Warner Bros | 542 mins. | 1942-45 | Unrated
Warner Brothers consistently does a great job paying tribute to classic Hollywood. Whether it be there Signature Series, TCM Classics or something else, the WB seems to be the place to go for some of the best in ‘Star” box sets. The recent Errol Flynn Adventures set is similar to the studio’s Film Noir Collection: Volume 5, in that they provide an opportunity to check out movies that die-hard fans of classic cinema may have heard of but never seen. As such, any student of film should be happy to finally have these available on DVD.
From the late 1930s through the mid 1940s, the dashing Flynn was one of the biggest action stars in the world. Aside from swashbuckling adventures, he also made Westerns (Dodge City; They Died With Their Boots On) and War movies (Dawn Patrol). Although the Australian born actor may have seemed miscast as a cowboy, fans seemed to accept him in the white hat. And when it came to war films, Flynn’s heroic screen image was perfectly suited to fighting the Nazi’s.
In Desperate Journey (1942) Flynn co-stars with future American President Ronald Reagan. The two portray American pilots who crash land behind enemy lines only to discover some vital information that they have to get to their superiors in Washington. Of course, the Nazi’s are hot on their heels, but it never feels like death is imminent. Desperate Journey plays out almost like a slapstick comedy, with the Nazi’s portrayed as hapless bunglers. Flynn and company easily outsmart the Germans. Flynn gets a rare opportunity to flex his comedic muscles as Lt. Forbes, the cunning yet amiable leader of the stranded group. The film is an amusing, lightweight effort, directed by Raoul Walsh, who was a frequent collaborator of Flynn’s.
Edge of Darkness (1943) is a low budget drama, with an excellent cast. The plot revolves around the underground movement in Norway during the Nazi occupation. Flynn plays Gunnar, the leader of a band of rebels in a small fishing village who are planning an attack against the Germans. Anne Sheridan plays his love interest Karen, and Walter Huston is her father, the town Doctor, who feels he and his daughter should stay as far away from the rebellion as possible, but against his better judgment finds himself being drawn into it. Ruth Gordon is excellent as the Doctor’s fearful wife who has retreated into her own world of pre-war happiness. Charles Dingle is a local businessman named Kasper who collaborates with the group. Dame Judith Anderson portrays a spirited rebel whose hatred of the Nazis intensifies when they kill her husband.
Northern Pursuit (1943) is perhaps the weakest entry of the set. Flynn plays Canadian Mountie Steve Wagner who is patrolling the North Country with his partner, Jim Austin (John Ridgely), when he stumbles across injured German Luftwaffe Officer Colonel Hugo von Keller lying in the snow. He soon learns that the man (Helmut Dantine) is the only survivor of a Nazi unit sent to Canada on a secret mission. Wagner is of German descent, so when he makes the well-intentioned but costly decision to allow his Nazi prisoner a few days to recover before turning him in to the authorities. As a result, people begin to question where Wagner’s loyalties lie. Wagner is under heavy suspicion when the German escapes; he is kicked out of the Mounties. He is then hired by an American businessman (who is secretly in league with the Nazis) to lead a small party of men up to the “frozen north” on some sort of expedition. When Wagner learns that his party is composed of Nazis, he feigns cooperation to find out their plans. While this film had a genuine chance to be interesting, it’s too badly written to be little more than a mish-mash of several plot threads.
Uncertain Glory (1944) has Flynn playing a death row convict named Jean Picard in occupied France. He narrowly escapes execution when a stray Allied bomb blows up the prison yard as he is being led to the guillotine. With the help of a former criminal associate, he flees for the countryside while being pursued by Sûreté Inspector Marcel Bonet (Paul Lukas), the man who originally arrested him. Bonet quickly catches up to Picard and brings him back into custody. On the way back to Paris, they hear news of a bridge destroyed by an act of sabotage. Outraged Nazis demand that the Free French resistance fighters responsible for the bombing be identified and turned over to them. They threaten to execute 100 “suspects” rounded up in the nearby countryside within three days if this doesn’t take place. Picard proposes to Bonet that he allow him to take the rap for the bombing since he would prefer a firing squad to the guillotine. Bonet agrees for the sake of the 100 innocent hostages, but remains highly suspicious of the career criminal. In order to provide a plausible confession, Bonet takes Picard to the village near the bridge so they can canvass the site for details. While staying in the village, complications ensue involving a romance between Picard and a naive shop girl named Marianne (Jean Sullivan), an encounter with one of the actual saboteurs, the machinations of Madame Maret (Lucille Watson), a distraught mother of a hostage cold-bloodedly seeking a scapegoat for the bombing, the continued investigation by local Vichy Police Comissioner LaFarge (Douglass Dumbrille), and Bonet’s suspicions about Picard’s true intentions.
Objective: Burma (1945) is the best film in the set. The story concerns a group of paratroopers sent to destroy a Japanese radar station in Burma. While they get that job done, other problems quickly come up. They miss their pick-up when they are attacked and diverted by Japanese soldiers. With no chance for a second pick-up, the unit must walk 150 miles over rough terrain, all the while hunted by the enemy. This is one of relatively few WW2 films that feature the Japanese as the main villains, rather than the Nazis. Flynn is at his action star best here.
For films that are over sixty-years old, Warner has done a great job bringing these pictures to life. The 1.33:1 transfers afforded the films are all solid, showcasing excellent contrast, as well as steady, inky black levels and punchy, crisp detail. The transfer prints utilized are also for the most part clean as a whistle – they’re definitely not bogged down like many other prints from the era.
The mono mixes are just fine. They sound like they were originally designed. Dialogue comes through well, and Warner has done a good job of cleaning up analog hiss in each picture.
English, French and Spanish subtitles are included.
Warner’s Night at the Movies bonuses are included on all films here – newsreels, shorts, cartoons, etc. – but the real meat of this set’s bonus slate comes with a screen-specific audio commentary on Operation Burma! with film scholars Rudy Behlmer, Frank Thompson and Jon Burlingame. They offer insight into the movie’s development, production, and cultural import with clarity and obvious enjoyment.
