Cuban Rebel Girls (1959)
BOMB (out of 4)
The likes of Ed Wood, Al Adamson and Jerry Warren have taken credit for creating some of the worst movies ever made but special attention must also go to director Barry Mahon and star/producer/writer Errol Flynn. Flynn would die of a heart attack shortly after this film was completed so on one hand it's rather sad knowing this was his final film but that doesn't take away from the fact how horrid it actually is. The lack of being able to see this film is probably the main reason why it doesn't get on more worst of lists. Flynn plays himself, a war correspondent trying to help Fidel Castro overthrow Fulgencio Batista. The "story" involves an American girl (Beverly Aadland) who runs away from home to fight for the cause. The 50-year-old Flynn was dating the 16-year-old Aadland at the time this movie was being made and I can't help but think the former star was trying to kill two birds with one stone. One he was trying to show his support for Cuba. Secondly he was giving his lover a film part. No matter what he was trying to do this is a downright horrid film that doesn't have any redeeming quality except for Flynn fans to see how far the star had fallen. In some of the bad dialogue Flynn mentions all these Hollywood scripts coming to him but I think it's safe to say that wasn't the truth when you consider where his career was at this point. On a technical level this film contains horrid dialogue, awful acting and direction that you can never spot. Flynn plays himself so he basically just narrates and we see him being himself in a few scenes. We see him flying a plane as well as him being his hair done at a Cuban hotel but that's pretty much it. Aadland wasn't an actress outside of her beauty. The young teen clearly wasn't an "actress" and you certainly can't blame her bad performance since she only got the part because she was Flynn's lover. The supporting players are all just as bad and one has to wonder what they did to get their parts. This atrocity was pretty hard to see for several decades and it's easy to see why Flynn fans would want it to just disappear. The recent DVD release (under the title ASSAULT OF THE REBEL GIRLS) will get the film out to more viewers and I'm sure before long it will become a favorite to those who enjoy bad movies. I love watching bad movies when they're so bad that they're entertaining but that's not the case here. This is just a downright pathetic movie that sadly turned out to be a legends final one.
