Much better than what I expected after reading so much misinformation and moralistic rubbish about it, there are several elements that save "Cuban Rebel Girls" from oblivion. First, of course, it is somehow moving to see it as a product of love (or lust, take your pick), a vehicle conceived by Errol Flynn for his last woman, the 17-year old starlet Beverly Aadland. As it is, it is not bad: he even steps aside to let her be the center of the story that he conceived for her. To reflect on the plot, one has to consider first the second high point of the motion picture: it is a direct and fresh view of the first days of Cuban revolution, shot in Cuba and with the support of the Rebel Army. Those who make fun of the film apparently have no sense of the historic value of moving images, and in this case "Cuban Rebel Girls" contains valuable footage of the year the Cuban revolution triumphed, 1959 images of La Habana, the country side, the rebels, the sugar factories and even a brief moment of country music. In the movie, Flynn plays himself taking a trip to Cuba as a reporter covering the last days of the struggle to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista. Simultaneously an American girl (Aadland), whose lover is fighting with the rebels in the island, helps a Cuban girlfriend to take guns to the army. It is a very simple story line, but quite effective, combined with the images of the real "barbudos" (the bearded men, as the rebels were called when they could not shave after spending long time hidden in the mountains). For the project I guess Flynn could not afford top professionals, so he had to make do with his pilot-manager Barry Mahom as director (who in latter days would produce, write or direct sexploitation movies), cinematographer Merrill S. Brody, whose camera set-ups were not always inspired and a cast of non-professionals who at least handled their few lines with enthusiasm. A third factor of interest for me is that this was Errol Flynn's last film: whatever you may think of it, as you compare it with his glory days, Flynn really touched my heart and made me smile with his last lines, wishing the best to all the rebels of the world who fight for a better life.
