The Errol Flynn Blog

My dear fellow Flynn fans,

here is all the Austrian National Library has to offer about director deluxe Michael Curtiz in his pre Hollywood days.

He was born Michaly Mano Kertesz Kaminer in Budapest on the 24th of december in 1888.

He came from an upper middle class jewish family.  His mother Aranka Vatz was an opera singer and his father Ignaz Kaminer an architect. He had two brothers, Gabriel and David. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Theatre and Art and attended the Markoszy University.

He started out as a child singer in 1899 and later became an actor in 1912 in the film “Today and tomorrow”. Then and there he confided to a friend that he intended to switch sides and was more interested in directing than acting.

He allegedly was part of the Hungarian fencing team at the Olympics in Stockholm of the same year.

In 1913 he took part in a monumental film called “Atlantis” made in Denmark, and claimed to be inspired by the very innovative way of film making there ever since.

In 1914/15 he served in the Infantry of the Austro- Hungarian Army along the Russian front and was wounded. He finished the war as newsreel camera man (one of the first of ist kind) making propaganda films.

In 1915 he married Ilona Kovacs Perenyi, a silent film actress also known as Lucy Doraine. Their daughter Katharine was born in 1916. His first marriage lasted until 1923.

In 1917 he became managing director of the newly founded Phoenix film production Company in Hungary.

By 1918 he had finished at least 38 films (some sources say 50), all lost or reduced to fragments.

When Bela Kun established the first communist regime in Hungary in March of the same year, Kertesz was busy filming “Liliom”, originally a play of Ferenc Molnar about a trigger temper carnival barker, who after serving time in purgatory for comitting suicide gets a second chance to do good on his daughter Julie. The 1945 broadway show “Carousel” is based on this story. It is the one and only of his 165 films Kertesz couldn´t finish. He fled the country with his family in turbulent times after Bela Kun was overthrown after a 120 day reign. Other prominent emigrants were Sandor (later: Alexander) Korda and Bela Lugosi.

During that period he is said to have made a film titled “Odette” in Sweden starring a 14 year old Greta Grabo.

From 1919 on Sascha Film Productions owner Count Alexander Kolowrat employed Kertesz in Vienna. Until 1926 timeless classics like “Sodom und Gomorrha” and “Die Sklavenkönigin” were made there with huge budgets and produced standard setting innovations. The  film known in the US as “The Moon of Israel” went head to head with Cecil B. De Mille`s “Ten Commandments” covering the exact topic of the exodus of the Israelits. Not to be outdone Kertesz contrived new ways for the scene of the parting of the Red Sea in order to match the superior Hollywood effects machinery. It was this pioneer spirit and the capability to direct up to 5000 extras that landed him a 28 year long lasting job with Warner Bros.

He made 3 films in Berlin with Count Kolowrat`s diva darling of the day Lili Damita (see EF blog: “The thrill of being Tiger Lil`”), before she became Mrs. Errol Flynn.

In 1929 he married Helen Lucas, a screen writer and actress also known under the stage name of Bess Meredyth.

In 1931 a certain Helen Lucy Doraine Rietmüller (rather: Reitmüller) can be found on the passengers list of the SS Bremen entering the port of NY. She claimed her residence to be in Hollywood 5680 Hilloak Drive. Despite their seperation Kertesz may have seen for his first wife to come to America.

In 1935 at age 19 his only legitimate child Katharina arrived at Los Angeles following her parents on February 23rd, again via the SS Bremen. Kertesz was a no show at the port probably working on the lot. “Kitty” becomes a scholar at the New York Art College. Four years later she tried to commit suicide and gives a sense of abbandonement as reason to the press.

But she was not the only Kertesz sibling to be left behind on the old continent. A son called Michael had been born to a bank accountant in 1920. Alimony was paid for him by Warners. His second daughter Sonja was born in 1923 to aspiring actress Miss Dalla Bona from the Sodom & Gomorrah set. In 1925 his second son was born to another actress from the S&G set, Miss Vondrak . Michael II. briefly worked for his dad as gaffer at the studios and is now  a painter in Seattle. Last but not least the daughter of actress Jill Gerard was acknowleged by a parental court to be Curtiz`child. She was born in 1956 when Casablanca`s favourite son was a mere 70 years old.

Back to 1935 and the filming of a flick called “The case of the curious bride”. It was there when a scene required of an unknown Australian actor  to mime a beautiful corpse covered with a blanket. When the cameras were rolling the silence suddenly was broken by a hearty sneeze from down under the blanket. Whereupon the temperamental dictator-director Curtiz supposedly snapped: “You-no-good-bum-of-a-sum-of-a-bitch, don´t you know, nose of dead man is dead also !?

The rest is Errol Flynn history.

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

My dear fellow Flynn fans,

here is what I dug up from the ancient archives of the Austrian National Library concerning the sexy sensual sparkplug we know as Mrs. Errol Flynn I.

Born Liliane Marie Madeleine Carré in Blaye near Bordeux on July 10th of either 1901 or rather 1904, she appeared in dancing revues in the Grand Nation`s capitol as early as age 15.

Of purported Iberian ancestry she started her career with the stage name of Damita del Rojo. Later she changed it to Lily Seslys under which she got credited with favorable performances during the silent film era.

As soon as film producer Count Alexander “Sascha” Kolowrat had laid his ladyloving eyes on her, he left no jewel unturned to lure the little dame from Paris to Vienna. This movie mogul went to great lenghts and used his personal riches to put big pictures onto the screen such as the then costliest movie up to date “Sodom and Gomorrah”.

Not only a bonvivant he was also a connaisseur of young talent and for example introduced Marlene Dietrich to the art of filmmaking.

But Lili was not to be seduced easily. She was determined to become a star and not end up a starlet. When arriving at the central train station of Vienna she was accompanied by an older woman (who may or may not have been her mother) as bodyguard. It was only when Count Kolowrat gave her top billing in his next three films partly made in Berlin: “Fiacre (stagecoach) Nr. 13”, “The Golden Butterfly” and “Plaything of Paris” that she agreed to terms and the chaperone was sent home. Director of all three flicks was a certain Michaly Kertesz, who soon was to embark on a shiptrip to Hollywood with no return ticket on a contract by Warner Bros.

Here is a comment of the “Neues Wiener Tagblatt” on the upraising star from the 4th of may 1929:

A fairytale out of real life

How Lili Damita found her way to film would make a fine story for a movie full of romance and sentimentalities so well liked these days, that has audiences streaming tears down their cheeks. Dancing in Boulevard venues at age 15 she was discovered and brought here by the late Count Alexander Kolowrat of Sascha Film Factory. Instand success came via “Das Spielzeug von Paris” under the guidance of one Michaly Kertesz providing a never before seen array of technical effects and scenic splendor. Standing out nonetheless was the appearance of this juvenile diva with her slender and flexible figure and that fine Parisian facial features. A new star had emerged.

A household name by now Lili Damita engaged in a torrid affair with the Prussian Prince Louis Ferdinand von Hohenzollern much to the delight of the European newspaper media. The 20 year young crown prince was madly in love with the temperamental French actress and vowed to marry her. His royal family naturally didn`t approve of the impossible liaison and urged L. Ferdinand to keep things “physical”. Rumours that Lili held his cousin, the Duke of Kent in equally intimate esteem may have contributed that Ferdinand ultimately married Princess Kira Romanowa. But not before following Damita to the United States and even accepting a worldly job at the Henry Ford automobile plant in Michigan. Lili by then had already set her sight on another royalty- the Baron of Mullholland.

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

My dear fellow Flynn fans,

You may or may well know, that Maureen O´Hara shared some episodes about our Hollywood hero in her autobiography “Tis Herself”. She and Errol met for the first time promoting war bonds at a get- together with  money donors. Both were supposed to give speeches and were seated next to each other. They introduced themselves exchanging the usual pleasantries. While awaiting their turn, Maureen noticed that Errol was hiding something under the table. She glanced down and saw he was holding a Whiskey bottle between his knees. With each new speaker he secretly unscrewed the cap of the bottle filling his teacup under the table. He didn`t mind Maureen looking on one bit. At a certain point, still posing as the ultimate gentleman for onlookers, he began to whisper lovely obscenities to her out of the corner of his mouth.

“I moved my chair away from him slightly, but he pressed on anyway, one dirty and lascivious suggestion on top of another. This was crude stuff and not the slightest bit erotic, which I would have expected from this legendary Casanova. They mounted in their vulgarity, yet Flynn never lost his elegant poise and arrogant smirk on his face. I was fuming and would have loved to knock him on his ass, but I knew I couldn´t make that kind of a scene. So I finally whispered under the guise of a smile: Listen Errol, you better get the hell out of here or I am going up to that microphone and tell everybody what you`ve got in that teacup plus I`ll repeat everything you`ve been saying to me- word for word.”

Then and there Errol opted for retreat, not in a swashbuckling way, but still highly innovative- he slid out of his chair crawling on all fours under the long table for the exit. People down the lenght were jumping slightly as he startled them from beneath. When he finally had reached the end of the long line he stood up, looked back and – smirk still intact- waved good- bye playfully. Irish pride O´Hara saluted with a closed fist and returned his smile.

Now everybody here knows this incident culminated in their starring in the pirate movie “Against all flags” almost a decade later. Suffice it to say his teasing and testing somehow broke the ice and they worked up a great chemistry between them. Maureen was full of praise of Errol`s work ethic, saying he came to work prepared and practiced his fencing scenes meticulously with Fred Craven. Yet this was before lunch time, in the afternoon (due to too many juiced oranges) very little was achieved on film with the main male lead. Everything good they got was shot early in the day. Many romantic close ups happened between O`Hara and a X marked on a black flag that was supposed to be Errol Flynn. Needless to say she found her delivery very difficult when flirting with Jolly Rogers.

Maureen O`Hara regretted that she didn`t manage to catch up with Flynn in Cuba later while filming there “Our Man in Havana”. Soon thereafter he had died.

“He had been such an naughty scoundrel the night of our first encounter. But near the end of wrapping up “Against all flags” he had won me over. I respected him professionally and was quite fond of him personally. Deep within this devilish rogue I found a kind and fragile soul. He was the undisputed king of swashbucklers, still is to this day, and I was their queen.”

I hope you like this piece as much as I do. And if so, I will gladly share other Flynnanigans in future with you,

— shangheinz

My dear fellow Flynn fans,

Errol got immortalized in a book called “More tales from the travellers” published in Oxford 2005. This collection of tales by members of the Travellers Club London features a short story done by Mr. Robin Hanbury- Tenison, who recalls his encounter with our Hollywood hero in Havana 6 months prior his death. Thanks to my Irish friend from Galway, Dr. Alexander O`Hara, who provided me with the book, I can post this tall tale here now.

Invited by Baron Joseph de Biskei Dobronyi, a former WWII Pilot born in Hungaria, this Englishman and his first wife Marika, came to Cuba at turbulent times . “I am afraid there`s been a spot of bother this week, well a revolution actually, but that`s normal in these parts and I promise it won´t affect the fun we are going to have.” Those were the words that the two travellers were greeted with by their Hungarian host, who was known to all islanders as “Sepy”. As it turned out they were the only foreign guests at the Hilton apart from another couple, who was friendly with Sepy. Most of the rooms had been occupied by Castro`s fighters of both sexes wearing their green fatigues draped with weapons. “They had long hair and charming manners, didn`t sleep in beds, but used the floors and according to the bemused staff, left everything immaculate.”

One night they went to Sepy`s suite for cocktails and met the other couple of American descent. “An extemely attractive, suave, older man started making a big play for Marika, while I talked to his beautiful and much younger girlfriend. My wife clearly had no idea who he was, although I had recognised him immediately from the movies. It was Errol Flynn.”

At that time as we know Errol was the sole prominent Westener to identify himself with Casto`s cause supporting it actively. “He claimed to have fought with “El maximo lider” and threatened to show us his wound…” Associated with Errol, Sepy`s gang could do no wrong. Appointed guardians and playmates for his much loved girlfriend Woodsie, they visited the sights, such as Hemingway`s house and the bar he patronized. At night they drank and danced at the legendary Tropicana Nightclub, still functioning with all its gorgeous girls and singers playing to an empty house.

Meanwhile Errol was observing the downside of revolution at close range. “As international figure he was useful to the regime, lending some legitimacy to the nastier things they felt had to be done to secure their hold on the country. Quick trials and kangaroo courts followed by executions took place every evening- Errol was expected to attend.” When he joined the others at the club in the small hours, he was grey with strain of the horrors he had seen, but in his inimitable way ready for party soon thereafter. “I am down to two bottles of vodka a day” he would claim.

“One dawn, as we staggered out on the streets where daylight was just breaking, we saw a sight which stopped the film star at his tracks. A car with two huge wooden barrels filled with milk was trundling past. Between the shafts were six white mules.” “This  is my scene!” shouted Errol waving an imaginary sword and leaping onto the cart beside the startled driver. A wad of Dollars dispatched the latter and, as we all climbed aboard, our swashbuckling hero cracked the whip over the astonished mules. Reluctent they broke into a gallop and we careered through the streets of sleeping Havana, milk slopping out of the barrels onto the pavements. El Flynn y sus amigos were doing their thing and reliving a hundred of his film roles.”

I hope you enjoyed this time tavel as much as I did,

— shangheinz

My dear fellow Flynn fans,

there is news about our Hollywood hero on the waterfront! I came across  a German nautic magazine called Mare (“sea”), which was published in december of 2006. It features an article on Errol titled “Within the storm that was his life”. While there are little unknown facts for real fans, it finishes with an interview of Patrice Wymore- Flynn about their lives and times in Jamaica. Pat states, that she will never forget the humid air, even though already at nighttime, when stepping out of  the airplane in Kingston for the very first time. Inappropriately dressed in a long dress and hat, she was supposed to be met by Errol. Unfortunately he was nowhere in sight. She told a cabby to drive her to Port Antonio and after a few hours drive through the jungle, feared to have been taken hostage. When she finally arrived on Navy Island, she learned that Errol had arranged for a welcome dinner in her honor with 50 guests. (…or maybe was merely throwing a party!?: this author) She remembered the Jamaican people as very friendly and carrying themselves with “barefoot elegance”. Americans loved to come to Jamaica during wintertime and staying at the “Frenchman`s Cove”, which according to Pat was the best hotel in the world at least in the 60s. When asked, if Errol had fled Hollywood because of his reputation after his rape trial, she said that her husband at that time was more desillusioned and not willing to meet the obvious obligations of the movie industry any more. However she added that the acquittal fueled his believe in a sort of “licence to excess”. Eventhough she said that many stories were grandly exaggerated. They had friends over now and than, but mostly stayed home and enjoyed each others company. “Errol was always very nice to me”. When in Jamaica they used to float on a raft on the Rio Grande. When in Europe the stayed in Palma de Mallorca an on the French Riviera lodging on the Zaca. She said to it was her choice to settle permanently in Port Antonio, because it provided her with a job on their farm instead of retiring a frustrated reminicing actress. “It was a though time first and I made some terrible mistakes, but  I feel I succeeded in the end.”

I hope you enjoyed this and if so you will hear back from me,

— shangheinz

My dear fellow Flynn fans,

I came acoss some very interesting, little known facts  in Italian newspapers while researching fo my William Tell- book project.

Did you kow that…

…Errol wanted his son Sean to play the part of Tell`s son Jimmy?

…Jack Cardiff endorsed his choice?

…but casting director Michal Waszynski opted for Fellini disciple Guido Martufi?

…that the final battle scenes on horseback (full not empty horses!) were filmed first?

…that a helicopter was sceduled to film these?

…an avalanche was to be set off Mount Blanc for the dramatic film ending?

…Errol`s skyblue car, a Frazer Nash, was guided by a chauffeur named Erich?

…that it was called “la freccia azzura di Guglielmo Tell” (skyblue arrow of William Tell) by local town people of Courmayeur?

…it was seized first by local authorities for unpaid hotel bills, mostly long distance telefon calls?

…that he luckily had another set of wheels, since he had purchased a Mercedes Benz in Germany that year?

…that Errol planed to star in Jules Verne`s “Michel Strogoff” in one of his next movies?

If so, bravo! If not, so didn`t I.

All the best,

— shangheinz

Dear fellow Flynn fans,

I came across this picture in a japanese film book about Peter O`Toole. It`s from the film “My favorite year”,  which you may be well familiar with and I have yet to see. From my point of view this other great actor got Errol`s facial expression down to a T.

— shangheinz

My dear fellow Flynnians,

I just finished the 1970 edition of Sheilah Grahams book  “The Garden of Allah” (The story of Holywood`s most exotic playground featuring the famous & infamous superstars that created the legend). The well known Hollywod columnist and companion of F.Scott Fitzgerald lived next door to Errol`s villa in the appartement complex and secret hideaway to many stars like Garbo, Bogart and the Marx Brothers.

After a public fallout with Pat Wymore, Errol was served the divorce papers there, which resulted in a spontanous dance of joy around the pool by one hopeful future Mrs. Flynn, Beverly Aadland – barely covered by a towel.

In the years prior with Pat staying on in Spain, former Garden owner Frank Ehrhart recalled  Errol going by a strict regimen: At 12.30 his sectretary would place a chaise lounge by the pool, alongside a table with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. At one o`clock the baron would appear in a blue blazer with white or grey pants and an ascot instead of a tie. He would ask one of the many beautiful girls, be it aspiring actress or starry eyed starlet, if she minded sitting next him. Then he would say: “My child, will you have a glass of champagne?” By then all eyes were on them wondering how long it would take Errol to get the girl into his bungalow.

After appearing on the $64.000 question show in New York, where he won  $34.000 (one question short of the jackpot), Errol was asked by Ehrhart why he hadn`t gone all the way. Errol smiled broadly. “Frank, he explained, “they garanteed me $32.000 under the table. It was all fixed.” He concluded modestely, “Although I knew all the answers.” Indeed the show was canceled shortly afterward, but only when the cheating on “21” was exposed. When the garden of Allah compound was closed in 1959, a public auction was held and guess what of all the fixtures and furnishings went first? It was… Errol`s bed!

— shangheinz

Dear Fellow Flynn Fans,

the picture above was taken on location while Errol Flynn and Waltraut Haas went through a text passage of the ill fated William Tell film. As I wrote before Mrs. Haas was cast for the role of Mary, a young swiss landlady secretly in love with the hero, ending up being raped and murdered by Austrian villain Jost, the henchman of the occupying army played by Bruce Cabot. Asked if there were any tensions to be felt between Flynn and Cabot during the filming, Mrs. Haas denied and stated that she was present at a formidable film fighting scene between the two. Pat, wife of Dave Crowley, assisted Mrs. Haas with her English pronounciation and they became friendly during their stay in Courmayeur. Then more real life drama occured. When filming was already at a halt due to labour unions oders from Rome, a young italian girl was murdered in the woods nearby! A curfew was suggested to the cast and crew. The culprit was arrested by the Italian police a week later, when they found the victims watch in his possession. He claimed to have been without a job and on his way to the French legion. Errol was enjoying himself going fishing, playing with his dog Coldnose and eating sardines out of cans. On the set of his own production no more (Vodka-) juiced oranges were necessary, he according to Mrs. Haas sipped rum and Coca Cola. Unrelated to “The story of William Tell” , but quite related to Errols lives and times, Mrs. Haas told me that she met Tyrone Power in Vienna when present at the film premiere of “Witness for the prosecution” directed by Austrian filmmaker Billy Wilder. Power was quite interested in the arts and so Mrs. Haas showed him the sights such as the Sobieski chapel overseeing the Austrian capital. He took a liking in Egon Schiele and bought one of his paintings, a two meter high canvas of a female nude. Parallels of Errols love for collecting paintings come to mind. I am determined to uncover more on “The greatest film never seen- Errol Flynn`s swashbuckling swansong William Tell” next year in Rome.

Until then all the best to all you good sports,

Heinz

— shangheinz

Dear Flynn Fans,

thanks David for welcoming me aboard (schooner or pirate ship that is?).

I`ve been a big fan of Errol since the age of ten when I saw Robin Hood for the first time on TV.

Now 33 years later I dig for bits and pieces in all four corners of the globe concerning his abandoned William Tell- film.

We all agree that it would have been his second coming of Robin Hood and an instant resurrection of his career.

I dub this project: “The greatest film never seen on the silver screen.”

Fortunately one Austrian actress which was part of the cast still lives  in Vienna and granted me an interview.

Mrs. Waltraut Haas remembered well her role of Mary and recalled some of the circumstances of the shooting in Courmayeur.

Most of all she was full of praise of Errol, his humour and gentleman attitude (he liked to flirt, but respected boundaries).

She told me when present, he was the first on the set, knowing well his lines.

She was rented out from German production firm “Herzog Film” for a rehearsing scene and beat out Vira Silenti by choice of Jack Cardiff.

She was friendly with Pat Crawley, wife of  the “whats-his-name- boxer” and had a daily budget of 1000 Lira, which sometimes they used for movie tickets instead of meals.

One night Errol and his entourage went out to a Hillside Casino and meet with Gina Lollobrigida and her Serb husband, which was speaking German well, so they got along well.

When they met again years later at a Biennale in Berlin and greeted each other, la Lollo had forgotten about their brief encounter and asked Mrs. Haas, where from she knew her husband?

“From the Casino!”, replied Mrs. Haas, unaware that casino means also “brothel” in Italian when not pronounced perfectly right.

She confirmed that in her dying scene her dress was torn up by the Habsburgian henchman Jost and her bussom would have shown- the mother of all Nipplegate affairs so to speak.

This might have attracted the interest of King Farouk, which wanted to meet her in Rome.

When she resisted, Mrs. Haas said, that she took some heat from cast and crew (not from Errol!) for shunning the possible sponsor.

Quite interesting was that she mentioned filmmaker Roberto Rosselini being interested in helping out to finish the film some time later on.

By then young Guido Martufi had grown considerably and that in reality this was the final deathblow to the project.

For unpaid hotel bills the Cinemascope lense, which the camera man (Hermann?) had personally vouched for, was taken away.

He promptly suffered a heart attack. I will now search for more information south of the Austrian border, in Italy and will try to contact the other female lead, Mrs. Antonella Lualdi and her husband Franco Interlenghi in Rome.

If I succeed, I plan to write everything into a book called: “The William Tell trail- Errol Flynn`s swashbuckling swansong.”

But you will read it  here first, since you are all good sports!

Bye for now, Heinz

— shangheinz