The Big Boodle

The Big Boodle (1957)

Errol Flynn is most known for his swashbuckling pizazz in the 1930s, of course, but as his career dwindled he became embroiled in all kinds of controversies, including sleeping with underage girls, sympathizing with the Nazis, and becoming drinking buddies with Fidel Castro.

The last of these matters here, for "The Big Boodle" might be the first film made entirely in Cuba by a US film company, and Flynn is clearly at home. Two years later he would make a now famous odd film, "Cuban Rebel Girls," where he befriends the rebels in their uprising. So this is an important precursor, and it's truly interesting in many ways. It's a crime film with shades of a late film noir infecting most of it. Flynn plays an American who gets in trouble, and has to go it alone with a couple of dangerous women around him. Classic noir stuff. But of course it's late in the cycle, just before "Touch of Evil" which is the symbolic end to the classic noir era.

So there are lots of scenes outside in Havana (great architecture and American cars), some cuban music (nothing totally memorable), and a general mood of that amazing pre-Castro era where Americans and Cubans mixed like oil, water, and rum. For that alone it's worth seeing. But it's worth saying the Flynn is actually terrific in his role as a tired but determined American out to clear his name and save his life.

The other key player in this whole enterprise (a low budget movie with big budget looks) is the cinematographer Lee Garmes, a true veteran and the man who shot "Detective Story" and "Caught" which are both cinematically brilliant. Garmes and Flynn make an unlikely collaboration (and I have no idea whether they were friends) but they make this movie actually rather workable. Is it

"When you want something done right, you do it yourself." IN a way that's what these filmmakers did. The story is the biggest hurdle--there isn't much to worry about or get involved in as it goes. Even the final climax at a famous old fort above town is more about the photography and movement of characters than any sense of who might shoot who.

A curiosity and not a waste of time, but nothing remarkable.

For fans of Errol Flynn, this is a rather tough film to watch. That's because after a lifetime of wild living and booze, the once handsome actor looks pretty lousy for a 48 year-old. He's puffy, flat and lacks the spark and charm that made him a matinée favorite in previous decades. Here, he's just "phoning it in" in a low-budget and rather dull film and it's only of much interest to fans with morbid curiosity or who want to see every film this star made.

The story has Flynn playing a lowly blackjack dealer in a Cuban casino--quite a comedown compared to other characters he'd played in the past. While it is interesting to see street scenes of pre-Castro Cuba, the rest of the film is a dull affair concerning Errol being tossed, quite innocently, into a bunch of murderous counterfeiters. Because he was no longer the glamorous hero, he spends most of the film being beaten up and hassled. The best fight for him is at the end when he barely manages to beat up a doughboy-like villain. Not exactly CAPTAIN BLOOD or ROBIN HOOD--it's really a shame Flynn's final films are generally of this low quality.

Errol Flynn - a casino dealer- gets handed fake pesos by a myserious blonde gambler. After he confronts her outside the casino, a trio of thugs jump him. Not only are the police not sympathetic about the mugging, they arrest him for possessing counterfeit money.

And we're on our way. Like Cary Grant in North by Northwest, Flynn is a shmoe stuck in the middle of something. The movie has him trying to unravel that mess.

Everybody is shady on some level. The dames are gorgeous. The location work is top-notch. The photography is beautiful.

Flynn, despite the high mileage, still looks quite dashing. I mean, geezus, if I still looked that good at 48 and had female companionship half as old, I'd be on top of the world.

And, as always, he's convincing in his role. He doesn't get the acclaim Hollywood's famous hambones get - Cagney, Muni, Kirk Douglas, Brando, et al. And compared to limited-range actors like Cooper, Wayne, Gable, Bogart, et al, he's a thespian.

It's really too bad semi-literate Americans had such limited expectations of their movie stars that guys like Flynn were rarely allowed to stretch. And when they did their movies bombed. Historical perspective is a different matter. I enjoy his darker movies and this was no exception.

A reluctant actor from 1953 on, Flynn roused himself for this unremarkable film. After splitting from Warner Brothers in 1953 he chose William Tell as his first solo effort, eager to star and produce. Flynn's finances never fully recovered from the resulting quagmire. This 1957 film arguably got his attention because as well as giving him a much needed pay cheque, it was also filmed on location in Havana. The location work is it's best feature. The Black and White photography adds to the Havana experience. The film is also helped by a good support cast, plus a plausible turn from Errol Flynn. The story, what there is of it, is about a world weary Croupier Ned Sherwood (Flynn) whose life gets almost fatally complicated "one night" when he finds himself with counterfeit Pesos. Pedro Armendariz is a delight as a crafty Colonel who doesn't believe or disbelieve Sherwood's story. Faced with no help from the Police Sherwood follows the funny money trail and uncovers some dislikable characters plus a larger plot. He also meets up with a mysterious blonde (Rossana Rory.)and Gia Scala (From Guns of Navarone). Sherwood struggles to untangle the web and clear his name. Despite the premise, location and likeable cast, the film is only just watchable. Flynn is worth seeing in one of his later roles, with Black and White allowing Flynn's hardening features a creditable rugged handsomeness.

I recorded "The Big Boodle" when it played on TCM and expected to see a "train wreck" of a movie based on articles and books I have read. I was most pleasantly surprised to see a very entertaining film. I thought that Errol Flynn and the supporting cast were uniformly good. Errol again showed what a great star and actor he really was. The plot was plausible and the pace of the movie moved right along. I am surprised by the negative reviews. "The Big Boodle" is a more substantial film than many more critically acclaimed films... and,by that,I mean mainstream movies that are supposedly "A" quality. Errol brings a worldly weariness appropriate to his role. I was surprised to see how fit he appeared and how involved he was in his portrayal. I believe that he would have been magnificent as Rhett Butler in "Gone With The Wind" which he lost reportedly, due to Betty Davis' refusal to make that movie with him in the leading role. "The Big Boodle" shows what a serious and outstanding actor he was in even a modestly budgeted film