Adventures of Don Juan

source: Adventures of Don Juan

I've always been a huge fan of Flynn's movies. When he was into the role, he was as good an actor as anybody. Of his swashbucklers, the "BIG THREE" were always Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk. But two movies often omitted from a list of his best are The Adventures of Don Juan and The Master of Ballantrae. Don Juan is a movie in the vein of Burt Lancaster's Crimson Pirate or The Flame and The Arrow, being a tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler that scores on several points. Flynn was clearly comfortable with light comedy; it featured some great "bad guy" work by Robert Douglas; and, despite production problems caused BY Flynn's excesses, the editing in of sequences from Robin Hood and Elizabeth and Essex worked very well. The fencing scenes were thoroughly enjoyable! All in all, I would recommend this film to anybody who is a fan of the genre.

Don Juan is sent back to Spain because of his numerous romantic escapades and becomes involved in training the royal army in sword fighting, while also catching the eye of Queen Margaret. Don Juan and the queen are unaware of Don Rodrigo, the minister of state, who is planning accumulate the power to seize the throne from King Philip. Queen Margaret upsets Don Rodrigo, by trying to maintain her power, who is also at odds with Don Juan. Don Juan and the queen are eventually captured by Don Rodrigo and his aides, but the great romantic escapes from the dungeon to stop Don Rodrigo from going ahead with his plans. The film is good, but plays more as a parody of Flynn's former films such as Robin Hood, Sea Hawk, etc., with little emphasis on action until the final reel, which gives us one of filmdom's best sword fights with Flynn vs. Douglas and his men on the staircase. Lindfors plays more for eye candy rather than give a good performance. Hale (in his last film w/ Flynn) plays the role adequately, and Douglas is superb as the villain. Nice script with many humorous touches. Rating, 8.

I'll second all other comment-writers who point out the witty humor and Errol Flynn's still nimble swashbuckling at 38 in this very entertaining film, but I'd also like to point out another feature of Errol Flynn's performance (also applicable to many other of his films): He is also good at delivering more serious lines in exchanges with the villains (in a very believable, underplayed manner) and, for that part, more sincere dialogue with the beautiful ladies. I think this is an often overlooked part of Errol Flynn's charm and why many of his films, although light in subject, make for truly timeless pieces, just like The Adventures of Don Juan.

this was apparently Warners last big Budget swashbuckler with Errol Flynn, and Don Juan must have clothed him to a T! so to say! After 1925 there was Anna Q Nilsson, Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman Signe Hasso, and Marta Thoren and Mai Zetterling! And so it was very fun to see Viveca Lindfors in such a lavish big budget movie! In glorious Technicolor!!! The movie in itself is just such an old matinée movie that some TV-channels just show in early morning hours. It's just a fun filled 100 minutes, not to be taken serious! It was directed by Vincent Sherman! much later known for Young Philadephians with Paul Newman in 1959! When did they let Erroll slip their contract?????

Regardless of what anyone may say,this is a fun picture from beginning to end. EVERYTHING WORKS, from an aging Errol Flynn, Alan Hale as his sidekick, a witty script, great action, a young Raymond Burr as a sword fighting (!) bad guy, to one of Max Steiner's best scores. Some may say Flynn was in decline, but have to rank this up there with his best; it does not drag anywhere: kudos to Vincent Sherman as director---he keeps it going. The love interest--Viveca Lindfors--is properly stoic because she cannot get him at the end and they both know it. The aging Flynn's other trysts are romantic and humorous like Cary Grant (although Grant's were cosmopolitan not swashbuckling)in his last pictures. The king s played properly ineffectual; the main villain is wonderfully evil---and correctly dispatched at the end. Flynn is no "wussy" and stands up to every challenge. That's another reason this film is so good. Relax, watch, and enjoy.

THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN was the last of the great swashbuckling classics Flynn would star in.Though Flynn isn't exactly in his prime here nobody was ever better as the dashing devil may-care swashbuckling hero! Once again Flynn is reunited with his greatest screen sidekick Alan Hale,who is always a delight.Viveca Lindfors plays the Queen with grace and a strong will and her beauty further enhances her performance. Robert Douglas is no Basil Rathbone but he still makes a fine villain.The score by Max Steiner is very fast paced and exciting and the duel between Flynn and Douglas is also nicely staged. All in all this is a truly entertaining adventure with Flynn as dashing and heroic as only he could be! MY RATING: 9/10

The Baron shines as Don Juan. He does with a period role what Elvis did with a song he makes it his own.There may have been better swordsmen technically but no one had Flynns charisma or showmanship when it came to sword fighting. Today's actors when you dress them in seventeenth century attire look like twenty-first century blow dried wimps dressed in costume. Flynn looks like he belongs in whatever time the film is set. It is impossible to visualize any other actor as Juan. And make no mistake Flynn was an actor.Just because he made it look easy does not mean it wasn't acting.If you want to see how an epic should be made watch this motion picture. There is no CGI here these are real sets and real actors. In this day of remakes I rue the day they get around to Flynn's films no one can fill his boots.

This is the last of the swashbuckler films made by Errol Flynn. In the 1930s and early 40s, such great films as CAPTAIN BLOOD, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and SEA HAWK brought him considerable fame and the studio millions and this film was an attempt to recapture some of that old magic. While this is a pleasant enough film, unfortunately it also seems very, very familiar and not all that interesting. While Flynn had starred in a couple other films set during Elizabethan era, SEA HAWK and THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX were set in Britain while in this film Flynn is oddly cast as a Spaniard! The reason must have been since the fictional character "Don Juan" was a great lover and Flynn had a heck of a reputation as a womanizer. It couldn't have been because of the accent because, as usual, Flynn sounds like himself. In fact, no one in this film had an accent approaching a Spanish one. Oddly, the Austrian queen was played by a Swede! As for the film, Flynn was fine and the other actors were pretty forgettable (though I liked the midget--he was a nice touch to an otherwise dull cast). Although Flynn did look a tad older, he seemed in good shape and the action scenes worked just fine--but again, they seemed so much like those from his other similar films. While I liked Flynn in adventure films, I really wished they'd chosen something that was more a departure from the mold and the majority of the blame for this only being a mediocre script rests with the screen writers. Plus, in addition to a lack of originality, they really could have infused this film with a bit of humor. As a result of all these factors and resulting poor box office receipts, it's obvious the public felt the same. Now it isn't a bad film per se and you might enjoy seeing it--but it just has nothing new or memorable to say.

I expected to see Flynn looking out of shape, trying to relive his past glories in this 1948 film. Instead it turns out that in The Adventures of Don Juan, not only is our hero still swashbuckling up a storm and almost as handsome as ever -- let's not forget, ten years and many events have now elapsed since Robin Hood -- but he is also man enough to laugh at himself along with the audience. The role of Don Juan could not be carried off by many actors, and casting Flynn in this role could easily end up being farcical. Instead, he pulls off the role with humour and grace. And he still looks excellent in tights! More than good enough for me.