Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951)

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In 1860s New Orleans, a Creole servant girl (Micheline Presle) vows revenge after her wealthy lover (Vincent Price) uses his influence to put her in jail so he can marry a rich socialite. While on trial, however, Captain Fabian (Errol Flynn) comes to the girl’s defense out of spite for Price’s character more than anything else. Flynn sets Presle up with a tavern to run and there’s a hint that the two might be falling in love. But after Flynn heads out to sea again, Presle entangles with Price again — blackmailing him into marriage. When Flynn returns, the three characters’ ambitions collide in an explosive confrontation.

This screenplay, credited to Errol Flynn, bewildered me for a while because some essential backstory is withheld a little too long. Once that problem is resolved, Flynn departs the story for a good length of time and the movie starts to feel like two or three different movies in one. The Fabian character, the film’s namesake, ends up tertiary to Presle’s and Price’s characters. So buyer beware — despite the poster art and the title, this is not really an Errol Flynn vehicle, nor a swashbuckler. It’s a psychological drama about three people manipulating each other. More Dangerous Liaisons than Captain Blood.

Flynn, in the downward slope of his career, musters a little of his old effortless charisma. Presle overacts her way through the piece while Vincent Price gives the film’s most compelling performance as a master manipulator who gets taken down by Presle, only to rise again and perform greater treachery.

As disjointed and uneven as the film is, the final act delivers the goods. If you disregard the misleading title and the marketing, or if you’re a fan of Errol Flynn and Vincent Price, you might find enough entertainment in this matinee melodrama. With Agnes Moorehead.