Good fight choreography in this

Not only in the swordfights, but in the rough-and-tumble action as well -- *particularly* the marvelous *teamwork* and *timing* of Don Juan and his friends/rescuers in the escape from the dungeon and torture chamber.

Flynn hit that turnkey with that stool like he really *meant* it, man! I mean that looked *real*. I hope the guy wasn't really injured. And then the way he hoisted himself up on Alan Hale's and the other guy's shoulders to kick that guard into the cell. It looked like he really meant that too.

And then, in the torture chamber, the way Hale hooked that guard's sword so the other guy could stab him, and so forth. It was all so smooth and well-timed. Even the way Flynn flung that iron hook at Raymond Burr as his friends tossed him a sword rang true.

Great movie. Cool fights.

So Flynn was getting older and it was showing a little. So what? He was supposed to be. That was kind of the whole idea. Don Juan was supposed to be getting kind of tired and world-weary.

But he was still a patriot, back when it was still cool to love your country and want to do your bit for it.

People still go around saying "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels." Mostly those people mean they think it's the *first* refuge, or that patriotism is even scoundrelly in itself, per se. Well, in this movie a lot of people believed Don Juan was essentially a scoundrel. But he proved 'em wrong.

Ozy