She was the leading lady in one of Errol’s major films.
She sailed on the Pacific to California in early ’35
She settled in LA, performing from an early age.
Her parents were singing and dancing vaudevillians.
Her mother was originally from Australia.
Following her film with Flynn, she played an exotically attractive woman in a role inspired by a legendary number one song – a song regarded by many as one of the all-time greats of its genre.
ʻO waiʻo ia? Quem é ela?
— Tim
“The Robin Hood archetype is a classic of both literature and cinema, with Errol Flynn’s depiction being one of the golden age of Hollywood’s most iconic heroes. The concept is simple: a roguish hero who’s an expert with the bow and arrow steals from the rich to give to the poor. Who could resist a handsome archer who’s ardently dedicated to the woman he loves and the concept of redistribution of wealth?”
“…Not only is he charming, but he’s impeccably chivalrous, a great supporter of the beleaguered underdog, an enemy of undemocratic power, and a hopeless romantic. … [t]he most potent embodiment of that heroic archetype you’ve ever seen …”
Anthropomorphically speaking, that is.
www-syfy-com.cdn.ampproject.org…
— Tim
“The Picnic That Won the War”
On Sunday, June 11, 1939, FDR & Eleanor hosted a picnic for the King and Queen of England at his summer “cottage” in Hyde Park. This was the legendary “Hot Dog Summit”, which is often credited with having very significantly increased America’s early support of England in World War II. As described by David Niven in the YouTube audio recording linked below, Errol was part of a “British Colony” radio program performed live in conjunction with the picnic.
“When Franklin Roosevelt invited Great Britain’s King George VI for a visit to the United States, the significance of the invitation did not go unnoticed. No reigning British Monarch had ever set foot on American soil, not even in colonial times. Ever since the Revolutionary War the United States and Great Britain oftentimes experienced tense relations, but Roosevelt’s invitation to the King carried great significance in the history of Anglo-American relations because it signified the dawn of a new era in American and British cooperation.”
“After two days in Washington, the tone of the royal couple’s visit transformed from formal to informal as they accompanied the Roosevelts to their home in Hyde Park, New York. The King and Queen’s stay in Hyde Park illustrated to the American people that although they were Royalty, they also enjoyed the simpler things in life. In contrast to the formal State Dinner at the White House, dinner at the Roosevelt’s Home “Springwood” was described to the press as a casual dinner between the two families; their evening entertainment was simple conversation, unfettered by formalities.”
“Even more relaxing and informal was the following day’s event – a picnic. FDR brought the couple to his new hilltop retreat, Top Cottage, on the eastern portion of his estate for an old-fashioned, American-style picnic. Much to the horror of FDR’s mother Sara Roosevelt, the King and Queen of England were served hot dogs on the front porch of the cottage. Although the press made a great deal about the hot dogs. (The picnic made the front page of the New York Times)”
“THE PICNIC THAT WON THE WAR”
David Niven describes the Hollywood British Colony radio show at 1:36:33 in this audio recording:
— Tim
The Tunny are Back!
“Strange but true: in the 1930s Atlantic bluefin tuna (also known as tunny) started to follow the herring shoals into the North Sea, and Yorkshire became the hub of an American-style big-game fishery. Professional hunter Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry set the record for a rod-caught fish in British waters when he landed a 386kg monster in 1933, and Scarborough was soon home to the Tunny Club of Great Britain. Visiting millionaires and movie stars – including John Wayne, Errol Flynn and David Niven – chartered local boats and vied with each other to smash the record.”
Video history of Scarborough Tunny Fishing
[Beginning at 7:14, where Errol is prominently mentioned.]
— Tim
Aka “Hearst’s Hunting Lodge”, though W.R. did not personally permit any hunting. “A day’s ride on horseback” from “La Cuesta Encantada” (Hearst’s Castle in San Simeon), to what since 1940 has been Army property on “Fort Hunter Liggett”.
Hearst took only select guests to The Hacienda, usually only top-strata Hollywood, newspaper and political figures. Errol was one of them. These special guests could either fly or ride on horseback from San Simeon – for rodeos, barbecues and dances, et al – often staying overnight in the Hacienda’s “Tower Rooms”. These same Tower Rooms are now available to the public at very reasonable prices, as are more spartan “Garden Rooms” and “Cowboy Rooms” at even lower prices.
— Tim
Mano Kaminer > Mihaly Kertesz > Michael Courtese > Michael Curtiz
The Most Underated Director in the History of Hollywood?
“Curtiz was already a well-known director in Europe when Warner Bros. invited him to Hollywood in 1926, when he was 39 years of age. He had already directed 64 films in Europe, and soon helped Warner Bros. become the fastest-growing movie studio. He directed 102 films during his Hollywood career, mostly at Warners, where he directed ten actors to Oscar nominations. James Cagney and Joan Crawford won their only Academy Awards under Curtiz’s direction. He put Doris Day and John Garfield on screen for the first time, and he made stars of Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Bette Davis. He himself was nominated five times and won twice, once for Best Short Subject for Sons of Liberty and once as Best Director for Casablanca.”
“Curtiz introduced to Hollywood a unique visual style using artistic lighting, extensive and fluid camera movement, high crane shots, and unusual camera angles. He was versatile and could handle any kind of picture: melodrama, comedy, love story, film noir, musical, war story, Western, or historical epic. He always paid attention to the human-interest aspect of every story, stating that the “human and fundamental problems of real people” were the basis of all good drama.”
What was his Greatest Film? Who were his Greatest Stars?
— Tim
Dear fellow Flynn fans,
Niv the Shiv remembers fighting Flynn fondly.
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
If you love Olivia de Havilland as much as we do on this blog you can follow a great Instagram page dedicated to her by Tess X. There is a link in this post to audio of her legal case. Clicked the image to go to the Instagram posting!
Thanks, Tess Wagner!
— David DeWitt
Eighty-Five Years Ago Today (Sydney Time), on March 15, 1933, Errol Appeared Live AND On Film at the Prince Edward Theater in Sydney.
Errol was paid £2 to stand on stage in what he later described as a bad wig and bizarre naval uniform, appearing more like “an elderly keeper at a [Sydney brothel] than Fletcher Christian. The Ides of March ended bad for Caesar, but great for Flynn. It signaled the birth of Errol’s acting career.
A superb assembly of contemporaneous news articles by EFB Author “Isabel Australis”:
An intriguing history with some Errol and errors:
And here’s the cinematic Flynn himself, just as he appeared at the Prince Edward Theater, eighty-five years ago today, March 15, 1933 – On the Ides of Flynn:
— Tim
