La caravana de la muerte

Imagine the opportunity to see a completely different (and better) cast of Gone With the Wind. Randolph Scott, Margaret Mitchell's personal choice for Ashley Wilkes and Georgia-born Miriam Hopkins, who had her heart set on Scarlett O'Hara, star in Virginia City, alongside my personal favorite contender for Rhett Butler: Errol Flynn. The cast is reason enough to rent this old western, because it's not often you get three "cast-offs" in one picture.

The plot is quite interesting, too. Errol is a Union soldier who escapes from a Confederate-run prison, run by Randolph Scott, the most famous Southerner of the silver screen. On his way to Virginia City, Errol meets and is enchanted by Miriam Hopkins. He thinks she's a great lady, but she's actually a saloon girl and a Confederate! The fly in the ointment is Humphrey Bogart, who plays a Mexican bandit. This is Humphrey Bogart, folks. Even his mustache doesn't seem Mexican.

Besides that, this is an entertaining movie, and well timed. Those of you disappointed by the casting of the 1939 epic can sooth their disappointments with this 1940 western. By itself, it's not really my favorite of its genre, but I really enjoyed seeing all three of them together. The only thing cuter would have been if Errol and Scottie played brothers, since they look so much alike! If you like this one, try So Red the Rose, a Gone With the Wind precursor with Scottie playing the Ashley Wilkes character and Margaret Sullavan as the flirty Southern belle.

Those who are not used to classic Hollywood productions will probably shun this picture if only because the plot is somewhat complex and there are some glaring mistakes. Nevertheless, the simple fact that Errol Flynn is the lead role makes up for many of the shortcomings and makes this yet another solid production featuring Flynn and director Michael Curtiz.

In a story somewhat reminiscent of Gone With the Wind and Flynn's previous film Dodge City, Union captain Bradford (Flynn) escapes with his two sidekicks (the same in Dodge City) and travels to Virginia City to try and stop a group of Southerners from bringing $5 million in gold back from the mines of Nevada in order to fund the war which they are badly losing. This creates for some great tension scenes which I found very provocative between Flynn and Randolph Scott as the leader of the Southerners. Miriam Hopkins plays the role usually reserved for Olivia de Havilland, and although she isn't as personable or warm as her, Hopkins holds her own with both Scott and Flynn.

As for Humphrey Bogart as a Mexican bandit, he is highly miscast, but still a solid part of this strong cast that all comes together in the end in a final shootout in the desert. Curtiz certainly knows how to stage action scenes and those here are some of his best. Of course, like most others, this film belongs to Flynn. He is one of the most charismatic and likable leading men ever and his talents are at their best here. He is one of the very few actors who can make a film better simply with his presence. This one is no exception.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The only regret that I have is that I had never saw it up until 2 years ago. The movie does not take sides and gives you a neutral, fly on the wall view of a story unfolding. Randolph Scott plays a Southern officer who is sent to Virginia City, NV to obtain gold so that the South can finance the Civil War. They need to do this simply because this late in the war and with the South losing, the Confederacy no longer has financial credit with foreign powers. Errol Flynn is a Northern officer sent to stop Scott from completing his mission. There is a back story concerning these two men which adds to the tension. I left out much of the details because I do not want to ruin it for anyone who checks it out. This movie proves that who is the "bad guy" depends on which side you are on as both the main characters and those associated with them are simply doing what they feel is right. Great action, great building of the characters and you wind up not sure who to root for. Two great main actors, great supporting cast and even Bogart is here, showing that westerns should have been added to his studio lineup more often, minus the whole half-Mexican bandito thing. This movie should be given a chance and is just as good today as it was in 1940.

VIRGINIA CITY, the "non-sequel" to Errol Flynn's big 1939 hit, DODGE CITY, gives the impression that the Warner Brothers were suffering from a shortage of good Western scripts in 1940. The film 'borrows' much of Max Steiner's DODGE CITY musical score, reunites Flynn with DODGE CITY costars (and friends) Alan Hale and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams (playing virtually the same characters, with different names), and attempts the visual 'sweep' of DODGE CITY, in black and white, with a smaller budget. What is most memorable about the film, however, are two truly offbeat casting choices; Humphrey Bogart as a half-breed Mexican bandit, and tone-deaf Miriam Hopkins as a saloon singer. Bogart did NOT want to do the film (he felt himself miscast in westerns), but faced suspension if he didn't 'show up' for work, and his unconvincing Mexican accent and forced performance give clear evidence to his unhappiness with the role. Hopkins, whose reputation had been established in pre-Production Code sex comedies and dramas of the early thirties, was, at 38, already past her prime, and unbelievable as a love interest for either Flynn, or Randolph Scott. As a 'sexy' chanteuse, her singing is so incredibly bad that it must be heard to be believed!

The plot, of an undercover Union captain (Flynn) attempting to wrest a shipment of southern gold from a wagon train headed by the Confederate colonel (Scott) who had run the prison camp he'd previously escaped from, gets bogged down in subplots, and, in trying to appease viewers from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, makes everyone so noble that you wonder why there was a Civil War! Certainly, in Randolph Scott's case, the role wasn't much of a stretch, and would be one he would repeat frequently, with minor variations, for the next twenty years. Tasmanian Flynn, however, appears more comfortable in the Western genre than he had in DODGE CITY, and, after the on and off-screen battling with Bette Davis in his previous film, THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, it must have felt like a vacation (even with hated director Michael Curtiz helming the project!)

VIRGINIA CITY is, ultimately, a 'B' movie with an 'A'-list cast and crew, and while the end result isn't terrible, it isn't a film that either Flynn or Bogart would list as among their best efforts.

Errol Flynn (Bradford) and Randolph Scott (Irby) are on opposite sides of the American Civil War. Both end up in Virginia City to get their hands on a consignment of gold that could influence the outcome of the war. Miriam Hopkins (Julia) provides the romantic interest for these two men to fight over, while Humphrey Bogart (Murrell) heads a gang of bandits who also go after the gold. Who gets the gold?

This is an interesting western in that, even though Flynn and Scott are pitted against each other, neither is clearly identified as a goodie or a baddie. The bad guys are Bogart and his mob. Whilst many reviewers point out that Bogey and Hopkins are miscast, I say "so what?" They are not bad, apart from Hopkins' singing. Ouch! Bogey is one of the film's highlights, with every appearance bringing on an "Oh good, he's back" reaction. I find him a very likable bad guy. I far prefer him in this type of role to a leading good guy character, when I find he never quite wins me over. Errol Flynn has star quality but it is Randolph Scott that surprised me and does the best job of actually acting. Unfortunately, we also have the comedy characters as played by Alan Hale (Olaf) and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams (Marblehead) for Flynn's sidekicks – not needed. Cast some credible sidekicks, please! Flynn is very capable of passing off his own type of humour if that's what the director thinks is needed.

The film has a rather far-fetched, cop-out ending that includes Abe Lincoln and while I'd say that the film is a little too long, it has a cast of 3 leading men that keep you watching. Essentially, it's a spy story with an honourable message.