Here is something I thought might be of interest to some of you. The magazine, “FilmFax” is featuring in its 128th issue (Summer/Fall 2011 issue) an article about the films of Errol's son, Sean who made a few films in Europe before becoming a war correspondent during the Viet Nam war and ending up MIA in Cambodia in 1970. While not as charismatic an actor as his father, Sean still had the Flynn flair. The article is written by yours truly. The magazine can be purchased in book stores such as: Barnes & Nobles, or purchased on-line at different websites or the magazine's own website: www.filmfax.com…. I hope you give the article a look and read, I think you might find it interesting. Thank you.–A. R.
— ILIKEFLYNN
hi,
interesting. So far, I wasn't aware of these movies.
can you tell us the title's ?
Hi A.R., this sounds like an interesting read! Thank you for making us aware of it.
Volker, I was curious about the titles myself, so I checked imdb. I only knew about “Son of Captain Blood” and “The Strange Auction”, but there are eight more appearances. www.imdb.com… Interesting for us Germans is certainly the “Marienborn” film – never heard of it, but I am curious what kind of image is shown here of East Germany!
Hi, I'm Tom Webb, a new member. If you go to YouTube, and look up “SeanFlynnCambodia's Channel, you can see many of these films. It is a site dedicated to Sean, and has lots of his films, his music recordings, and other things. Take a look. I saw most of his films on that site.
Hi Tom, welcome and thanks so much!
Hi! Sorry! I am just getting to this website and I noticed your comments. First I would like to thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. Second, I have a list of titles, but it is from my documents and I do not know how to post it without making it an attachment to a new entry. I have issues with the IMDB because they at times do not have correct infomation especially re: Sean Leslie Flynn (I am adding the middle name because as you know Errol's grandson is using that name for his current acting credits.) That is why I used sveral sources in doing my research. Unfortunately my references were not printed in the magazine with my article. They also left out for space limitation reasons, (I am presumong) two lobby cards from the films of Sean. If you like I can make a new entry and include the lobby cards along with the lists.
@ Aresia I would especially like to know your impressions and comments re: my article. “Verspatung in Marienborn” in my opinion since it is based on a true incident, tries to relate an accurate portrait of Cold War sensiblities and the Germany of that time, presenting or at least seeming to (you would know better)present a balanced viewpoint. I look forward to your comments!–A. R.
Hi A.R.
In answer to your post this is a write-up about his carrier as an actor, which apparently he did not enjoy to be.
Sean Leslie Flynn first appeared in front of the cameras at the age of 15, when he appeared in an episode of his father's television show,The Errol Flynn Theatre. The episode, “Strange Auction,” was filmed in 1956. (The show was produced and broadcast in the U.K. in 1956 and was broadcast in syndication in the U.S.A. in 1957.) In 1960, at the suggestion of his friend, actor George Hamilton, Flynn filmed a scene in Hamilton's picture Where The Boys Are. (Most of his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, but he can still be seen in a scene walking by wearing a blue “Xavier University” sweatshirt.) [2] In 1961, at the age of 20 (and after his father's death), Flynn accepted a contract to appear in a sequel to his father's hit film Captain Blood, The Son of Captain Blood (1964—year of U.S. release), also known as Il Figlio del Capitano Blood (1962, year of initial European release), a European production. He made a few more films in Europe, including, Il Segno di Zorro (1963, year of initial European release), aka Duel at the Rio Grande (1964, year of release of English version). He also starred in Stop Train 349 (1964) with José Ferrer, aka Verspätung in Marienborn aka Delay in Marienborn (1963, year of initial European release), Mission to Venice(1964), aka Agent Special a Venise “Voir Venise et…Crever” (1964) and Sandok, Il Maciste della Jungla (also 1964), aka Temple of the White Elephant (1966, year of release of English version).
Flynn became bored with acting and went to Africa in late 1964/early 1965 to try his hand at safari guide and big game-hunting. He also tried his hand at being a game warden in Kenya. In the latter part of 1965, he needed money, and made two Spaghetti Westerns back-to-back in Spain and Italy. (Sette Magnifiche Pistole and Dos Pistolas Gemelas, both receiving initial European release in 1966.) In the summer of 1966, in need of money again, Flynn went to Singapore to star in his eighth and final film, the French-Italian action film, Cinq Gars Pour Singapour (1967-year of initial European release), aka Five Ashore in Singapore (1968—year of release of English version). After its completion, he gave up acting for good.
Flynn also tried his hand as a singer; recording two songs for a company known as Hi-Fidelity R.V. Records in 1961. The two songs were released regionally as a 45rpm single, “Stay in My Heart” b/w “Secret Love” (Arvee 5043). The single is now considered a very rare collector's item.[3]
The recording of “Secret Love” is on this blog – I posted it!
Sorry to say, I have only seen two of his movies – “Strange Auction” and “The Son of Captain Blood”
I would love to see the others, but they don't play them on TCM or maybe I just miss them, maybe one day I will see others.
Take care and it would be great to hear more of Sean Leslie Flynn.
Maybe you're lucky you've seen only two.
Thank you, Tina, but I have already seen Sean's wikipedia page as I am the one who put all that information there. Yes I am well aware that he was in it primarily for the money, still after reading Jeffrey Meyers' book on Errol and Sean, I became curious about Sean's movies. I did a lot of research and now the results are on view in the latest “FilmFax” magazine; the same magazine that also was the first magazine to feature an article on Errol's “The Story of William Tell”. So I hope you and everyone else will pick up a copy and then we can have an intelligent discourse re: the article's merits. Thank you!–A.R.
Hi A.R., I would LOVE to comment on it, but have not had a chance to see the film. I was not even aware of it until your post! I think it has never been shown on German TV and I must check and see if I can get a DVD. If so, I will watch it and come back to you with my comments.
Hi, Aresia! I meant comments on my article! But I think it is interesting you say the movie has never been shown on German TV because IMDB has the movie listed as a TV movie because the distributor in Germany is listed as a broadcast network, which just goes to show how inaccurate their information can be at times. –A.R.
No, I meant that I have never seen it – it certainly was shown on TV, probably after it had been finished. I can try and investigate further, if you like, looking for some info in German.
I saw that I was contradicting myself because when I first said it was not shown on German TV I thought it was not a German film, but then I checked again and saw that it seems to have been one… I'm a little confused right now, will check all that, sorry again! There is a book of that title, too!
Yes, thank you! Any information you can get me will be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in getting a DVD copy of the film for your collection , I know that the film is available on-line from Amazon.com… and from Sinister Cinema in English under the title, “Stop Train 349”. Or if you are just curious to see it, you can see it on YouTube along with his other films. After I had spent years searching for Sean's films that were not available in the U.S. and after I had obtained all of them someone calling himself “SeanFlynnCambodia” had uploaded all of Sean's films on YouTube, including “Strange Auction”. [He used to have the German print of one of Sean's Spaghetti westerns, (the one titled in German, ” Sancho–Dich Kusst der Tod”) but due to some copyright infingement issues it was removed. Which was a pity because it was a widescreen version and was more enjoyable to watch that way.) There is only one problem with the video of “Stop Train 349”. In one section the audio is out of synch with the video. Because these films were made in Europe some of them are hard to find in English. The video of “Duel at the Rio Grande” aka “Sign of Zorro” that is on YouTube is actually in German. –A. R.
HI A.R., thank you very much for the valuable advice. I have something here which you might be interested in, just drop me an e-mail (info in my profile).
I just would to thank all of all for you for your comments and responses to my post. I wrote the article because while doing the research I discovered that there were others who shared my curiosity about the films of Errol's only legitimate male child. Originally, an excerpt of the article was posted on the website for “Cinema Retro” magazine, a UK based magazine which covers movies of the 1960s and 1970s. If your are interested you can find it one of two ways. The first is go to the website for Cinema Retro (www.cinemaretro.com…) and in their webpages called “Out of the Past” on the second page scroll down to “Forgotten Films of Sean Flynn” and there you see the excerpt (an earlier draft w/ one or two small errors that are corrected in the full article published in “FilmFax” magazine # 128 (Summer/Fall 2011 issue). The other way is through the IMDB page on Sean Leslie Flynn. (If you just search for “Sean Flynn” it will bring you to the page for Errol's grandson.) When you have reached the right site, scroll down and on the right, across from Sean's credits, you will see a link for “See all 10 articles”. Click that, then at the top you will see “2010”. Click that, then scroll down to my article. (The IMDB clumped together articles re: “Tron Legacy” on that page because one of the characters in the film is named “Sean Flynn”.) So I hope to hear your comments from those who may have taken the time to locate and read my article. Thank you again.–A.R.
I just thought I'd add to the above that the easiest way to get to the excerpt of my article is simply to google “The Forgotten Films of Sean Flynn” and the link to Cinema Retro should be there. (Along with a link to this blog.) Unfortunately it did not occur to me until now. (Shows you how “computer savvy” I am.) And of course FilmFax #128 with the complete article is still available on-line and at your better bookstores. Would definitely like to hear from you Flynn experts out there. Thank you again–A. R.
Hi A.R.
I found your article – a very nice write-up! It is wonderful that people like you and fans in general care so much to keep the memory of Sean and Errol alive. Keep up the great work!
Are you a freelance writer or are you a permanent writer for Cinema Retro? On the left side of this page you see tabs and if you scroll down to “iTunes” below there you will find a tab “Cinema Retro”, meaning we have a link exchange with Cinema Retro ever since issue #16 when Tony Earnshaw published this great article of Errol and the making of “William Tell.” After that our administrator David DeWitt and Lee Pfeiffer got together and arranged the link exchange. Just trying to make you aware that this Blog and Cinema Retro are friends!
I am fully aware that one cannot, when writing about the Flynn's, capture everything as the subject is so vast that it would be miles long.
Although, I do would like to make you aware of one thing, Errol did have contact with Sean prior to the age you are stating. Maybe not much, but there was some. For this reason I am posting the pictures and you can copy them for your records.
Hi, Tina! And thank you for taking the time to look up the post at Cinema Retro. First as I have mentioned above the post did contain some errors. One was the ages at which Sean visited his father. When I submmitted my article to Cinema Retro I was going by what the authors Jeffrey Meyer and Thomas McNulty state in their respective books that one of the first times Sean visited Errol was on the set of “Adventures of Don Juan”. In the excerpt posted @ Cinema Retro as I stated above there was an error in the age I stated that Sean was when he visited that set. (Unfortunately I had mentioned the error to Lee Pfeifer, but he had received my email re: the error after he had posted the excerpt. The age error is corrected in the published version of my article. I implore you to seek that issue of FilmFax magazine out, so we may continue our discussion. Your pctures above if I am correct seem to be from the set of “Siver River”. If I am correct then I may be off by a few months. Then it would seem that Sean first visited his father at the age of five. Thank you again and again please seek out the issue so you can read the complete article. Your opinion is highly regarded by me.–A. R.
Dear A.R.
Who will ever know the real truth!? Lily was the most vicious and resentful woman in Errol's life as his mother – same name, and who knows what was the real truth! Both Lily's where the most nemesis of persons in Errol's life!
If you ever can describe a witch Tiger-Lily was it! She was MAYBE – although questionably in giving a start to his stardom she sure was the primary factor of his decline!
If there ever was given a death sentence to Errol – Lily sure gave it! What a horrible encounter of two people!
On the other hand I think there is good reason to think she may have been misunderstood and given a bad break by selective history.
I tend to agree with you, Robert. Has anyone ever cared about Lili's feelings when Errol cheated on her another time? Oh oh… I see the protest coming from Tina…
I tended to base my feelings about Lily on Errol's My Wicked, Wicked Ways, until I heard her speak about her son and what she went through trying to find him. Can you imagine how painful this would be? She searched for years… I heard her talk about their marriage and it seems that Errol was dissatisfied and left – and Lilly was on her own. Women were regarded differently in those days and it was common for them to accept alimony from a husband who left them for the support of their child – no doubt she took advantage of Errol for as long as she could. But as a mother, I can't fault her. She was a very talented actress and spoke five languages. My view of her has softened over the years – California divorce laws are said to be among the harshest in the country.
When a fan can impartially include in the Waring blender of history all of Flynn's negatives–from his mysogyny, antisemitism, mood swings, undependability, recklessness,etc.–along with Lili's positives–putting up with Flynn's chronic philandering, the solo parenting of their child, the general public silence about her feelings towards him, etc.–a somewhat different, and probably more balanced, overview emerges. None of us here knows the real people, the private aspects of their relationship, or who was telling more of the truths. But it is instructive to consider that if any one of us had our reputations set in cement on the basis of a handful of bad days amongst the scores of thousands we live, few would come out looking very admirable. What we have here is a good case of circular reasoning: Errol painted Lili as a monster; how do we know it's true? It's in his autobiography.
Well said…
Very well said.
Antisemitism – was he really antisemitic? In this case Vincent Sherman and others were not telling the truth when they stated that Errol was not antisemitic!
Errol was not antisimitic. One of the people he loved and trusted most was Jewish… a fact few people knew at the time, it seems!
David, why would Robert state that he was?
David, I know that Errol never was antisemitic but I thought that I better put things into questions. And there are people on this blog who knew Errol!
Take care,
Tina
The two are not mutually exclusive.
Just a few questions to Robert, David, and Inga!
Lili knew extremely well that Errol was a chronic philandering man and she was no white Lillie either! He made no secret out of it who he was or his philandering ways!
Why did she stand for it?
Why didn't she just leave – divorce him – i.e when he moved out and took up residence with David Niven? Perfect reason for her to get a divorce – right! Errol gave her lots of reasons to leave him.
What was the reason for Errol to move out?
What were the reasons that she stayed married to him?
She was eight (1901) years older than Errol and not a naive little girl.
She stayed for seven years – why?
Most woman divorce philandering man sooner than that. Do usually woman wait until a time when there is little left in a relationship and then by trickery receive a child?
Why did she had to trick Errol in having a child? What was the reason?
Would any respectable woman make a innocent child a pawn in a relationship?
Which kind of woman deprives purposely a child of his father and moves soon after the child is born right across the country?
Does ever anybody take Sean and his feelings into consideration?
Just because Errol was brought up in a dysfunctional family why did Sean had to go through the same agony?
Errol wanted to stay with Lili when she became pregnant – he wasn't mad that she tricked him into fatherhood! He even forgave her the attack with Champagne bottle. What a gentle woman!
Errol did love Lili! Would Errol have ever left Lili if she would have been a woman with a nice disposition?
What was the reason why he called her Tiger Lil?
Yeah – poor Lili – guilty Errol!
I would just like to take two of your questions into consideration, Tina. I was asking myself, too, why Lili did not leave Errol. I think there might be two main reasons:
1. She did love him after all. I think she loved him more than he loved her. She took all this because there was true love in her. When she could not bear it any more, she went out of him, maybe considering a divorce, but her love was strong enough and she came back and gave him another chance. Again and again and again.
2. A divorce at an early point would have been harmful for his career, I think she might have considered it, but eventually stuck to her husband. I don't think that at the time she married him she knew already about his philandering. Like someone once said: in the past, there were forces that kept marriages together. And they did make a beautiful Hollywood couple.
As for tricking Errol into a child – where was the trick?
And now the most important point: why did she keep Sean from his father?
Tina, I believe simply because she wanted to protect him. Remember you once said how Errol suffered in his own childhood. We know that he had to bear the sight of several of his mother's lovers. We know that Errol suffered under his mum's unfaithfulness. You yourself blamed Errol's childhood for his later suffering. Now if Lili Damita tried to prevent this, you would blame her for it? Imagine what it would have been like for Sean to see his father with a different lady every so often! Wouldn't he have had the same problems as Errol later? Wasn't it better for him to live with a caring mother, far away from all the Hollywood antics of his father, and see him occasionally only, having a good time with his father and then cherishing those positive memories?
Only my thoughts. I have come to view Lili differently because I tried to see both sides of the story. I am not a huge fan of her, but I believe that she has been treated wrongly because she never had a chance to tell her side of the story and all most of us Flynn fans know about her is derived from MWWW. Which naturally makes her a hated woman because some of us think Errol's words holier than the Bible. Of course it was not fair what she did to him in later years financially. But why did she do it? In my view, Errol had hurt her so badly during their marriage that afterwards, she tried everything to get her revenge. Who could blame her?
Hi Inga;
I do respect your viewpoint as I do David's and Robert's on this subject and I do hope you all respect mine too. Your perspective of her is very nice and I am sorry that I am unable to agree with it. When it comes to Lili I have to stand on Errol's side and I hope you, David and Robert can appreciate my feelings in this respect.
I suppose discussions of this nature are useless anyway, nobody can change the past.
Take care,
Tina
Of course I respect your point of view, Tina. I was just trying to make people think about some points. Take care always.
Well said, Tina!
Hi Tina,
I find your view on this situation very difficult to understand. Without wanting to disturb my dusty old Flynn books for quotes etc, didn't Errol himself lay most of the blame for the marriage break-up at his own door. Without delving any further into the deep, dark realms of psycho-analysis, I don't see how there is any other viewpoint on this situation and certainly no call or hard evidence to character assassinate Damita.
Hi Brian;
I know I shouldn't have posted and said what I did, it was silly of me to let her get the better of me. She just gets under my skin for many reasons, but in particular of the violent physical abuse of Errol. But that's my feeling and I should have not voiced my opinion.
Take care, Tina
Hi Tina, You know, I understand your position but you might want to look at both sides and keep perspective and open to the possiblity that all is not as it seems. Like David, I base my thoughts on Lili from MWWW. Was she a jealous wife, you bet. Did he give her reason to be that way, probably. It takes two to tango as they say, and as Robert pointed out, Errol had his faults. Don't we all? The wonderful thing about liking Errol is that you like him, warts and all.
You ask, why did Lili stay married? Why did he? Why did he keep going back? I would doubt he had to be tricked into sleeping with her. Free choice. Tricking him into having a child. None of us where there? Who really knows? There is no proof that this allegation is a “fact.” You are only hearing the one side. Again, perspective…..Having seen quite a few nasty divorces–he said, she said covers all of this sort of thing on a daily basis in divorce court. It really does. Somewhere in the middle, lies the truth.
As for Tiger Lil nickname, we know that Errol was fond of giving nicknames. IMHO, none of us can definatevly state what went on in that marriage. Robert, I believe just gives us the other side. I hope you don't mind my opinion. Best always, Patti
Hi Patti;
Thank you for taking the time and caring to send me your very kind words, which I appreciate very much.
I agree there are always more sides to view a problem or a “what ever” situation, no doubt about that. I know I shouldn't have written my opinion about Lili, it was silly and I should have kept it to myself. I am sorry! I could kick myself that I let my feelings of her get the better of me. To explain my dislike of her only stems from her extreme violent and intense revengeful nature toward Errol.
And as for Robert he started his brusque and curt remarks prior to me making this faux pas. In life we make friends and we lose friends it is part of life.
Again Patti, thank you very much for caring!
Take care, Tina
Agreed.
My comment Agreed was meant for above, where Robert states that a balanced picture emerges when we take all factors into consideration. Not sure why this was posted here, other than I was having some problems posting. Forgive little ol' me….
Because you addressed this post to me I think I'll respond to your post here. Since I did not directly bring up the subject of Lili Damita. (yes she is mentioned in the excerpt you read, but only as the first ex-wife of Errol and the mother of Sean), but in an attempt to be brief I'll merely qoute Flynn. “She knew, however, that she was the greatest–bar none, no holds barred. I record it as a fact of any possible interest to future historians.” (pg. 199–Meyers' edition of MWWW.) And this last qoute which has the most importance to my article, “The Forgotten Films of Sean Flynn, son of Errol Flynn”. (My reassessment of his films. The article also contains many photos of The Flynns, but mainly of Sean, of course), which I think says it all. “On May 31, 1941, my son Sean was born. As it happens, Sean and I were destined to be close pals and he is now a big fellow about six feet three inches tall who, they say, looks like me but better. Out of this snarl of two volatile people there came something good anyway.” (emphasis mine)(pg. 286, ibid) I feel this last sentence speaks volumes because with the words “two volatile people” I believe Errol was admitting some responsiblity for the relationship and why it was doomed to failure. That said I think you really know that noone is really responsible for Errol's decline with the exception of Mr. Flynn, himself. Any way I hope you and every one else who took part in this debate will seek out my article so we may start a different debate, I mean discussion re: my article.–A. R
Nicely put, as well…
Ok, so let us try to get this straight:
You first said, “Who will ever know the real truth!?”, meaning we can't know for sure.
And then, “Lily was the most vicious and resentful woman in Errol's life …”. But I thought you just said “who will ever know?”
And then, “…who knows what was the real truth!” But I thought you just stated “Lily was the most vicious etc….”
Tina, for all our sanity here—WHICH ONE IS IT??!!
Hi, Tina! I have a correction to make. When I said that the pictures you posted appeared to have been taken on the set of “Silver River” I was working from memory and I seemed to have remembered Flynn wearing this costume in that film. But checking my copy of “The Films of Errol Flynn” by Thomas, et.al., it turns out he wore that particular costume in the picture, “Rocky Mountain” which he made after “Adventures of Don Juan”. So it seems Mssrs. Meyers & McNulty were right in their research that Sean first visited his father on that set and as I wrote in the complete published version of my article, he was about six years old. (As I stated before the excerpt posted on the Cinema Retro website contained an error that is corrected in the complete published article.) As you know “Rocky Mountain” was where he met wife #3, Patrice Wymore. Who knows if Sean met Patrice on that set and if Errol introduced her as “your future step mother”? (Errol also mentioned that Beverly Aaland might be his “future stepmother” when they first met, which was probably a shock to Sean because Sean had thought Errol had brought her along for him. I don't think Sean was too pleased with that knowledge because years later in an interview he claimed that Errol had stolen “his recent LA girlfriend who was 14 years old!”) Little did he know that he would make his “acting” debut opposite Patrice playing his mother on film. Any way just wanted to let you know. Hope you can get a copy of FilmFax# 128 which features my article. The front cover is one of the attachments I added to this post along with the first page of the article itself. Any way be well!–A. R.
Hi A.R;
“>
Sorry to disappoint you, but the two pictures I posted are not from 1950 or from a set of Rocky Mountains. Rocky Mountain was shot in the later part of 1950 and the movie was released on November 11, 1950 in the US. In 1950 Sean was a little more than 9 years old, being born May 31, 1941. In my pictures Sean is no more than 5 years old, which brings my pictures into 1946.
I can see where one could easily mistake Errol's dress being out of Rocky Mountain. In my pictures Errol is wearing a shirt made of thin deerskin, which was one of his favorite casual wear, particular when riding and the hat is also entirely different.
I am posting a picture from a Rocky Mountain scene and you can compare. In addition YES I will order Filmfax #128 today, I have all the details!
Take care,
Tina
Okay, if you say Errol was casually dressed, then the photos were not taken on any set, am I right? Were they taken on one of Sean's first visits to Mulholland Farm? Okay so as I stated above in the published article I seem to be off by a few months. (Instead of at the age of six, Lili started letting Sean see his father at the age of five.) Great would like hear your thoughts when you get the magazine. If you have never seen FilmFax magazine before you may enjoy the other articles in the magazine. And as I stated before FilmFax had an article on Errol's “William Tell” years before Cinema Retro. (FilmFax # 38 from 1993, but of course both are great magazines, in my opinion.)Take care–A. R.
I am pretty sure that this costume is from Silver River, from the scene with the gambling equipment where the treck is going to Silver City, Errol is wearing this jacket and hat there. Here is a promo photo:
Here's one more:
Hi Inga;
No doubt this shirt looks very similar only if you examine my picture Errol's shirt does not seem to have the corded edging, but it certainly is a possibility. The hat I can't make out on your second picture, but nevertheless a good point.
Take care, Tina