After
James Stewart's financial windfall attending his "percentage of profits" deal on Winchester 73,
Errol Flynn decided to cash in by making his own deal with Universal Pictures, accepting a moderate fee up front and a huge chunk of the gross for Against All Flags. Set in the 16th century, the film casts Flynn as a British naval officer unjustly condemned for desertion. He escapes punishment and joins
Anthony Quinn's pirate band, wherein he and Quinn vie for the attentions of glamorous female buccaneer
Maureen O'Hara. Flynn incurs O'Hara's wrath when he rescues a lovely middle-eastern princess (Alice Kelley) from slave traders, but O'Hara still comes to Flynn's aid when he is left to die by Quinn. Flynn and O'Hara team up to thwart Quinn's evil schemes, whereupon it is revealed that Flynn's "disgrace" was a ruse, concocted by the British government to stem pirate activities in Madagascar. Though suffering several injuries during shooting,
Errol Flynn was back in his old fighting form in Against All Flags, requiring a double only in a few scattered longshots. The film was poorly remade in 1967 as
The King's Pirate, with
Doug McClure inadequately filling
Errol Flynn's seven-league boots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide