The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Charge of the Light Brigade / Gentleman Jim / The Adventures of Don Juan / The Dawn Patrol / Dive Bomber)

While every Errol Flynn fan has individual titles they will champion as 'Essential' Flynn, "The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2", combined with the first volume, offers a pretty complete collection of the premier screen cavalier's most memorable screen appearances...and two of the films in this collection ("The Charge of the Light Brigade" and "The Adventures of Don Juan"), are absolute MUSTS!

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936): Flynn's follow-up to "Captain Blood" is a tour-de-force of adventure, romance, and spectacle, climaxing in, arguably, the greatest (and bloodiest) cavalry charge in screen history! More Rudyard Kipling than Tennyson, most of the story occurs in India, with noble Flynn saving the life of a genocide-minded tyrant, losing Olivia de Havilland (for once!) to future 'Will Scarlet' Patric Knowles, and chumming with doomed best friend (both on and off screen), David Niven. Eventually the action moves to the Crimea, and the infamous Charge, an astonishing spectacle that, sadly, cost the lives of at least one stunt man, and hundreds of horses (Flynn, himself, would be so distraught by the carnage that he helped establish the present standards against animal cruelty).

Unforgettable!

"The Adventures of Don Juan" (1948): Warner's attempt to resuscitate Flynn's sagging career failed, but the film is an absolutely enchanting, tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler many consider his last 'great' film! Looking a bit worn (he fell off the wagon early in the production, which ended up taking nearly a year to complete), Flynn is the immortal roué, too often caught during trysts (a familiar real-life dilemma for Flynn!). Returned to Spain in disgrace, accompanied by loyal Alan Hale (in the last of his 12 films with Errol), he eventually wins the heart of the Queen, foils a plot to overthrow the monarchy, and fights a furious duel with villain Robert Douglas, all to one of the GREATEST of Max Steiner's scores!

A real TREAT!

Two other films of the collection are also great Flynn; "The Dawn Patrol" (1938) re-teams Flynn with David Niven and Basil Rathbone (a VERY sympathetic 'villain', this time!), in one of the BEST WWI dramas, of burnt-out fliers pushed to their limits; "Gentleman Jim" (1942), one of Flynn's own personal favorites, is a funny, light-hearted biopic of boxer James J. Corbett, father of 'modern' boxing, with fabulous turns by Alan Hale (as Flynn's FATHER!), and Ward Bond (unforgettable as the aging John L. Sullivan).

The only (slight) disappointment is "Dive Bomber" (1941), in the collection, I suspect, because it was filmed in color! A dated tale of the Navy's research into the effects of high altitude flying on pilots, the film boasts a first-rate cast (including Fred MacMurray and Ralph Bellamy), and Flynn at his most handsome, but it lacks the charm and excitement of the other titles...Still, this isn't a bad film!

Happily, Flynn is BACK...and with his five WWII-themed films still to be released, perhaps a Flynn 'War' collection will be next!

The immortals of the screen's golden era transcend time because each of the true greats was an orginal. Unique. Incomparable. Gable, Garland, Garbo, Davis, Bogart, Cagney, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy...no one was like them before, or ever will be again. The same can surely be said about the wonderful Errol Flynn.

Warner Bros. has been quite generous in delivering us many Flynn titles in recent years, and there are dozens to go! This latest set will not dissapoint his fans, with 5 entertaining, classic vehicles, assembled in an impressive newly designed sleeve that takes the WB Signature Collection series to a higher plane of elegance and magnetism.

Every film here is top-drawer, but my particular favorite has to be CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. An undeniable classic which has never looked so good. All the transfers here are the best I've ever seen, and the vintage extras Warner has included are like the cherry on top of the sundae.

I'm sure WB has another 2 or 3 Flynn sets waiting in the wings...and why not. He made several dozen films for the studio, and only a handful don't classify as timeless entertainment.

I also love great older movies, and will defer to the reviewers below as to the quality of the other Errol Flynn films in this set. To some of us, however, "Dive Bomber" is special. I agree that the dialogue's corny, and the storyline isn't very close to the reality of flight research of the time. Still, it was filmed, with great cooperation from the Navy, just months before our entry into WWII, at the end of the most colorful era in aviation. The scenes of actual carrier operations, filmed on the USS Enterprise, and the SB2U's, F3F's, TBD's, and other planes, yellow wings and all, in glorious Technicolor, are a priceless record of the time. It hasn't been widely available on DVD before, and some of us are very glad to have it now.

I was originally only going to get this one movie, but now I really look forward to watching all the others again, too!