Dear Flynnstones,
“Hello God” is one of two unflynnished movies in Errol`s filmography. Originally titled “Before you sleep tonight”, Flynn agreed to appear in it for half of the revenue and an additional $25.000.
The story of four young soldiers killed at the beach of Anzio during WWII was an ambitious project of actor turned producer and former flynnmate William Marshall. He envisioned a semi documentary of the allied invasion of Italy using real military footage.
Unfortunately our man Flynn got cold feet at the Tyrrhenian Sea, this being the one film he was allowed to do by Warner Bros. outside of his contract. Fearing the topic with its pacifistic message could demage his reputation as the ultimate leading man, he snatched the reels upon completion and only a montage of outtakes made it to the movie screen. A legal despute went on for years and the original film material now resides at Eastman Kodak company in NY.
Which is a shame since it would have sparked the career of one Sherry Jackson even sooner. The child actress who had tried out alongside Olivia de Havilland for a role in “The Snakepit”, was seven years old during shooting “Hello God” in 1949.
But she was not denied, starring in Michael Curtiz` “The Breaking Point” (the despotic director threatened to cut off her pigtails) in 1950 and with John Wayne in “Trouble Along the Way” in 1953. With a face that could easily have launched a thousand ships, “One Take-Sherry” went on to have a prolific career in movies and television.
By age 18 she had her star on Hollywood Boulevard and had already ditched Elvis as her boyfriend.
I wonder if Errol had given her a coin to give him a telephon call when she turned eighteen…
— shangheinz
