Forgotten Flynn Vehicle

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Warner Bros. MARA MARU (1952) is a fairly forgotten, generally disliked and disregarded Errol Flynn vehicle. Without doubt it is one of the actor's lesser efforts but it isn't really that bad. If, like me, you are into most anything that the great man is in then there's some enjoyment to be had from this sometimes lethargic seafaring thriller. From an original story by Philip Yordan, Sidney Harmon and Hollister Noble a reasonably fair to middling screenplay was fashioned by N.Richard Nash. It was also buoyed by an adroit score by the studio's Max Steiner and the whole thing had workmanlike direction by the busy Gordon Douglas. Although the star still had to do "The Master of Ballintrae" the following year in England to finish out his Warner contract MARA MARU was his last Hollywood film for them (He made a brief return to the studio in 1958 for the John Barrymore biopic "Too Much Too Soon").

Flynn steps into the shoes of Bogart and Garfield here as Gregory Mason a boat Captain and deep-sea diver (his first time to do so) running a salvage operation in the Philippines after WW2. He knows exactly where a PT boat went down in the China Sea during the war but what he didn't know it sank carrying a diamond encrusted cross. This he learns from a shady collector Raymond Burr who, for a share and a payment of $10,000, asks him to dive for it. Flynn refuses at first but after his partner (Richard Webb) is murdered and his boat burnt out he finally agrees and sets sail with Burr and an assorted collection of dubious characters to retrieve the cross. Of course when he eventually brings up the treasure there is already a well hatched double-cross prepared on board which leads to an action filled finale and a redeemed Flynn returning the cross (at the behest of an over sanctimonious Ruth Roman) to its rightful place in the Church.

Performances are generally fine throughout. Flynn gives a good portrayal of a man wanting to get rich quick and who finally regains strength of character. Raymond Burr is as effective as ever as the calculating baddie and Ruth Roman is just about there as the love interest in what is essentially a poorly written and unconvincing role.Adding superbly to the thing and keeping it afloat, so to speak, is Max Steiner's terrific score. There is a winsome ethnic piece to point up the Manila setting and eerie music for the diving sequences. But the score really comes into its own in the brilliant chase sequence in the raging storm towards the end, where swirling strings accompany Flynn as he is pursued for the cross through some thick jungle foliage.

Then there is a poignant hymnal melody denoting the religious connotations associated with the cross and a beguiling waltz is the love theme for the picture's softer moments with Flynn and Roman. MARA MARU is one of the composer's unfairly forgotten scores.MARA MARU is probably in its disregarded and ignored state because of its unavailability on disc or even on video tape. But the good news is it has just been released by Warners on their new Archive series. So hopefully this release will create a wider audience and enhance its reputation. Check it out!

*

Author: ashew from United States
15 April 2006

It is beyond me why critics had such a problem with Errol Flynn. He was, even in his worst films, an excellent actor. I think people let his personal flaws and wild personal life cloud their opinion. I think Errol Flynn is one of the most under-rated actors in the history of film, and never got the respect he deserved. Yes, part of that is certainly his own fault, but definitely not all of it.Mara Maru is unquestionably one of Flynn's lesser films. It is a bit slow in parts, and there are a couple of plot holes that one must overlook, but I found myself overlooking them and just watching the movie to be entertained. If one does this, the movie is certainly worth a viewing.

I found Ruth Roman such a blessing, as she was not one of those melodramatic, chew-the-wallpaper actresses from the old studio system...she was grounded, strong, and REALLY beautiful. The rest of the supporting cast was pretty good, too. Raymond Burr is always fun to watch as a bad guy, and I enjoyed the two actors who portrayed the Filipino boys. Paul Picerni and Dan Seymour I found to be a little over the top, but not so bad that they were totally annoying or unwatchable. And, for me, anything with Errol Flynn is fun...even in a mediocre film...there is just something about the guy that I like.

I'm giving the movie a 6 out of 10 mostly because of the solid B-film performances, competent directing through most of the film (I think the flaws are derived from poor editing, not from the directing), and for the ever-enjoyable Errol Flynn. I think those coming to the film with realistic expectations, prepared for B-film entertainment, and willing to overlook the weaknesses of the screenplay, will find themselves in for an enjoyable film experience.

*

Errol Flynn plays "Mason" co-owner of a salvage operstion based in Manila.His partner ,Callahan ,is a drunk who claims that he has the key to a fortune in lost diamonds ,sunk on board a vessel fleeing Manila before the Japanese occupation.When he is murdered suspicion falls on Mason especially when it becomes clear there is a mutual attraction between him and Callahan's widow (Ruth Roman ).Cleared of murder by the testimony of a private eye ,Ranier (well played by Paul Picerni)he is hired by the wealthy Benedict (Raymond Burr )to track down the treasure.

The scene is set for betrayal ,shipwreck and a lively climax in the catacombs under Manila Cathedral. The movie sags a little in the underwater scenes which are murky and uninvolving but overall its a lively if minor thriller albeit one in which the ravages of the star's off screen debauchery are reflected in Flynn's appearance and slightly weary performance.Burr is admirable as the heavy and Roman is fine like most of the cast while the Max Steiner score is a big bonus.Good time passer but a long way from the stars glory days.

* 

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
19 January 2011

Mara Maru came in Errol Flynn's career at a time when Warner Brothers and the rest of Hollywood for the most part was trying to divest itself of its big name stars and the salaries they commanded. It's the kind of a film that studios were giving stars to satisfy whatever commitments were still under contract. They did not think this was worth going to the Phillipines to shoot even.

In plot it's similar to a Glenn Ford film The Green Glove where another war veteran is searching for an object that's both valuable in monetary terms and has great religious significance. In tone Mara Maru looks like something that might have been meant for another Bogey and Bacall teaming.

Flynn plays a part of a World War II veteran who is a charter boat captain out of the Phillipines who knows the location of a jeweled cross taken from a church with the coming of the Japanese and sunk somewhere in the seas off Luzon. So does his partner Richard Webb who talks a little too much in a Manila bar and winds up dead.

Which doesn't concern Webb's wife Ruth Roman who is doing a Lauren Bacall knockoff of a performance. She's got a thing for Flynn in any event. Of course master villain Raymond Burr is behind a whole lot of things that befall Flynn until Flynn uses his boat to take him to the lost cross. It's an uneasy type alliance as you can gather. In the mix is Paul Picerni playing a Peter Lorre type part. Picerni is a man of very shifting loyalties and his part is terribly underwritten.

Some underwater sequences could have used some color to appreciate them better, something Jack Warner wasn't about to splurge for in this potboiler. Mara Maru is not a bad film, but it's certainly nothing that any of Errol Flynn's fans would put at the top five for him.

*

Author: Elliot Cross from London
26 May 2003

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

[Contains some minor spoilers about first 30 minutes of movie]

Mara Maru, one of Errol Flynn's more mediocre movies, is obviously an attempt to cash in on the success of the B movies of the time, what we now call film noir, while attempting to add a twist of the usual Flynn style (i.e. a swashbuckler). The early part of the movie is almost an exact copy of the opening of The Maltese Falcon - the main character (in this case Flynn's) partner is murdered, he meets with hostile police, a past love affair with partner's wife is revealed, and then he meets with various mysterious villains who offer to help him towards large bundles of cash, if only he will acquire something for them.

The mix isn't successful, with the noir element dominating most of the time, although the adventure quotient ups a bit later on. The problem with this is that Errol Flynn is great at being the charming rogue, but really not very convincing as the threatening Bogie-noir "man with a dark past" type. Indeed, no one is very convincing in this movie, most of the actors seeming like "Will work for food" types; moreover the plot proceeds much too slowly and ploddingly, and occasionally lapses into sentimentally, which has no place even in pseudo-noir. There are none of the directorial touches usually associated with noir movies either.

Mara Maru is not an awful movie, merely boring and a waste of time; there are thousands upon thousands of movies your time would be better spent watching than this one. I'd recommend instead checking out either some of Flynn's much superior full-blown swashbucklers like The Sea Hawk, The Adventures of Don Juan, or The Adventures of Robin Hood; or some full-blown noirs, like The Maltese Falcon or Touch of Evil.

*

Author: vincentlynch-moonoi from United States
23 September 2014

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Yes, Errol Flynn looks more than his 43 years here...but not that much more...more like 48. So I don't buy all those comments that he had turned into an old man. He still had about 7 years more of making films in him before his early death at age 50.What is noticeable is how his star had fallen. It's not that this is a bad picture. In fact, it's a pretty decent mystery-adventure film. But, it's a far cry from the glory days of "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" and "That Forsythe Woman", and Ruth Roman was no Olivia de Havilland or Greer Garson.

Nevertheless, the main cast does rather nicely. Here, Errol Flynn looks like the kind of man who might have stayed in the Philippines after the war, lived a tough life, and ended up deep sea diving. And the diction -- always one of his strong points -- remained. Ruth Roman, though a B picture actress, was a good B picture actress, and does very well here as the wife of Flynn's partner. Raymond Burr always did nicely as a heavy (no pun intended), and does nicely here; he really was quite good. And Paul Picerni as a PI, adds a nice touch.

The plot is pretty straight-forward. There's a treasure to be had (dating from WWII) and the men who are after it are not to be trusted. When Flynn's partner (one of two men who knew the location of a diamond treasure) is murdered, it falls to Flynn to work his way through the intrigue to find the treasure and the murderer. There are enough twists and surprises to keep you involved, and I very much enjoyed this pic. Recommended