The Errol Flynn swashbucklers:
-Captain Blood: Cheerful adventure. Added Bonus is the first score ( and one of his best )
by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
-Charge Of The Light Brigade: Follow-up but much more dour action military picture with legendary final battle scene.
Allegedly mostly staged by second-unit director Breeze Easton.
Although from the book: "Inside Warner Bros",which studies the old Warner Brothers Archives,
the writer Rudy Behlmer concludes by looking at the working hours of the employees that Curtiz
worked on the set when the battle scenes were staged.
So mr. Easton only served as second-unit director on those scenes.
(I've seen even newsreel footage of Curtiz shouting through a megaphone
at the hordes of extra's on the set.)
-Dodge City: A return to the upbeat adventure for Flynn. Beautiful Technicolor photography by Sol Polito
-The Sea Hawk: Big Budget glorious Swashbuckler , be it greatly a rehash of Captain Blood
and The Adventures of Robin Hood. Directed with broad strokes and more skill than art.
Also noteworthy is the disguised call to arms anti-nazi speech
scripted by Howard Koch; Warners was the first
studio to make anti-nazi films while other studios were still hesitant.
Another great score by Korngold.
-Mystery Of the Wax Museum:
-Life with Father: Brilliantly played by William Powell.
Extremely well written comedy, carefully guided by Curtiz and
photographed by J. Peverell Marley and William V. Skall.Although I
think Irene Dunn did a good job and played it with great charm, the part would have been better
filled by Bette Davis. She was considered for the part according
to a letter from Curtiz to Davis where he talks about the people
from the stage that didn't like her test screening for the part
and that he was heart-broken about that fact.My opinion is that
Davis would have portrayed a much stronger woman
; and so the balance would be better between mrs. and the domineering
mr. Day
