The Private Life of Don Juan

source: The Private Life of Don Juan

The Private Life of Don Juan

Story of Don Juan proves once again that Hiding strategy is not a good strategy. We are social creatures. We need society, otherwise all our connections will be broken and society forgets us, of worth does not recognise real us. Ending was surprising and truly interesting- women are smart - his wife is smart: every woman wants Don Juan but all to herself.

Getting on in years, lothario Don Juan (Douglas Fairbanks Snr.) returns to his hometown of Seville in 19th century Spain. He still has a reputation to upkeep and finds that a young pretender (Barry MacKay) is pretending to be the great lover and balcony hopper. When the pretender is killed by a jealous husband, Don Juan attends his own "funeral" leaving behind many wailing women. Don Juan was the subject of a 1926 film starring John Barrymore and had Errol Flynn played him in THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN in 1948, this was then a fitting final role for Fairbanks Snr. before he went into retirement, upholding his swashbuckling lover reputation. Although another big production for Alexander Korda and was hoped to be a popular follow-up to the success of THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933), it was not to be and ended up costing the London Films a good deal of money. The plot has little excitement, great sets by Vincent Korda and an exotic portrayal by Merle Oberon as the Don's final fling.

This was at the twilight of Douglas Fairbanks's career and he gives a great performance both in comedy and adventure as Don Juan. He wasn't at the end of his career because he was too old or no longer popular in fact he just decided to call it a day while he was still very much a huge star and relatively young at barely over 50 years old. It's a great performance and a great way to say goodbye for Douglas Fairbanks. The movie is not the best but he is superb.

Don Juan, the great lover, is now middle-aged and finds he no longer has the same appeal with the ladies. Meanwhile a young impostor keeps the Don Juan legend alive by kissing women all over town. When trying to make a comeback, the real Don Juan can't live up to his own legend. This is a very funny movie and an interesting take on the Don Juan character. We see him forced to adhere to a strict diet, as his good looks are "his only asset", and balcony-climbing has become a chore. It's a tale about aging and clutching to one's youth. The cast is great for this witty Alexander Korda film. Young Merle Oberon is very beautiful as a dancer whose celebrity profits from being kissed by the great Don Juan. Benita Hume is lovely as the one woman who understands Don Juan - his wife. And it's a rare treat to see Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in a sound film, playing Don Juan in what would be his final role. The movie's a lot of fun, and even the opening credits are full of wit.

Douglas Fairbank Sr.'s swan song. He retired afterward and died five years later. Fairbanks was not very successful in the sound era, and this film was dismissed on its release, and flopped. It's actually pretty good, though. Fairbanks is a tad awkward, but it works in favor of the story. He plays an aging Don Juan. He is still a hit with the ladies, but he's annoyed that he has impersonators. After one of these impersonators is killed in action, Don Juan takes the opportunity to retire from the business, faking his own death. At first he enjoys his life as a regular man, but when he discovers that romance is much more difficult without his reputation preceding him, he decides to re-enter the identity of Don Juan. Problem is, no one believes him. It's a clever and very funny movie, beautifully shot and well acted. Merle Oberon is especially entertaining as a dancer.