Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

edwagreen I thought this would be your run of the mill western. Instead, it becomes an engrossing film dealing with Errol Flynn's rise as a silver mining magnate in Nevada.Thomas Mitchell shines here as a drunken attorney, who when he becomes sober begins to oppose Flynn for his selfish ways and campaigns for senator, only to be assassinated while ready to praise the Flynn character.As Flynn's sidekick, Tom D'Andrea sounds more like Gillis, William Bendix's next door neighbor in television's "Life of Reilly."Ann Sheridan sparkles as the wife of Bruce Bennett, a mining expert who goes prospecting on the advise of his new partner, Flynn and is killed in an Indian attack.Mitchell accuses Flynn of purposely getting the Bennett character to go and compares it with King David and Bathsheba, the biblical characters.Flynn has the right temperament as the selfish magnate for the part.

Robert J. Maxwell It's not a particularly good Western but it's not terrible either.Errol Flynn is a Union Captain at Gettysburg, left in charge of the pay wagon with several millions dollars. When it's about to be captured by Jeb Stuart's cavalry, he burns the money. The Rebels are driven off at the last minute and Flynn is convicted of poor judgment, conduct unbecoming an officer, and looking a little debauched from too much boozing although he was only in his 30s. He's humiliated in front of the troops, his gold buttons pulled off, and sent away in disgrace along with his sidekick, Tom D'Andrea. "They convicted me for not obeying their rules, so I'll make my own rules from now on," asseverates Flynn.So, in a way, this is a kind of revenge movie. In these kinds of plots, the hero suffers some sort of injustice that justifies the later obsession that leads him to excess. "The Big Heat" is a good example.Flynn becomes a gambler and makes enough money to open his own casino in a Nevada mining town. The mine owners, not having access to enough cash, has been paying its workers off with IOUs, which they've been gambling away in Flynn's operation. (That may sound peculiar but the monetary policy of the country at the time wasn't all that codified. Some states and some banks and businesses were issuing their own currency.) Flynn then decides to stop accepting the IOUs. The miners are enraged and the owners nonplussed. Flynn pacifies the miners and plusses the owners by opening a bank which will pay cash for the IOUs. It's a great system for Flynn. The miners work their buns off, then take their IOUs to Flynn's bank to cash them (for a fee), and then they lose their cash in the casino. Flynn owns everything. He's got the entire town coming and going.What he doesn't have, and what he wants, is Anne Sheridan. She not only dislikes Flynn. She's married to the upright and principled Bruce Bennett. Bennett kind of admires Flynn and, with Flynn's blessing, goes off to see if there is any silver to be mined in Shoshone territory. Bennett, unlike Flynn, doesn't know that the Shoshone have gone on the warpath and are relieving visitors of their scalps. Flynn tries to save the situation and Bennett at the last minute but he's too late.Thomas Mitchell plays essentially the same reprobate he did in "Stagecoach," only this time he's Flynn's lawyer. Flynn's deceitfulness drives him to drink -- it's a short trip -- and he excoriates Flynn, bringing up David and Bathsheba and Uriah. Flynn's riposte, "The difference is that the King loved her," is pretty weak, if you ask me.The story is rather interesting. I enjoyed the business about the IOUs and the bank. Bruce Bennett is, as always, reassuringly bland. This is only to be expected from Herman Brix, who played in the Rosebowl and won a silver medal for the shot put in the 1928 Olympics. Anne Sheridan was, by most accounts, a nice, down-to-earth lady who traded jokes with the boys. She seems to have a minor cult following, but judging only from her performances I don't know why. Errol Flynn's career was entering its decadent period by 1948. Ten years earlier he had found the demanding authoritarian Michael Curtiz too hard to work with, so Warner's substituted Raoul Walsh for Curtiz. Walsh was a tough man too, but not the taskmaster Curtiz had been. For instance, Walsh allowed Flynn to drink on the set -- but not before five o'clock. The two got along well. Walsh's films were as slam-bang as Curtiz'. But this was the last movie Flynn and Walsh did together and thereafter Flynn's pictures were of declining importance.It must be said, too, that Flynn looked good in almost anything he wore, but the costumiers have given him some truly outlandish garb here. Those stovepipe hats! He was splendid in the uniform of a Captain. The man should never have been cashiered. A damned shame.

Poseidon-3 In his last film with director Walsh (after many successes), Flynn plays a darker character than was usually his style. During the last gasps of the Civil War, Flynn (A Union soldier) is guarding a payroll wagon and is attacked by Confederate troops. After attempting to outrun them, he decides to destroy the money rather than surrender it. This act of strategy on his part is perceived as treason by the US military and he's dishonorably discharged. Embittered, he sets off on a life of selfishness and conquest, grabbing everything he can get at almost any cost. He starts with gambling, then moves into silver mining and banking, with his war buddy D'Andrea along for the ride. He also befriends a grizzly drunken lawyer (Mitchell) who eventually gets his act together (perhaps a bit too well!) Like King David of The Bible (a point directly addressed in the film), he covets married woman Sheridan whose mild-mannered husband Bennett is rather easily disposed of. Flynn winds up having it all, but once he's at the top, there's only one way to go and that's down. Flynn was, at this stage, beginning to show signs of wear in his looks and his dedication to his craft. He's still good and still handsome, but nowhere near the heights he had previously enjoyed. His character here is more downbeat than audiences may be used to and though he's still roguish (which is when Flynn is at his best), he's less easy to root for than he was when portraying more traditionally heroic men. In some ways (such as near the end of the film) his weariness actually helps the characterization, but his usual sparkle is missed. The actor was experiencing a lot of pressure at the time from the studio and the director to avoid his usual late-night partying and he heavily resented it. Sheridan is solid. Her remarkably deep voice aids her in displaying a woman who is just as at home in either a frilly ball gown or a shirt and dungarees. Her strong persona allows her to emerge from under some of the largest and most ornate hair to be seen in a 1940's western. This is a lady who will politely pour punch and dance, but isn't above thrashing an interloper with a buggy whip if he's in her path! Mitchell gives another showy (some might say hammy), but dedicated performance. Bennett (a former Tarzan) is just right for his role as a kind, but meek, miner who is just too nice to be able to hold on to his possessions. D'Andrea is basically a footman to Flynn throughout, but does have one hilarious scene in which he guides the townspeople through Flynn's new mansion, emphasizing the rare nature of all the furnishings. The film has a nearly epic feel at times, covering several years, despite the reduced budget. Attractive settings and costumes, hordes of extras and a particularly good Max Steiner score help bring it over. It may be a tad too long, but only a few sequences drag. Most of the film clips along, interestingly, until it's fairly predictable conclusion.

Neil Doyle A more mature western from a Stephen Longstreet novel traces the career of a rather corrupt adventurer (Flynn) who stops at nothing to assure himself of wealth in a rough and tough gambling town. He chases an attractive woman (Ann Sheridan) who becomes a widow fast when her husband is allowed to stray into Indian territory while they're on the warpath. He makes all sorts of deals to increase his wealth, betrays others right and left and refuses to heed the warnings of his drunken pal (Thomas Mitchell). He only reforms at the last minute, in time for a happy ending. Much of the story stretches credibility a bit, especially when his drunken pal goes on to run for senator.The Flynn-Sheridan combo makes the tale bearable but it's a little too long for comfort. Technicolor would have bolstered the handsome production values and given the film the A-production look it strives for. Evidently, Warners was afraid to give Errol the benefit of technicolor for this particular western.Flynn gives an uneven performance--in some scenes subtle and convincing, in others seeming not to care. He's still handsome here but beginning to show signs of hard living. Ann Sheridan is her usual feisty self but their strained relationship at the start is a sure fire sign that they will soon be paired romantically.No more than a conventional western yarn with some serious overtones, but it could have been so much better.