Thanks to personal scandals and his increasing alcoholism, Errol Flynn’s career found itself in decline by the mid-1940s. Still, Hollywood continued to call and we find Flynn circa 1945 with San Antonio.

Clay Hardin (Flynn) ran a cattle ranch in Texas. Rustlers eventually descended on his land and caused him to flee to Mexico.

Eventually Clay returns and brings proof that chief rustler Roy Stuart (Paul Kelly) committed the crime. As Clay attempts revenge, he also falls for Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith).

Thanks presumably to his hard-charging lifestyle, then 36-year-old Flynn already started to look craggy and older than his actual age as of 1945. This makes the 12-year difference between him and his love interest seem even more pronounced.

Nonetheless, Flynn’s natural charm remains evident. Those factors become especially important during Antonio because the film comes with little else to make it stand out from the crowd.

Honestly, Antonio lacks much of a plot. We get a basic story of Clay’s attempts to right wrongs along with some romance and a little comedy as well.

If that makes Antonio sound like a standard issue Western, then you interpret correctly. We find little here that allows the film to rise above its many peers.

Well, except for Flynn, that is. As implied, he might’ve been in decline circa 1945 but all that boozing and carousing couldn’t negate his natural charisma.

When we see him, that is. Perhaps Clay appears as much – or little – as he does due to the script, but I couldn’t help but wonder if director David Butler needed to work around Flynn at times because the actor’s alcoholism left him less available.

Not that Clay feels like a guest in his own movie, though, so I don’t want to overstate the amount of time Antonio leaves Flynn away from the action. Nonetheless, he does feel absent for longer stretches than I’d anticipate given the nature of the tale.

Whatever the case, Flynn pops onscreen enough to add charge to the proceedings, and he gets help from a good supporting cast. Like Flynn, none of them break a sweat but they add credibility to the flimsy story.

Ultimately this all leads to a largely mediocre Western that gets some spark primarily thanks to the declining yet still present charisma of its lead actor. This makes San Antonio a watchable experience but not one that delights.

San Antonio appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an excellent presentation, especially given the film’s age.

In terms of sharpness, the movie usually demonstrated nice delineation. A few shots seemed just a smidgen soft, but those issues occurred infrequently, so the majority of the flick looked concise and accurate.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and no edge enhancement became apparent. Grain remained appropriate, and no specks, marks or other defects showed up at any time in this fresh presentation.

Colors were strong. I thought flesh tones were a bit on the brown side, but that was a reflection of Technicolor and too much makeup. Otherwise, the hues tended to be vivid and full.

Blacks seemed deep and dense without too much heaviness. Shadow detail worked similarly well, as dimly-lit shots were appropriately clear and thick. I found little about which to complain here and thought the Blu-ray brought the movie to life in a positive manner.

The DTS-HD MA monaural audio of San Antonio appeared appropriate for its era. Speech was fine. The lines showed age-related thinness, but they were always perfectly intelligible and without edginess.

Effects resembled the dialogue. Those elements lacked much depth but they were without notable problems.

Music was acceptable for its age, as the songs and score tended to be a bit tinny. There wasn’t much range to the music, but again, that stemmed from the limitations of the very old source. This became a perfectly adequate mix for its vintage.

In addition to the movie’s trailer, we discover two shorts. The disc includes Frontier Days (17:05) and Trap Happy Porky (6:52).

A live-action affair, Days features US Marshal Jim Blake’s (Robert Shayne) as he tries to bring renegade Clay Stacy (Rory Mallinson) and his gang to justice. It comes with some interesting twists but it also loses points because chunks of it just reuse clips from other Westerns.

During the animated Happy, Porky deals with noisy and invasive mice. It never breaks new ground but it amuses.

When San Antonio works, it does so thanks to star Errol Flynn and a capable supporting cast. Nothing else here stands out as memorable, though the end product remains moderately entertaining despite its thin plot. The Blu-ray boasts excellent Technicolor visuals as well as competent audio and minor supplements. This winds up as a watchable Western and no more.