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Archive for the ‘Film Anniversaries’ Category

Robin Hood Released on this Day!

16 May

— David DeWitt

 

Flynn’s First in Tinseltown

14 Apr

The Case of the Curious Bride

Released on Wednesday, April 13, 1935

— Tim

 

Eightieth Anniversary Celebration of Captain Blood – April 11, 2015

12 Apr

St. Augustine, Florida

Quoting primarily from VisitStAugustine.com…:

The St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum hosts a cinematic tribute to Hollywood’s iconic swashbuckler, Errol Flynn, on Saturday, April 11, 2015, The event marks the 80th anniversary of Flynn’s pirate classic, “Captain Blood”, which will be shown on a large outdoors screen in the Colonial Quarter.

“The Sea Hawk”, another classic Errol Flynn swashbuckler, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and will also be shown. The Sea Hawk is loosely based on the history of Sir Francis Drake, who took St. Augustine from the Spanish.

Among the many activities planned for the evening are “Captain Blood” and Errol Flynn look-alike contests (with face painting and mustaches available for Errol Flynn impersonators), swordfighting demonstrations, and a discussion and sampling of the pirate’s favorite drinks, Rum and Grog, by Jamie Jackson of Pusser’s Rum.

Live music, visits from The Pirate Museum’s Captain Mayhem, and a black powder final salute will round out the evening.

This event is planned to appeal to the whole family (though only adults, of course, can participate in the drink tastings).

Admission: Free.

When? Saturday, April 11, 2015, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The screening of “Captain Blood” will begin at 6:15 p.m., and “The Sea Hawk” will begin at 8:45 p.m.

Where? The Colonial Quarter is located at 33 St. George Street in downtown St. Augustine.

Errol Flynn’s Captain Blood Coat

— Tim

 

Travelin’ On

24 Jan

I wish you all smooth sailing…

January 23, 1936

Pirate Party on Catalina

Film Daily

With Buddy Rogers and Band, Marion Davies, Cary Grant, Virginia Bruce, John Gilbert, Chester Morris, Lee Tracy, Lili Damita, Errol Flynn, Sid Silvers, Robert Armstrong.

(Musical Review Series)

MGM – 20 Minutes

A STANDOUT

There is more attractive flash, sparkling action and general entertainment in this two-reeler than in some features. Very effectively filmed in Technicolor, it takes the form of of a pirate masquerade party on beautiful Catalina Island, where scores of film stars happen to be present and thus give the film a big-time cast and bif fan interest. Charles “Buddy” Rogers and his orchestra provide the musical background and are an act in themselves. Chester Morris acts as master of ceremonies, doing a nice job of it and working in a number of big bits with Sid Silvers and other performers. The picture has plenty of flash in the way of eye-filling girlies, and things are kept lively by interpolation of aquatic action and a generally rapid succession of novelty numbers and star closeups. Lewis Lewyn produced it.

Pirate Party on Catalina Island (Full Movie)

We’re In the Money – With a Pirate Treasure Chorus Line

Buddy Rogers and His California Cavaliers

Boatful of Banjos and an Anchors Away Chorus Line – Mickey Rooney on Percussion

— Tim

 

Captain Blood: The Greatest Pirate Movie Ever Made

19 Dec

And “Best Popcorn Movie of the Mid-Thirties”

Released Eighty-Five Years Ago Today
December 19, 1935

— Tim

 

A Field Day for Flynn

06 Aug

August 6, 1953

H.H.T.
New York Times
Master of Ballantrae at the Paramount

With plenty of good, old-fashioned muscularity crowding a highly pictorial Technicolor frame, at least three-fourths of “The Master of Ballantrae” makes a rousing, spectacular outlet for a pair of estimable adventurers, Errol Flynn and the master himself, Robert Louis Stevenson. In the new Warner Brothers arrival at the Paramount yesterday, Mr. Flynn is leading a fine, predominantly British cast through one of the liveliest, handsomest and most absurd screen free-for alls ever to leave the Victorian talespinner’s pen. If the excessive length and staggeringly heroic exploits can be pinned on Warners and Mr. Stevenson, respectively, no one, assuredly, should question the lavish elasticity of the proceedings. It is played well by the entire cast, and seasoned throughout with some brazen drollery. The film was gleamingly authenticized in such locales as Scotland, England and Sicily. Herb Meadow’s adaptation fittingly charts a cluttered, tumultuous odyssey for the indefatigable protagonist, leader of the fiery Durisdeer clan and fugitive champion of the Stuart Restoration, as he engineers a magnificent career in high-seas piracy and returns home, a wiser, if no less boisterous, rebel. The direction of William Keighley is equally alert and scenic, whether scouring the craggy, heather-strewn battlegrounds of the clansmen or capturing the lusty barbarism of the pirates’ island sanctuary. And since the dialogue is more often pungent than standard, the motivations and characterizations retain a surprising air of conviction, for all the flying kilts, sabers and sails. Mr. Flynn is, in turn, bold, roguish and forgiveably self-satisfied in his best swashbuckler since “The Sea Hawk,” thirteen long years ago. The featured players, a spanking round-up, are crisp, restrained and forceful, one and all, particularly Roger Livesey and and Anthony Steel, and the ladies in the case, Beatrice Campbell and Yvonne Furneaux. Last but not least, the truly stunning color photography of that British ace, Jack Cardiff, provides a canvas that stands as a model of its kind and fully rates the classic archive reserved for Mr. Stevenson, long, perhaps, after Mr. Flynn and company are forgotten. Meanwhile, Mr. Flynn is having himself, as well he might, a field day.

THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE, screen play by Herb Meadow, based upon the Robert Louis Stevenson story directed by William Keighley and presented by Warner Brothers. Jamie Durisdeer . . . . . Errol Flynn, Col. Francis Burke . . . . . Roger Livesey, Henry Durisdeer . . . . . Anthony Steel, Lady Alison . . . . . Beatrice Campbell, Jessie Brown . . . . . Yvonne Furneaux, Lord Durisdeer . . . . . Felix Aylmer, MacKellar . . . . . Mervyn Johns, Arnaud . . . . . Jack Berthier, Mendoza . . . . . Charles Goldner, Maj. Clarendon . . . . . Ralph Truman

— Tim

 

In the Beginning

05 Aug

August 5, 1935 – 85 Years Ago Today – Begins on Captain Blood

— Tim

 

Today is the 80th Anniversary of Virginia City

16 May

Released on May 16, 1940

As this video of the Virginia City World Premier Tour poignantly depicts, 1940 was a wondrous time in Hollywood history, and in American history. Everything changed in ’41 – as abruptly as this video.

For a great review of Virginia City, and especially of Errol’s unmatched magnetism as a film star, see the Bogie Film Blog at this link.

For a great review of Virginia City, and especially of Errol’s unmatched magnetism as a film star, see the Bogie Film Blog at this link.

— Tim

 

A Newcomer Named Errol Flynn

27 Dec

December 27, 1935

A Newcomer Named Errol Flynn in a Handsome Film Version of Captain Blood

“A spirited and criminally-handsome Australian named Errol Flynn plays the genteel buccaneer to the hilt.”

— Tim

 

Tribute to Gentleman Jim — Round 3

13 Nov



This time on radio!

— Tim