Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 [5 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Includes The Adventures of Don Juan (1948/111 min.), Charge of the Light Brigade (1936/115 min.), The Dawn Patrol (1938/103 min.), Dive Bomber (1941/132 min.) and Gentleman Jim (1942/104 min.). 5 DVDs. Color-b&w/NR/fullscreen.

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 5
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Color Costume Design - 1949 (William Travilla, Marjorie Best, Leah Rhoads)
•     Won Best Assistant Director - 1936 (Jack Sullivan)
•     Nominated Best Color Art Direction - 1949 (Lyle B. Reifsnider, Edward Carrere)
•     Nominated Best Color Cinematography - 1941 (Winton Hoch, Bert Glennon)
•     Nominated Best Score - 1936 (Leo F. Forbstein, Max Steiner)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 1936 (Nathan Levinson)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Errol Flynn - Capt. Courtney
       Alexis Smith - Victoria Ware
       Basil Rathbone - Major Brand
       Alan Hale - Pat Corbett
       Alan Hale - Leporello
       Ann Rutherford - Donna Elena
       Craig Stevens - John Thomas Anthony
       Jerry Austin - Don Sebastian
       Douglas Kennedy - Don Rodrigo
       Carl Esmond - Von Mueller
       Arthur Shields - Father Burke
       Dorothy Vaughan - Ma Corbett
       Allen Jenkins - 'Lucky Dice'
       Addison Richards - Senior Flight Surgeon
       Moroni Olsen - Senior Flight Surgeon
       Cliff Nazarro - Corps Man
       Art Foster - Jack Burke
       David Leonard - Innkeeper
       George Regas - Wazir
       Colin Kenny - Maj. Anderson
       Frank Mayo - Gov. Stanford
       Helen Sanborn - Mrs. Jowett
       Fred Kelsey - Sutro
       Sammy Stein - Joe Choynski
       Alan Hale, Jr. - Pilot

• Director:

  Vincent Sherman, Michael Curtiz, Edmund Goulding, Raoul Walsh

• Producer:

  Jerry Wald, Sam Bischoff, Hal B. Wallis, Robert Lord, Robert Buckner

• Screen Story:

  Herbert Dalmas

• Screenwriter:

  Harry Kurnitz, George Oppenheimer, Michel Jacoby, Rowland Leigh, Seton Miller, Dan Totheroh, Robert Buckner

• Screen Story:

  Frank Wead

• Screenwriter:

  Frank Wead

• Book Author:

  James J. Corbett

• Screenwriter:

  Vincent Lawrence, Horace McCoy

• Cinematographer:

  Elwood Bredell, Sol Polito, Tony Gaudio, Elmer Dyer, Bert Glennon, Winton Hoch, Charles Marshall, Sidney Hickox

• Composer (Music Score):

  Max Steiner

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Leo F. Forbstein

• Composer (Music Score):

  Heinz Roemheld

• Editor:

  Alan Crosland, Jr., George J. Amy, Ralph Dawson, Jack Killifer

• Production Designer:

  Edward Carrere

• Art Director:

  John Hughes, Robert M. Haas, Ted Smith

• Associate Producer:

  Robert Lord

• Executive Producer:

  Hal B. Wallis

• Costume Designer:

  Marjorie Best, Leah Rhoads, William Travilla, Milo Anderson

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  C.A. Riggs, Francis J. Scheid

• Makeup:

  Perc Westmore

• Special Effects:

  H.F. Koenekamp, Fred Jackman, Sr., Edwin DuPar, Edwin A. DuPar, Byron Haskin, Rex Wimpy

• First Assistant Director:

  Jack Sullivan, Sherry Shourds

• Consultant/advisor:

  Sam Harris, B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason, Capt. E. Rochfort-John, Captain L.G.S. Scott, Elmer Dyer, Paul Mantz, Charles Marshall

• Stunts:

  Jack Williams

• Sound Recordist:

  Nathan Levinson

• Short Story Author:

  John Monk Saunders

REVIEWS:

• Accompanied by trusted sidekick Alan Hale and an appropriately lush Max Steiner score, Errol Flynn returns to what he did best, full-blooded swashbuckling romance. And, happily, with the now accustomed tongue firmly planted in cheek. The same, alas, can not be said for leading lady Viveca Lindfors, whose Queen of Spain is unnecessarily arch, or Robert Douglas who, as the villainous De Lorca, hardly lives up to such glorious 1930s predecessors as Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains. Yet despite these caveats, director Vincent Sherman and the Warner Bros. award-nominated set designers craft an exhilaratingly old-fashioned adventure yarn featuring a Don Juan who is more action than amour. Costume designers Travilla, Leah Rhodes and Marjorie Best earned well-deserved Academy Awards and there are amusing cameos by a young Raymond Burr, as an evil captain of the guard, and future Search for Tomorrow star Mary Stuart, as an unfaithful wife. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
• As usual when making a biopic, Hollywood played fast and loose with the facts in Gentleman Jim -- but for once it hardly matters. Jim doesn't get the facts right, but it captures the spirit of the times and presents a title character who is totally captivating. Naturally, the actor playing that part -- the famous Errol Flynn -- deserves a great deal of credit for the success of the film. Rarely have actor and role been so well suited; Flynn fits the part like a glove, boxing or otherwise, and he dominates the film as Corbett dominated the boxing ring. Brash, cocky, and feisty, Flynn is not afraid to let his Corbett border on the boorish; yet he also has an innate classiness and nobility that are essential to the character. Equally important, Flynn has the necessary physical characteristics and the sheer charisma that the role demands. Graceful and agile, yet clearly capable of delivering a devastating left hook, Flynn's work in the fight scenes is glorious. The success of those scenes, and of the film as a whole, must also be shared with director Raoul Walsh, whose work is exemplary. He brings energy and verve to the proceedings, but also takes the time to show the man behind the fighter and the world to which he has allegiance. The screenplay is extremely well structured and packed with verbal sparring that rivals the physical matches. And the supporting cast, from Alexis Smith's marvelously disdainful love interest to Ward Bond's blustery yet sensitive Sullivan, are a delight. Gentleman Jim is a sports film that even non-sports fans should enjoy. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• The Dawn Patrol is a good example of how a remake can improve on the original version. John Monk Saunders's Oscar-winning story provides a solid basis for the efforts of screenwriters Seton Miller and Dan Totheroh. Though director Edmund Goulding stays safely within the guidelines of the war genre, Dawn Patrol shows the varying attitudes of the aviators toward combat, and particularly toward enemy pilots. Complementing the material is a star-laden cast led by the charismatic team of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone, and featuring solid supporting work from David Niven, Donald Crisp, and Melville Cooper. Brought to the screen with Warner Bros.' customary high production values, Dawn Patrol provides an excellent showcase for its stars, representing another winning entry in Goulding's prolific career. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi
• The film that cemented Errol Flynn's reputation as the most dashing leading man in Hollywood, The Charge of the Light Brigade is a notoriously inaccurate recounting of a key battle in the Crimean War. It's very loosely based on the famous poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson that recounts the battle of Balaclava, in which Russian resisters swamped the British. It depicts the charge as the outcome of an old grudge against an Indian leader who has joined the Russians. Most of the film takes place in India and involves a battle for the affections of a character played by Olivia De Havilland. An extremely popular and successful film, this 1936 Hollywood production was directed by the famed Michael Curtiz, whose second wife married Flynn. A sweeping and monumental piece of entertainment despite its inaccuracies, this Charge of the Light Brigade was superior to a 1968 British version. Curtiz would go on to direct Casablanca. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi