Adventures of Don Juan

Plot synopsis:
Late in the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Spanish noble Don Juan de Maraña (Errol Flynn) is repatriated from London to Madrid, following a diplomatic scandal caused by his dalliance with the British fiancée of a Spanish nobleman. The Spanish ambassador in London, Count de Polan (Robert Warwick), an old family friend, sends a letter of recommendation to Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) of Spain.
He requests that she provide an opportunity at the Spanish court for the rehabilitation of Don Juan's reputation from the swirling gossip and scandal that have followed him around Europe in the wake of his many illicit love affairs. Accepting her old friend's suggestion, Queen Margaret thus appoints Don Juan as a fencing instructor to the Royal Spanish Academy, where he is a great success. During his time at court, he secretly falls in love with the Queen but remains a staunchly loyal subject to her and her irresponsible and weak husband, King Phillip III (Romney Brent).
Don Juan discovers a treacherous plan by the Machiavellian Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas), who is holding the loyal Count de Polan as a secret prisoner. The Duke is plotting to depose the monarchs, usurp their power over Spain, and declare war on England. With the support of his friends at court, Don Juan heroically defends the Queen and the King against de Lorca and his henchmen, finally defeating his plan in a duel to death, saving Spain.
The queen professes her love for Don Juan, now seeing his many virtues. Despite loving her deeply, more than any other woman in his life, he says that they could never be happy or survive such scandal. Both her subjects and Spain would fair poorly under the sole rule of the king. They both have a higher duty that must be served. Since the queen is the one woman he truly loves and can never rightfully have, he asks that she allow him to leave court and to continue his life elsewhere. She painfully grants him his wish, and he leaves the palace forever to continue his journeys in Spain.

Tags: cult, action, romantic

Review:
She died in 1995 at the age of 75."The Adventures of Don Juan" is well directed by Vincent Sherman and is probably his best remembered movie.
It ranks as one of the cinema's finest duels and Flynn will always be remembered for it even though that amazing leap with the knife was performed by stuntman and B picture actor Jock Mahoney.Then, of course there is the music by Max Steiner - one of his very best scores!
Interestingly Flynn's usual swashbuckling composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold - who had served him brilliantly on past successes such as "Captain Blood", "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" and "The Sea Hawk" -was originally slated to score "The Adventures Of Don Juan" as far back as 1945, but by the time the picture went into production the esteemed composer had left Hollywood and returned to his birthplace Vienna.
But alas we will never know!So quite a wonderful disc all round with good extras consisting of a commentary by director the late Vincent Sherman and Flynn authority Rudy Behlmer, a trailer and some instantly forgettable old fashioned shorts but the movie is all, so enjoy.
Like his swashbuckling predecessor Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn tackled the part of Don Juan in his late years, he was 39 when he made this film for Warner Brothers.
Not unlike the real life Errol Flynn.The Adventures Of Don Juan finds Tirso De Molina's famous lover sent home after a couple of escapades in the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain.
The real Queen Margaret who was his Hapsburg cousin did in fact have considerable influence over domestic and foreign policy in Spain.The Adventures of Don Juan was given a sumptuous production and won an Oscar for Costume Design and was nominated for Art&Set Design.
I think the film's best asset besides Errol Flynn is Max Steiner's music.
As Flynn films usually are well scored, this one even stands out among that group.The Adventures of Don Juan marked the thirteenth and last film that Alan Hale made with Errol Flynn.
In the end of the Seventeenth Century, Don Juan de Marana (Errol Flynn) is repatriated from London to Madrid after a serious diplomatic scandal caused by his affair with a British fiancée on the Eve of her marriage with a Spanish noble.
The Spanish ambassador in London Count de Polan (Robert Warwick) sends a recommendation letter to his friend Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) to give an opportunity in the court to rehabilitate Don Juan from the gossips and rumors about his love affairs, and he is hired as instructor of the art of fencing in the Spanish Academy.
Flynn looks like he belongs in whatever time the film is set.
Instead it turns out that in The Adventures of Don Juan, not only is our hero still swashbuckling up a storm and almost as handsome as ever -- let's not forget, ten years and many events have now elapsed since Robin Hood -- but he is also man enough to laugh at himself along with the audience.
Errol Flynn plays the role he spent his whole life "training" for -- Don Juan -- in this spectacular Warner Brothers adventure film.
Flynn does his best work in years as Don Juan, ably supported by perennial sidekick Alan Hale and Robert Douglas as the evil Duke De Lorca.
The costumes are amazing, the sets splendid, the Technicolor never looked better -- but to top it all off, the swordplay, choreographed by the legendary maestro Fred Cavens (Adventures of Robin Hood, The Mark of Zorro) is second to none.
Future Perry Mason Raymond Burr has a memorable role as one of the villains in this court intrigue adventure, and Viveca Lindfors is excellent as the Queen, but it is Flynn, with his wit, panache and blade skill, who dominates, just as it should be.
Errol Flynn, at 38, was not exactly as dashingly handsome as he was in his earliest triumph ('The Adventures of Robin Hood') for his life style had begun taking a physical toll on his health.
Amusing and entertaining swashbuckler has Don Juán (Errol Flynn in his self-mocking best) saving Queen Margarita (Viveca Lindfords) who secretly loves her champion from her evil First Minister , (the British Robert Douglas) .
At the end Don Juan finds a worthy fencing adversary in the treacherous Duc of Lorca (actually , Duke of Lerma , favorite of King Felipe III) at an exciting final duel .Errol's last spectacular and overwhelming epic features impressive duels , elegant costuming , impressive production design , marvelous gowns , and loads of action .
This was the major ¨Sword and Swagger¨ film mounted by First National Pictures and Warner Brothers for its superstar of swashbucklers , Errol Flynn .
Errol Flynn was 38 when he made this movie , but his wild lifestyle had diminished his health and made him less able to perform his own stunts, as he had in earlier films .
Support cast is pretty well , such as Alan Hale Jr as his squire , Rommy Brent playing the silly King Felipe III and Robert Douglas is too good for his baddie role .
Flynn was clearly comfortable with light comedy; it featured some great "bad guy" work by Robert Douglas; and, despite production problems caused BY Flynn's excesses, the editing in of sequences from Robin Hood and Elizabeth and Essex worked very well.
Unfortunately, the color production, Flynn's first swashbuckler in nearly a decade, was not a box office hit, but the comic adventure is today embraced by his many fans as one of his best roles!It was not an easy film to make, as Flynn's carousing and disappearances (officially called 'sicknesses') stretched the filming, and forced frequent reshooting.
This was a film which, despite Errol Flynn's self-destructive lifestyle, had enough talent involved to still stand up as one of the better films of the 1940s.The plot involves roué Don Juan, tossed out of England after breaking up a 'diplomatic' wedding (a VERY funny scene), returning home to Spain to find evil Duke de Lorca (the sublimely nasty Robert Douglas) controlling weak King Phillip, and taxing the population to near starvation, with only the beautiful Queen Margaret standing in his way.
Flynn quickly dispatches a de Lorca press gang, earning the Count's hatred, and the Queen's attention...and Don Juan finds himself truly falling in love, for the first time, with the youthful monarch (played by the radiant Viveca Lindfors).
On the run, he discovers de Lorca's ultimate scheme (manipulating the Crown into war), and with the help of the students of the Academy, he must save the King and Queen.Featuring a great early appearance by Raymond Burr (as a de Lorca henchman), and a stirring final duel between Flynn and Douglas (expanded from the 1926 version, and featuring an astonishing climactic stairway jump, performed by stuntman and future 'Tarzan' Jock Mahoney), THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN is a gloriously adventuresome romp.
Having said this, "The Adventures of Don Juan" is a wonderful, entertaining movie with Mr. Flynn looking handsome, fit and very comfortable in this role.
I'll second all other comment-writers who point out the witty humor and Errol Flynn's still nimble swashbuckling at 38 in this very entertaining film, but I'd also like to point out another feature of Errol Flynn's performance (also applicable to many other of his films):He is also good at delivering more serious lines in exchanges with the villains (in a very believable, underplayed manner) and, for that part, more sincere dialogue with the beautiful ladies.I think this is an often overlooked part of Errol Flynn's charm and why many of his films, although light in subject, make for truly timeless pieces, just like The Adventures of Don Juan..
EVERYTHING WORKS, from an aging Errol Flynn, Alan Hale as his sidekick, a witty script, great action, a young Raymond Burr as a sword fighting (!) bad guy, to one of Max Steiner's best scores.
When we saw this epic swashbuckler on it's original release in the late 40s, little did we know that it was to be Errol Flynn's last great adventure/love story.
Once again Flynn is reunited with his greatest screen sidekick Alan Hale,who is always a delight.Viveca Lindfors plays the Queen with grace and a strong will and her beauty further enhances her performance.
The film is good, but plays more as a parody of Flynn's former films such as Robin Hood, Sea Hawk, etc., with little emphasis on action until the final reel, which gives us one of filmdom's best sword fights with Flynn vs.
Hale (in his last film w/ Flynn) plays the role adequately, and Douglas is superb as the villain.
this was apparently Warners last big Budget swashbuckler with Errol Flynn, and Don Juan must have clothed him to a T!
Don Juan (errol flynn) is a romantic well know lover in spain.
Errol Flynn is best remembered today for the four classic swashbuckler roles that he played in the 1930s and 1940s.The first three were made when he was young, robust and in the fullness of his prime----"Captain Blood" (1935), "Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and "The Sea Hawk" (1940).
"Don Juan" is also the last time we will ever see Flynn in all his glory (in a beautifully restored Technicolor rendition) as our adventurous rogue (albeit an aging one) pursuing his final great quest.
"The Adventures of Don Juan" was the final hurrah for Errol Flynn as far as big budget films were concerned.
Errol Flynn is great as the womanising, care-free adventurer and Alan Hale features one last time as the ever faithful friend.
Very good color filming, great costuming, a terrific music score are some plus factors for this swashbuckling movie.
Movie perennial Robert Warwick gives one of his best performances as the good Ambassador and friend of Don Juan; he makes his role more human and less cardboard than some of the other roles in this movie.Errol Flynn is carefully filmed to appear strong and handsome, but heavy make-up and no shirtless scenes are some of the techniques used to disguise the sad fact that that Flynn was forty-ish and not physically well.
Errol Flynn plays the great lover (and apparently swordsman) Don Juan in this enjoyable attempt by Warner Bros.
Super and spectacular is this movie and gets high marks for the costumes,color,for which it won an Oscar.Womaniser Do Juan returns to his homeland in Spain and in great swashbuckling fencing style needs to save his country from a tyrant who seeks to persuade the Monarchy to go to war.Good story,excellent design and presentation and the whole picture is gloriously colorful with plenty of wit and action.Thank you:TCM.8/10.
Errol Flynn is once again cast in a swashbuckler, this time playing Don Juan.
Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk and Robin Hood are tough acts to follow, but Don Juan is still a decent feature for a Sunday afternoon with the family.Errol rocks in the role, although don't expect anything knew, the plot is very simple.
It's fantastic, rousing and a lot of fun.The direction and screenplay are decent.The Adventures of Don Juan doesn't provide much new material for Errol Flynn, but you can't help but enjoy the picture especially if you love his previous work!.
This is the last of the swashbuckler films made by Errol Flynn.
Although Flynn did look a tad older, he seemed in good shape and the action scenes worked just fine--but again, they seemed so much like those from his other similar films.
Along with "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Errol Flynn is in his element as Don Juan.
Robert Douglas always makes a most formidable and imposing villain in movies like this, but here he outdoes himself, and Viveca Lindfors, who was a very striking actress, gives a very thoughtful performance as the Queen, decked out in Oscar-winning gowns by Travilla (his only Oscar win - he didn't even win for dressing Marilyn Monroe in two different films.) With young ladies throwing themselves at Don Juan, such as Ann Rutherford, and exciting duels throughout the film, this is an Errol Flynn film that really gets one stirred up and leaves you feeling good and satisfied long after it's over.
This was Errol Flynn's first swashbuckler in almost a decade, thanks to a string of World War II roles, and it was arguably his last great costume adventure.
The New Adventures of Don Juan is not quite as great as Captain Blood and especially The Adventures of Robin Hood(the latter being one of my favourite films).
The New Adventures of Don Juan looks fabulous with huge spectacular sets, lush photography and Technicolour and some of the best ever costumes(no wonder they won an Academy Award) for any film.
Max Steiner's vibrant as well as elegiac music score compliments the film perfectly and, while not among the best film scores of all time like Korngold's for The Adventures of Robin Hood is(at least to me), is one of the composer's finest of a positively consistent body of work.
The New Adventures of Don Juan boasts some deliciously witty dialogue, some fine sword play and some of the best fencing in film history, the standout of all the action being the truly exciting final duel between Juan and Lorca.
Dawn of the 17th century swashbuckler Errol Flynn (as Don Juan) wields his swords and whey, from England to Spain, in glorious Technicolor for Warner Bros.
Both legendary lovers played the "Don Juan" role in real life, then found more love in glasses than lasses.****** Adventures of Don Juan (12/1/48) Vincent Sherman ~ Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale.
You could look at it cynically and view Adventures of Don Juan as a career life support, seeing Errol Flynn going to back to doing what made him famous in the first place after a string of unsuccessful pictures at the box office but it is none the less Errol Flynn returning to do what he does best.
Flynn's signs of ageing are increasingly apparent but considering his health and status as a star this would have been the final time Flynn could have headlined a big budget production such as this.The Technicolor here doesn't have the striking vibrancy of The Adventures of Robin Hood but the beautiful, detailed backdrops and very large scale sets with immaculate attention to detail are superb.
However, in this film, he is confronted with his own bad reputation and ultimately finds the true love where he least expects to find it.The film is directed by Vincent Sherman and is perhaps his most famous film today, a fact that owes much to the immortal Errol Flynn, who plays the main character.
As usual, Flynn comes out very well in his role, similar to what he had in other swashbuckler's films as "Captain Blood" or "The Sea Hawk": he is the hero, the adventurer heartthrob who saves the day and wins the heart of the lady.
Errol Flynn is back in swashbuckling costume eight years after the excellent "The Sea Hawk", and it feels like he never went away.
This film is about Don Juan in love, with his Queen (a suitably regal Viveca Lindfors), and putting his life on the line for Spain.
The film opens in 17-Century Europe...After many shameful incidents, Don Juan is forced to return to Spain where he discovers a country without life, driven to war, and a King in petticoat with a dissatisfied Queen...But, despite of all the court's intrigues, Don Juan saves the lovely Queen and the confused King Philip III (Romney Brent) from the treacherous schemes of a malicious minister, the great Duke De Lorca and his puppeteers Raymond Burr & Douglas Kennedy...His farewell scene with the Queen of Spain remembered me "Prisoner of Zenda."Don Juan, wisely, persuades the Queen that her duties lies with her people, and after kissing her, he says: "I shall be the only one who knew that for a little while there was no Queen."Flynn had the flair and style to play, with elegance, the charming manipulator, gaining admiration through his charisma, talents and abilities, seducing loving maidens, coming against angry husbands, causing a striking impression on the tall, dark, beautiful Queen...
She is a passionate young woman before Don Juan, her eventual true love...Robert Douglas played a stupendous villain in many adventure films, crossing swords with great stars (Burt Lancaster, Cornel Wilde and Robert Taylor).
His declaration remembered me Vincent Price in "The Three Musketeers," when he states, in his role of Cardinal Richelieu, "I'm France!"The duel between De Lorca ("I warned you, Señor, this time I shall cut deeply.") and Don Juan ("This time, I'm wearing my old clothes.") is exciting and stylish...With humorous moments displayed by the sympathetic dwarf actor Jerry Austin (Don Sebastian) and with a splendid exhibition of young swordsmen, lovely ladies, secret plots, drinking escapades, swords clashing, furious fights, and with a great complementary score by Max Steiner, "The Adventures of Don Juan" is a great entertaining swashbuckler, highly recommended....
Errol Flynn the Best Swashbuckler.
If I were a movie director, and could get Errol Flynn to act for me in a leading man role, I know I could get a great performance out of him every time.
Directed by Vincent Sherman, with a screenplay by George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz that was based on the Herbert Dalmas story, this average adventure drama not only marks the last swashbuckler role for Errol Flynn (at 39 years old), appropriately playing the title character, but also the actor's last of more than a dozen pairings with sidekick Alan Hale.
Last night I again watched one of my all time favorites, 'The Adventures of Don Juan' starring the amazing Errol Flynn and talented, lovely Viveca Lindfors.
Sadly the movie was a box office flop at that time and the budgets on later Errol Flynn films were cut dramatically.
Perhaps it's because Errol Flynn was so much like Don Juan, even in the last scene you could substitute his name for that of the famous Spanish lover when he says to Leporello (Alan Hale) " My dear friend, there's a little bit of Don Juan in every man, and since I am Don Juan, there must be more of it in me!