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Deep Sea Fishing Puzzler? Errol Flynn, or Howard Hill?

26 Oct

The Mail Bag brings this puzzler???

This picture, and a few others, have been linked to the 11-minute film, Deep Sea Fishing, with dates of the release of this short subject, anywhere from 1946 to 1954. There are supposedly some newspaper ads for the picture that listed, “starring Howard Hill,” not Errol Flynn.

Is there any information on the actual film, showing a correct year?  How about a date and place of it’s showing?

I leave this you Flynn Detectives out there …

— David DeWitt

 
3 Comments

Posted in Mail Bag, Ships & the Sea, Sirocco

 

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  1. Gentleman Tim

    October 27, 2019 at 11:09 pm

    Hi David. A quizzical puzzler indeed. I don’t know with certainty, and I’ll keep searching, but here are some possible explanations:

    1. This film is actually comprised of film from two trips on the Zaca, one in or about 1946 and one in or about ’49 possibly.

    2. Though Errol is obviously in the film(s), he was not mentioned in the narration because of contract prohibitions by Warner Brothers, preventing Errol’s name from being used.

    3. However, by 1952, when the film was first released publicly (?), Errol apparently decided to include his name in the written opening credits.

    4. One clue of when (part of) this film was shot may exist from about 8:05 to 8:15, during which it appears it MAY be (an uncredited) Tyrone Power fishing with Howard Hill. Power was in Mexico, including at times in Acapulco, filming Captain from Castile, between November 1946, and April 1947. So, if that is Tyrone Power, it’s a good chance filming took place while he was filming Captain from Castile in late ’46 or early ’47. Of course, it’s only conjecture as to whether that is Tyrone Power, or not.

     

  2. David DeWitt

    October 28, 2019 at 2:58 pm

    My Mail Bag correspondent who prefers to use the name Onenaimous, sends this:

    I am attaching, what I believe to be the first exposure of Deep Sea Fishing. It took me a little

    while to track it down, but here it is.

    Attached is the television log for June 8, 1952 in the Philadelphia Inquirer, along with a

    blow-up of the 8:00 p.m. show featuring the Errol Flynn film. This seems to be the first actual

    showing of Deep Sea Fishing. If you recall the film was originally made in 16mm which is most

    likely what was on the TV show. To date, there appear to be no movie ads for this short subject.

    It is also remotely possible that this film appeared on a 15-minute television show titled
    Deep Sea Fishing over Los Angeles television station KLAC – 6, in L.A. on Sunday nights from
    7:15 to 7:30 The program ran from April 22nd to Sept. 16th, 1951…but there is no definitive date.

    I hope this helps.

     

  3. Gentleman Tim

    October 28, 2019 at 9:17 pm

    It was reported out of New York on June 21, 1952 (and subsequently in Billboard on June 28) that the Sterling Television Company had acquired the rights of seven film shorts from the Fortuna Film Corporation for presentation on television. These shorts included “Deep Sea Fishing with Errol Flynn” and “Archery with Howard Hill”.

    I suspect “Archery with Howard Hill” was actually “Cavalcade of Archery with Howard Hill: World’s Greatest Archer”, presented here by Rudy Behlmer: