Customer Reviews

Against All Flags [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Errol Flynn leads a great cast including Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn and Mildred Natwick in his last true swashbuckler.

Flynn plays an English officer going undercover to infiltrate a pirate haven. He crosses swords with both O'Hara & Quinn during the spectacle. Though Flynn is the star the interplay between O'Hara & Quinn is at least as interesting as the play between her and Flynn.

O'Hara handles a sword well and is believeable as a lady pirate. I always felt that in the battle of strong women (O'Hara vs Hepburn) O'Hara would win. It is the rare movie when she plays the fem fatale (I think I remember one picture with Tyrone Power.)

Flynn is older and subdued in comparison to his Captian Blood days, but he pulls off his role with style, and Anthony Quinn shows why he was an active actor right until the end, (it would be 40 years later when he would finally win O'Hara in ONLY THE LONELY.)

A very hard movie to find, but worth the effort.

I have been trying to get this film for years, after having seen it as a teenager, in vain. I was so happy to finally be able to buy it, and confirm that my teenage impression was correct: I loved it even more now. The chemistry between Errol Flynn and Maureen O'Hara is electric, even by today's standards. The photography and action-superb, the humor subtle.

The young Anthony Quinn as the villain Capt. Brasiliano is priceless-so dark and handsome, and as for fiery beauty Maureen as Spitfire and an impossibly good-looking Errol as Mr. Hawke who falls for her....sigh, sigh, sigh!
The quality of the imported DVD is excellent, with very sharp, clear picture and rich color and sound.

Against all Flags was made in 1952 when flynn was clearly on the downside of his career. His legal troubles and his drinking had taken its toll on him both physically and mentally and he no longer exuded that boyish charm that fans had come to adore in the 30's and early 1940's. Despite Flynn's condition, he still manages to pull off an effective swashbuckler and is greatly helped along by the presence of Anthony Quinn and Maureen O' Hara.

Flynn plays Brian Hawke, a British Naval officer posing as a Pirate to infiltrate their ranks and to eventually get information on their island defenses in Madagascar for the English. Accepted by the Pirate ranks Flynn still comes under the suspicion of the ship's Captain Roc Brasilano (Quinn) who takes an immediate dislike to him. O' Hara plays female pirate "spitfire" Stevens who eventually becomes the object of both men's desire. Complicating matters for Flynn is a rescued Indian princess Patma (Alice Kelley) who immediately becomes smitten with Hawke. All this leads to an eventual confrontation and duel between Flynn and Quinn in a well-shot sword battle.

Shot in Technicolor the scenery is just gorgeous and you only wish that Flynn's earlier films like The Sea Hawk had been in color as well. The cinematography is quite breath-taking. Despite playin the tough female role, O' Hara is still treated like "a woman" which I'm sure she wasn't happy about. Hollywood proved it was still a bit racist even in the 1950's as Alice kelley doesn't look remotely Indian in her role as Princess Patma. Quinn does the best with his role playing yet another ethnic villian, this time a ruthless Spaniard.

Despite his age and physical condition, Flynn still manages enough of the old charm and charisma to pull off this part. He was only 43 but his hard-living lifestyle made him look older. All in all while Against All Flags will never be remembered as one of Flynn's best films, it has enough going for it to be recommended for his fans or fans of the swashbuckling genre.

Be aware! This is not an official release but some bootleg 'made in China'. Quality therefor is not up to standard. A shame though that the official companies don't put more effort in releasing films like this. There sure is a market for them otherwise some bootlegger wouldn't take the trouble...

A swashbuckling classic that has remained hidden for too many years. The pairing Errol Flynn and Maureen O'Hara was fantastic. Flynn is the agent of England sent to stop the activities of pirates that include O'Hara as a pirate captain. Lots of fun as you would expect from these two.

Errol Flynn is his usual devil may care self and gives a performance that is pure fun to watch, almost as good as The Adventures of Robin Hood. Maureen O'Hara is funny and feisty as the pirate girl who captures Flynn's heart. The fighting is amazing that no one was really hurt soing this film. It's great fun and I wish it was available to purchase.

"Against All Flags" was not Errol Flynn's last film, but - as noted by Leonard Maltin - it was his last good movie before booze and womanizing finally did him in. It is perfectly cast and takes itself semi-seriously. Indeed, it is one of the last really good Hollywood pirate films.

This Chinese (Hong Kong) edition is largely free of scratches and artifacts. Colors, however, have faded somewhat and gone muddy. Although flesh tones are pretty good, there is a need for a properly restored edition. Nevertheless, the fact that "Against All Flags" was shot using the three strip Technicolor process means that it is still in reasonably good shape without an expensive restoration job. An unrestored mid-50s single strip color flick would be virtually unwatchable.

This film is often compared to somewhat earlier pirate flicks "The Black Swan" and "The Spanish Main," as both those films star Maureen O'Hara flipping her fabulous red hair around. In my view, "Against All Flags" is the best of the three.

Hopefully the original three greyscale Technicolor negatives still exist, so that a really good DVD can eventually be released. A properly restored version would get four stars - I deducted one star due to the above color issues.

Universal Pictures presents "AGAINST ALL FLAGS" (1952) (83 min/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Errol Flynn, Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn & Mildred Natwick

Directed by George Sherman

Its 1700 and the pirates of Madagascar menace the India trade. British officer Brian Hawke has himself cashiered, flogged, and set adrift to infiltrate them. There, Hawke meets Spitfire Stevens, a pirate captain in her own right, and the sparks begin to fly, especially after he rescues adoring young Princess Patma from a captured ship. Meanwhile, Hawke's secret mission proceeds to an action-packed climax.

"Against All Flags" is every bit the classic swashbuckler. While it may not be in quite the same league as some of Flynn's earlier work such as "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk". Maureen O'Hara is at her beautiful best, Anthony Quinn rounds out the cast as the ruthless Captain Roc Brasiliano and proves to be a handful nemesis for Flynn. For the classic adventure fan, "Against All Flags" is a must-see. it is still a greatly entertaining romp.

Flynn is back to his best in what is considered to be "the last of the great swashbucklers"

BIOS:
1. George Sherman [Director]
Date of Birth: 14 July 1908 - New York
Date of Death: 15 March 1991 - Los Angeles County, California

2. Errol Flynn [aka: Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn]
Date of Birth: 20 June 1909, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Date of Death: 14 October 1959, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

3. Maureen O'Hara [aka: Maureen Fitzsimons]
Date of birth: 17 August 1920 - Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland (now Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland)
Date of death: Still Living

4. Anthony Quinn [aka: Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn]
Date of Birth: 21 April 1915 - Chihuahua, Mexico
Date of Death: 3 June 2001, Boston, Massachusetts

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 3 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 83 min on DVD ~ Universal Pictures ~ (03/27/2007)

Errol Flynn may have been a tad past his prime when he buckled his swash in this pirate adventure, but the resulting movie, (co-starring Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn,) is still a gem and it inspired a 1967 tongue-in-cheek re-make with Doug McClure called "The King's Pirate." Both movies begin with the stripped-to-the-waist leading man being given a shipboard flogging. Flynn's flogging ranks 27th in the book, "Lash! The Hundred Great Scenes of Men Being Whipped in the Movies," whereas McClure's flogging ranks 19th. This doesn't mean that "The King's Pirate" is a better movie. It just means that McClure was younger and in better shape when he took off his shirt!

Errol Flynn was at the back end of his career at the time of this effort, although it hadn't quite caught up to him yet. The movie isn't bad but the story is typical. Flynn (Hawke) is British Navy who goes undercover to get the goods an a bunch of pirates & their port. Maureen O'Hara (Spitfire) is one of the pirate captains as also is Anthony Quinn. Typically, Flynn & O'Hara enter into a love-hate relationship that eventually becomes true love. Flynn & Quinn have a sword duel, the bad guy is killed. It's not quite that trite but that's how it goes in Hollywood. Without a doubt, the three leads lift this above the ordinary.

DVD quality is pretty good considering the source. This is a Chinese import & I'm not sure if it's a bootleg. Picture quality is good but not up to official domestic releases; same for audio, it's loud but not crisp. There aren't any bonus features but there are subtitles (English & Chinese). I put on the English subtitles just to check it out. Whoever did those (probably Chinese) knew English but not all the idioms. For instance, the Flynn character is Hawke but the subtitles say Hook. There are many misspellings & errors but, really, it's trivial. Not a bad deal but it's not a good deal, either.