I rate this product 6 for the invaluable footage it contains of Cuba before, during and after 1959. As a documentary it is not good: it is more a flat montage of images that Errol Flynn's Russian partner Victor Pahlen photographed and then edited with Flynn's introduction and closing lines, marches and chachachas. For someone who does not care about the history of Latin America, this work may have not value, but for those interested in history in general, it is an amazing journey to Cuba, watching images of dictator Fulgencio Batista, his chief of police, the army, the revolution leader Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl Castro, Ernesto "Che"Guevara, the rebels and the people, seeing footage of the massacres of soldiers and civilians, American tourists being hosted by Batista, cabarets, casinos, the rebellion, the entrance of the bearded victors to La Habana, the trials, an execution by firing squad, and many more images of what that island was then. Unfortunately it lacks direct sound so we are subjected to narration and (silly) sound effects. Still it is a moving portrait of the sincere ingenuity of all concerned: the people, the makers, the viewers. The conclusion is highly ironic when we watch the then "people" of Venezuela receiving Castro during a visit to their country... The copy available has its soundtrack damaged and some parts are almost inaudible. Of highly historical and archival value, but those who are not interested, avoid it.
5 Reviews
Errol Flynn a progressive
jackcade10 April 2008
I recently read Charles Higham's notoriously unreliable biography of Errol Flynn because I picked it up for about $1 at a secondhand bookshop. I had long refused to read it because of Higham's infamous claims that Flynn was a Nazi and because the dust cover displayed a swastika. The copy I picked up didn't have a dust cover. Higham's spurious claims are based on his knowledge of the mysterious Nazi character Erben, a one-time associate of Flynn's, who later recanted his Nazi views. Higham also refers to Flynn's affairs with Nazi women. I'm not sure politics had much influence on Flynn's sex life. Nevertheless, it struck me while reading this drivel that you could just as easily construct a convincing portrait of Flynn as a communist. He secretly joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain and, of course, he made two pro-Castro films about Cuba. "Cuban Rebel Girls" is a bad film whichever way you look at it with an unusually poor performance from Errol (who was simply brilliant only recently in "The Roots of Heaven", "Too Much Too Soon" and, of course, "The Sun Also Rises"). I have watched "Cuban Rebel Girls" several times because I nevertheless find it a fascinating and curious film. Director Mahon directed some right-wing Cold War films so I am not sure why he was involved with this one. In any case, the direction like the script, was poor. The script should have been handed over to producers like Samuel Z. Arkoff or Albert Zugsmith for better results. It's the sort of film Mamie Van Doren would have spiced up wonderfully. "The Cuba Story" is another mess of a film, but like "Cuban Rebel Girls" at least its heart is in the right place. Sad to see Errol Flynn in failing health in both these films. He looks old and weary after a lifetime of living it up. But the point to be made is that no Nazi would be associated with these pro-Castro films. Or if Flynn did have Nazi sympathies or allegiances at some stage(and like Erben, recanted), then it is instructive that he chose to be involved with these Cuba films. And as for those Nazi women Flynn was supposed to have slept with? Maybe he was just pumping them for information.
Of interest to die-hard fans of Flynn and bad films
neal-571 December 2002
If you liked "Cuban Rebel Girls," the semi-documentary long thought to be Errol Flynn's last film, you'll love this--but who in their right mind liked "Cuban Rebel Girls?" (Well, fans of really bad movies would. Apparently Michael and Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfus were unaware of this one; it might have beat out "Plan Nine From Outer Space" in their polling for "Worst Film of All Time.") Anyway, CRG was a grainy, poorly filmed "semi-documentary" of the days when Castro's forces were on the verge of ousting Batista from Cuba; "Cuban Story" is an all-documentary attempt at the same thing. For Flynn enthusiasts whose interest includes his last days, CS--available on DVD only--is a treasure trove: here's Errol in an office setting, sporting his trademark cigarette holder and attempting, none too successfully, to ad-lib an introduction and ending to the hodgepodge of documentary footage that makes up most of the film. The liner notes to the DVD suggest that Flynn recorded the narration to the middle of the film at a later, and presumably more sober, date. In fact, he did nothing of the sort--the voice that narrates the documentary footage is quite obviously not Flynn's at all--although the script is written in first person for Flynn, when "he" narrates footage of himself and Beverly Aadland in a casino! The mystery voice is unmistakably British, but much closer to, say, Ronald Colman's accent than Flynn. (Some sources say it's the voice of director-producer Victor Pahlen.) So, if you're interested in Flynn's last year--or historical oddities from the early days of the Cold War--this one'll pique your interest. Otherwise, it'll make "Plan Nine From Outer Space" look like "Citizen Kane."
A great big slobbering kiss for Fidel.
planktonrules8 January 2010
This film violates two important rules of documentary making. First, the narrator should have a script and not just talk off the cuff. Rarely does this approach work and here it just seemed to to fall flat. Second, and probably more importantly, try to be sober. Here, Flynn is a mess--only a short time before he died due to the effects of acute alcoholism.
Now you can't simply blame the alcoholism for Flynn would make a film extolling the virtues of a dictator. Such love for Castro is certainly not unique in Hollywood--though at least in Flynn's defense, many at the time did not realize what sort of leader Castro would become. They had visions of a free press and freedom of speech--two things promised in the People's Revolution.
Aside from an opening speech,a brief segment in the middle and end in which we see Flynn ramble a bit in front of a cheap set, the rest of the film is pretty shabby. It consists of all kinds of stock footage strung together and narration with an unseen man narrating who obviously is NOT Flynn--though the man pretends that he is! Apparently, Flynn died before the film was completed and some dummy thought they could fool the audience with the strong endorsement of Castro by the faux Flynn! I really think they should have kept the intro (despite its limitations) and just admitted that it was not Flynn narrating. But instead, the narrator talks about "my good friend George Raft" and plays it all very straight. Too bad, as some of the footage and narration is pretty good--even if it is a great big slobbering kiss for Fidel because of its hyperbolic and rather unprofessional style. It really doesn't seem like a documentary, but more like a propaganda piece because of its lack of objectivity and manner in which the film condones the widespread executions following the fall of the Batista government--including footage of an execution (both the events leading up to it and the actual killing). That was just nasty.
Overall, mostly of interest to die-hard Castro, Che Guevara (who is also highly praised in the film) or Flynn fans. Otherwise, most will probably be misled by its false message of hope or bored with the film, as it is pretty dry. An odd curio and that is all--and a poorly made one to boot.
Now you can't simply blame the alcoholism for Flynn would make a film extolling the virtues of a dictator. Such love for Castro is certainly not unique in Hollywood--though at least in Flynn's defense, many at the time did not realize what sort of leader Castro would become. They had visions of a free press and freedom of speech--two things promised in the People's Revolution.
Aside from an opening speech,a brief segment in the middle and end in which we see Flynn ramble a bit in front of a cheap set, the rest of the film is pretty shabby. It consists of all kinds of stock footage strung together and narration with an unseen man narrating who obviously is NOT Flynn--though the man pretends that he is! Apparently, Flynn died before the film was completed and some dummy thought they could fool the audience with the strong endorsement of Castro by the faux Flynn! I really think they should have kept the intro (despite its limitations) and just admitted that it was not Flynn narrating. But instead, the narrator talks about "my good friend George Raft" and plays it all very straight. Too bad, as some of the footage and narration is pretty good--even if it is a great big slobbering kiss for Fidel because of its hyperbolic and rather unprofessional style. It really doesn't seem like a documentary, but more like a propaganda piece because of its lack of objectivity and manner in which the film condones the widespread executions following the fall of the Batista government--including footage of an execution (both the events leading up to it and the actual killing). That was just nasty.
Overall, mostly of interest to die-hard Castro, Che Guevara (who is also highly praised in the film) or Flynn fans. Otherwise, most will probably be misled by its false message of hope or bored with the film, as it is pretty dry. An odd curio and that is all--and a poorly made one to boot.
Crude but fascinating artefact
mahirali14 February 2008
This offers crude but nonetheless fascinating glimpses of Cuba in 1959, and from an unlikely source. There is no footage of Errol Flynn with Fidel Castro - just one still. The footage was evidently shot without sound, and the occasional canned applause seems ludicrous and unnecessary. The music on the soundtrack, on the other hand, is perfectly apt, notwithstanding the indifferent sound quality. Flynn's commentary is highly interesting as a contemporary view of Fidel and the rebels from a non-communist source. Much of the actual footage is priceless, notwithstanding the fact that it has been cobbled together rather clumsily. I would commend it to anyone with an interest in the Cuban Revolution.
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