Escape Me Never

In turn of the century Venice, composer brothers Sebastian (Errol Flynn) and Caryl (Gig Young) both fall for two women: low-born Gemma (Ida Lupino), a widowed single mother with a baby, and wealthy socialite Fenella (Eleanor Parker). Their various romantic entanglements lead them to the Dolemite mountains and to the United Kingdom. This was based on a play, and had been previously filmed in England, with that film earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for Elisabeth Bergner. This version didn't seem to have much inspiration to it, or perhaps the wrong the director was at the helm, as everything seemed flat and perfunctory. That is, in between scenes of Lupino chewing up the scenery. I've liked her in many things, but not this. And her hair is just awful. Eleanor Parker, who I often don't like, came across better here and fit the setting and the role. I watched this for Flynn, and much like this same year's Cry Wolf, he seems to be trying to stretch his screen range. He still gets to be a bit of a charming rogue, but his romantic scenes feel empty and unbelievable, as did his moments with the ballet company near the end. He seemed most at home during his concertina performances in a beer garden. I didn't detest this movie as many critics seem to, but I wouldn't want to watch it again.

When the macLean family catches gemma (Ida Lupino) wandering around the closed rooms of their venice mansion, they learn what a scoundrel dubrok is. But there are two dubroks! Caryl (Gig Young) is the prim and proper one, while sebastian (Flynn) is the troublesome, artistic, bohmian one that gemma knows. So the macLeans rush out of town to keep their daughter from getting mixed up with any dubroks. So the brothers take gemma and her baby to go find fenella (Parker) and straighten the mess out. When they find her, sebastian and fenella talk alone. Fenella can't make up her mind which brother she likes. Life is confusing. And when people "talk" in the moonlight, sometimes it means more happened, during the film code... it's ok. Takes a long time to get where its going. And the ballet scene goes on way too long. Will fenella steal gemma's man? She flutters her eye lashes, and floats back and forth between them. This warner brothers version, and the 1935 UA film are both based on the novel and play by Margaret Kennedy.

The film gets going awfully late and that's only when Ida Lupino is able to pour it on in her usual excitable way. Through an error the Eleanor Parker-Gig Young relationship is curtailed when Eleanor falls for brother Errol Flynn. Both men in the field of music are quite different from each other. Flynn, hoping to compose an opera, takes in Ida Lupino with a young baby. With the right brakes thanks to Parker, it appears that Flynn, who has now wed the Lupino character, will get his opera made. The falling apart of that project brings everyone to a downward spiral. Flynn leaves Lupino for Parker and tragedy comes to the Lupino infant. Of course, Flynn eventually realizes that Parker is not the woman for him as the film ends. It is only Lupino's performance that saves this somewhat. Flynn is terribly miscast and Eleanor Parker, again proves how selfish she could be in motion pictures. Young is rather benign in his part of Parker's suitor.

There are things I like about this film, and things I don't like. On the plus side, it's a very different kind of film, particularly for the likes of Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino, and Gig Young...perhaps not quite so different for Eleanor Parker. Those who were used to Errol Flynn the swashbuckler, must have been rather taken aback when they viewed this film at the local theater. And, it's a little bit different take than the typical story about the lover who is irresponsible and emotionally cruel to their mate(s). On the negative side, I really dislike the ending. Really dislike the ending. Really! I noted that another reviewer mentioned this was low budget. Well, that actually seemed to vary throughout the movie. In the opening scenes that were supposed to be Venice, it was pretty convincing. Then the scenes in the forest -- cheap, cheap, cheap (and that's not the sounds of birds). And some of the scenes filmed against a back projection were quite chintzy, as well. Flynn plays his role well here, though overall, it's a pretty unflattering role for him. And, the wrinkles in his forehead that were so evident by 1950, still aren't there in this film (it must have been a wicked 3 years in between). And, this is one of the few roles in which I actually liked Ida Lupino. More diverse a performance than I typically see her in. And, thank goodness to see Gig Young in a role where he's not a sappy "other man", such as in his later roles in Doris Day-type films. Eleanor Parker is so young here, I'm not so sure I would have recognized her were it not for her billing. This film is offbeat enough that I can see why it was a flop. And, I doubt it will grace many DVD shelves. And, the print that is shown on TCM is not very crisp, but I think that's less the photography than the maintenance of the 65+ year old film. Worth a watch...at least once. Now I'm in the mood for "Santa Fe Trail".

This was one of the more difficult Errol Flynn movies to watch--mostly because Flynn plays a character that is probably more like him off-screen than any other he played (except, perhaps in one one of his last films when he played John Barrymore). Flynn is a ne'er-do-well brother who is shacked up with Ida Lupino. Lupino has practically no self-respect, as Flynn likes her but never in any way shows he loves her or her baby (by the way, WHOSE baby this is isn't discussed at all). Flynn ignores her, flirts with other women openly and is emotionally shallow. How a woman could love a creep like this is quite baffling--though I know there are many like this! Into their poor world comes Flynn's brother, played by Gig Young. Apparently his fiancée and her family thought that Lupino was living in sin with him (Young), when it was really with Flynn (the brother). She dumped him and ran off and Flynn and Lupino urge him to follow her. In fact, they all go off together singing and doing odd jobs to pay their way. Eventually, Flynn finds this fiancée first (played by Eleanor Parker). She seems to have gotten over Young very quickly and is soon smitten with Flynn--even AFTER she finds out he's been living with Lupino. Later, when Flynn and Lupino marry, Parker STILL secretly wants him. Apparently, Lupino is not the only idiot female in the movie! Well, to make a long story short, Parker and young break up and Flynn is about to run off with her when he finally shows he has some conscience and runs back to Lupino. By now, Lupino's baby had died due to neglect (Flynn didn't have a steady job and seemed unconcerned that the baby lived in a cold apartment and was sick). And naturally, Lupino takes him back, because, after all, she IS an idiot!! If you want a film that makes a lot of sense and where you can respect the characters, then find another film. It is an interesting character study but with either stupid females as well as a sex-crazed and shallow leading man (Flynn), it's still tough to watch. After all, if you can't like or respect the characters, it's tough to stick with a movie. It was well made and produced--but the plot just wasn't very satisfying and was quite forgettable.

After 1945 in which Errol Flynn appeared in typical roles for him in Operation Burma and San Antonio, he obviously must have talked to Jack Warner about getting parts that would broaden his range. He did three films over the next two year designed to do that, Never Say Goodbye, Cry Wolf, and Escape Me Never. The last is probably closest to Flynn, but all three didn't either get great critical notice or did outstanding box office. After Escape Me Never, Flynn was back in traditional action roles like Silver River and The Adventures of Don Juan, the kind of parts his fans like to see him in. Escape Me Never is a four sided triangle story set in the years of the turn of the last century. Errol's a misunderstood genius of a composer who is living with a young widow, Ida Lupino and her baby. Ida's another Bohemian sort who broke into the villa in Venice of an English couple and their daughter. When she's confronted she mentions she's living with Errol. That sends a ripple through the house because daughter Eleanor Parker is engaged to Gig Young who is Errol's brother and they think Errol's a two timer. When she leaves Venice in a huff, Flynn, Lupino, and Young chase after her. The problem is that the daughter may have been wrong on the particulars, but in fact Errol is a two timing cad, though a charming one. Charm Flynn had in abundance, but I could never quite accept him as a musical genius. The best thing about the film is the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold who wrote a ballet for the film that is the highlight. Korngold scored a lot of Flynn's early swashbucklers, most notably The Adventures Of Robin Hood. This is the second version of this story, the British cinema did one in 1935 with Elisabeth Bergner and Hugh Sinclair. I'm guessing that was a better film.

I echo what a number of other reviewers have said about this film, that they were pleasantly surprised by it. Most of the books about Flynn pan the film, and put it on the list with his lesser- quality pictures. It may not be in the top rank with his swashbucklers, but it really isn't a bad film at all. He gives a fine performance, and shows what a good actor he was, in just about any role he tackled. I like the fact that it isn't an action film, as we get to see what he could do in a different kind of part. I think he carries it off very well. He still gets to be the handsome rogue (with a piano instead of a sword), but also shows that his character is deeper than that, and has some real sensitivity for his lady friend and her baby. Some reviewers say that he was miscast, but I don't agree. A handsome, charming guy like Flynn is just what the part demands. A flirtatious character, but one with some deeper feelings, too. That could almost be a definition of the real Errol Flynn. Flynn succeeds with a difficult task here- making a selfish cad somewhat likable. You find yourself rooting for Sebastian in spite of yourself. It's nice seeing Flynn work with his real-life friend, Ida Lupino. Flynn, Lupino, and director Raoul Walsh reportedly spent a lot of time together, and were very close pals. In fact, Ida and her mother Connie (who also loved Flynn) are buried right next to Flynn in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. One gets the feeling that Ida always loved Errol, and, in an alternate universe, you wonder if they might have gotten married, or had some kind of long-term relationship. Flynn was a wanderer, though, so perhaps that wouldn't have worked out so well. Anyway, they play well together, and you sense that they really liked each other. Gig Young and Eleanor Parker are also very good in this film. Both were excellent actors, though their later roles perhaps provided them with more range than this film does. As in all Old Hollywood movies, this one is chock full of great character actors. Reginald Denny, Frank Reicher, Anthony Caruso, Albert Bassermann, Doris Lloyd, Leonard Mudie, and many others. Reicher is one of my favorites, in all kinds of films. I think he is best remembered as the captain of the ship "Venture" in King Kong. Caruso was great, too, and should have had a bigger career. He always projected sincerity and believability. I'm guessing Flynn had some coaching on the piano for this. There is at least one shot where you can see his hands on the ivories. Most of the other scenes show him from behind. Films have always been good at faking the playing of musical instruments, as it had to look good and seem believable. Pianists might poke holes in what looks like Flynn really playing, but it looks pretty good to me. Anyway, this film is worth a look. It shows that Flynn's talents really did go beyond playing the swashbuckler. All of us fans have always known that, but it might be an eye-opener for some people. Supposedly, the bad reviews for this film, and for his performance, upset him greatly. Many think that the criticisms of his acting, combined with the effects of his rape trial, and inability to serve in the military during the war, led to the downward spiral his life soon took. If you look at him just two or three years after he made this film, he looks ten years older. Everyone knows how it all finally played out. But here, he still seems young and full of life. And he has a perfect partner in Ida Lupino, who was always good in these kinds of dramas. It's too bad they didn't make more films together.

The best thing I can say about this movie is that Errol Flynn seemed to be enjoying himself. He is relaxed and natural. Same with Ida Lupino, actually. None of her usual brittle intensity. But my gawd the story. Is it a love quadrangle? Is he a composer or a busker? Is Lupino supposed to be a woman or a teenager. Is there a world where Gig Young is a serious rival of Flynn's when it comes to women? Is Eleanor Parker's character actually alive or just a mannequin? And the lighting and makeup is ghastly. In some scenes Lupino looks like she's wearing circus makeup. In some scenes Flynn looks, I can't believe I'm about to type this, unattractive. It takes a special kind of ''talent" to pull that off. The whole thing is so inert, so lifeless. Seeing Flynn in those lederhosen or britches or whatever. Kinda humiliated for him.

For big fans of Errol and big fans of period romance musical comedy/drama combo,this movie will deliver the goods.The story hits the spot for the genre.Very good music,very good cast and acting as well.What kpt this movie from becoming a classic though was the low budget and average directing.The cinematography was also below average.But still,Errol Flynn is so charming here as usual and for the right audience,it's still a winner.This film was unfairly under rated due to the dreaded anti-Flynn syndrome bandwagon......

Escape Me Never is a remake of the 1935 version that earned Elisabeth Bergner both an Oscar and Rag nomination for Best Actress. The movies are so similar, I can't really figure out why Hollywood decided to remake it at all. And even though Errol Flynn is gorgeous and has an additive screen presence, he's not particularly likable in this one. Ida Lupino starts the movie off being a real pill, and she barely gets any better. She pretends to be a schoolgirl, sneaks into a guided tour of a wealthy family's estate, snoops around in rooms she shouldn't, and when she gets caught, she throws a temper tantrum and insists on telling her entire life story to the wealthy family all while getting a free meal, which was her main objective anyway. She creates a huge misunderstanding and breaks up Gig Young's relationship with the wealthy, classy Eleanor Parker, because Eleanor's parents think Gig has fathered Ida's baby. In truth, Gigs brother Errol Flynn is living with Ida, even though he's not the father and has no real feelings for her. Then, when the trio goes on a quest to win Eleanor back, Errol wins her heart instead. Talk about a complicated love triangle! This isn't the worst movie, and it has a classically dramatic storyline that's usually only found in old films. If you like needlessly dramatic plot points and unlikable, implausible romances, you can give this one a shot.