Trafic à La Havane

Errol Flynn - a casino dealer- gets handed fake pesos by a myserious blonde gambler. After he confronts her outside the casino, a trio of thugs jump him. Not only are the police not sympathetic about the mugging, they arrest him for possessing counterfeit money.

And we're on our way. Like Cary Grant in North by Northwest, Flynn is a shmoe stuck in the middle of something. The movie has him trying to unravel that mess.

Everybody is shady on some level. The dames are gorgeous. The location work is top-notch. The photography is beautiful.

Flynn, despite the high mileage, still looks quite dashing. I mean, geezus, if I still looked that good at 48 and had female companionship half as old, I'd be on top of the world.

And, as always, he's convincing in his role. He doesn't get the acclaim Hollywood's famous hambones get - Cagney, Muni, Kirk Douglas, Brando, et al. And compared to limited-range actors like Cooper, Wayne, Gable, Bogart, et al, he's a thespian.

It's really too bad semi-literate Americans had such limited expectations of their movie stars that guys like Flynn were rarely allowed to stretch. And when they did their movies bombed. Historical perspective is a different matter. I enjoy his darker movies and this was no exception.

"The Big Boodle" (1957)

I love movies about Cuba; "Godfather II", "Havana", "Our Man in Havana", and "Cuba". That must have been quite a big party place for North Americans to vacation to. Of course, if you were a resident, it must have been a totally different kind of place, and you could understand how Castro could get it's citizens to revolt from the powers-that-be.

"The Big Boodle" takes place in Havana, Cuba before Castro came to power. It's a suspenseful mystery movie that showcases the tropical beauty of Cuba.

Italian actress Rosanna Rory plays Fina Ferrer who passes some counterfeit (Boodle) money at the blackjack table to Ned Sherwood, played by Errol Flynn. Ned is a down-on-his-luck croupier, working at a Cuban casino. Normally a croupier is SOL if he gets bogus bills, and, as Ned says, they can only press it into their scrap book. Ned tries to give the money back to Fina without success.

That night Ned gets mugged by a bunch of thugs outside of his apartment, and when the cops question him, they find the Boodle in his pocket. The police Colonel Mastegui, played by Pedro Armendáriz ("From Russia With Love" and "The Three Godfathers") thinks that he's the counterfeiter, or at least he can help them find the counterfeiters.

Surprisingly, Ned is bailed out of jail by an anonymous benefactor. Now he finds that he's the target of the police, the counterfeiters (who think that he's got the printing plates) and other assorted characters. He feels that he needs to solve the mystery before he gets killed himself.

At 48 years old, Errol Flynn looks kind of burnt out. You can obviously tell when they bring in the stunt double to do his fight scenes, but other than that, he still seems in good enough physical shape to do this movie. He is playing a down-trodden character in a film noir movie, so he's playing it like we see it.

Of course one of the biggest stars of this movie is Havana itself. The beautiful palms, buildings and scenery are wonderfully photographed. The sound wasn't the best on the movie that I watched on Turner Classic Movies, but the music was great. Errol Flynn's character does a little bar-hopping, and you get to hear some of the old Cuban Jazz, Mambo, Conga, ChaChaCha; the salsa/reggaeton of the 50s. That was great!

Over all, it's a nice little film. It wasn't a real fast-paced actioner, but a nice little noir movie that showcases a paradise that we might be able to see again some day. It's well worth you taping, or if it ever comes out on DVD, owning.

A reluctant actor from 1953 on, Flynn roused himself for this unremarkable film. After splitting from Warner Brothers in 1953 he chose William Tell as his first solo effort, eager to star and produce. Flynn's finances never fully recovered from the resulting quagmire. This 1957 film arguably got his attention because as well as giving him a much needed pay cheque, it was also filmed on location in Havana. The location work is it's best feature. The Black and White photography adds to the Havana experience. The film is also helped by a good support cast, plus a plausible turn from Errol Flynn. The story, what there is of it, is about a world weary Croupier Ned Sherwood (Flynn) whose life gets almost fatally complicated "one night" when he finds himself with counterfeit Pesos. Pedro Armendariz is a delight as a crafty Colonel who doesn't believe or disbelieve Sherwood's story. Faced with no help from the Police Sherwood follows the funny money trail and uncovers some dislikable characters plus a larger plot. He also meets up with a mysterious blonde (Rossana Rory.)and Gia Scala (From Guns of Navarone). Sherwood struggles to untangle the web and clear his name. Despite the premise, location and likeable cast, the film is only just watchable. Flynn is worth seeing in one of his later roles, with Black and White allowing Flynn's hardening features a creditable rugged handsomeness.

But actually acting ... several rungs higher than the last Roger Moore 007s. Get setting... high end Barista Havana.

The women are not high end Hollywood, the character actors are unfamiliar but good... and the plot suitably twisted.

It is maybe not the actual last movie where Errol Flynn played but certainly the last where he shined. His last stand, and not in a swashbuckler nor adventure movie but somewhat a film noir set in Havana. I won't add more than the other viewers have already said, but I was very pleased to see this movie, where Flynn's characters' name is Sherwood....Doesn't that name talk to you, especially concerning former so famous Robin Hood, bandit of Sherwood forest? That's the first thing that hit me when I read the cast, and no one seems to have noticed that. of course that's not the main thing to remember from this delightful film, but I just wanted to point it out.