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    The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943: Vol VI, Errol Flynn
    The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943: Vol VI, Errol Flynn
    The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943: Vol VI, Errol Flynn
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943: Vol VI, Errol Flynn

    By James R Ashley

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    About this ebook

    Errol Flynn was literally born the star that he became. His entire life was one of a swashbuckling rogue who strode across life’s stage bigger than life and in the process reduced everyone else’s life to insignificance. As thrilling and exciting his swashbuckling movie roles were, his real life adventures frequently surpassed them. His life was the things dreams were made of and he enjoyed every minute of it. Errol was born in the South Seas, a mysterious and romantic place for moviegoers at the time. During his youth, while his contemporaries were getting dull jobs in government or business and settling down to an equally dull family life, Errol was leading the life of a modern day pirate, roaming the high seas in search of booty and lust. At one time or another he was a jewel thief, a “black slaver,” a confidence man, a plantation manager, a soldier of fortune, and an explorer. He shot it out with headhunters, was on the run from the law, and once was tried for murder. He seduced almost any women he met, be they young or old, plain or beautiful, and if the opportunity offered, relieved them of their valuables. His youth was one of adventure and romance and from one day to the next he neither knew nor especially cared what tomorrow would bring. He lived for the moment and burned the candle at both ends, then burned it in the middle at the same time.

    When Errol got to Hollywood he became an immediate success and zoomed right to the top, all in one stunning leap. He was everything men and women believed a real man should be: handsome, daring, bold, witty, and romantic. And his fans immediately saw that this was not just an act; Errol was the real deal, and they could not get enough of him. Errol was not a master at his craft like Humphrey Bogart, and in fact he admitted to his fellow actors on several occasions that he knew nothing about acting and wanted to keep it that way. But he had what many professional actors only dreamed about, an electrifying screen presence. Whereas his peers spent their entire careers attempting to steal scenes and prevent being upstaged by others, when Errol walked on a set all the other actors receded into insignificance and all attention was automatically riveted on him. His mere presence on the screen was enough to upstage all his fellow actors.

    It was Errol Flynn against Warner Brothers every step of the way. Like no actor previous and no actor since, Errol waged a never-ending battle against his movie studio; in effect it was a duel between titans. On one side was Jack Warner, who had beaten down some of the most famous stars of that era (including Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Bette Davis) and on the other, Errol Flynn, who acknowledged no master.

    Half way though the filming of a movie it was typical of Errol to refuse to continue unless he got a new contract and if he didn’t, he was prepared to walk away from it all at a moment’s notice. Errol would curse out his directors, particularly Michael Curtz, on the set in such foul language that his frequent co-star, Olivia de Havilland, would run to her dressing room in fright, with tears streaming from her eyes and covering her ears with her hands.

    There will never be another actor like Errol Flynn. He strode across the movie screen like the colossus he was and between Captain Blood (1935) and They Died With Their Boots On (1941) he made the screen’s greatest adventure movies of all time, all of which have become classics. In both his personal life and movie career Errol burned the candle at both ends, because, like the boy-wonder Irving Thalberg, he knew that he would die young. However, unlike Thalberg, who took the greatest of care to preserve his short life, Errol lit his afterburner and lived a life most others could only fantasize about. So read on and live the dream remembered that was Errol Flynn, for there will never be another like him.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames R Ashley
    Release dateAug 19, 2013
    ISBN9781301775309
    The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943: Vol VI, Errol Flynn

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      Book preview

      The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943 - James R Ashley

      The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, 1931-1943

      Vol VI: Errol Flynn

      James R Ashley

      Copyright 2013 James R. Ashley

      Smashwords edition, license notes

      Introduction

      Errol Flynn was literally born the star that he became. His entire life was one of a swashbuckling rogue who strode across life’s stage bigger than life and in the process reduced everyone else’s life to insignificance. As thrilling and exciting his swashbuckling movie roles were, his real life adventures frequently surpassed them. His life was the things dreams were made of and he enjoyed every minute of it. Errol was born in the South Seas, a mysterious and romantic place for moviegoers at the time. During his youth, while his contemporaries were getting dull jobs in government or business and settling down to an equally dull family life, Errol was leading the life of a modern day pirate, roaming the high seas in search of booty and lust. At one time or another he was a jewel thief, a black slaver, a confidence man, a plantation manager, a soldier of fortune, and an explorer. He shot it out with headhunters, was on the run from the law, and once was tried for murder. He seduced almost any women he met, be they young or old, plain or beautiful, and if the opportunity offered, relieved them of their valuables. His youth was one of adventure and romance and from one day to the next he neither knew nor especially cared what tomorrow would bring. He lived for the moment and burned the candle at both ends, then burned it in the middle at the same time.

      When Errol got to Hollywood he became an immediate success and zoomed right to the top, all in one stunning leap. He was everything men and women believed a real man should be: handsome, daring, bold, witty, and romantic. And his fans immediately saw that this was not just an act; Errol was the real deal, and they could not get enough of him. Errol was not a master at his craft like Humphrey Bogart, and in fact he admitted to his fellow actors on several occasions that he knew nothing about acting and wanted to keep it that way. But he had what many professional actors only dreamed about, an electrifying screen presence. Whereas his peers spent their entire careers attempting to steal scenes and prevent being upstaged by others, when Errol walked on a set all the other actors receded into insignificance and all attention was automatically riveted on him. His mere presence on the screen was enough to upstage all his fellow actors.

      It was Errol Flynn against Warner Brothers every step of the way. Like no actor previous and no actor since, Errol waged a never-ending battle against his movie studio; in effect it was a duel between titans. On one side was Jack Warner, who had beaten down some of the most famous stars of that era (including Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Bette Davis) and on the other, Errol Flynn, who acknowledged no master. On the first day Errol met Jack Warner, he demanded $100 for the overcoat that was stolen in Chicago, on his way to the studio, and this before Errol has spent his first day on stage at the Studio. Although Warner would normally have fired any actor on the spot for such effrontery, he immediately made out the check to Errol without comment.

      Half way though the filming of a movie it was typical of Errol to refuse to continue unless he got a new contract and if he didn’t, he was prepared to walk away from it all at a moment’s notice. Errol would curse out his directors, particularly Michael Curtz, on the set in such foul language that his frequent co-star, Olivia de Havilland, would run to her dressing room in fright, with tears streaming from her eyes and covering her ears with her hands. Errol’s verbal exchanges became so heated with Jack Warner that on one occasion Errol told his secretary that he was coming right over to settle the matter with his fists. Warner, of course, had the good sense to run off just before Errol arrived, knowing that if he stayed there was every chance that he would have gotten the beating of his life at Errol’s hands.

      There will never be another actor like Errol Flynn. He strode across the movie screen like the colossus he was and between Captain Blood (1935) and They Died With Their Boots On (1941) he made the screen’s greatest adventure movies of all time, all of which have become classics. In both his personal life and movie career Errol burned the candle at both ends, because, like the boy-wonder Irving Thalberg, he knew that he would die young. However, unlike Thalberg, who took the greatest of care to preserve his short life, Errol lit his afterburner and lived a life most others could only fantasize about. So read on and live the dream remembered that was Errol Flynn, for there will never be another like him.

      The Early Years

      Parents Errol was born only 5 months after his parent’s marriage, making it almost a certainty that his father, Theodore, was forced into marrying the underage, 16-year-old Lily Marelle Young. Theodore was a professor of Biology at the University of Tasmania in Hobart and as he was frequently gone on various expeditions in pursuit of marine specimens, Errol was largely neglected by him. Lily was so vain about her looks that she refused to breast-feed Errol, in order that her breasts not be ruined. This meant that Errol was fed un-pasteurized milk as an infant, which resulted in him experiencing bouts of undulant fever throughout his life.

      Errol’s mother either ignored him or when she did not, beat him without mercy. Before long their attitudes towards each other had hardened, she claiming that Errol was a nasty little boy, and he later referring to his mother as the cunt and making it clear to everyone that he could not stand her. Lily frequently went to Sydney, but always without Errol, who was usually left in the care of neighbors. In Theodore’s absence, Lily had an open door for any man who cared to enter it. This undoubtedly left Errol with a casual indifference to women and sex, which he was to carry with him throughout the rest of his life.

      Professor Flynn’s career was certainly growing apace. Not only had he been a leading don at the University of Tasmania, but his knowledge of marine biology had been recognized by his government, appointing him Royal Commissioner of Tasmanian Fisheries. In 1931 the Flynn’s sailed for Ireland, where Theodore had been offered the Biology Chair at Queen’s University, Belfast.

      Growing Up Errol’s childhood was a quick and steady progression through adventure and sex, which were to characterize the rest of his life. A the age of 3 he was already a strong swimmer, who was frequently punished for straying too far away from shore. At the age of 5 he was caught playing doctors and nurses with a young girl at a church party. At the age of 6 he stole a rowboat and ran away to be a pirate. At the age of 12 Errol lost his virginity.

      Errol accompanied his father to Great Britain, being put in charge of feeding 6 duck-billed platypuses that Theodore was transporting to the London Zoo. Although instructed by his father to only feed the platypuses water-worms, Errol decided to feed them tadpoles, instead. However, since they were allergic to tadpoles, 2 of the platypuses died, and Errol was confined to his cabin by his father for the remainder of the voyage.

      A boyhood friend of Errol’s named Thompson introduced him to the Razor gang, which was known for slashing their robbery victims across the face in the form of a cross. Their weapons were easily and cheaply made by inserting a razor blade into a piece of cork. Errol hung out with the gang until one day when his friend Thompson was accused of squealing and was found dead in the gutter with his throat cut and xs slashed on both cheeks. Errol then ran off and hid into a nearby cave occupied by some bums, in an attempt to escape a similar fate. At this point Errol was on his own, his father being way on some marine expedition and his mother being in Paris. Errol stuffed newspaper into his pant-legs in an attempt to keep warm and one day after reading a newspaper story about a gold strike in New Guinea, decided to go there in an attempt to get rich.

      Education Errol approached his education largely with indifference, as he thought

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