The May 2010 Docklines – the Official Newsletter of the Errol Flynn Marina in JA is now available!
— David DeWitt
Archive for the ‘Main Page’ Category
From the Mail Bag, Young Blood – The Making of Errol Flynn
02
May
Heard from David Phillips yesterday who contacted us about the following book!
“This is not a book about Errol Flynn. This is an account of those who came before him, documenting the lives of those who had a hand in the making of Errol Flynn.”
www.whosyourgrandaddy.id.au/…
Ordering Information, and more details!
— David DeWitt
Sean Flynn sings!
01
May
The wonderful Flynn's and the talents they possessed!
www.youtube.com…?
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— Tina
What Errol Told Olivia
27
Apr
In the 2005 Turner documentary, The Adventures of Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland recorded a series of reminiscences about Flynn, including the recounting of an episode that took place soon after they first met: “He sat down, and he said to me, 'What do you want out of life? And so I said, 'Well, I want respect for difficult work well done.' And then I said to him, 'What do you want out of life?' And he said, 'I want success.' And by that he meant fame and riches. And I thought, 'That’s not enough.'”<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
In Olivia’s mind, Errol wanted one thing, and she wanted another. By implication his desires were material and hers were artistic; his were wrong, and hers were right. His were “not enough.” What she doesn’t account for is that Errol Flynn had by 1935 at age 26 already graduated from the school of hard knocks, getting by on equal parts charm, looks, and guile. Despite her harsh upbringing in stepfather G.M. Fontaine’s home, she had not spent much time out in the world. As has been well documented, particularly in John Hammond Moore’s excellent The Young Errol, Flynn had kicked around Australia and New Guinea working at various jobs for years—dozens of jobs, in fact. His failure in these jobs might have had less to do with character deficiencies than always assumed by his biographers, and more to do with a condition that might today be diagnosed as ADHD. Sometimes, just maybe, this disability set him up to fail. Flynn was always getting fired, although on one occasion when he managed a copra plantation, it may have been a conspiracy by area farmers against the “new kid in town” that led to his failure. These experiences gave Flynn a hard, cynical veneer that prepared him for what was, in his mind, the inevitability of losing this gig as an actor just like he had lost all the others. Proof of this can be found in his early, constant griping to the press that he might just chuck it all and return to the South Seas. He figured he ought to quit the business before the business quit him.
Olivia, on the other hand, had survived a militaristic existence at home in Saratoga, California, as described by Olivia's sister Joan Fontaine in the memoir, No Bed of Roses. Olivia, the older sister, had been forced to become the poised, well-read, and well-spoken young lady who hit the screen at age 18. In response to her harsh home environment, she had by necessity become an intense loner and a person who sought the control as an adult that she had been denied as a child and adolescent. But she had not, and would not ever, wait tables like the typical struggling actor and have to cope with a variety of bosses with different work styles and temperaments. In other words, she didn’t know what she didn’t know, and when Flynn made his statement about wanting fame and fortune, it struck de Havilland as capricious when it was in fact the product of many ego blows that accompanied each pronouncement, “Flynn, you’re fired!”
I discovered a thousand and one things about Errol and Olivia that I didn’t know. Learn about all of them in Errol & Olivia: Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood, coming in October 2010 from GoodKnight Books.
— Robert Matzen
Mystery Question of the Week
26
Apr
One very general question: what happens to all the props that are used in film?
Most of them are probably kept, others sold or destroyed? So does anybody know what happened to these two pictures that were used in two of Errol's films? The first one is a cartoon from “That Forsyte Woman”, I just copied it from what I saw on the screen, so it is not the original. The second is this beautiful portrait from “Essex” – are they still at the MGM resp. Warner Archives, or has somebody purchased them maybe? Who can solve the mystery?
— Inga
Happy 111th birthday!
26
Apr
Just a wee note to say Happy Birthday to Cowboy Guinn! He'd be 111 today.
— Inga
Robin Hood King of Sherwood a review by Thomas McNulty
26
Apr
A Review By Thomas McNulty
The name Robin Hood immediately brings to mind an image of Errol Flynn swinging on a vine in Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood has long been a captivating, popular folk hero, and many actors besides Flynn have tackled the role, including Russell Crowe whose current take on the legendary bandit of Sherwood is destined to remain popular, if not definitive.
From time to time various writers have put their imaginations to work recreating Robin of Sherwood’s exploits. Recently Stephen R. Lawhead realized great success with his “King Raven Trilogy” comprised of, “Hood,” “Scarlet” and “Tuck.” Perhaps the most unusual Robin Hood story I’ve read was written by Nancy A. Collins and appeared in her collection “Avenue X and Other Dark Streets.” The story is called “The One-Eyed King” and this is truly one strange version of the Robin Hood legend, but not without merit.
Of course the best known book is Howard Pyle’s “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood” which remains in print and will undoubtedly find a new audience as interest in the Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe film gathers momentum. But there is another book on the market written by a British author named I. A. Watson that I believe deserves your attention. It’s called “Robin Hood – King of Sherwood” and it’s published by Cornerstone Book Publishers in conjunction with Ron Fortier’s Airship 27 Productions.
The beautiful cover is by Mike Manley with interior illustrations by Rob Davis. In his superb afterword, Watson provides an historical overview of the Robin Hood legend and explains his affection for the pulp magazines of a bygone age: “In writing “King of Sherwood” I was consciously trying to tell the story as if it had been commissioned for such a publication. This is Robin Hood as if he had appeared in Argosy or the Strand Magazine.”
Indeed, this is adventure writing at its finest, i.e., literate, suspenseful, action-packed and genuine. Nothing further need be said except this – for further information about series editor Ron Fortier and illustrator Rob Davis simply google “Airship 27.”
To purchase the book simply click onto Amazon right now and order a copy. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
— David DeWitt
Bandwidth Problems Now Permanently Fixed!
26
Apr
The kind folks at Domainmonger.com… where I host this blog have kindly permanently doubled our bandwidth! We should not have any more issues with running out of bandwidth – not to say we shouldn't all take care with the size of our files, especially photos that can be resized before uploading… so the fun continues!
— David DeWitt
Stephen Boyd
24
Apr
Hi fellow Bloggers,
have just seen youtube video of Errol Flynn and Stephen Boyd in a scene from Boyd's first film do go watch it page 9 on Errol Flynn section
— daringthorpe
feels like home
23
Apr
A big thank you to all EF blog authors for the warm welcome I have recieved, it feels like I've stepped into a room full of familiar friends that feels like home. It is so gratifying to discuss all the different aspects of this man's life, and what a life!
How could anyone fail to be inspired by a life so full and so varied in such a short timespan,never a moment wasted and as he said himself “I enjoyed every minute of it”.
— daringthorpe
