Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951)

hyped garbage

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Given the title I expected this (which I had missed out years ago on a solitary Saturday morning screening on Italian TV) to be yet another of star Errol Flynn's swashbucklers, especially since he took it upon himself to pen its screenplay (perhaps following the example of his predecessor Douglas Fairbanks)! With this in mind, it is commendable that he opted for a change-of-pace vehicle (which has more of the Southern Gothic touch about it than anything else) and his character basically shares the protagonist role with co-star Micheline Presle (the film, in fact, is a French production shot in the English language and distributed in the U.S. by Republic Pictures!)! The leading lady is a Creole girl serving (and mistreated by) an aristocratic family but still managing to attract the attention of lecherous prospective in-law Vincent Price. She swears revenge – with the help of batty sidekick Agnes Moorehead – and, in fact, the minute her masters are out of the house, the latter installs a load of beggars in their house (who would have thought that Flynn actually anticipated the most celebrated set-piece in Luis Bunuel's VIRIDIANA by 10 years?!). Anyway, Price's craving for the girl is too great to stay away for too long and, when he turns up unexpectedly, tragedy ensues – with Presle curtailing a drunken stable-boy's sinister intentions with repeated blows to the head courtesy of Price's walking-cane! The latter, however, proves typically diabolical and unceremoniously hands the heroine over to the Police (especially since her own mother had been convicted of a crime and was subsequently hanged for it!), while Moorehead promptly shows Price what she thinks of him by spitting in his face! Thankfully, for Presle, docking seaman Flynn bears her accuser a grudge himself so, when he runs into the young Howard Vernon (a nervous clerk with the villain's firm) in a tavern, he manages to get wind of how things really went in the murder case…and, consequently, turns up at the trial to literally blackmail the judge (Price's uncle no less) in dropping the charges and letting Presle go! Aware of her ambitions, he even buys the afore-mentioned establishment for her. The heroine, then, sees an opportunity to get even with Price when, unbeknownst to him, organizes his bachelor party at her pub and then leads him, tipsy as he is, back home and into his room, making sure another irascible uncle (Victor Francen, demeaning Price in much the same way he had the latter's future co-star Peter Lorre in THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS {1946}, coincidentally another Bunuel connection!) catches them in flagrante delicto! Once again, the situation escalates and Price strangles Francen to death (it is interesting how the mechanics of murder have been reversed from the previous crime) and, with Presle's complicity, buries the old man – the two, however, attempt to double-cross one another as, while she throws in his jacket in order to direct the finger of guilt towards him, he does the same with a watch in her possession but which had actually borne an inscription tracing it to the oblivious Flynn! Jailed but eventually liberated by Moorehead's rallying of his shipmates, he discovers that Presle had wed Price in a marriage of convenience (by giving her what she wanted all along, he can rest assured she will not give him away) but, of course, she secretly pines for the hero. In any case, the actionful and fiery finale has a lynch-mob (led by Reggie Nalder who, like the afore-mentioned Vernon, is here several years away from acquiring a cult reputation in horror films!) attack first the prison and then the docks in an attempt to hasten Flynn's sentence – he finally gets the goods on Price but Presle herself perishes (with the closing shot depicting him carrying her lifeless body through the foggy streets, accompanied by a superimposed snippet from a previous scene wherein he asserts his undying love for her despite their obvious incompatibility). In the long run, the film – running a generous 100 minutes – is stylish and compelling (despite the production compromises and an unfamiliar 'official' director), not to mention a reasonably successful 'oddity' within the action/romantic star's canon that is entirely undeserving of Leonard Maltin's *1/2 rating.

Adventures of Captain Fabian has the distinct aroma of tax write-off about it. Errol Flynn and friend William Marshall who was married to Ginger Rogers at one time, filmed this in France and released it through Herbert J. Yates's Republic films. In this case Yates might have been wise to put wife Vera Hruba Ralston in it because she couldn't have possibly made the film any worse.For a man who led an adventurous and made so many action films, it's amazing that Errol Flynn when writing a screenplay could make it so deadly dull. Flynn, if in fact he wrote it, borrowed a bit from Saratoga Trunk and a bit from Mourning Becomes Electra and a touch of Tennessee Williams. All of which are beyond his reach as thespian. It's only in the last ten minutes of the film when Flynn who is framed for the murder of Victor Francen is being freed from jail. How it's done by the way is a bit bizarre.In fact Flynn is barely in the film at all except for the last 40 minutes. He and Michelline Presle have both been done dirty by the family of which Vincent Price is the wastrel heir. In Michelline's case, Price has had his fling with her, but now he's dumping her to make a proper marriage, New Orleans style. She ain't taking it lying down and her machinations get her, Price and Flynn in a whole lot of trouble.The film was shot over in France, the interiors done in Paris and New Orleans of 1853 is represented by the French city of Villefrance. Flynn and Marshall were supposed to do a French language version simultaneously as per French law, but skipped the country before the authorities caught on. They also stiffed Vincent Price on his salary and Price had to sue both of them and he collected a few years later.In fact Price is the one good thing about Adventures of Captain Fabian. He essentially takes his Shelby Carpenter character from Laura back to the previous century. Agnes Moorehead plays Michelline Presle's aunt, but she's got a terrible makeup job, she looks and acts like Flora Robson from Saratoga Trunk. Knowing what Errol Flynn fans like, they are going to be terribly disappointed with Adventures of Captain Fabian.

As stated in another review, bit of a slow mover this one. Not one of Flynn's best. Although Flynn is credited with writing this, it is believed the he didn't actually write any of this. In his biography "My Wicked, Wicked Ways", he stated that he did. But others from the time dispute that claim. Who knows, Flynn did author 2 books on his own, and would have preferred to be remembered as a good writer. But, all in all, this movie is good, not the best, but good and entertaining. Vincent Price does an excellent job, Anges Morehead, is as usual very dependable and shows why she is one of the better character actors in Hollywood. Errol Flynn, to me, appears half asleep though this movie. Strange, considering he boasted he wrote it. Not much of an adventure film.. But for Flynn fans, a good film, and should be seen..

This is not an adventure film as the title might suggest, but a slow moving melodrama, with some good scenes. The film was made independentley in France, and from the beginning there was to have been two versions, one english and one frenchspeaking. Director Robert Florey, was hired to helm the frenchspeaking version, but it was never made. Instead Florey stayed on as uncredited assistant director to William Marshall, some scenes show his influence, and he directed most of the final dockside fight. It was also Florey who brought in actors Victor Francen and Jim Gerald, as well as art director Eugene Lourie to the project. The film is good to look at, photography(by Marcel Grignon) and settings are intriguing, but the direction is to slow to really keep intrest, but a few scenes near the end are well made. The acting is ok, Agnes Moorehead gives a fine performence, and Errol Flynn is interesting as a rough seacaptain, a toned down role in comparision with Micheline Presles flambouyant creole girl. Vincent Price is properly slimy as a spineless dandy and Victor Francen is seen to briefley as his grim uncle. The story is very old fashioned, a little "Monte Cristoish" in style, and have some curiosity value. This film must unfortenatly go down as a missed opportunity, although an interesting one, like Vincent Price later said: this should have been a very good film". Altough the film has flaws, its visually interesting also the music by Rene Cloerc has its moments. if you like oldfashioned, romantic melodramas, this could be worth watching and the final scene is inspired.