Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

jpdoherty Warner Bros. SAN ANTONIO just about passes muster as an entertaining western thanks, in no short measure, to the presence of its star Errol Flynn. Produced in 1945 by Robert Bruckner for the studio it was at least beautifully photographed in glowing Technicolor by the great Bert Glennon and stylishly enough written by Alan LeMay. Unremarkably directed by the pedestrian David Butler this was one of eight westerns to feature the great swashbuckler which began in 1939 with the hugely successful "Dodge City" and continued with even greater success later with "Virginia City" (1940), "They Died With Their Boots On"(1941) and finishing in 1950 with "Rocky Mountain". Flynn was one of the few non-American actors to be an acceptable western hero. A phenomenon that baffled Flynn himself no end and prompted him to refer to himself on one occasion as the 'rich man's Roy Rogers'.SAN ANTONIO is a thinly plotted oater. The story has Flynn as cattleman Clay Hardin trying to bring down baddie Roy Sturt (Paul Kelly) who is heading a syndicate of cattle thieves who have been raiding from herds all over Texas. Sturt also owns the local saloon in San Antonio where the newly arrived bar-room entertainer Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith) performs and who Hardin immediately has the hots for. There is also great jealousy and mistrust between Sturt and his partner in crime LeGarre (The sinister looking Victor Francen) culminating in them both gunning for each other and pursued by Hardin into the hallowed shrine of the historic Alamo ruins standing in the town.SAN ANTONIO isn't a great movie at all and without Flynn would be totally forgotten. There is little or no action except for a well staged saloon brawl and a final chase sequence that ends with Flynn and Kelly slugging it out in a river. Here and there abysmal attempts at humour and comedy occur especially from the irritating S.Z.Sakall. And with the exception of the striking looking Victor Francen performances are routine. The characters are all cardboard cutouts who make it impossible for you to engage with them as with Paul Kelly and the teak-like Alexis Smith. Flynn, on the other hand, is the best in it. His boyish charm as appealing as ever. He also looks extremely handsome throughout the picture with his Stetson tilted to one side on his head, his well fitted figured-in three quarter length coat and his bone-handled sixgun slung across his left midriff just like a sword. Like few others in Hollywood the man could certainly present himself as a dapper elegant figure and that glint in his eye telling us he knew it. SAN ANTONIO is the kind of movie Flynn could do in his sleep but it remains one of his least liked pictures and alongside "Montana" (1950) is his weakest western. Best things about the film is the glorious colour cinematography by the master Bert Glennon and the wonderful score by the tireless Max Steiner. The great composer skillfully reused his title theme from "Dodge City" for the credits here and it worked perfectly well. And besides a sprightly Stagecoach theme there is also an Oscar nominated song "Some Sunday Morning" written by the studio's music director Ray Heindorf and sung in one scene by Miss Smith. Steiner interpolated the song into his score and used it for the film's softer moments.

oldblackandwhite San Antonio, released in the very last days of 1945, was Warner Brothers' New Year gift to a war weary public. Demobilized GI's had made it clear in opinion polls and and at the box office they did not want to see any more military movies for a while. Would they like a Technicolor western with top stars, A-1 production values, lots of action, dancing girls, songs, and quality traditional music. They did indeed. San Antonio was a smash box office hit, and it still holds up today. This sturdy, sumptuously produced Errol Flynn oater just gets better and better with each subsequent viewing.And no wonder. Warners pulled out all the stops when they made this one. Both the color cinematography, photographed by Bert Glennon and overseen by Technicolor Corporation's top adviser Natalie Kalmus (see my review of California for remarks on this little-known but important figure), and the Accademy Award nominated set decoration are as plush and impressive as any to be seen this side of Gone With The Wind. The exterior sets are as good as the lavish interiors. Instead of just using the standard western town set, Warners made it look like old San Antonio with sandstone building fronts, a plaza crowded with Hispanic peddlers carts and booths, and even a mock-up of the Alamo ruin the way it was before its 20th century restoration. This movie is a visual treat, but an auditory one, too. A robust score by top Hollywood composer Max Steiner punctuates every dramatic moment. His pulsating score is complemented by an almost continuous steam of musical numbers produced by the bands and and singers in the saloons and dance halls, in and around which most of the action takes place. The song "Some Sunday Morning" garnered another Accademy Award nomination for San Antonio.Flynn and hot new leading lady Alexis Smith shine at the top of the cast with solid support from ever-reliable John Litel and the delightfully funny tandem of Cuddles Sakall and Florence Bates. Formidable villainy is provided by the hard, cold menace of Paul Kelly and the urbane sliminess of Victor Francen. Throw in hundreds of extras, a Dickensesque richness of detail and minor characterization, period stage coaches, a chorus line of handsomely buxom dancing girls, a sonorous male quartet, hundreds of rounds of blank ammunition expended (mostly in the same scene), and you have one of the most extravagant, richly atmospheric, and fun westerns ever put on film.Though the story is somewhat standard, the script is very tight with colorful, sharp dialog. Not surprisingly, since it was provided by two of the top western screenwriters, W. R. Burnett (Arrowhead, Colorado Territory) and Alan Le May (The Searchers, The Unforgiven) Since Burnett was actually better known for his crime stories (Little Ceaser, The Asphalt Jungle, High Siera), it may not be just trendiness that San Antonio seems to be stylistically influenced by noir, crime thrillers popular in 1940's. While the two villains, Kelly and Francen, are partners in large-scale criminal activities, each will cut the other's throat at first chance, not unlike the ruthless bootleggers of the prohibition era. Much of Steiner's scoring of the action-suspense sequences seems to have been lifted from his score for classic noir The Big Sleep, filmed in 1944 but not released until l946. All the shootouts occur at night, including the climatic gunfight, involving hundreds, eventually destroying a saloon, spilling out into the street with runaway horses smashing peddlers' booths, and winding up in a three-cornered showdown in the Alamo ruins. This sequence is so bone-rattling violent, lengthy, and noisy, it seems to have more in common with one of Warners' rat-a-tat-tat gangster movies than with standard western action. All done with the fluid editing and smooth style typical of big studio pictures from this era. Director David Butler, more frequently seen on the musical comedy sound stage than in the wide-open spaces, and producer Robert Buckner deserve kudos for guiding this sprawling, complex production to such artistic and financial success.Dashing Errol Flynn, beautiful, elegant Alexis Smith, lavish production, gorgeous three-strip Technicolor, titillating music, thrilling action -- what more could you ask? San Antonio is top notch western entertainment from Old Hollywood's golden years.

srpwx Hard to believe this was Flynn's highest grossing film but war-weary patrons were looking for any form of escapism. Sharp Technicolor production, nice use of Warner's Calabasas Ranch plus razor sharp costumes for Alexis Smith make this film watchable but not much else. Flynn smiles his way through the proceedings but looks rather silly in the red bandanna and toy gun.Nevertheless, his scenes with Alexis generate smiles. Was there anybody better than Flynn? I think not. His riding a horse then dismounting into the window of the stage is a nice touch. Unfortunately, this tepid movie plods along until the anti-climatic saloon fight scene. All stunts, prate-falls and special effects look so staged it's distracting. By the end you're left thinking: let's wrap this up! I'm a huge Flynn fan but San Antonio entertainment isn't as big as Texas. Dodge City, Virginia City and even Rocky Mountain are better bets.Note: Some stunts done with Horses would never see the light of day now. One scene has Flynn chasing Paul Kelly across a bridge, Flynn jumps onto Kelly's white horse with both taking a big fall into the river. It's one of the more dramatic moments in the entire film. Speaking of Kelly, his personal life was almost as drama filled as Flynn's.

Terrell-4 "You mean to tell me this little mud Indian village is San Antonio?" says the singer, Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith), as her stagecoach swings into the plaza. "Oh, it's nice! You will like it!" bubbles her manager, Sacha Bozic (S. Z. Sakall). "As far as I'm concerned it's just another place full of wild savages." She's already met Clay Hardin (Errol Flynn), so we know the town can't be that bad. On the other hand, she has yet to encounter the movie's two murderous villains, Roy Stuart (Paul Kelly) and the smooth Legare (Victor Francen). San Antonio is better than a routine western, but still not much more than a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half. It's the story of Clay Hardin and his determination to bring to justice the king pin of a ruthless rustling operation. Cattle are stolen, run across the Rio Grande to Mexico, resold in a sham scheme to obtain false documents, then brought back across and resold for big profits. Hardin, beaten and run off once, is determined to come back to San Antonio with the evidence he now has...a tally book of the cattle sales in Mexico, with names, dates, brands and prices. On his way back he has to deal with killers sent to stop him, a stage coach that carries Jeanne Starr on her way to an engagement at the Bella Union Music Hall in San Antonio, and, when the stage arrives, a face-to-face encounter with the tough Roy Stuart himself, the man behind it all. And not just Stuart. His partner is the smiling and unscrupulous Legare. We're in for shoot outs, back shots, bad odds and Alexis Smith singing a couple of songs. The movie has solid production values, a creepy night-time shoot out in the ruins of the Alamo and one of the most entertaining, over-the-top shoot 'em ups, set in the Bella Union, I've ever seen. Men take bullets too fast to count, then bounce off the bar or grab their chests and fall to the floor. Mirrors shatter, a large, full bar quickly and loudly explodes into glass shards and, in a rococo moment, one villain in a balcony next to the stage is shot, tips over, gets his legs twisted in the curtain ropes and swings and twitches back and forth for a while. Eventually, justice is done in a workmanlike way. We hear the praises of Texas and, in a nice echo of Hardin's and Jeanne's first meeting in a stagecoach, another stagecoach turns around to head back to San Antonio. For me, the real pleasure was watching two notable actors, Victor Francen and Paul Kelly. Francen was a Belgian who came to America in 1939. He played men who were suave to their fingertips, worldly in outlook and perfectly at home at the roulette table. He always had a gracious smile while he said the most threatening things and did the most deadly deeds. You'll recognize him when you see him. Paul Kelly, on the other hand, was made of rougher material. He once served time for beating a man to death. Kelly also was a fine actor when given a chance. On Broadway, he won the Tony for lead actor when he starred in Command Decision. Naturally enough, when Hollywood made Command Decision into a movie Kelly's role was given to Clark Gable. If you want a sample of outstanding acting so bizarre it's memorable, just watch the scenes Kelly shares with Gloria Grahame in Crossfire. As for Errol Flynn, he does the kind of job only a charismatic movie star can deliver. Few were better when it came to smiling at danger or laughing at death. Flynn seemed at his best in costumes in his youth, uniforms during WWII and, in my opinion, in well-cut business suits afterwards. After the mid-Forties, costumes, whether cowboy outfits or tight breeches, just didn't seem to do much for the increasingly tired visage or for the notoriety he created. (Kim is the exception.) A suit and a tie, however, were another matter. The movies he made in civilian gear often weren't very good, but he seemed to keep some of his old charisma as well as to be challenged to actually act. That Forsyte Woman is as careful and respectful as an arthritic butler but Flynn as Soames Forsyte does a fine job. In Cry Wolf opposite Barbara Stanwyck, I think he does a superior job in this under-rated old-dark-house movie. (You can watch both occasionally on cable.)