From Laurie Heltsley at our Facebook version of the blog:
— David DeWitt
Archive for the ‘Publicity’ Category
Errol, Errol Flynn
22
Feb
“A Four Star Production” – 80 Years Ago Today
05
Mar
March 4, 1940
Lux Radio Theater Presents: Trade Winds
Hosted by Cecil B. De Mille
Starring Errol Flynn, Joan Bennett, Mary Astor and Ralph Bellamy
“The Gangplank is Down Curtain Call” during which Errol invites all to the March 16 premier of Virginia City:
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The Full Show:
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2012 Review on Amazon:
“TRADE WINDS is a real piece of Hollywood history – produced and narrated by no less than Cecil B. DeMille, this radio play stars some of the biggest heavyweights on the silver screen circa 1940, working before a live audience in the Lux Radio Theater. A detective story operating on the plane of light comedy, it features clever writing and laugh-out-loud performances, and manages to undercut the sappiest of its moments with stingingly sarcastic humor. Fans of Errol Flynn, or of Old Time Radio in general, will revel in this tale of love, murder, betrayal and personal growth, as told by a group of master-actors.
The story is quite simple. Errol Flynn is Sam Wye, a sauve, facetious, womanizing detective out to capture fugitive heiress Kay Karrigan (Joan Bennett), who may or may not be guilty of murder. Wise tracks Karrigan all over the Pacific, but he is not alone in his quest for the $ 100,000 reward put on Karrigan’s head. Working with him and at times, against him, are long-suffering ex-lover Jean Livingstone (Mary Astor), and blockheaded but bulldogish detective Filo Blodgett (Ralph Bellamy). Wye eventually hunts down Karrigan, but just as quickly falls in love with her, leading to a whole avalanche of comedic shennanigans that include numerous double crosses and, rather late in the story, some genuine detective work as Sam desperately tries to save his beloved’s neck from the noose.
The cast is marvelous and the dialogue often priceless. They simply do not write dialogue like they did back then: Bellamy’s mixture of pompous diction with dumb-guy delivery is fantastic, Astor steals many scenes with her sarcastic one-liners, and Flynn is, well, Flynn – suave as Satan and cool as diamonds, yet possessing a heart of (almost) pure gold.”
— Tim
Dodging Dodge City? — OR Dreading Bette D?
22
Mar
March 20, 1939
Louella O. Parsons
Los Angeles Examiner
If Errol Flynn fails to show up for his preview, Bob Taplinger is going to lose some money. Errol’s trusting P.A. is betting that he will be there, but knowing the Flynn temperament I wouldn’t want to do any wagering myself. Errol doesn’t have to be back in Hollywood until May, when he plays Essex to Bette Davis’ Elizabeth.
Another change in the schedule has put The Knight and the LadyThe Miracle. You’ll see Claude Rains as Bacon, poet laureate of the Elizabethan era. It will all be in Technicolor. Bette’s first. This Queen Elizabeth is based on Robert Sherwood’s “Elizabeth the Queen”.
— Tim
In Search of Estrella
15
Sep
Los Hijos de Errol Flynn
“During the Spanish Civil War, Errol Flynn decided to travel to Spain as an adventure, in his memoirs he tells that he met Estrella, his love. This documentary is the search for Estrella and all the broken love stories with the end of the war.”
Los Hijos de Errol Flynn will travel to the United States for the Hispanic Culture Film Festival in Saint Augustine, Florida. The festival will be held from October 4 to 6.
— Tim
Happy 80th ~ Dodge City
10
Apr
“A Technicolor Triumph”
“The Most Spectacular World Premier Ever Given a Motion Picture”
— Tim
MGM’s Eye Out for Flynn
16
Dec
Third Week of December, 1934
Los Angeles Examiner
Cover Hollywood
The MGMers should be happy to know that Errol Flynn, whom they have talent scouts looking for in England and Australia, to say nothing of New Zealand, is right here in the Hollywood’s at the moment. Because they saw him in an English version of Mutiny on the Bounty, they now want him for their own version of the same picture. So, seeing as how the Gent is actually under contract to Warner Brothers, they will have to do some borrowing if they really want him.
— Tim
“Columbus” Discovers Flynn — Sends Him to America
01
Dec
NOVEMBER 30, 1934
EVENING HERALD EXPRESS
JIMMY STARR
Irving Asher, Warners’ London laddie in charge of the foreign studio, played “Colombus” and discovered a handsome Irish chap by the name of Errol Flynn . The young newcomer proved himself in Murder at Monte Carlo.
Asher figured Flynn had a better chance in Hollywood, and sent him to Jack Warner, who took a quick look at the English-made movie, snapped a contract under his nose and gave him one of the featured leads with Kay Francis in A Present from Margate, her next film following the current Living on Velvet.
Mr. Flynn it seems has made quite an impression— and good leading men are scarse, you know.
Was it Asher? Or Doug Jr.? Or JB?
Asher and Warner found gold in England when the found Flynn. The public really dug Errol.
— Tim
The Mayor of Townsville
09
Feb
New Kid On the Lot
29
Dec
Quiz on a Questionnaire
Fresh from England in the Fall of 1934, Errol had his “first official” stateside interview. Conducted on Warner Brothers’ “Burbank campus” by Carlisle Jones, “dean of Hollywood press agents”, this debut interview revolved around answers Errol had recently provided on a WB publicity questionnaire. According to that questionnaire and interview:
1. Errol’s Schoolboy Ambition was:
a) To be a pirate
b) To be a movie star
c) nil
2. His Present Ambition was:
a) Success in movies
b) To meet Greta Garbo
c) To sail to Hawaii in his own yacht
3. His foremost interest aside from acting was:
a) Literature
b) Marrying a movie star
c) Big game hunting in Africa
4. He suppressed a desire to be a:
a) Biologist
b) Bartender
c) Pianist
5. If he failed at acting, he would:
a) Go to law school
b) Marry rich
c) Return to New Guinea as a gold prospector
6. He reported his dancing and singing talents as:
a) God-given
b) Better than average
c) Imperceptible
7. He identified his favorite city as:
a) Paris
b) London
c) Shanghai
8. Following his interview, Carlisle Jones escorted Errol to the Warner Brothers first-aid hospital to treat:
a) A fencing wound
b) A blister
c) A sudden malarial attack
9. The reason for his hospital visit was:
a) Olivia De Havilland
b) Pinch-toed shoes
c) The Sepik River
10. On the way to the Warner Brothers hospital, Errol asked Carlisle Jones:
a) What were the best bars in Hollywood to meet women?
b) Who were the best movie star tennis players in Hollywood?
c) Was Lili Damita married?
— Tim
Mail Bag! Crossed Swords Remembered!
14
Dec
Vincenzo Castaldo writes us about his new book on the filming of Errol Flynn’s Crossed Swords circa 1954. You may remember him from a previous post last year. His book is finished and was the center of attention in the village of Lauro at the Lancellotti Castle where the movie was filmed when Vincenzo (who lives in Lauro) held a public showing of the film, and discussion of his book. It was a grand affair attended by all the dignataries of the town. Vincenzo speaks no English but does well with Google Translate:
Crossed Swords – Stories and anecdotes about the Holy Grail by Errol Flynn (Il Papavero).
(Il Papavero is the book’s Italian Publisher. It may also be purchased online, he says.)
The book, the result of a three-year research conducted by the author mainly between Naples and Rome, unveils the gestation and elaboration of “Crossed Swords” (M. Krims, 1954), a compelling and unknown film from ’52 and ’53 made in Cinecittà , at Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples and in the Irpinia villages of Lauro and Marzano with the main interpreters Errol Flynn and Gina Lollobrigida.
The book is divided into four parts. The first offers a historical synthesis of swashbuckling, which found fertile ground first in America and then in Italy since the Thirties, and pays tribute to stars such as Burt Lancaster, Sean Connery, Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp who, in the wake of the mythical Errol Flynn, have made the caste of the hood famous. The second focuses exclusively on the cinematographic work of Milton Krims, revealing the artistic and technical cast, the plot, the places and the various assumptions about how the troupe has landed in Lower Irpinia.
The third part includes a series of stories, stories and very funny anecdotes retrieved by the author, who interviewed the exclusive diva Gina Lollobrigida, Prince Pietro Lancellotti with his sisters Ginevra and Maria Cristina, who met the main interpreters during the realization of the film in the family castle, and several citizens of the time of Lauro who have lived the period of filming or have participated in the film with more or less important roles.
The fourth and last part includes news and various curiosities about the vicissitudes of the company during the period of the film, the journalistic reviews of the major newspapers of the time and those “found” by four great critics of Italian cinema, including the late father of David Gian Luigi Rondi.
Everything is accompanied by scene photos and amateur shots found by the author.
The book uses the preface by Valerio Caprara (well known film historian and journalist) and the afterword by Alessandro Cecchi Paone. A well respected journalist).
Thanks, Vincenzo!
— David DeWitt
