Flynn Sails With Universal-International --- Part One

Among the unexpected to show up on Region 2 Blu-Ray comes Against All Flags, a costume actioner Errol Flynn did for Universal-International shortly before truest career plummet began. Did U-I maintain standing sets for repeated pirate forays their contract and guest players took? Certainly these had polish, if not lasting value, of Warner, or even Fox, sailings. I watched Flags close for economies, there in abundance, but not once does it openly cheat, as pretender sword pics oft-would. Errol looks surprisingly preserved as well --- did he behave in hopes of continued Uni work and more percentage pay like Alan Ladd, Jim Stewart, and Tyrone Power were getting?

So Far as Errol Figured, Those Scars on His Back Were Ones Slave-Driving Warner Bros. Left

Flynn was represented by MCA agent Lew Wasserman, lately responsible for getting Stewart 50% of profit flowing from Universal's Winchester '73, a deal said to have yielded upwards of $600K to the actor. Soon enough came other name players beating at the percentage door. The money seems to have been real enough, at least for some. Tyrone Power allegedly took $750,000 by The Mississippi Gambler's theatrical wind-up. Alan Ladd was satisfied enough with Desert Legion to stay on for Saskatchewan. Wasserman by 1951 represented power beyond that of most studio heads. He had succeeded in re-negotiating Errol Flynn's Warner pact to allow outside pictures, one per annum, Against All Flags to be the star's first go at profit participantion with Universal.

Errol at Maureen's Mercy --- She'd Write Later That He Was a Pleasure To Work With

Flynn Rehearses Swordplay on Universal Soundstage

Flynn's doubled a lot in Flags --- Blu-Ray betrays such in action not as noticeable before. Were 35mm Tech prints so sharp as HD projection? I've gone long enough with digital to have near-forgot. You're way past surfeit of this stuff when sword scuffles become more a matter of spotting stand-ins than what action is performed. Flynn was good with medium-shot dueling ... sometimes he'd get too frisky, or in cups, so opponents got cut. Didn't I read where young Chris Lee spilled blood a few years later on TV's Errol Flynn Theatre wherein he guested?

There is Maureen O'Hara as a lady pirate, loath to kiss Errol unless it's her idea. Was she any sort of feminist role model ... ever? ... or did too many pairings with (and spankings from) John Wayne scotch O'Hara placement among icons for gender equality? She's actually good with a sword, near so as Flynn. Small wonder Universal touted their teaming as one that had to happen. Blu-Ray supports O'Hara's rep as a (no, the) Queen Of Technicolor. With lards of damaging make-up they used to put on stars, especially for Tech work, I'm surprised her complexion stood up to years of such application (and maybe it didn't, as unretouched stills of any Gold Age femme star are hard to come by).

Errol Flynn's Most Dependable Companions --- A Good Book
 and a Faithful Dog

George Sherman directed Against All Flags. He knew action from herding horseflesh and cowboys mounted thereon. I'll bet he finished this under budget. Sherman's is effort we call "workmanlike," by no means a pejorative, as age and further exploration of modest output makes me better appreciate pro jobs done by journeymen still awaiting their due. Universal saw Against All Flags highlighting a '52 season --- this was a money show and they'd spend (comparative) lots to put it equal as possible with period-dressed Metro, the latter's Stewart Granger series by far richest of adventure writ with feathers. Just having Flynn got AAF in venues less receptive to Uni programmers Tony Curtis or Jeff Chandler top-lined. It was sure-fires like Flynn, Stewart, Ladd, and Power that gave U-I revenue to develop in-house Curtis, Rock Hudson, and others who'd come to represent stardom for 50's youth, and indeed, it was company quest for unassailable A's that made them roll over for big-name % demands.

Among Universal's Junior Varsity Pirate Crew --- Philip Friend and Yvonne De Carlo

Universal's were otherwise the dime comic books of pirate movies. Looking at one was same as watching six for as much as they varied. Star potential was tested, option pick-ups determined by how (mostly) kid/teens responded to new faces. Some clicked, like Yvonne De Carlo as titular Buccaneer's Girl in 1950, but opposite number Philip Friend, "introduced" here (despite being in pics ten years), didn't register and walked the plank. Such product serviced what was left of a movie-mad public, down principally to youth, enough of them fortunately there to generate profits so long as Universal kept costs at bay. Technicolor was a common thread through postwar U-I actioners, westerns and costume piece alike. Whatever deficiency lay in script or direction saw compensation for being at least pretty to look at. With proper DVD delivery, many still are.

Part Two on Universal-International piracy is HERE.