-in-law Marianne to Bath for a recuperative holiday in 1797. The Thorntons decide to play matchmaker and introduce him to their friend, Barbara Spooner. Although the pair initially goes out of their way to resist any romantic overtures, Barbara ends up convincing Wilberforce to relate the story of his career.
The movie flashes back some fifteen years into the past, when Wilberforce was a young and ambitious Member of Parliament (MP). After he experiences a religious enlightenment and aligns himself with the evangelical wing of the Church of England, Wilberforce contemplates leaving politics to study theology. But friends such as William Pitt, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More, and Olaudah Equiano convinces him that he could be more effective doing God's work by fighting for the issue of Britain's slave trade. Wilberforce's convictions are deepened by a meeting with his former mentor, John Newton, a former slave ship captain turned Christian, whose regrets of his past participation in the slave trade led him to become an evangelist minister and writer of the poem that led to the song, "Amazing Grace". Despite great effort and assistance from his fellow abolitionists, Wilberforce's efforts fail, thanks to the pro-slavery cabal in Parliament after fifteen years. Following his marriage to Barbara Spooner, Wilberforce takes up the cause again with different results.
I am going to be brutally frank. "AMAZING GRACE" did not strike me as superior or at the same level of quality as "LINCOLN". I am not stating that the 2006 movie was terrible or even mediocre. I simply feel that it is not as good as the 2012 Oscar winning film. There is something about the style of "AMAZING GRACE" that lacked the more complex nature and characterizations of "LINCOLN". I found it . . . well, ideal and very preachy at times. I realize this movie is about the institution of slavery throughout the British Empire. But I believe that just because a story ( in any form) centers around an unpleasant topic like slavery does not have to be told with such a lack of moral complexity. I suspect that screenwriter Steven Knight tried to inject some kind of complexity in Wilberforce's original reluctance to take up the cause of the abolition of the slave trade and in his despair over the failure of the abolition cause by 1797. But the movie simply lacked that murky ambiguity that made movies like "LINCOLN" and "DJANGO UNCHAINED" more complex to me. Even worse, there were times when the movie fell into the danger of transforming Wilberforce into some idealized character - what is known by those familiar with fan fiction as a Mary Sue. The movie seemed to hint that the success of Britain's abolitionist movement centered around Wilberforce. And I found that annoying.
I have one last problem with "AMAZING GRACE". The use of flashbacks struck me as a bit . . . well, confusing. This especially seemed to be the case in the first two-thirds of the movie, which alternated between the present setting (1797) and the past (between 1782 and 1797). I hate to say this, but director Michael Apted and editor Rick Shaine did not handle these shifts in time with any real clarity. After my third viewing of the film, I finally got a handling on the shifts between the narrative's past and present. Many film critics have pointed out the movie's historical inaccuracies, which include the time period in which Wilberforce became interested in animal rights and the Duke of Clarence's erroneous service in the House of Commons. Honestly? They are simply bloopers and nothing for me to get excited over.
Despite its flaws, I must admit that "AMAZING GRACE" is a first-rate and stirring film. It touched upon a subject that I knew very little of . . . namely Britain's abolition movement. In fact, when I first saw the film, it reminded me that countries like the United States, Cuba, and Brazil were not the only ones with strong ties to slavery and the Atlantic slave trade. These ties were especially made apparent in scenes which Wilberforce and his allies battled with the pro-slavery forces like Banastre Tarleton and the Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews (the future King William IV). Although "AMAZING GRACE" mainly focused on the political aspect of abolition in Great Britain, there are two memorable scenes that reflect the horrors of slavery - Wilberforce and Olaudah_Equiano's tour of a slave ship and Newton's verbal recollections of his time as a slave ship captain. However, "AMAZING GRACE" also touches upon Wilberforce's personal life - especially his courtship of and marriage to fellow abolitionist Barbara Spooner. And it is to Ioan Gruffudd and Romola Garai's credit that they had created a strong and very believable screen chemistry.
"AMAZING GRACE" is also a very beautiful movie to look at. And that is an odd thing to say about a movie about slavery. As always, I tend to look at the production designer as the one responsible for the movie's overall visual style. In the case of "AMAZING GRACE", the man responsible was Charles Wood, who did an amazing job in recapturing Great Britain during the late 18th century. His work was ably assisted by the art direction team led by David Allday and Eliza Solesbury's set decorations. And since "AMAZING GRACE" is a period drama, I cannot ignore the costumes designed by film icon Jenny Beavan. Needless to say, her costumes were beautiful and perfectly adhered to the movie's time period and the characters. I especially enjoyed her costumes for actresses Romola Garai and Sylvestra Le Touzel.
All of the beautiful costumes, magnificent photography and impressive production designs in the world cannot save a movie. Aside from a first-rate narrative, a movie needs a talented cast. Thankfully for "AMAZING GRACE", it had one. Ioan Gruffudd, whom I tend to associate more with television, gave an excellent and passionate performance as the dedicated William Wilberforce. Also, Gruffudd more than held his own with the array of more experienced performers that were cast in this film. I do not know when Benedict Cumberbatch first made a name for himself. But I cannot deny that he gave a superb performance as William Pitt, the politician who eventually became the country's youngest Prime Minister. Cumberbatch did a first-rate job in portraying how Pitt's idealism, political savy and professional ambiguity sometimes clashed. Romola Garai gave a beautiful performance as Barbara Spooner Wilberforce, the politician's wife of thirty-odd years. By expressing her character's own passionate beliefs in the abolitionist movement, Garai portrayed her more than just Wilberforce's love interest.
Albert Finney made several appearances in the film as former slave ship captain-turned-evangelist John Newton, who became Wilberforce's mentor. Despite his limited appearances, Finney brilliantly portrayed Newton's pragmatic nature about his past and the guilt he continued to feel for his role in Britain's slave trade. I also have to comment on Rufus Sewell's very entertaining performance as abolitionist Thomas Clarkson. I do not think I have ever come across a performance so colorful, and at the same time, very subtle. The movie also benefited excellent support from the likes of Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Jeremy Swift, Stephen Campbell Moore, and Bill Paterson. Senegalese singer-activist Youssou N'Dour gave a solid performance in his acting debut as former slave-turned-abolitionist Olaudah Equiano. And Nicholas Farrell and Sylvestra Le Touzel, who co-starred in 1983's "MANSFIELD PARK" together, reunited to give entertaining performances as the Wilberforces' close friends, Henry and Marianne Thornton.
Without a doubt, I regard "AMAZING GRACE" as an entertaining, yet very interesting look into the life of William Wilberforce and his role in Britain's abolition of the slave trade. Granted, the movie came off a touch pretentious and there were times when the Wilberforce character came off as too idealized. But the movie's visual style, intelligent script, excellent performances from a cast led by Ioan Gruffudd, and solid direction from Michael Apted made this film worthwhile for me.
