Cuban Rebel Flynn

ASSAULT OF THE REBEL GIRLS-1959-Usually referred to as CUBAN REBEL GIRLS, this is Errol Flynn's last role. In it he plays himself on assignment for The Hearst newspapers in Havana to interview Fidel Castro. Most of this pro-Castro propaganda is only narrated by Flynn. The main story concerns "the Cuban rebel girls", two young ladies (usually referred to as little girls) Jacqueline (Jackie Jackler), a Cuban  and Beverley (Beverley Aadland), an American who's boyfriend Johnny is in Cuba helping Fidel overthrown the Batista government. Secret police chase Flynn's contact Maria (Maria Edmund) when she tries to recruit some locals and Flynn's narration explains the goings-on and the terror the rebels feel while characters walk, run and deal arms with only a minimal of scenes with synchronized dialogue at first. Later as the story progresses there's synchronized scenes but it can't over come the the bad acting, shoddy direction and marginal budget. Flynn meets Beverley ("Haven't I seen you someplace before? On TV or somewhere?") and Castro takes over and the world lives happily ever after.

ASSAULT is  crummy piece of work and really shows how the once great Hollywood actor Flynn had fallen. Despite good roles the previous year in TOO MUCH, TOO SOON and THE ROOTS OF HEAVEN wild living and problems with the IRS had taken their toll on him. Although usual credits list him as the screenwriter, the film's credits just say from a story by Errol Flynn. He died of a heart attack in October of '59 before the movie was released.

This messy docu-drama was put together by Flynn's manager producer/director Barry Mahon who although born in California had served with distinction in the Royal Air Force during WW2. It's said the Steve McQueen character in THE GREAT ESCAPE is based in part on him! In ASSAULT he doesn't show much but later in the '60's Mahon became a  prolific and highly successful exploitation filmmaker (BUNNY YEAGER'S NUDE CAMERA, THE BEAST THAT KILLED WOMEN, NUDE A GO-GO).

The role of Beverley was played by Beverley Aadland who happened to be Flynn's 17 year old girlfriend! Though she had made un-credited roles in other movies before this, ASSAULT  was her last movie.

Most of the other actors had no other film credits but John McKay who plays Johnny was later in two other Mahon productions, THE DEAD ONE and ROCKET ATTACK USA.

The assistant director on ASSAULT  was Allen Baron (he also has a small role) and the director of photography was Merrill S. Brody. They would team up in 1961 to make the low budget film noir classic THE BLAST OF SILENCE.

"When you become a rebel you give up a lot of of things that make a feminine life easier".

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Happy Thanksgiving! Have A Blast.....

BLAST OF SILENCE-1961-Hit man Baby Boy Frankie Bono (writer/director Allen Baron who resembles Robert DeNiro) comes to NYC on Christmas Eve to shadow a potential hit job in this low budget film noir that for years was undeservedly over looked.

A narrator (un-billed Lionel Stander) provides cynical narration. Checking out a future hit (a minor gangster) provides great shots of New York in the early ’60’s (especially of Harlem in front of The Apollo Theater and Rockefeller Center). He buys a gun from Big Ralphie (Larry Tucker), a whispering fat guy with an apartment full of caged rats. After a Christmas walk, he meets Petey “from the orphanage”. He introduces Frankie to his sister Lori (Molly McCarthy) and he goes to their Christmas party where dances and rolls a peanut with his nose! He has a Christmas Day dinner date with Lori but kind of blows when he puts the moves on her too strongly. Meanwhile, he keeps following his prey learning his moves and routines. He then takes time to go to The Village Gate where a conga player singer named Dean Sheldon does two great songs! When Big Ralphie tries to blackmail Frankie they have a terrific, violent fight amid the escaped rats. Frankie decides he doesn’t want the hit. He’d rather make time with Lori but it turns out she has a steady boyfriend. He goes off and makes the hit but winds up shot to death on Long Island (because the mob doesn’t trust him anymore).

I really like BLAST OF SILENCE. It's gritty low budget photography really sets the mood. I read about it many years ago but never saw hide nor hair of it until it was “re-discovered” a while back. Star/director/writer Baron helmed one other feature TERROR IN THE CITY in 1964 then went into TV. The sometimes over the top narration was written by future Academy Award winner Waldo Salt. Producer/cinematographer/editor Merrill S. Brody shot CUBAN REBEL GIRLS in ‘59.

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