Le vagabond des mers

There are some problems with this version of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, not least of which is the changing of the ending and parts of the story to make it more appealing to the juvenile appetite. Psychological complexities are minimized here, so that what you're getting is an adventure yarn about greed and jealousy. It could have been a lot more.

Yet there are compensations. Jack Cardiff's photography is really eye-catching, and Mr. Livesey carves a nice bit of ham from his role. Flynn himself seems more interested in the proceedings than at any time since before the war. He is out of condition, and lacks physical vigor, but a clarity of eye indicates he may have had some inkling of what this could have been.

Made to utilize Warners Brothers frozen assets in England, the film is not Stevenson, but is but no means a bad way to pass part of a rainy afternoon.

During the 1950s, Errol Flynn was a full-fledged alcoholic who was just counting the days until liquor would eventually take his life. As a result, he looked extremely old and puffy in these films and the overall energy level of the films were very low. Sadly, like Alan Ladd, his career was cut very short because of the drinking.

Despite this, MASTER OF BALLANTRAE is one of only a few shining moments in an otherwise drab decade for Flynn. Now this isn't to say the film is great and I am sure that had Flynn made the film ten or twenty years earlier it would have been better (as often he looked a bit drunk and immobile), but it still was enjoyable and held my interest.

The film is based on a Robert Louis Stevenson novel by the same name--a story very similar to another famous work by Stevenson, "Kidnapped". Like this other tale, they are set in the period immediately following the defeat of the forces of Bonny Prince Charlie after the Battle of Culloden. This time, Flynn plays a brother forced to leave his homeland because those loyal to the Prince were being rounded up and executed. I am actually glad the film left Scotland, as the pirate sequences were exciting (even if the Tortugas look nothing like they do in the film--there are no mountains on these barren islands off the Florida Keys).

In addition to a sluggish but acceptable performance by Flynn, he was very ably supported by Roger Livesey--the only actor in the film who really came off as exciting or three-dimensional.

I wasn't expecting too much of this later Errol Flynn vehicle, especially as it was taking on one of my favourite authors, my fellow-countryman Robert Louis Stevenson. However, while some of my fears were justified, on the whole I was well satisfied with this irreverent, knockabout swashbuckler.

It probably helps that it's years and years since I read the novel plus the movie also gained big "brownie-points" with me for not calling my countrymen "Scotchmen" and basically by filling up any pauses in the story with big action set-pieces, so that any gripes I may have had about authenticity and truth to source evaporated.

On the down side, there's no question that old Errol was getting on a bit, especially for this type of part. He seems far too old to be his brother's brother, if you follow me, never mind the rakish playboy figure he cuts at the start of the movie. That said, he's still undoubtedly a handsome man, in reasonable shape and still able to leap aboard a pirate ship or engage in a sword-fight to the death with almost the old panache. He's well supported by Roger Livesey who hams it up royally as an Irish adventurer (does anyone in this movie speak in their native dialect?).

On the debit side are devices like the stentorian-voiced announcer who makes "voice of God" interjections it seems every 15 minutes, the complete lack of suspense at Flynn's two supposed early demises (as if...!) and I can't resist saying it after all, the complete lack of even one authentic Scottish accent - Flynn doesn't even try. (I've checked the cast-list and not one is Scots-born!)

But with Jack Cardiff's sparkling photography (every frame seems bathed in an almost Rubens-ian like golden-light), some good if not "Robin Hood" - vintage sword-play and similarly good if not "Captain Blood" - vintage action on the pirate-ship, the movie proceeds with the pace of a page-turning Stevenson novel and before you know it you're at the finish as Flynn, Livesey (and Beatrice Campbell as his lover Lady Alison) evade the English Army's hangman's rope (hurrah!) and make their dramatic escape over the hills and far away.

A bit two for the price of one then, pirate action coupled with a historical-costume swashbuckler. Personally I rather enjoyed it and will consciously now not avoid, as I have been doing, Flynn's post-war work. More "used-to-be" than "has-been" and there is a difference.

In the early 50s, the major Hollywood studios produced many movies in Europe, as it was cheaper to make 'quality' films there, utilizing foreign labor. IVANHOE, QUO VADIS, and ROMAN HOLIDAY were a few memorable titles shot overseas, and when the WB chose to make the last of Errol Flynn's films for the studio, THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE, in England, no one was happier than Flynn, himself. His career grinding to a halt, his finances in disarray, he had left America with creditors at his heels, finding that in Europe, he was still considered bankable, and his name still had marquee value. He hoped that starring in a swashbuckler (only his second since 1948's ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN) might revive his career, and open doors as he began to freelance. Unfortunately, years of self-neglect had taken it's toll on his appearance and energy, and even the most careful of lighting would no longer create a youthful illusion. At 44, Flynn showed all of his years, and lacked the acrobatic grace that had made his earlier swashbucklers so memorable.

Very loosely based on a Robert Lewis Stevenson novel, with elements of CAPTAIN BLOOD thrown in for good measure, Flynn is Jamie Durrisdeer, the hedonistic eldest son of a Scottish lord, who, after a coin toss, leaves to fight alongside Bonnie Prince Charlie, while his younger brother, Henry, 'plays nice' with the British, in order to save their estate. After the Scottish army is defeated, he finds himself a fugitive, allies himself with Irish mercenary Col. Francis Burke (a scene-stealing performance by Roger Livesey), and sneaks home to borrow money to flee to France. After a tearful reunion with his lady love (Beatrice Campbell, who was certainly no threat to Olivia de Havilland as a Flynn leading lady), Jamie awaits brother Henry's arrival, with funds, on the coast...only to be betrayed, barely escaping with his life. Burke takes the wounded Jamie onboard a waiting ship, only to be informed that the destination is the Caribbean, not France. The pair had been shanghaied!

After a series of events very reminiscent of CAPTAIN BLOOD, Jamie becomes a successful buccaneer, defeating a French rival in combat. Single-mindedly on a mission of vengeance, he returns home to Scotland to confront the brother who had 'betrayed' him...

At a brief 90 minutes, the pace never falters, and the cinematography, by Jack Cardiff, is rich and vivid (and so impressed Flynn that he hired Cardiff to film and direct his 'pet' project, an adventure film about William Tell...which was, sadly, never completed, as Flynn went bankrupt).

While THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE was certainly not of a caliber with Flynn's best swashbucklers, it was undeniably the best film that the WB had assigned him to since THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN. Unfortunately, the reviews were lukewarm, at best, and the film was largely ignored.

For all intent and purpose, Errol Flynn was 'washed up' in America. He would not make another American film for four years...a sad state of affairs for a man who, just a few years earlier, had been the toast of Hollywood!

Flynn, though pickled and clearly the worse for wear, gives a fine performance here. In fact, his haggard features compliment his role as a defeated war veteran. You`ll see little of the humour and athletic prowess of Flynn`s early movies, but it`s a grand experience none the less. The supporting cast are fine, especially Livesy. But the leading lady is not up to Flynn`s standard. Olivia should have made a comeback for this one. That said, Flynn does engage in some obviously stunt-doubled sword play. However, he is neither as humorous, mischevious or as boyish as he was before. 8/10