Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . during the Advent of the "Talkies," Prophecy moved from the exclusive realm of pedantic professorial prattlers into the bailiwick of Joe Blow and Rosie Riveter, the True Blue Union Label "Little People" who buy the vast majority of movie tickets. So during Warner's ESCAPE ME NEVER, what present-day deplorable villainess is this story's cold-hearted Rich Witch home-wrecking Fat Cat heiress "Fenella MacLean" clairvoyantly crafted to represent? Hint: Warner provides us with a whopping clue when Fenella lures "Sebastian" into killing working class single mom "Gemma's" baby "Piccolo" through his gross neglect. Can anyone view these traumatic scenes during the long hot summer of 2018 and NOT instantly think of America's Reincarnated version of "Marie Antoinette," who visits one of her husband's notorious Child Abuse Centers wearing a "designer" frock reading "I just don't care: Let them eat cake"? If "E. In-Like-Flynn" writing ballets seems implausible to you during ESCAPE ME NEVER, ask yourself how better could the eponymous Warner Bros. predict the appointment of an illegal alien porn starlet as America's Third Lady?
pitcairn89
I echo what a number of other reviewers have said about this film, that they were pleasantly surprised by it. Most of the books about Flynn pan the film, and put it on the list with his lesser- quality pictures. It may not be in the top rank with his swashbucklers, but it really isn't a bad film at all. He gives a fine performance, and shows what a good actor he was, in just about any role he tackled. I like the fact that it isn't an action film, as we get to see what he could do in a different kind of part. I think he carries it off very well. He still gets to be the handsome rogue (with a piano instead of a sword), but also shows that his character is deeper than that, and has some real sensitivity for his lady friend and her baby. Some reviewers say that he was miscast, but I don't agree. A handsome, charming guy like Flynn is just what the part demands. A flirtatious character, but one with some deeper feelings, too. That could almost be a definition of the real Errol Flynn. Flynn succeeds with a difficult task here- making a selfish cad somewhat likable. You find yourself rooting for Sebastian in spite of yourself.It's nice seeing Flynn work with his real-life friend, Ida Lupino. Flynn, Lupino, and director Raoul Walsh reportedly spent a lot of time together, and were very close pals. In fact, Ida and her mother Connie (who also loved Flynn) are buried right next to Flynn in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. One gets the feeling that Ida always loved Errol, and, in an alternate universe, you wonder if they might have gotten married, or had some kind of long-term relationship. Flynn was a wanderer, though, so perhaps that wouldn't have worked out so well. Anyway, they play well together, and you sense that they really liked each other. Gig Young and Eleanor Parker are also very good in this film. Both were excellent actors, though their later roles perhaps provided them with more range than this film does. As in all Old Hollywood movies, this one is chock full of great character actors. Reginald Denny, Frank Reicher, Anthony Caruso, Albert Bassermann, Doris Lloyd, Leonard Mudie, and many others. Reicher is one of my favorites, in all kinds of films. I think he is best remembered as the captain of the ship "Venture" in King Kong. Caruso was great, too, and should have had a bigger career. He always projected sincerity and believability. I'm guessing Flynn had some coaching on the piano for this. There is at least one shot where you can see his hands on the ivories. Most of the other scenes show him from behind. Films have always been good at faking the playing of musical instruments, as it had to look good and seem believable. Pianists might poke holes in what looks like Flynn really playing, but it looks pretty good to me.Anyway, this film is worth a look. It shows that Flynn's talents really did go beyond playing the swashbuckler. All of us fans have always known that, but it might be an eye-opener for some people. Supposedly, the bad reviews for this film, and for his performance, upset him greatly. Many think that the criticisms of his acting, combined with the effects of his rape trial, and inability to serve in the military during the war, led to the downward spiral his life soon took. If you look at him just two or three years after he made this film, he looks ten years older. Everyone knows how it all finally played out. But here, he still seems young and full of life. And he has a perfect partner in Ida Lupino, who was always good in these kinds of dramas. It's too bad they didn't make more films together.
bkoganbing
After 1945 in which Errol Flynn appeared in typical roles for him in Operation Burma and San Antonio, he obviously must have talked to Jack Warner about getting parts that would broaden his range. He did three films over the next two year designed to do that, Never Say Goodbye, Cry Wolf, and Escape Me Never. The last is probably closest to Flynn, but all three didn't either get great critical notice or did outstanding box office. After Escape Me Never, Flynn was back in traditional action roles like Silver River and The Adventures of Don Juan, the kind of parts his fans like to see him in.Escape Me Never is a four sided triangle story set in the years of the turn of the last century. Errol's a misunderstood genius of a composer who is living with a young widow, Ida Lupino and her baby. Ida's another Bohemian sort who broke into the villa in Venice of an English couple and their daughter. When she's confronted she mentions she's living with Errol. That sends a ripple through the house because daughter Eleanor Parker is engaged to Gig Young who is Errol's brother and they think Errol's a two timer. When she leaves Venice in a huff, Flynn, Lupino, and Young chase after her.The problem is that the daughter may have been wrong on the particulars, but in fact Errol is a two timing cad, though a charming one.Charm Flynn had in abundance, but I could never quite accept him as a musical genius. The best thing about the film is the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold who wrote a ballet for the film that is the highlight. Korngold scored a lot of Flynn's early swashbucklers, most notably The Adventures Of Robin Hood.This is the second version of this story, the British cinema did one in 1935 with Elisabeth Bergner and Hugh Sinclair. I'm guessing that was a better film.
Pittwater
It's not a comedy but if you don't laugh, you will be wondering why you continued to sit through this till the very end. Errol Flynn carried this film most of the way with his usual charm but even he can't perform lazarus on such a poorly written screenplay. Peter Godfrey didn't help either. Perhaps he had fallen asleep while directing this piece. Having said that, it has a great cast of actors and actresses. Lupino is a good actress but I felt she was badly miscast in this film. What a pity though because the idea was good and it had potential.
