Though past his peak and on a path of excess that would lead to his premature death in 1959, Errol Flynn still mustered reasonable star power circa 1948. This brings him to Silver River, his final of five collaborations with noted director Raoul Walsh.

Set during the Civil War, Union Army Captain Mike McComb (Flynn) gets court-martialed after he acts to keep money out of the hands of Confederate soldiers. Disillusioned, McComb sets out to serve no one but himself.

After he runs a series of other schemes, McComb eventually earns vast wealth in the silver market. He also falls for married Georgia Moore (Ann Sheridan) and will do whatever it takes to win her despite her matrimonial status.

When I watch older movies, I attempt to view them through “period eyes”. That mainly means I try to see the work from the POV of the era.

With Flynn movies later in his career, though, it becomes tough not to become influenced by my knowledge of his deterioration at the time. Indeed, because Flynn would get drunk during the shoot, Walsh refused to work with him again.

Even with all that in mind, Flynn still pulls off a typically charismatic performance. Granted, I can’t call this a great piece of work, as Flynn does coast through much of the film and he doesn’t seem to invest in his role.

Nonetheless, Flynn’s natural charm continued to come through even with all his substance abuse issues. Pretty much the personification of a dashing leading man, even an older and weary Flynn still brings power to the screen.

It helps that he boasts good chemistry with Sheridan. They’d worked together a few times previously and this experience helps give them a nice connection and spark.

We also find a more than competent supporting cast. Thomas Mitchell offers a typically grounded performance, and Tom D'Andrea offers a little sass and comic relief as McComb’s sidekick “Pistol” Porter.

All of this makes it sound like I really enjoyed River. Alas, that doesn’t prove accurate.

The film fares best in its first act. This portion allows Flynn to show his cynical side, and most of the real plot developments occur over the opening 40 minutes or so.

After that, however, the narrative becomes less focused and less compelling. The various relationships turn bland and the movie can’t find engaging drama to compensate.

No spoilers, but River comes with an oddly abrupt ending that leaves the impression Walsh and the studio couldn’t stomach Flynn’s shenanigans any longer. The finale wraps up in a vague manner that doesn’t resolve issues in more than a perfunctory manner.

River suffered from a troubled production not just because Flynn – and apparently Sheridan too – got intoxicated during the shoot. Other issues impacted the flick along the way.

Given these issues, it might seem semi-miraculous that River fares as well as it does. Nonetheless, too much of it drags and goes nowhere to become a good movie.

Silver River appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect another typically terrific presentation from Warner Archive.

For the most part, sharpness worked fine. Occasional shots felt a bit on the soft side, but these stayed in the minority, so the film largely appeared accurate.

I saw no signs of jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes failed to mar the proceedings. Grain seemed light but natural, and print flaws never popped up along the way.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows appeared smooth, even with the occasional day for night shot. I wouldn’t call this a dazzling image, but it held up more than fine.

While the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack showed its age, it still came across as more than acceptable given this vintage. Speech tended to feel tinny, but they appeared perfectly intelligible.

Effects also showed somewhat metallic tones, but they lacked distortion and seemed appropriate for recordings from 1948. Music showed reasonable clarity. The audio seemed suitable for a film of this one’s vintage.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get two classic cartoons from 1948: Rabbit Punch (7:44) and Two Gophers From Texas (6:55).

In Texas, a pampered dog decides to actually hunt for his food. Two wiley rodents challenge him.

Were these gophers ever anything but a cheap rip off of Disney’s Chip ‘n Dale? Not really, though Texas shows a level of violence we rarely got in Disney shorts. It feels like a lackluster stab at a new franchise, though the flamboyance of the dog adds some spark.

With Punch, Bugs heckles a boxing champion. This backfires as the bunny ends up in the ring.

Expect pretty standard issue Bugs here, as he overcomes the odds to best his more powerful foe via his wits. We’ve seen better Bugs but this one still comes with some value.

Even in a state of frequent inebriation, Errol Flynn still musters reasonable charisma in Silver River, and he enjoys good chemistry with leading lady Ann Sheridan. However, the story seems rambling and doesn’t go much of anywhere. The Blu-ray comes with positive picture and audio but it skimps on supplements. Though the actors keep us mostly engaged, the end product doesn’t consistently click.