Flynn Finale In Costume

Flynn Pulls Himself Together For The Warriors (1955)

Producer Walter Mirisch says in his memoir that Errol Flynn showed up overweight on Euro location to do The Warriors. He was also pretty useless by twilight due to drink. Late Flynn films are generally more interesting for what went on behind scenes than what ended up on screens, The Warriors no exception. They are to be savored for heroism in the face of odds Errol himself had to meet and overcome. Finishing one, let alone several a year plus a TV series, was victory over dire prognosis Flynn got every time he visited a doctor (they'd given him six months more than once through hurly-burly of the 50's, when EF was in his 40's). The Warriors is a handsome show in many ways, the last costume feature Flynn was in (later Errol Flynn Theatre for teevee saw occasional sword and breastplate). TCM runs The Warriors and there is a DVD from Warner Archive. Broadcasts and disc are widescreen reflecting Cinemascope of 1955 release, but suffer from tepid color, this a regret because The Warriors played theatrical dates in prints by Technicolor. I saw a 35mm trailer that was a wow, and left impression that this could be an undiscovered pearl among misfires the lot of the star after he left Warners. Seeing it finally (The Warriors was unavailable for years) did not fulfill hope, but it’s nice, especially for we who feel Flynn could do no wrong, to see him sword in hand, and in scope, riding out of color castles to right late career wrongs.

The Warriors was an Allied Artists venture, that company eager to lay siege against the majors, their struggle for good bookings an endless one. AA at times felt badly used by exhibitors who they felt took path of least resistance by dealing with entrenched distributors instead of giving newcomers a chance. Not that Allied Artists was anything other than Monogram rebranded, but they were fresh to the “A” market, and to be successful they’d need support of theatres. The Warriors was no lavish picture, but there was majesty in its backgrounds, thanks to authentic sites where knights once were in flower. Metro had purpose-built ramparts left over from Ivanhoe, borrowed by AA, and big help toward putting The Warriors into league with period hits starring Robert Taylor or Stewart Granger. The film emphasizes historical basis, does not spoof up a basically serious story. Flynn won’t hew to Don Juan formula as had been case in several of costume ventures since his persona was redefined by the rape trial and acquittal. The Warriors, then, plays nicely for dodging rigid expectation of Flynn as satyr first, crusader for justice second. It is no embarrassment to the positive image of Flynn that has evolved since scandals of his lifetime and a scurrilous bio that was momentary threat to his legacy later on.

From mid-50’s to the end was clearly not peak-period for Flynn. There was by time of The Warriors a debacle of William Tell behind him. That one went unfinished, while Crossed Swords, which had a 1954 release, only seemed unfinished. Whatever Flynn did henceforth would suffer by comparison with polish of his Warner contract vehicles. Beside 1955 and The Warriors, two-years earlier The Master Of Ballantrae seems a near-masterpiece. WB had reissued previous Flynns to remind us of how vital he’d once been, but even these cooled once negotiations began for TV drop of the pre-49 library. Against such background, observers could be expected to dismiss Flynn as washed up. He had lost protection of a studio and contract, so no one’s interest, other than Flynn’s own, was enhanced for boosting him. And yet he’d stay busy, despite health plus financial woes that would have benched a lesser constitution. There were the features, plus Errol Flynn Theatre, popular in a number of markets to which it was syndicated. These may not have carried prestige of theatrical output, but plenty more tuned in than would have attended Flynn movies, even if he had been appearing in good ones.