The Errol Flynn Blog

Here is a suggestion for a Flynn and Son double feature. Now, while one obvious choice is “Captain Blood” and “The Son of Captain Blood”, this pairing is more interesting, I believe, because both lead characters have a major decision of conscience.

In “Uncertain Glory” (which celebrates the 70^th anniversary of its premiere this month), Errol plays what might be termed an anti-hero, in that his character is a career criminal and convicted murderer set to be executed at the film’s beginning. The film was the first production of his then, newly formed production company, Thompson Productions and was chosen by Errol as a departure from his usual heroic roles.  The character, Jean Picard (no relation to Jean-Luc Picard of “Star Trek—The Next Generation”, I think), is about to face the quillotine, when during an Allied bombing raid on Occupied France, the prison where the execution is to take place is hit. Picard then makes his escape, but is soon recaptured by Inspector Bonet, the Surete inspector responsible for Picard’s original arrest, played by American Oscar winning actor, Paul Lukas. En route to Paris, they are forced to make a detour due to the bombing of a bridge, committed by a saboteur that took out a Nazi transport train. The Nazis in retaliation have taken 100 hostages from neighboring French villages and will execute them if the saboteur is not turned over to them. Picard implores Bonet to let him surrender himself as the saboteur as he would rather be killed by a firing squad (the means of execution of the Gestapo), then face the quillotine once again. Bonet wanting to help the hostages agrees to Picard’s plan, secure in the knowledge that if Picard uses this as a device to escape he will meet with failure.  (Or so he thinks!) While in a village, as they go over their plan, Bonet announces to his superiors that Jean Picard is dead; shot by him trying to escape. They also come across the real saboteur who provides them with Intel only he would know. At the same time Picard romances an innocent girl of the village played by the beautiful Jean Sullivan.  Now that he is officially dead and has a woman he can begin a new life with, and Bonet has taken ill, will he still trade places with the real saboteur or seize this chance to escape?

Errol gives one of his better performances as a villainous man who thinks only of himself. Unfortunately critics and audiences of the day did not agree. The film did okay at the box office, but did not do the business he hoped for. Flynn biographer, Thomas McNulty says  this, of Errol’s performance “perhaps one of the best of his career”. I agree. The scenes between Errol and Lukas definitely make the film worthwhile. Two of his other co-stars of note in this film are: Sheldon Leonard who plays Flynn’s best friend who ultimately betrays him over a girl, later became a successful American television producer of such shows like “Make Room for Daddy” and “I Spy” and “the girl”, Louise, played by the beautiful Faye Emerson, would have her own show in the 1950s.

Released in the U.S. in 1964, twenty years after “Uncertain Glory” and celebrating its own 50^th anniversary release this year is “Stop Train 349”, a West German/French/Italian co-production. The film is called by Flynn biographer, Jeffrey Meyer, Sean’s “best film” and Sean in interviews said he was most proud of doing this film.

Loosely based on real events, the film starred American Oscar winning actor, Jose Ferrer and details the plight of refugees trying to cross “the Berlin wall”, one in particular who tries to use a train run by the U.S. military, as an escape vehicle.

The film starts with a prologue, detailing (for those unfamiliar with U.S. President Kennedy’s “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” speech) the building of the Berlin Wall, all set to strains of a song titled, “Goodbye, Berlin, Auf weidersehen”! After this introductory scene, the audience is introduced to Jose Ferrer’s character, an “ugly American” type reporter who makes his way onto the train and butts heads with the train’s military commander, a young lieutenant played by Flynn. The train is held at Marienborn station (the border between East and West Berlin) because the Communist officials at the station believe an East Berlin citizen is illegally on board. What follows is a political standoff between the Americans on the train and the Russians and Germans at the station. The film shot in black & white has a stark realism. Sean’s performance as a good “Joe” caught in the middle of a difficult situation is slightly uneven, but basically effective.

The film was initially released in West Germany in 1963 as “Verspatung in Marienborn” and released in the U.S. by Allied Artists as “Stop Train 349” in 1964. It won the best “youth” film award at the 1963 Berlin International Film Festival. In the U.S. while Jose Ferrer was the nominal star, Sean was still listed as “the son of Errol Flynn” in all advertising for the movie. Allied Artists’ brazen exploitation of Sean’s parentage aside, the movie only did fair box office in the U.S.

In their respective films, the Flynns have difficult decisions to make. Both got mixed reviews for their performances. But I feel this makes an interesting double bill. Both are a product of their time. See for yourself. “Uncertain Glory” is part of the TCM Spotlight collection: the Errol Flynn Adventures DVD collection and can be seen occasionally on the TCM cable channel. Stop Train 349” is also available on DVD from different on-line dealers such as Amazon.com… and Movies Unlimited, as well as can be seen on the SeanFlynnCambodia YouTube channel.—A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN

April 6, 1970, Errol’s only legitimate son went missing. He was captured and eventually killed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. RIP–Sean L. Flynn.–A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN

Today 75 years ago Errol Flynn’s “Dodge City” held its world premiere in Dodge City, Kansas. Here Errol proved that he was just as good with a six-shooter as he was with a sword. A classic and influential western, it is the quintessential story of a man cleaning up a town. To explain how Flynn can be in a western, Alan Hale has the best line. After explaining Flynn has been every where, done almost everything, Hale muses that Flynn is either “the most traveling man.. or else he is the biggest liar!”–A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN

Back in 1961 when Sean Leslie Flynn embarked on his cinematic career, he joked that after he did “The Son of Captain Blood” he would do the “son of Zorro”. Not quite, but the producer of “TSOCB”, Harry Joe Brown  did sign Sean up to do “Il Segno di Zorro” (translation: “The Sign of Zorro”). In this film (which had its initial European release in 1963) Sean got to display his athletic skills and prowess at fencing and horsemanship and he did a better acting job here than in his freshman outing. In my article, “The Forgotten Films of Sean Flynn” I stated (at least in my opinion) that Sean seemed to be channeling Errol and his performance was enjoyable to watch. As a matter of fact some of his dueling scenes could rival similar scenes in Errol’s “The Prince and the Pauper”.   The film was popular throughout Europe and was released in most countries as a Zorro film. But because of copyright issues (Disney had released a film titled, “The Sign of Zorro” in the US in 1960), any reference to Zorro was excised from the English language print. (There weren’t many, as the film only used the Zorro motif as a symbol (using “the sign of Zorro”)  and the character isn’t even called Zorro throughout its run.) Thus the film under the title, “Duel at the Rio Grande” was released in 1964 in Great Britain on a double bill with a remake of Maria Montez’s film “The Siren of Atlantis”. (This time under the title of “The Lost Kingdom”).  The film received little (if any) theatrical release in the US due to the copyright issue and was sold to television syndication in 1968 where it played in some markets as time filler in the afternoon and late nights before disappearing. When the video boom of the eighties took off, the film was released on home video in Finland, where it was released with Finnish subtitles. As edited, “Duel at the Rio Grande” is almost a completely different film from “Il Segno di Zorro”. “Duel at the Rio Grande” like most of Sean’s films is not available in the US on legitimate home video. (Il Segno di Zorro” has been released in German, French and Spanish.) You can catch it on YouTube as “The Sign of Zorro” and judge for yourself.–A. R.

[Sean’s costume in the movie remarkably resembles the cover illustration from the 1958 paperback edition of the “Mark of Zorro”. (see below)

— ILIKEFLYNN

Remembering Sean on what would have been his 72nd birthday!–A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN

Seventy-five years ago today, “The Adventures of Robin Hood” made its premiere and the rest is history!–A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN

Today 43 years ago, Sean Flynn, son of Errol along with his friend and fellow combat photojournalist Dana Stone while covering the war in Vietnam rode their bikes along a road in Cambodia, were captured by factions of the NVA and Khmer Rouge and were never heard from again. While their remains have never been found there still remains hope that someday there will be a definite answer to the question, “whatever happened to Sean Flynn?”–A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN

While watching TCM– North America–a USA cable channel and their tribute to Tyrone Power (they had already paid tribute to Mr. Flynn on the anniversary of his birth) I realized while watching “The Sun Also Rises” that it has been 55 years since Errol gave one of his career defining performances as “Mike Campbell”. So here’s to Errol Flynn’s “Mike Campbell”. Bung Ho, old boy!–A. R.

— ILIKEFLYNN