I just finished reading Cousteau’s Papua New Guinea Journey. Wow, what a sensational book, especially for fans of Errol! Though Flynnie himself is not specifically mentioned, there is extremely rare & extensive exploration & exposition directly connected to E’s old turf & times in and around Papua, along with approaching 200 National Geo-like photos! It’s top of the line – marvelous for Flynn researchers.
With renowned research ships Calypso & Alcyone leading the way, an armada of Zodias, rcks , jeeps, a helicopter, seaplane & even a submarine, take a team of scientific explorers to all of Errol’s old PNG waterways and stomping grounds, including the outer islands if New Britain, New Ireland, and all the rest.
Rabaul, Port Moresby, Lae, Wau, Madang, the old gold territory – they’re all here, as are incredible descriptions and photos of all the astonishingly unique and diverse tribes & cultural rituals. And notably, there’s significant discussion regarding the very widespread practice of adult men taking very young females as lovers & wives.
Most rewarding of all may be the “spellbinding” Sepik River – “The River of the Crocadile Men” – said to be the most linguistically & culturally diverse place on earth – with approximately 200 languages and incredibly intense spriritual beliefs & practices. Natives believe the Sepik to be a sacred source of water and life, flowing directly “from the beginning of the world”!
Wouldn’t it have been so wonderful for Errol to have headed and filmed
a major exploration of PNG like this! He did out it on the map, though! – even more so than the Cousteau!!
The Book!
The Video!!
The Musical Score !!!
The Territory!!!!
The Tour!!!!!
— Tim
In 1955, Errol Flynn made his final swashbuckler, “The Dark Avenger”. That same year, Danny Kaye made “The Court Jester”, a film that appeared to be a tribute/spoof of the swashbuckler films of Errol Flynn, complete with Basil Rathbone as the villain, Mildred Natwick (of “Against All Flags”) in a pseudo Una O’Connor-like role, as well as a Robin Hood-like character that seemed written specifically for Errol: The Black Fox. Was Errol offered the role? Probably. Instead, the heroic role was played by Edward Ashley, who received 12th billing. Of course, if Errol had played the role, his name would have been much, much higher in the credits. The film is still very entertaining.(and highly recommended for fans of Flynn) But if it had co-starred Errol Flynn, it would be much more famous.
