San Antonio (1945): American Western film
Well-made but tedious western starring Erroll Flynn set during the 1870s range wars, with Errol’s intrepid rancher hero Clay Hardin attempting to bring cattle rustler and nightclub owner Roy Stuart (Paul Kelly) to justice while romancing singer Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith…sigh…) who’s been hired to sing in Stuart’s swanky gin palace by Stuart’s oily Frog partner Legare (Victor Francen).
Because he’s gotten a book full of his illicit sales records, Stuart is apprehended by the Cavalry for rustling, but in temporarily giving it to his dogged offsider Charlie Bell (John Litel) to go romancing Alexis, Legare kills Charlie, steals the data, and attempts to blackmail Stuart. S.Z. Cuddles” Sakall, who portrays Alexis’ incomprehensibly Germanic manager, is the lone witness to the shooting; pushed by both Stuart and Legare, Cuddles wants to leave town. Shootouts erupt as a result.
Even though it was written by the renowned pairing of professional pulp wordsmiths W.R. Burnett and Alan Le May, San Antonio is simply too easy and talky a storey to be worthy of the vast sums of money and class spent on it. Director David Butler adds some snooze-inducing song and dance sequences to the mix.
Made tolerable by deft star turns from Flynn and Smith, both of whom get to parade in exquisite costumes, equally deft support turns from Litel and Kelly, and the saturated technicolour evocation of the period Tex-Mex atmosphere, especially with a massive gunfight inside Kelly’s nightclub and an eerie scene in which Francen, Kelly, and Flynn each hunt each other down within the moonlit ruins of the Alamo.
