Cinema: Up the Irish

The Son of Captain Blood. “What would your father say,” cries the mother of the hero of this picture, “if he knew that his son had got mixed up with such scum?” Silly woman. Father would certainly say: “Up the Irish!” For the name of the hero of this picture is Sean Flynn, and his father was the late Errol Flynn, an actor never notably fastidious about the cinema scumpany he kept.

Way back in 1935 Flynn senior cast some lead upon the waters, a super-colossal sinker called Captain Blood, and he would certainly cheer to hear that it had come home, covered all over with green stuff, to a lad of 23 who seems willing and able to follow in his father’s bootsteps.

Unhappily, this seaquel is even sillier than the original mocean picture—and Blood, as somebody remarked at the time, was thinner than water. But Son never lacks excitement. In rapid succession Sean 1) takes passage in a tall ship sailing from Port Royal, Jamaica, 2) falls in love with the beauteous Abigail (Alessandra Panaro), 3) runs afoul of Captain De Malagon, a nasty pirate who hated Captain Blood and is happy to loose his fury on the son and his lust on Abigail, 4) seizes the nasty pirate’s ship, 5) storms a citadel, 6) frees all the slaves, 7) can’t think of anything more to do. But sit tight. In movies like this, Mother Nature is always ready to cover for a fellow. Along comes a Technicolor earthquake to wind up the picture with a great big bang.

So don’t see it. Tammy Teen will, and she will squeal over Sean just as loud as mother eeeeeked for Errol. The boy looks like his old man—he has the same empty, eager eyes and the same silly, lopsided smile. And the young pup acts like the old dog too—he is already known in the trade as Flynn-Tin-Tin. But Sean has something going for him besides his moniker. He has an All-American body and a wild Irish charm. He seems born to be a Hollywood buccaneer and climb upon the rigging like his daddy used to do.