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Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys… the Play!

19 Jul

Note: the ability to insert photos is back!


Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys by Rob George was first performed by The Stage Company, Adelaide, South Australia in 1978.

From the website:

Performances will be at Princess May Theatre in Fremantle from 11 to 26 July 2008.
Described as “A musical comic book look at the comic book life of Australian film legend Errol Flynn from childhood in Hobart through white slave trader in New Guinea and finally to tragic Hollywood has-been”, the play is “taken almost entirely from official records and Flynn's own writing. (It) explores the love/hate relationship Flynn had with his own screen image, and the way that he was both encouraged and condemned in it”. “Rob George’s excellent script does this with humour, sadness, and rage.”

Venue:
Princess May Theatre
Playwright:
Rob George
Director:
Peter Nettleton
Details:

Harbour Theatre presents…

Harbour Theatre, Fremantle's only and original community theatre for over 40 years, is proud to present: “Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys”
by Rob George

Directed by Peter Nettleton
(A Community Theatre production by Kind Permission of Prospect Productions Pty Ltd)

The West Australian premiere of “ERROL FLYNN’S GREAT BIG ADVENTURE BOOK FOR BOYS” by prolific Australian playwright, actor, director and producer Rob George is Harbour Theatre’s 3rd
season for 2008. Directed for Harbour Theatre by Peter Nettleton, this play was first produced in 1978 by the Stage Company, South Australia 1978 and went on to win the Festival Times Best Play award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1979.

It is a musical comic book look at the comic book life of Australian film legend Errol Flynn from childhood in Hobart Tasmania to white slave trader in New Guinea and finally to tragic Hollywood has-been. Taken almost entirely from official records and Flynn's own writing, the play explores the love/hate relationship Flynn had with his own screen image, and the way that he was both encouraged and condemned in it. Director Peter Nettleton says that if you know nothing about Errol Flynn or want to know more then this is a must see show.

The multi-talented cast features Tony Clarke of Attadale as Errol Flynn and Katherine English of Hilton as Lois Tudor who is attempting to interview Errol during the 1950’s when his shining star was on the wane. As he relates his story various aspects and episodes from his life are re-enacted with the help of John Forde of Mosman Park, Kirstie Chorley of Beaconsfield, Sherrilee Walsh of Ballajura, John Deasy of Fremantle, Norma Holmes of Coolbellup and Matt Cuccovia of White Gum Valley who take on many of the characters that Errol encountered during his turbulent and at times, troubled life. The cast is supported by musicians Geoff Stainton of Willagee on bass, Dave Hale of Melville on drums and Enzo Piscitelli of East Fremantle on guitar.

“Errol Flynn was a very “naughty” boy during his life as detailed in his autobiography “My Wicked, Wicked Ways, says director Peter Nettleton, so expect this play to contain adult themes and strong language. However, there will be plenty of songs and sadness, laughter and gags that were so typical of his life.”

Cast (in order of appearance):
Errol Flynn: Tony Clarke
Lois Tudor: Katherine English

Supporting characters played by: John Forde, John Deasy, Matt Cuccovia, Kirstie
Chorley, Sherrilee Walsh, Peter Nettleton

Crew:
Stage Manager: Brian Mahoney
Singer: Norma Holmes
Drums: Enzo Piscitelli
Guitar : Dave Hale
Bass: Geoff Stainton

Venue:
The Princess May Theatre
Fremantle Education Centre
Cnr Cantonment & Parry Streets Fremantle, AU
(next to Clancy’s Fish Pub).

Dates:
July 18th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, 25th & 26th 2008.
Doors open at 7.30pm, with curtain up at 8:00pm sharp.

MATINEE: Sunday July 20th, commencing at 2pm

PARKING: Please allow sufficient time to secure parking before the show to avoid disappointment as you will not be allowed into the theatre once the curtain is up.

Bookings:
BOCS Ticketing: (08) 9484 1133 /

www.bocsticketing.com….au
Fax Bookings: 9486 1711
Outside Metro Area: 1800 193 300
NOTE: Transaction Fees Apply when booking through
BOCS.

READ THE PLAY

— David DeWitt

 
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We Welcome new Author Stephen D. Youngkin!

11 Jul

Photo retouched by Michael Pieper

The Errol Flynn Blog is happy to announce our newest author Stephen D. Youngkin has joined the Errol Flynn Blog! Asked what brought him to his interest in the famous Swashbuckler, Stephen replied:

Growing up in a small mid-western town, I had no access to old movies.  Local stations must have subscribed to the smallest and most inexpensive picture packages because they aired no classics.  It wasn’t until I was well along in college that I heard of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Errol Flynn et al.  I caught their films on television and attended screenings (usually four-six films per star, genre, etc.) at the university and local library. 

It was Flynn’s films that provided the most enjoyable respite from my studies.  What a break that was.  There were no videos or DVDs in those days, so I studied the TV Guide for listings.  An old book dealer friend (and someone who grew up with Flynn’s first showings) turned me on to My Wicked, Wicked Ways.  Flynn’s autobiography, however over the top, fueled my interest in who I now think of as one of the most interesting men of the 20th century. 

I moved on to Beams End and Showdown, not to mention whatever bits and pieces I could pick up.  There wasn’t much written about Flynn until The Films of Errol Flynn came out in 1969.

Despite Thomas, Behlmer and McCarty’s pioneering work, the public perception of Flynn seemed to be rather one-dimensional, e.g. in like Flynn, etc.  This disturbed me because I felt he was a much under-appreciated actor.  And as much as I enjoyed his swashbuckling and western adventures, I thought his forte was comedy (and later, drama). 

It struck me that Flynn’s hidden depths were screaming to come to the surface in his writing, which is very good indeed.  If only he’d had a better editor on Showdown, but that is another subject.  (And if only he’d had the discipline to sit behind the typewriter.)    I broached the idea to Earl Conrad of working on a book about the writer Flynn.  We bounced it back and forth.  At that time, he was working on his own memoir.  Anyway, I dropped the idea. 

During the course of my research on The Lost One:  A Life of Peter Lorre (Univ. Press of Kentucky, 2005), I interviewed roughly three hundred of the actor’s family, friends and co-workers.  When you’ve arranged to speak with someone about a particular subject, it’s wise to stick to the point. 

Some interviewees, such as Vincent Sherman, were happy to talk about Flynn.  Sherman gave a pretty consistent voice to his stories about Flynn and others.  Still, I was glad to get to him before these anecdotes became somewhat formatted.  I would like to have talked Flynn (once we had exhausted Lorre) with others, but on several occasions when I did veer off, my interviewee said, “Weren’t we here to talk about Peter Lorre?”  Corralling your sources is always a challenge.  In this case, I had been lassoed.  Still, it was wonderful to hear fresh Flynn stories from firsthand sources. 

I’d like to commend Tom McNulty on a superb biography of Flynn.  Nothing against MacFarland, but I think his book deserved a bigger press and a much wider distribution.  It’s the definitive work and explores all aspects of Flynn’s very complex personality.  Biographer Jeffrey Meyers once told me that a reader might wish a biographer was shorter, but never longer.  Not true with McNulty’s work.  I only wish he would coordinate The Collected Letters of Errol Flynn. 

What insight that would provide!

Best, Stephen D. Youngkin

— David DeWitt

 
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As Fate would have it… ENJOY THIS!

31 May

“This new book by Bob Casey, a founder of the Errol Flynn Society of Tasmania, is due for release in June to mark the 99th anniversary of Flynn’s birth. The full-colour book has plenty of entertaining asides about Flynn’s turbulent life and times,” according the book's blogsite…

Check it out by clicking on the bookcover!

The book is now for sale at www.errolflynnssword.com…!

Check it out!

— David DeWitt

 
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The Good. The Bad. The Higham-Hawg

30 May

— Bob

 
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It has been quiet…

19 May

Hallo, Chums! It has been quiet here at the Errol Flynn Blog due to the illness of the Administrator – hopefully, there will be some activity in the near future. My apologies to those who come fequently to see what is going on…

 

David~

Admin

The Errol Flynn Blog

— David DeWitt

 
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FYI, from the McNulty Clan!

13 May

FYI
Exciting news!
From:
 
Warner Home Video has announced the release of the Errol Flynn Westerns collection on 26th August 2008 priced at $49.92 SRP. WHV continues its year-long 85th anniversary celebration by saluting one of the studio’s very-own legendary greats – Errol Flynn. Despite his Tasmanian roots and elegant British diction, Flynn made an ideal all-American cowboy. With his steely gaze, lean frame and understated humor, he tamed the West in eight thrilling sagebrush sagas. WHV presents four of Flynn’s classic “oaters” making their DVD debuts and available exclusively as a collection.

Virginia City (1940)
In his second Western, Errol Flynn again teams with Dodge City director Michael Curtiz to play an undercover Union officer determined to stop a gold-laden train rolling to Dixie. Randolph Scott is a Johnny Reb ramrodding the shipment, Miriam Hopkins is a beguiling spy, Humphrey Bogart is a pencil-mustached desperado, and pioneering stuntman Yakima Canutt pulls off a daring stagecoach feat.

BONUS FEATURES:

  • Commentary by historian Frank Thompson
  • Warner Night at the Movies 1940 Short Subjects Gallery
    • Vintage Newsreel
    • Technicolor Shorts: Cinderella’s Feller and The Flag of Humanity
    • 1936 WB Short: The Light Brigade Rides Again
    • Classic Cartoons: Cross Country Detours and Confederate Honey
    • Trailers of Virginia City and A Dispatch from Reuters

San Antonio (1945)
San Antonio features blazing action in Technicolor® (a rip snorting saloon gunfight), suspense (a tense showdown in the granddaddy of Texas monuments, the Alamo) and a beautiful girl (Alexis Smith as a sultry songbird) to add romantic luster to the heroics.

BONUS FEATURES:

  • Warner Night at the Movies 1945 Short Subjects Gallery:
    • Vintage Newsreel
    • Oscar-Nominated Vitaphone Varieties Short Story of a Dog
    • Vintage Shorts: Frontier Days and Peeks at Hollywood
    • Classic Cartoons: A Tale of Two Mice and Wagon Heels
    • Trailers of San Antonio and The Corn Is Green

Rocky Mountain (1950)
Errol Flynn saddles up for his final Western starring as Confederate Captain Barstow in a brawny tale directed by William Keighley (co-director of Flynn’s The Adventures of Robin Hood) and filmed wholly in the rugged environs of Gallup, New Mexico. Co-star Patrice Wymore became Mrs. Flynn weeks before the film’s release. And drawling character actor Slim Pickens (Blazing Saddles) makes his debut as one of Captain Barstow’s men.

Special Features:

  • Commentary by biographer Thomas McNulty
  • Warner Night at the Movies 1950 Short Subjects Gallery
    • Vintage Newsreel
    • Trailers of Rocky Mountain and The Breaking Point
    • Bonus Gallery of Santa Fe Trail Series Western Shorts: Roaring Guns, Wells Fargo Days and Trial by Trigger
    • Classic Cartoon: Two’s a Crowd
    • Joe McDoakes Comedy Short So You Want to Move

Montana (1950)
The star heads for the wide-open spaces of Montana in this adventure saga about a bitter range war. Errol Flynn plays an Australian transplant looking to buy grazing land. But the cattle-raising locals won’t sell to interlopers, especially one they consider the most contemptible excuse for a human being ever to cross the Great Plains: a sheep rancher. Flynn’s San Antonio co-star Alexis Smith is a flame-haired beauty with an eye for the newcomer…until she learns his occupation. In time, she’ll put aside her disdain for the handsome stranger.

BONUS FEATURES:

  • Warner Night at the Movies 1950 Short Subjects Gallery
    • Vintage Newsreel
    • Joe McDoakes Comedy Short: So You Want a Raise
    • Classic Cartoon: It’s Hummer Time
    • Trailers of Montana and 1950’s Chain Lightning
  • Bonus Gallery of Santa Fe Trail Series Western Shorts: Oklahoma Outlaws, Wagon Wheels West and Gun to Gun
…………………………………………
 
 
The McNulty Clan

— David DeWitt

 
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We welcome New Author Robert Florczak…

26 Apr

We are pleased to welcome new Author Robert Florczak to the Errol Flynn Blog! Robert tells us he has been a serious Flynn fan and collector for 35 years…

 Rare Flynn with Mr. Zanuck…

 

 

— David DeWitt

 
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Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn on DVD!

16 Mar

                         

Producer Robert de Young has just announced the release of “Tasmanian Devil: The Fast & Furious Life of Errol Flynn on DVD! Extra Features and Interview material are on the 59 minute docu including:

ADDITONAL INTERVIEWS – with Christopher Lee, Rory Flynn, Beverly Aadland, Luke Flynn, Vincent Sherman
ERROL FLYNN IN CUBA
ERROL AND THE ZACA
ERROL AND THE GULF SCREEN GUILD THEATRE – 2 Radio Plays: 'Alergic To Ladies' and 'Mr and Mrs Smith'
PHOTO GALLERY, POSTER GALLERY(TBC) AND FAMILY
BARON OF MULHOLLAND
FILMOGRAPHY
CREDITS AND LINKS

Check it out here: Umbrella Entertainment

The DVD Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn will be available 4/18/08 at Gameplanet Store says James McAndrew! Thanks for the Tip, James!

— David DeWitt

 
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Salute to the Fabulous Marino!

15 Mar

  image  An interview with Jack!

                       Jack Marino, Independant Filmmaker

Jack Marino owner and designer of the Fabulous Flynn website we all know, is an independent filmmaker in Hollywood who announced recently that his indie film FORGOTTEN HEROES is now coming out on DVD.

 

After 20 years of screening his film around to all the major studios and independent distributors its release on DVD marks a personal victory over the studio system that historically, he says, has portrayed the Vietnam veteran in a tragic light.

 

Determined to show his characters as heroes in a foreign conflict and not the stereotypical rapists, druggies and baby killers seen in most of the films dealing with the Vietnam War – Jack’s film is Pro American and is “a good old fashioned action film” in the classic mold without harsh language, and one dimensional characters.

 

In control of his film’s distribution after all these years – Jack Marino is taking his film on the road, and rather enjoying the attention his movie is getting. It is a new world for independent filmmakers like Jack because of the internet.

 

You can view the film’s trailer on Utube at: www.youtube.com…

 

TV talk shows and radio programs are taking notice of his movie’s release and CBS Studios invited Jack to attend a “Celebrity Show for the Stars” on their backlot recently where Gunsmoke was filmed. The show is upcoming  May 17-18. You can meet Jack along with 100 celebrities who will be attending and even get a chance to purchase a copy of FORGOTTEN HEROES from Jack himself with a personalized autograph on the DVD!

 

$5.00 of each DVD sale of FORGOTTEN HEROES will go to the VERTERANS DISABLED FOR LIFE MEMORIAL FUND from his appearances and from any purchase made from his websites:

 

www.forgottenheroesthemovie.com…

 

www.myspace.com…

 

Jack says he will personally autograph any DVD bought from his websites as well if you just post a note when you make your purchase.

 

Jack Marino was a personal friend of legendary movie director Vincent Sherman late in Sherman’s life. Of Jack’s work on FORGOTTEN HEROES Vince Sherman said that he felt Jack would have been given a contract to direct films from Jack Warner. “This was the best compliment I have ever received,” Jack said.

 

Jack Marino is having a hell of a lot of fun and is enjoying every minute of it.

— David DeWitt

 
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Tyrone Power, November 15, 1958 (see commentary below)

04 Feb

 

image

 

This photograph was taken on the set of “Solomon and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Sheba” on November 15, 1958 in Madrid, Spain. Power had been filming a fight scene with actor George Sanders when he became weak and collapsed. Nobody realized at the time that he was having a massive heart attack. Power retired to his small, Coachman trailer where he took a nap and died in his sleep less than four hours after this photo was taken. It was a tragic end to one of Hollywood’s greatest stars.

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Unfortunately, Tyrone Power shares with Errol Flynn the distinction of having been smeared after his death. Regarding Power’s alleged homosexuality, I defer to actor Jack Elam who knew Power as well as anyone. When I brought up these allegations in my interview with Elam on June 20, 1998, he became angry and said “Let me tell you something – you tell them they’re full of shit! I mean they’re just full of it! I remember he told Zanuck “Before we finish this picture, put this guy (Elam) under contract.” So I was put under contract at Fox. About three months later he did a picture called “An American Guerilla in the Philippines.” I had a bit part in it, if you remember, nothing important, but I was in the Philippines for a long time on that picture. And I had dinner with Ty many, many nights. And it wasn’t just me. I spent a lot of time with him and talked with him a lot about everything in the world. He loved to converse. He had a very great mind, and he loved to talk. I would have smelled it if there was anything at all. I would have known. There’s no way those people saying that stuff about Ty aren’t full of shit!

— Shamrock

 
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