The Errol Flynn Blog

I have just read the outstanding biography “Gia Scala: The First Gia”, as told by her younger sister Tina Scala to author Sterling Saint James. This is a compelling, haunting, page-turning book with many shocking revelations of behind-the-scenes Hollywood, which was already in decadent decline. Gia Scala quickly became a top film star and co-starred in major studio productions opposite Robert Mitchum, Glenn Ford, Gregory Peck, George Sanders, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, Rock Hudson, Richard Widmark, and even Doris Day.  So why did she suddenly drop out at the box office peak of her career?  The death of this accomplished dramatic actress in 1972 at age 38and still a ravishing beauty,  was labeled by the film industry and law enforcement as a ‘suicide’. However just like the death of George Reeves it was anything but.  Yes Gia Scala co-starred with Errol Flynn in the under-rate ‘film noir’ “The Big Boodle” (1957) and the authors tell a surprisingly wonderful story about Errol Flynn, who came to Gia’s and Tina’s rescue when they needed a guardian angel.

— Ralph Schiller