Northern Pursuit
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A Bishop’s Involved
— Gentleman Tim
Archive for the ‘Publicity’ Category
Introducing Errol Flynn
24
May
Hollywood Citizen News – Behold Them Minus Hokum by Peter Pry – December 1, 1934
Errol Flynn, newly arrived Irish actor, will have to call out the police reserves for protection
when the local gals discover that he is independently wealthy and doesn’t need to act for a living.
Flynn has lots of that appeal too, and is a husky specimen. He hewed a fortune out of a gold mine in
New Guinea, he represented Ireland as a boxer in the Olympic games of 1928, he has braved cannibals,
is 25, and has never been married! He has only been acting for two years. And he refused the role
of Oberon in A Midsummer’s Night Dream because he didn’t want to start his film career by
playing the king of the fairies.
Los Angeles Evening Express – Harrison Carroll – December 3, 1934
Actors making their debut in Hollywood usually proceed cautiously. Not so, Errol Flynn,
the 25-year-old Irishman signed by Warner Brothers. In his biography charge, which all
newcomers are asked to fill out, Flynn gave some answers that made the boys eyes pop out.
For one thing, he listed actors as his pet aversion. And there were some hotter ones but
we can’t go into them.
Flynn is 6 feet 2, weighs 180 pounds and his hands are calloused. He is a descendant of
Fletcher Christian , of the crew of the famous British ship, the Bounty. He was once a
pearl fisherman and he made a good stake for himself prospecting for gold in the heart of
New Guinea. In 1928, he represented Ireland in the boxing events of the Olympic Games.
And his description of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. will get a chuckle out of Hollywood. Young Doug,
he says, has dveloped an Oxford accent so thick that it is hard for even English people to
understand him.
Los Angeles Examiner – Lloyd Pantages – January 29, 1935
Errol Flynn is not only a good looker, but a swell actor, so keep your eyes open for this gentleman.
Los Angeles Evening Herald Express – Elizabeth Yeaman – February 5, 1935
Despite the fact that Errol Flynn is an extremely handsome young Irishman and fairly bursting with
personality, Warners have cast him as a murderer for his film debut here. He will be the villain in
The Case of the Curious Bride, in which Warren Williams has the lead of the sleuthing attorney.
Hollywood Citizen News – Elizabeth Yeaman – March 26, 1935
Errol Flynn, the husky Irish actor at Warners, gets his second film assignment. He will be seen as a
pirate with Robert Donat in Captain Blood. Now it is uncertain if Jean Muir will have the
feminine lead.
Tanikiu Tumas to King Karl Holmberg for the articles and Flynnspiration!
— Gentleman Tim
Another Bite of the Big Apple
10
May
For Fans of Flynn who can make it to Manhattan over the next several months, there’s at least two events worth attending. There’s the Errol & Fidel musical (in July) that David recently made known to us. But, first, there’s The Adventures of Robin Hood at the Film Forum on May 10. Both look to be Flynnsational:
Screening information is as follows:
“THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD”(1938)
Saturday, May 20 – Film Forum, 209 W. Houston Street in New York City
Co-presented by Film Forum, featuring special guests Ben Burtt & Craig Barron
Join Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor Craig Barron and Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt as they deconstruct the extraordinary artistry behind “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” with a special emphasis on matte painting and sound effects, including a recreation of the archery tests that went into finding that just right “zing” sound.
— Gentleman Tim
The Gamblers!
30
Apr
An EFB Four Score News Report:
Wouldn’t this have been wunderbar!
Dostoyevsky: Directed by Max Reinhardt! Starring Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Edward G. Robinson and Basil Rathbone!!!!
A LITTLE FROM LOTS
Film Daily – Ralph Wilk – April 30, 1947
Feodor Dostoievsky’s celebrated novel, The Gamblers will be directed for Warners by Max Reinhardt with a stellar cast including Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Basil Rathbone.
Louella O. Parsons
Los Angeles Examiner – May 3, 1937
You can’t blame Warners for becoming enthused over Edward G. Robinson all over again since the previews of Kid Gallahad, for Eddie is really swell! There’s not going to be any letdown either, for now he is scheduled for Max Reinhart’s The Gamblers, and what a cast they are recruiting for Dostoievsky’s famous novel, with Eddie, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis and Basil Rathbone heading the list! Milton Krims, who scripted Green Light, and Harold Heinz arecollaborating on the screen play that unites almost every big star on the Warner lot. It goes into production in a few weeks and precede’s Flynn’s
Robin Hood.
Here’s a lushly produced version from 1977:
What roles do you think Errol, Bette, Edward G., and Dear Baz would have played in the Max Reinhart version?
And here’s a loose adaptation of the novel(la) from MGM, titled “The Great Sinner”, with Gregory Peck and a stunningly gorgeous Ava Gardner, leading a cast of acting legends, including Ethel Barrymore, Melvin Douglas, Walter Huston, Agnes Moorehead, and Frank Morgan.
— Gentleman Tim
Miller Time with Flynn
21
Oct
From American Cinematographer
The Sea Hawk Meets the Six Pack
Hardesty, Mary, American Cinematographer
Miller spot uses classic footage from Flynn adventure to set up clever pitch for product.
Did you ever notice the monkey in the galley scene from the classic film The Sea Hawk starring Errol Flynn? Maybe not, but Miller Beer has cleverly brought him to the foreground with their new Miller Genuine Draft Beer 30-second takeoff. This time the monkey appears monkey appears at one of the portholes and drops a bottle which rolls to one of the rowing men.
“The knife the forced laborers use to extricate themselves and escape [in the film] is now a bottle of beer,” explains cinematographer Curtis Clark, ASC, who collaborated on the ad with first-time director Angus Wall. “The challenge was to link Errol Flynn and the original actors with our new guy. Instead of the knife, he’s handed the bottle of beer.”
To make it appear as if Flynn was actually handed a brew, Clark used motion control and a bottle on a rig to match the actions needed to composite the bottle into the late actor’s hand.
Light, angles and perspective proved to be the biggest worries during the five-day shoot at Renmar Studios in Los Angeles, on a set constructed to match the 1940s set. “We had the original footage with us during the entire shoot, so we were able to estimate the perspective needed,” Clark recalls. Although he didn’t have access to continuity reports of the original footage, he was able to make use of video assist to help him match footage. “We would feed in the original scene and superimpose our bottle over the point where Flynn’s hand was, which allowed us to quickly see if the bottle was at the correct perspective,” explains Clark, who was given one day to shoot two such scenes.
To capture the original Forties look, Clark chose Kodak Double X black & white stock. “We took the closest source of the film – in this case a D-1 transfer from Turner Broadcasting’s library –
and used it on the Cineon at Pacific Ocean Post to replicate the look of the original film grain, which was coarser than today’s stock,” explains Clark. “Because we didn’t know the exact steps the filmmakers went through to create the original footage, we had to guess the grain sharpness and diffusion levels.”
To further add to the authentic period feel, Clark and the director decided to recreate the shooting style of the period using the same lighting techniques and lenses.
Fortunately, Clark had found a set of old Cooke lenses that had been rehoused when he was shooting the King Kong Eveready Battery spot [AC March ’94], so he was able to use that gained knowledge to save time and accomplish his lighting tests in only one day.
“From my work on the King Kong spot I knew we needed to use tungsten lighting and traditional studio lamps. The lighting styles used in those days were, in many respects, old-fashioned,” observes Clark, who notes that many older features lack lighting continuity. “They’re not anything like what we would do today. The trick is to always refer back to the reality of the original film and not do what you would normally do to improve the lighting. Making it nicer is not the point: you want to
capture the original Forties look, Clark chose Kodak Double X black & white stock. “We took the closest source of the film – in this case a D-1 transfer from Turner Broadcasting’s library . We had to guess the grain sharpness and diffusion levels [the original filmmakers used.]”
To further add to the authentic period feel, Clark and the director decided to recreate the shooting style of the period using the same lighting techniques and lenses. Fortunately, Clark had found a set of old Cooke lenses that had been rehoused when he was shooting the King Kong Eveready Battery spot.
Publication information: Article title: The Sea Hawk Meets the Six-Pack. Contributors: Hardesty, Mary – Author. Magazine title: American Cinematographer. Volume: 76. Issue: 5 Publication date: May 1995. Page number: 81+. © American Society of Cinematographers.
Is there anyone out there who knows where to find a copy of the Sea Hawk Miller commercial? I’m sure we all would love to see it posted! Thanks.
Here’s the scene stealing Sea Hawk monkey stealing a separate scen from Sea Hawk:
— Gentleman Tim
The Clinton Family Film Festival
30
Sep
(No, not that Clinton Family)
Proudly Presents: “The Reckless Rogue Who Saved the Throne”
(Yes, that Reckless Rogue – as described in the trailer linked below):
— Gentleman Tim
Mail Bag! Lili Damita & Friend!
19
Sep
Our esteemed friend and Flynnophile Karl Holmberg sends us this from t the wilds of the Internet:
Polly want a … Parrot?
From the Samuel Goldwyn production “The Rescue” … 1929, directed by Herbert Brenon. Stars Ronald Coleman and Lily Damita in her first American film. Santa Cruz Island.
Special Thanks, Karl!
— David DeWitt
