Errol Flynn

[RedRiver]

I like TOO MUCH TOO SOON. Flynn is good in it. So is Malone. The father/daughter situation reminds of me of the Lana Turner character and her deceased dad in THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. I suspect that scenario was at least a little bit inspired by the Barrymore case. This is one of Flynn's better acting efforts.

[feaito]

I like TOO MUCH TOO SOON. Flynn is good in it. So is Malone. The father/daughter situation reminds of me of the Lana Turner character and her deceased dad in THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. I suspect that scenario was at least a little bit inspired by the Barrymore case. This is one of Flynn's better acting efforts.

I have the same suspicion RedRiver, and that Kirk Douglas' character was inspired on David Selznick.

[charliechaplinfan]

Thanks to a good friend I was able to watch the biopic on Errol The Adventures of Errol Flynn it was better than any book I've read about him and contained many facts that I hadn't known about. My favourite items included

Bette Davis watching Elizabeth and Essex later on in her life, she had never wanted Errol for Essex and didn't consider him an actor but she admitted she was wrong, he was really good.

Olivia De Havilland messing up the kissing scene in Robin Hood to be kissed over and over by Errol only for him to have a 'tights incident'

The basis of the Nazi rumours, it was his travelling companion, his guilt was only by association.

Footage upon footage of the marvellous fencing, stunts and horse riding all done by Errol himself, her didn't need a double.

Deidre revealing how good a father he was and Patrice Wymore who for some reason I thought parted badly from him, singing his praises.

Olivia De Havilland talking very fondly of Flynn in that lovely voice that she has, very distinguished looking and unmistakeably Olivia.

The great and the good admitting that he was a good film actor but he didn't believe that.

Most of all, the fun of watching footage from his films and private movies. Errol didn't age particularly well on account of his lifestyle but he remained distinguished up until the end and judging by the footage shown this is when some of his best acting was done, now I need to watch the movies.

[moira finnie]

*Bump* Errol's Birthday is on Wednesday,

As a celebration of Flynn's birthday on June 20th, TCM has a great lineup of familiar and seldom-seen Errol flicks (all of which are subject to change):

June 20 (all times are ET)
6:30AM
Green Light (1937-Frank Borzage):

A beguiling little movie that could have been completely cloying, but features a restrained performance by Flynn as a hot-shot doctor who learns that life is more than biochemistry after a simple and bravely serene woman (Spring Byington) dies on the operating table. Based on a story by Lloyd Douglas (Magnificent Obsession, The Robe), the journey that Flynn's doctor embarks on is handled with a customary Borzage blend of spirituality and considerable sentiment, but Errol's sincere performance made it work and kept me watching for its 85 minute length. Flynn is allegedly involved with Anita Louise in this movie, but I suspect that his secret self was shared more readily with the beautiful Irish Setter who accompanies him everywhere in this story, as seen below with Miss Louise.


8:00AM
Northern Pursuit (1943-Raoul Walsh):
Errol Flynn goes all Canadian Mountie on us in a jokey bit of rousing wartime propaganda that only Helmut Dantine seems to take seriously (see earlier in this thread for more).


9:45AM
Dawn Patrol (1938-Edmund Goulding):
Purists have often knocked this in comparison with the 1930 original made by Howard Hawks, but as an example of ensemble playing it is impressive and still moving, especially the scene when Flynn tries to advise a raw, eager pilot about to endure his first combat mission.


11:30AM
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936-Michael Curtiz):
Historically wildly inaccurate at most times, but what can you expect when the title and a weird glorification of military hubris appears to be the only things borrowed from Tennyson's poem. Great as a spectacle, first class entertainment, with uniforms, massacres, horses and a believable bond between on-screen brothers Errol Flynn and Patric Knowles. Every actor with a plummy British accent within fifty miles of Hollywood & Vine appears to have worked in this movie.


1:30PM
Santa Fe Trail (1940-Michael Curtiz):
Romantic rivalries, roiling political turmoil, slavery, free vs. slave state action, Errol and future prexy R. Reagan play Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer, respectively. Olivia de Havilland, Alan Hale, William Lundigan, and Guinn Williams are also along for the ride. A wild-eyed Raymond Massey makes a rousing and convincing John Brown with a messianic glint that should have won him a Supporting Actor Oscar, despite the film's plethora of fallacies about the pre-Civil War era. An interesting mixture of the somber and the foolish, with less than a firm grip on the reality of history. This movie has been in the public domain for some time and the fuzzy prints that abound on the internet for free make me hope that TCM--as it usually does whenever possible--finds a better one by the time of broadcast.


3:30PM The Warriors (1955-Henry Levin) aka The Black Prince | The Dark Avenger:
Completely new to me! The synopsis says that the story revolves around "The 'Black Prince'" of England [who] remains in France to guard the lands taken by his predecessor-father during the 100 Years War. The cast includes Joann Dru, Peter Finch, Christopher Lee, and (one of my faves) Michael Hordern, who played Errol's dad, even though Hordern was two years younger. According to biographers, this was not well received because of the sagging box office for adventure films after a surfeit of them earlier in the '50s, but it was to be Errol's last swashbuckler, and those who have seen this movie have noted sadly the physical decline evident in the leading man. He is said to have had a nice rapport with Joann Dru (her ex-husband Dick Haymes was married to his ex-wife Nora Eddington) and enjoyed getting hammered with Peter Finch, who played his antagonist in the movie. Has anyone seen this one???


5:00PM
Rocky Mountain (1950-William Keighley):
As the last Western that Flynn made, and a film that has an elegiac air, I found this quite moving, when writing about this here.

Flynn met and courted his last wife, Patrice Wymore on the set of this film. Perhaps the above move was not required to get the actress' attention.

6:30PM
Master of Ballantrae (1953-William Keighley):
Errol Flynn and Robert Louis Stevenson seem like a natural pairing, and in Flynn's penultimate swashbuckler he aims to please, but at a hard-livin' 44, even he comments at one point that he was getting on to behave so cavalierly. In this enjoyable if slightly saddening film he is paired splendidly with Roger Livesey, whose sidekick role made a great impression in this movie. Beatrice Campbell (who could have played Deborah Kerr's icier sister) and Yvonne Furneaux were along as sacred and profane love. Anthony Steel appeared as Flynn's malcontent brother and Charles Goldner played a mysterious and lethal opponent. I liked it and if you haven't seen it, you might enjoy it too, even though Errol was reportedly doubled in 60%+ of the action sequences.

[RedRiver]

Wow! Sensational stuff, some of which I'd never heard of. I'd love to see THE WARRIORS, though I prefer the title DARK AVENGER. It sounds like a super hero! Coming late in Flynn's career, it might be silly. But sometimes that's half the fun! It's impossible to NOT like SANTA FE TRAIL. Stirring adventure, full of high drama, sweet romance and fabricated history! Presented with such enthusiasm you simply go along for the ride. Michael Curtiz' best western.

[MissGoddess]

Thank you, Moira, I did catch Green Light this morning and realized that I had in fact seen it before. As you were, I was very taken with watching Flynn playing it close to the vest, though I confess I wanted him to end up differently in terms of the ladies.

I have not seen The Dark Avenger but the period interests me, as do his co-stars, and I'm not sure if I have seen Rocky Mountain. I will try to record them both.

Another Dawn (not on today's schedule) is another lesser known Flynn movie I like, though it seems more Kay Francis' film. It's quite romantic.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'd love to see Rocky Mountain, I'm a Flynn fan of longstanding, I'm glad he's getting honoured with his own day.

[Jacqueline T. Lynch]

Love those movie posters, Moira.

[Western Guy]

A very good friend of mine, now deceased, Ray Torgrud, was the last person to interview Errol when Flynn was in Vancouver. Ray at the time was a newspaper reporter in B.C. and later moved to Winnipeg where he became involved with the formation of one of our local broadcast channels. Anyhoo, I pestered Ray with questions about Errol and he said basically what was said by others: A childhood hero had wasted away through obvious excesses. At the time of the interview Errol was bloated, inebriated and, according to Ray, seemed neither to know where he was - or even care. Yet, even through this physical and mental fog that consumed him, Errol still retained his charm. That was what Ray said he preferred to remember most.

How fitting.

[Rita Hayworth]

Yet, even through this physical and mental fog that consumed him, Errol still retained his charm. That was what Ray said he preferred to remember most.

How fitting.

Thanks for sharing this ... Amazing!

[Western Guy]

Again, my pleasure. Glad to have known Ray so that he could tell this story which I'm pleased to share. From what I recall, Ray conducted this interview only a day or two before Errol passed.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks for the great story, Western Guy.

[charliechaplinfan]

Errol died in Vancouver I think, he must have interviewed him pretty close to the end, I bet he felt spooked when he read he'd died. Thanks for sharing this memory, Stone.

[Western Guy]

Was just going through an interview I conducted with Robert Stack -- and I apologize if I come across as a name-dropper, not intentional but sometimes these are the sources.

He made an interesting (actually several) comment about his friend Errol Flynn, but this I feel is worth mentioning. Robert was an invited guest to many of Errol's parties and he said that on one occasion during World War II Errol had invited a number of servicemen over to his house. Instead of charming the numerous ladies present (many of whom made their own advances upon Flynn), Errol spent the whole evening swapping stories to the servicemen, making each of them feel like a million dollars.

Sadder, though, is how Robert said that even during those days, when Errol was only in his mid-30s, that Flynn seemed to be on a self-destructive kick that no one could prevent, which was a great tragedy to his friends who both admired and envied him.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

And there was nothing anyone could do. So sad.

Thanks for the story, Western Guy. Name drop all you want!