Casablanca3784 I noticed that "San Antonio" was nominated for two Oscars and won none.The first it deserved i.e. Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color. Yes indeed, that saloon bawdy house was done impeccably,rich and lavishly. The second nomination was unwarranted--Best Music, Original Song "Some Sunday Morning" Ray Heindorf (music), M.K. Jerome (music) & Ted Koehler (lyrics. You can go crazy from that song. Every time a stagecoach moved, it moved with it in the background. EVERY TIME. THE WHOLE PICTURE. Then what do you think Alexis Smith, the saloon chanteuse sings? Right--same thing. And after she's done, what does a male quartet sing? Right again. It's not a bad tune but OVER and OVER and OVER....Good Grief!The film's about the wild wild west of the mid 1800s. So my question is this: Errol Flynn has an English accent; S.Z. Sakall has a Hungarian accent and villain Victor Francen has a French accent. Now don't get me wrong; I'm neither xenophobic nor bigoted because my own father was a European immigrant but he didn't wear a ten gallon hat and carry a Colt .45 either. What do Europeans have to do with a story of the rootin' tootin' shootin' wild west? Sorry but Mr. Flynn who speaks like someone out of Oxford doesn't belong with the tumbleweed crowd.The plot is all about revenge as are so many films. There is a quasi-romantic angle of course because of the gorgeous Alexis Smith who was one of Hollywood's great natural beauties and quite surprisingly, a very good job is done by John Litel who is Flynn's best friend. I rated the film a 6 because it's neither great nor rotten; has excellent color and holds your interest. One thing--they showed too many cattle and not enough Alexis Smith.

Neil Doyle Once it was established that ERROL FLYNN could fit the mold of a western hero (even with his Australian/British accent), his studio wasted no time in putting him through the paces of several westerns, the best of which was DODGE CITY ('39). By the time he did SAN ANTONIO, all the western clichés were pretty well used up, so what we have here is a routine storyline that gives Flynn a chance to play another one of his suave western heroes who romances the local dance hall girl (ALEXIS SMITH) so we get a chance to hear a couple of pretty tunes along the way.It's a shame that Warners had so little faith in Alexis' singing prowess that they dubbed her voice for the musical interludes. She went on to become an accomplished dancer/singer on Broadway in the years ahead. Nicest number is "Some Sunday Morning" which actually got an Oscar nomination as Best Song.The usual cast of competent Warner contract players is evident once again: John Litel, S.Z. Sakall, Paul Kelly, Tom Tyler (wasted in a small role), Florence Bates and Victor Francen. Conspicuously missing is Alan Hale, who usually played Flynn's sidekick.With a jaunty score by Max Steiner (who borrows his own title theme from DODGE CITY), this is the kind of western you've seen many times before, but enhanced by some of the nicest Technicolor and set decorations to be seen in any Warner film of this period.Errol Flynn fans will enjoy it as one of his lesser excursions into the western genre. Fast moving and breezy entertainment.

hildacrane "San Antonio" is a lively movie, with a lot going for it: two very attractive leads who look good together, beautiful Technicolor, enjoyably unsubtle and melodic Max Steiner score, good villains. It's a Saturday-afternoon kind of film, best accompanied with a bucket of buttered popcorn. The script isn't inspired, but it moves, and the big fight sequence toward the end is quite spectacular and well choreographed, and made me really appreciate the contributions of stunt players in this kind of film. Alexis Smith is gorgeous and well-costumed, if a bit reserved, and gets to lip-sync two very pretty songs. There was always something very identifiable about Warner Bros. orchestration for musical numbers--a cheeky brassiness. Errol Flynn is characteristically cheeky in his own slightly self-mocking way, as when he carries on a conversation while interspersing it with bits of a romantic song, also strumming a guitar. Florence Bates does a reprise of her "mentor to the female lead" from "Saratoga Trunk." Victor Francen and Paul Kelly make a good, hissable pair of bad guys.

dougandwin I saw this film again after many years, and realise more than ever that the chemistry of Flynn/de Havilland is sadly missing,; while Alexis Smith does a reasonable enough job, she seems cold and almost an unwilling participant in this run of the mill Western. The "baddies" were well played by Paul Kelly and Victor Francen, while Cuddles Sakall takes over as Warner's light relief from the old stagers Frank McHugh and Alan Hale who both seemed to be standard casting in Flynn films. The story has been done before, and since, but was enjoyable enough, but I felt the photography was too dark in many scenes (and it was not the print). It was good to see Florence Bates again, and the finale was pretty good, but it is way short of the fun and excitement of "Dodge City"