May 30, 1951 – The Canberra Times
ERROL FLYNN TO
ENTERTAIN KOREAN TROOPS
HOLLYWOOD – Tuesday.
Jack Benny and Errol Flynn
will head troupe to ‘entertain
soldiers in Japan and Korea,
the Hollywood Co-ordinating-
Committee of the United Services
Organisation announced yesterday’
— Tim
JOHN BARRYMORE SHUFFLED OFF HIS MORTAL COIL – MAY 29, 1942
A GREAT PROFILE OF THE GREAT PROFILE www.tcm.com…
A COCK AND BULL STORY?
According to Raoul Walsh’s autobiography:
“(Raoul Walsh) snatched actor John Barrymore’s barely cold body from the (Pierce Brothers) funeral home and seated it on Errol Flynn’s sofa. ”Errol came in (from an intense session at the Cock and Bull), let out a piercing scream, and ran out of the house.” From behind an oleander bush, Flynn yelled at Walsh, ”Get him out of the house, you crazy Irish bastard, before I have a heart attack!””
Walsh repeated the story in the 1973 documentary “The Men Who Made the Movies”.
Errol has an essentially equivalent account in My Wicked, Wicked Ways.
The Pierce Brothers Mortuary
(Photo taken at the wake of Thelma Todd)
The (original) Cock and Bull on the Sunset Strip:
Is this story true? Or, is it just cock and bull? …. Plus, was it an inspiration for Weekend at Bernie’s?
— Tim
“OPENING NIGHT FILM & PARTY (IN LIKE FLYNN) 29 June 6.30pm”
@ The Royal Open Air Theater, in Winton, Queensland, Australia
The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival in Winton, central-west Queensland, from June 29-July 7.
“The main venue is the Royal Open Air Theatre (pictured), celebrating its 100th birthday and the pride of a town that claims Waltzing Matilda and Qantas among its creations.”
“Kicking off the program will be In Like Flynn, a new film by Russell Mulcahy (Razorback, Highlander) about Errol Flynn’s adventures in Australia before he left for Hollywood in the 1930s and became a movie swashbuckler. Thomas Cocquerel stars as Flynn.”
“The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival, Winton, Queensland.
9 days / 30 films / A zillion stars”
“Winton’s Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival is a film festival like no other. It celebrates Australian film and culture under the stars of Winton in Outback Queensland. The Festival combines an incomparable program of classic and contemporary Australian films with special events, conversations and masterclasses with film makers, directors, actors and actresses, kids club and special events.
Join the stars on the red carpet for the Opening Night, or tour to the sites where major feature films were made.”
— Tim
www-independent-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org…
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
“Has there ever been a movie so perfectly cast and executed with so much conviction, professionalism, and joie de vivre? Shot in ravishing Technicolor, with magnificently authentic sets, The Adventures of Robin Hood encapsulates the magic of cinema, bringing 12th-century England to Hollywood with sunny California glades standing in for Sherwood Forest in a wonderful blend of action, drama, romance and humour that has rarely been bettered.
Errol Flynn is at the peak of his roguish charm as the silver screen’s greatest Robin Hood and is once more paired with Olivia de Havilland as an impossibly beautiful Maid Marian.
Claude Rains purrs insidiously as Prince John, and Basil Rathbone as his sidekick is fated yet again to fall to the hero in the wonderfully choreographed and brilliantly executed swordfight with Flynn on the castle staircase, their shadows dancing on the walls – and yes, that is Roy Rogers’ horse Trigger in an early supporting role as Maid Marian’s mount.
A winner of three Oscars, including one for the majestic score from Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which sets the tone of the film from the rousing opening fanfare and then vividly illustrates every thrust and parry of Flynn’s sword, every arrow thudding into its target, every winsome glance from de Havilland.
The Adventures of Robin Hood at 80 years old, remains the perfect example of Hollywood’s supreme artistry in the days of the much maligned studio system, not just the best of its kind, but one of the greatest films ever made.”
— Tim
Questions are raised by the extract below from “Gloria Swanson: Ready for Her Closeup” regarding a possible affair between Lili and the Marquis Henri de la Felaise (James Henry Le Bailly de La Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye) Gloria Swanson’s husband:
Reports are that the Marquis was homesick for France and may have been looking for a French speaking mistress and wife. Perhaps that’s why he was interested in Lili. After a few years, he did divorce Gloria and immediately marry (his mistress) Constance Bennett, who, having lived in Paris many years, was fluent in French and all things French. He was quite famous in France, a WWI hero and heir to the Hennessey Brandy fortune.
Photo of Kennedy with the Marquis at Biarritz, France:
www.alamy.com…
So, was it Joe Kennedy who induced Lili to work in Hollywood?
If so, should Joe Kennedy receive any credit for paving the way for Errol to become a Hollywood star, albeit indirectly and unwittingly?
Adding to the intrigue is that Joe Kennedy may have employed Lili in Palm Beach (she lived a very short walking distance from the Kennedy Compound) to care for Lt. JFK after he was injured on PT 109. It would not be a bit surprising to me if Joe tried to get a touch or two of nursing himself from Lili. (I’d be surprised if he had not. Lili was quite a money-hunter, schemer and temptress, and JP could brag that he had Errol Flynn’s girl working under him.
Here’s a photo of WWII Nurse-in-Training Damita, with Myrna Loy:
— Tim
Lili D. was at this location when it caught fire and a bit later exploded. Where was she and who was she with?
Number 2 marks the spot on this old map of Hollywood.
— Tim
Eighty Years Ago Today – May 23, 1938
Errol’s thoughts on LIFE:
Scroll through the issue:
— Tim
