Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959)
Flynn was the greatest swashbuckler of the sound era, he always looked
great in period clothes and played such roles with a winning enthusiasm
and panache. He wasn't considered much of an actor but others never
looked as dashing or as suitable as Flynn in these roles, his films are
pure entertainment and must have been an inviting escape for audiences
of the time weary of Depression and war. Sadly Flynn had trouble seeing
their worth and by extension his worth as an actor, the fifty years of
his life he spent really drinking, drug taking and womanising himself
into oblivion. On the surface he had everything but Flynn had fatal
character flaws.
He had a most promiscious early life if his boasting is to be believed
but was first noticed by the general public when he starred in Michael
Curtiz's Captain Blood (1935) the first of a series of exciting
swashbucklers and action films they made together : The Charge of the
Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (the best
action movie of all for many), Dodge City (1939) and The Sea Hawk
(1940). Both director and star despite these successes hated each
other, Flynn's leading lady in many of them was Olivia de Havilland.
Their last film together They Died With Their Boots On (1941) a typical
Hollywood version of the story of General Custer had an extra poignancy.
In the early Forties Flynn's run of great action movies seemed to dry
up and he got himself into serious trouble when he was charged with
raping a minor. He was aquitted but was likely guilty, sadly this lucky
escape just seemed to accelerate his dependencies on drink and drugs.
By the time he starred in Adventures of Don Juan (1949) the last of his
fine swashbucklers Flynn's lifestyle was showing in his face, he and
Alan Hale had to be held up on their horses.
Ironically in his last years Flynn got some critical plaudits for
playing drunks such as John Barrymore in Too Much, Too Soon (1958) but
it was too late to really boost his flagging ego. At the age of fifty
his heart gave up the struggle but he remains forever vibrant and vital
in those action classics of the Thirties and Forties.
Written content copyright Derek McLellan,2005.
Copyright © The Fedora Chronicles
Errol Flynn image from
http://cine2020.espaciolatino.com/flynn_errol.htm