Errol Flynn

[moira finnie]

I saw Roots of Heaven several years ago and was very taken by Errol's character. I'd love to get it recorded or does anyone know is it on DVD?

The Roots of Heaven is on Blu-ray, can be purchased or rented from Amazon in a streaming form and it is also on a Region 2 DVD.

It's on Youtube:
[youtube][/youtube]

Thanks very much for posting this, Jez! I haven't seen it in years.

[intothenitrate]

I saw Roots of Heaven several years ago and was very taken by Errol's character. I'd love to get it recorded or does anyone know is it on DVD?

It's a Zanuck/Fox film. I recorded my copy from the Fox Movie Channel.

[MissGoddess]

Thank you, both. Maybe I can get it recorded from Fox Movie Channel one day.

[charliechaplinfan]

I watched That Forsyte Woman today, Errol could act, they at last discovered it in the forties but unfortunately the powers that be didn't give him enough chance nor did they bouy up that fragile ego enough to keep him from sinking into other pursuits not so beneficial to his health.

That Forsyte Woman is more about Greer Garson and got produced at MGM (does anyone know why Errol got cast by MGM? did they simply see how good he would be in the role) the role of Soames isn't an easy one to portray, the story somewhat watered down from the book, Soames is not rapist in this film, heaven forbid, that would have given the Mccarthy witch hunts a diversion. Errol's Soames is difficult not to like, in fact he's the wronged person, he knows she doesn't love him and is controlling but he does love her, perhaps a little as a possession. Errol manages to convey Soames with a mixture of coldness, bewilderment and hurt, he's splendid. Greer Garson was lovely but those outfits wore her rather than the other way around. Walter Pidgeon dependabel as always, Robert Young sorely miscast as Bosinney, too old and not gay enough, we had to be told time and again what he was like but he never appeared that way, I like Robert Young but sorry not here. Janet Leigh gets a good role as June and Henry Davenport made for Old Forsyte. But Errol is the best thing about it, he's acting with his peers, not as a pretty face and handsome pair of legs but as an actor with other actors who had been more recognised for their skills than he was. Beauitful technicolour too.

[JackFavell]

I agree with you about the movie being Hollywoodized, watered down till it's almost unrecognizable.

Errol is absolutely first rate as Soames, as if only he read the book (although Pidgeon makes a very good Young Jolyon). He totally captures Soames' dark side, 'The Man of Property' - who will not give up his possession because he paid and paid and paid for her, in money and every other way. Soames is a very sad character, unable to break from that long family tradition of looking down on those around him, as if he owned them, but compelled to love the beauty he sees in Irene, even as she hates everything he stands for. He's unable to break out of himself,compelled to have her, without understanding her or that anything IS wrong with himself. He is blind, deluded by his lineage. It's in his genes, and he can't break free. Doesn't even want to, it's the one thing he can't do to win Irene, but it's the only thing that would make him acceptable to her, at least at first, before the rape.

Eric Porter is by far the best Soames, but next on my list is Errol. Damian Lewis was quite good as well, though I did not like that production on the whole. Errol really got the part down, even with the little bit of story he had to work with. I wish they had let him do other character roles like this. It sort of reminds me of John Gilbert in Downstairs, no one could see how good he was, they just knew they didn't want him this way. Luckily for us, we can still see the fine job he did, and recognize the potential in it.

[moira finnie]

does anyone know why Errol got cast by MGM? did they simply see how good he would be in the role)

The long time leading man at Metro, William Powell, campaigned for few roles, but Clarence Day Sr. in the very popular adaptation of LIfe With Father was one of them. Mogul Louis B. Mayer traded Flynn for Powell so that the MGM stalwart could play his coveted role at Warners under the direction of Michael Curtiz.

However, Flynn had originally been cast as Philip Bosinney (called "Bosinney-ninny" by Errol), but he was drawn to Soames Forsyte instead. As the actor explained his desire to challenge himself, he pointed out that "I don't know whether I can convey how deep the yearning is of an actor who has been stereotyped, who has that sword and horse wound about him, to prove to himself and to others that he is an actor. I worked hard for this role in That Forsyte Woman. I think that the picture was one of the few worthwhile vehicles in which I played."

Off camera, people expected the Garson-Flynn working styles to clash but they were disappointed.

“We stalked each other like terriers for a couple of days,” Garson said, “then we found out we had a terrific lot in common.” According to Flynn, "Before I was introduced, I primed myself with about three vodkas. When I was introduced [to Greer Garson], I adopted an air of bravado, the hearty Australian from the outback. I shook hands heartily, than I slapped her on the fanny. 'Hi yuh, Red!' I said. Everybody froze. There was a brief pause. Then she went into a torrent of laughter. That broke the ice."

Given the fact that other leading men such as Clark Gable in Adventure (1945) and Robert Mitchum (who replaced Robert Montgomery on the movie) in Desire Me (1947) did not find themselves in sympathy with Garson, it is interesting that Flynn and his leading lady were so friendly. Perhaps their mutual backgrounds in British repertory companies helped cement a common bond?

Btw, Robert Young reportedly loathed his role in That Forsyte Woman, believing he was too old for the part and too American. I think it's a thankless and tough part to play well. Perhaps a youthful Peter Lawford or Farley Granger might have pulled it off in that period.

[Most of the quotes in this post can be found in My Wicked, Wicked Ways by Errol Flynn, Errol Flynn: The Life and Career by Thomas McNulty, and A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson by Michael Troyan.]

[JackFavell]

That's a great story, Moira! Thanks for all the insights and clues to Flynn's and Garson's working relationship. Somehow, I can see those two hitting it off.

I think Lawford or Granger would have been better choices for Bossinney too. Maybe they should have borrowed Louis Jourdan from Madame Bovary? Ah, too continental. Here's Errol looking glum, with Garson in costume for the movie. Robert Young and Walter Pidgeon are near the end of the clip. Anyone know who the fellow is right after Robert Wagner? He's the only one I can't figure out. This fellow looks like a Bossinney, I think. It isn't Robert Coote is it?

[moira finnie]

Anyone know who the fellow is right after Robert Wagner? He's the only one I can't figure out. This fellow looks like a Bossinney, I think. It isn't Robert Coote is it?

I didn't see Robert Wagner among the elect at that 25th Anniversary luncheon for MGM, but could you have meant the guy shown below, who appeared right after Howard Keel? Here is a shot of this fellow:




This guy is Alf Kjellin, a Swedish actor whose name was briefly changed to Christopher Kent when he appeared in Madame Bovary (1949), in which he played Leon Dupuis, one of Jennifer Jones' many examples of romantic roadkill in that Flaubert story. Here's a clearer picture of him in this role:

[charliechaplinfan]

Thank you both of you for fleshing out my Forsyte posting and thanks for the information regarding Errol coming to MGM. I think Errol would have fleshed out Bossiney more than Robert Young did, just because he has the air of dashing about him. Robert Young an excellent actor obviously knew his own shortcomings for the role, he did well with what was essentially a miscasting. Peter Lawford or Farley Granger would have been made for the part.

It's been awhile since I read The Forsyte Saga, I never watched the earlier version but did catch Damian Lewis's version when it was shown, I thought he was good if a little young, Errol is better, he carries himself with such authority and he is given chance to react and let a number of emotions wash over his face, rather than been a hail and hearty fellow with sword and tights. How frustrating must it have been not to have been given meatier roles on the back of That Forsyte Woman, he needed to age and show a lifetime on his face to be given the true character parts that he was so capable of.

Did you think the rape was implied in the film? For people in the know maybe it's under there somewhere before Irene leaves but I'm not sure Errol's Soames is capable of that amount of brutality (probably my rose coloured glasses) especially considered the ending, Irene is quite kind towards him, like she mistreated him, not the other way around, whereas in the original Irene hated Soames and vice versa.

[JackFavell]

Moira,

Oh dear, how could I mistake Howard Keel for Robert Wagner? It must have been the flat, side-parted hair. I thought Wagner would have been awfully young. Wagner's first role is listed as 1950, so I thought it could be him.

Thanks for figuring out Alf Kjellin! That's who I was looking at, alright. I remember him now from MB.

Alison,

I'd have to go back to watch the movie, it's been at least a year since I've seen it. I don't remember it being evident at all that he raped her. I am sure that MGM would have balked at the suggestion of such a thing, though an imaginative director could have slipped it past them. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that Flynn had read the book and knew the story, so he may have tried to work it into the characterization, even without the overt mention of it. Even in the 1968 series, I can't remember if the word is ever said.

[charliechaplinfan]

I was interested too about what Moira said about Greer not warming to Clark Gable and Robert Mitchum but liking Flynn, it seems that however much one reads about Errol Flynn, things that he's said himself, his biographers words and things picked up from other biographies of fellow professionals, it's not possible to know him, he seemed to have so many layers and at least two distinct sides, one that was pleasure loving, hedonistic, devil may care and full of self doubt and loathing and a side that was intelligent, erudite, warm and sincere, he is one of Hollywood's biggest enigmas.

I too think that he would have read the book and known all of Soames's back story and I think he does bring it to the part, MGM don't let a sniff of the rape be suggested but as a viewer we know that she has welcomed him into her bed and for the informed reader it's not difficult to see that Flynn's Soames could have that danger about him. Irene isn't that sympathetic although Greer does give her a womanliness that makes her almost incapable of realising just how much power she seems to have over men.

Given the choice of roles I think Flynn picked the best one.

[moira finnie]

Coming up for Flynn Fans:

Rarely broadcast, Too Much Too Soon (1957) will be seen on TCM on Tuesday, July 10 @ 04:00 PM (ET). One of Errol Flynn's most heartfelt later roles impersonating his friend, John Barrymore, in a film that explores his torturous relationship with his daughter, Diana (played by Dorothy Malone), who inherited many of her father's problems but seemingly few of his gifts. Perhaps she might have survived away from the spotlight. Flynn is seen below with Diana Barrymore. This movie is available on DVD from the Warner Archive.

[JackFavell]

Thanks Moira! I am so glad you mentioned it, as the title doesn't ever seem to ring any bells with me. It's a movie I've been wanting to see for years.

[charliechaplinfan]

Me too, I've been wanting to watch it for years too.