Le maître de Don Juan

Errol Flynn has Gina Lollabrigida as his costar in Crossed Swords, with Cesare Danova costarring, as the heir to the duchy of Sidonia. The movie opens with Errol and Cesare on their way back to the castle, but are constantly finding temptation, especially Errol. And, when husbands come home, the wives scream and Errol jumps out of the window. The movie right away sets up the tone of the film with the viewer. When they do arrive at the castle, they find that a new law is being proposed to outlaw bachelorhood among the male population. That's outrageous, Errol says. But many feel that it's the man's duty to get married and set a good example. Gina is Danova's sister who Flynn is interested in up to a point, but he does not want to get married and is quite adamant about it. Young Danova has his own oats to sow for now, too. Despite the bad copy I had of this on DVD, I enjoyed the campy and over-the-top quality of this film. It seems to give just what Flynn fans expect of him, a grand old time. The title Crossed Swords is a little confusing to me, as it centers more on comedic situations than duels and action. But I'm sure they were trying to get Flynn fans to the movies. While no grade-A film, I enjoy its efforts to entertain. So what happens to Errol? Does Gina ensnare him? Does the law trap him? Does Errol get the better of them? You tell me.

Well before the so-called 'Spaghetti Westerns' were produced, Italian film companies were recruiting international actors for their films. Starting in the 1950s, Hollywood talent began to be featured in these movies...especially when acting jobs in the States were few and far between. And, these Americans starred in all sorts of films...Hercules films, swashbucklers, Fellini pictures and many more. And in each, the films were dubbed into a variety of languages for international release. "Il Maestro di Don Giovanni" ("Crossed Swords") is one of these films and it stars Errol Flynn.

The story is set during the Renaissance in the duchy of Sedona (I looked it up...it appears to be fictional). Renzo (Flynn) is a bandit with style....just as happy seducing women as improving his wealth. One woman, in particular, is his quarry, Francesca (Gina Lollobrigida...who IS captioned despite her ability to speak English). She wants to marry him...and there's been a new law enacted that says EVERY unmarried adult man MUST be married! Despite the law and Francesca's great beauty, Renzo is loathe to give up his wicked ways and settle down...and her father is beside himself at the prospect of getting this rogue as a son-in-law!

This film was made late in his career when heavy drinking & drugs, womanizing and his failing health all made it difficult to get work. In 1954, Flynn still looked pretty handsome but by 1957 or so, he was a bloated mess...ultimately dying at only 50 due to the effects of his lifestyle upon his body. It's nice that although this isn't a great film, he looks pretty good and was able to do a semi-convincing job. However, I did notice that stuntmen seemed to be used a lot more than they were employed back in the 1930s-40s....as in mid mid-40s he just wasn't up to all this rigorous work Because of this, you see some odd camerawork (such as the top-down view of his staff fight).

So is it any good? Well, surprisingly, for a 1950s film this one is in full color...and this along with the costumes make this a very good looking picture. The story itself is actually pretty light on action and tends to be a tad talky. Enjoyable but also not a film big and exciting enough to revive Flynn's flagging career.

Nobleman Rainiero, Sidonia's duke son, comes back home with his friend Renzo (Errol Flynn). Soon after arrival, Renzo will get in a big trouble and he will be forced to choose between going to church for marriage or going to prison.

Towards his last days as a swashbuckler, Errol Flynn still has the charm, the athleticism, though a little world weary, and prone to poke fun at his infamous reputation as a womaniser. This film starts with a narration saying how peaceful it is - then there's a scream, our man Errol leaps out of the window and another husband is upset. If you are expecting endless sword fights, and derring-do, then you'll be a little disappointed. The focus is on comedy, and Renzo's attempts to stay the window jumping bachelor, but there's some swordplay - there's a good sequence on top of a row of barrels, and the sword fight finale between Flynn and the villain is energetic. Not the best Flynn film, Crossed swords is a well-mounted production, has great costumes, eye catching locations, Gina Lollobrigida (sigh), and the legendary Errol Flynn. A pleasant watch.

In the Citadel Films book The Films Of Errol Flynn, Errol was quoted as saying he felt that the distribution of Crossed Swords in America was not handled properly as the reason the film flopped. After finally viewing the film, I think he may have had a point up to a degree.

Certainly he's not moving with same grace as he did in Captain Blood or The Sea Hawk, but his interpretation of Don Juan is of a more mature swashbuckler who's getting kind of weary of his life of romantic adventures. Not unlike The Adventures Of Don Juan which he did for Warner Brothers a few years earlier or of the real Flynn himself.

Crossed Swords has the older Don Juan taking on a pupil in Cesare Danova who is the heir to the duchy of Sidonia. Cesare is wanting to some wild oats and Flynn is certainly the best guy to show him how. When they return the first minister to Cesare's father, Roldano Lupi is proposing a new law outlawing bachelorhood among the male population. It's felt that it's the man's patriotic duty to get married and start sowing some seed for the population to grow.

Now that's something that will definitely cramp Flynn's style and he isn't having any of it. Neither is his pupil Danova who has a duty to provide an heir, but not just now. But Lupi has far more sinister schemes afoot and these two have to stop him.

Gina Lollobrigida is Danova's sister who Flynn interests up to a point, but not if it involves matrimony where Flynn is concerned. And Danova has a certain protective attitude toward his sister not unfounded where Flynn is concerned. For some reason her voice is dubbed in Crossed Swords and that was a surprise since so many American viewers had heard her real voice in later films. That year she also did Beat The Devil in her natural accented speaking voice so familiar to us.

I'm inclined to believe Flynn might have something of a case. The film which is done on location in Italy photographed beautifully by Jack Cardiff might have been better handled had it's more comedic elements been showcased in the advertising campaign. It certainly isn't up to the standards of his Warner Brothers years, but Crossed Swords is all that a fan of Errol Flynn would wish and considerably more.

Ever wonder what would happen if Gina Lollobrigida were dubbed in one of her movies? You'll have to rent Crossed Swords to see her mouth moving in a slightly different pattern than the words coming out of her mouth. Whoever dubbed her obviously had no trouble with the English language, and the result is quite jarring to hear her speaking without any trace of an accent.

You might want to turn this one off when you first start it, but if you like Errol Flynn's adventure movies of the past, give it a second chance. Yes, the production values are terrible, the supporting cast isn't great, and the script is silly, but it's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek semi-spoof of his earlier movies. Errol stars as a womanizing Don Juan type who refuses to settle down and is just as quick to seduce a married woman as a single one. When a law is passed in the kingdom that all men over the age of twenty must be forced to marry, Errol has to skip town. The trouble is, he gets distracted by Gina, and she tries to get him to return.

Crossed Swords is silly, but it's supposed to be. Errol's charming smirk is practically directed at the camera the entire time. He doesn't even try to make it look like he did his own stunts, because it's funnier that way. From the back, he swings from a rope and does a forward roll onto a table while brandishing a sword. The close-up cuts to his face, refreshed and smiling. While dueling, he notices a jug of wine and holds up a hand to his opponent: "Wait!" he commands before taking a drink. If you want something silly, you can't get much sillier than this. He's still classy, folks, just with a few miles on him. And since he knows it, he's not taking himself too seriously.