Review of Royal Flash (1975) by Max M — 08 Jun 2008
The second of author George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman novels (out of a series of twelve) is brought brilliantly and hilariously to life by director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night, Petulia, Superman II).
Col. Harry Flashman (perfectly played by Malcom MacDowell) is the ultimate anti-hero, being a liar, cheat, a womanizer and an enormous coward, but still manages to land himself into perilous and ultimately history-making adventures and emerge a seeming hero.
What makes the books and this film so much fun are the mixing of historical fact with fiction. Here Flashman crosses paths with such historical figures as Lola Montes and Otto Von Bismark, all the while getting into sword fights, near-death scrapes, and an attempted political coup (the story mirrors Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda, a fact which is brought up in the book with a wink and a nudge).
Author Fraser (who wrote the scripts for director Lester's Three Musketeers and Four Musketeers films) also wrote the terrific script.
This review of Royal Flash (1975) was written by Max M on 08 Jun 2008.
Royal Flash has generally received positive reviews.
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