As if to signal that the plot of VIRGINIA CITY would be borrowing many elements from previous Warner westerns, this one begins with stock footage from other studio westerns before settling down to tell a story that goes off in several different directions but remains in desperate need of a cohesive plot.
The first plot involves the greed for gold that has a Mexican bandit (HUMPHREY BOGART) interfering with the plans of ERROL FLYNN and RANDOLPH SCOTT involving the shipment of gold from Virginia City to aid the losing Southern cause during the Civil War. The second, is a lame romantic trio wherein Flynn and Scott are vying for the affections of a dance hall girl who is really a Southern spy (MIRIAM HOPKINS). The third plot concerns subsidiary characters, including a little boy (DICKIE JONES) who is aiding the rebels and meets an untimely death--just like the little boy in DODGE CITY, Flynn's bigger and better western.
So many remarks here comment on Max Steiner's score, but most of it includes snippets of Southern folk tunes for the Confededracy and/or Northern tunes for the Union music and very little of the score is original background material. Only the main theme heard over the credits is the single original composition for the whole film. The score, in other words, has tough competition from the lusty music he wrote for DODGE CITY, a far more complex and memorable score.
But the film's main drawback, aside from a very busy plot that takes two hours to unravel, is the miscasting of Miss Hopkins as singer and dancer at a saloon wherein the stage looks suspiciously like the same one used for Ann Sheridan's saloon gal in DODGE CITY. Hopkins can barely carry a tune and is clearly a bit over-aged for this kind of role. The other unfortunate miscasting is Humphrey Bogart as a Mexican bandit giving accented orders to his henchmen in an accent that barely conceals his Brooklynesque speech. Bogie looks extremely uncomfortable in the role.
Flynn is fine, managing to disguise the fact that there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Hopkins, who eyes him with cold disdain for the climactic close-up of the two holding hands. What were they thinking? The usual Warner stable of contract players delivers their lines on cue with panache but it's really no use. It's all been done before and doesn't even have the benefit of Technicolor to make good use of those striking outdoor location sites.
Only die-hard fans of Flynn and Scott will worship this one.
The first plot involves the greed for gold that has a Mexican bandit (HUMPHREY BOGART) interfering with the plans of ERROL FLYNN and RANDOLPH SCOTT involving the shipment of gold from Virginia City to aid the losing Southern cause during the Civil War. The second, is a lame romantic trio wherein Flynn and Scott are vying for the affections of a dance hall girl who is really a Southern spy (MIRIAM HOPKINS). The third plot concerns subsidiary characters, including a little boy (DICKIE JONES) who is aiding the rebels and meets an untimely death--just like the little boy in DODGE CITY, Flynn's bigger and better western.
So many remarks here comment on Max Steiner's score, but most of it includes snippets of Southern folk tunes for the Confededracy and/or Northern tunes for the Union music and very little of the score is original background material. Only the main theme heard over the credits is the single original composition for the whole film. The score, in other words, has tough competition from the lusty music he wrote for DODGE CITY, a far more complex and memorable score.
But the film's main drawback, aside from a very busy plot that takes two hours to unravel, is the miscasting of Miss Hopkins as singer and dancer at a saloon wherein the stage looks suspiciously like the same one used for Ann Sheridan's saloon gal in DODGE CITY. Hopkins can barely carry a tune and is clearly a bit over-aged for this kind of role. The other unfortunate miscasting is Humphrey Bogart as a Mexican bandit giving accented orders to his henchmen in an accent that barely conceals his Brooklynesque speech. Bogie looks extremely uncomfortable in the role.
Flynn is fine, managing to disguise the fact that there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Hopkins, who eyes him with cold disdain for the climactic close-up of the two holding hands. What were they thinking? The usual Warner stable of contract players delivers their lines on cue with panache but it's really no use. It's all been done before and doesn't even have the benefit of Technicolor to make good use of those striking outdoor location sites.
Only die-hard fans of Flynn and Scott will worship this one.