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Archive for the ‘Behind the Scenes’ Category

Project Liberty – Protecting a Flynn-Related Theater

14 Oct

In the 75th Anniverary Year of Desperate Journey and it’s World Premier in Libertyville, Illinois

High school students lead effort to protect Liberty Theater

Americans of all walks of life were banded together to support the war effort, and Hollywood celebrities were no exception. This was the reason that on September 3, 1942, famed actor James Cagney, known for his energetic performances, and deadpan comic timing, visited Libertyville as part of an effort to sell war bonds. Drawing a crowd of some 4,000 at Cook Park (according to the 194o census the population of Libertyville was 3,930) Cagney gave a speech about the virtues of supporting the war effort by buying war bonds. It must have been a very inspiring speech since by the time he left the steps of the Cook Memorial Library, which was at the time located in Cook House, the town had pledged nearly $111,000.

As a reward for the town’s patriotism, Liberty was chosen to be the location of the world premiere of “Desperate Journey”, a film about a group of downed Allied airmen making their way out of Nazi Germany staring Errol Flynn and (Future President) Ronald Reagan. As part of the ceremonies, then Illinois Governor Dwight H. Green drove a horse-drawn carriage, loaned to him by publishing magnate John F. Cuneo, up Milwaukee Avenue.

— Tim

 
3 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Co-Stars, Film Anniversaries, Films, Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, Movie Trailers, New Articles, Special Events

 

Flynn Falls in and forJamaica

18 Sep

A Series Look at the History of Errol’s Landfall On and Falling In Love with Jamaica:

— Tim

 
19 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, EF in Jamaica, Errol Flynn's Jamaica, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, Newspaper & Headlines, Ships & the Sea, Travels, Zaca

 

This Sunday Morning

17 Sep

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2017

A fascinating behind-the-scenes bio of Warner Brothers’ songwriter, Moe Jerome.

From Tin Pan Alley to Tinseltown, from “A Daughter’s Prayer at Twilight” to “Some Sunday Morning”.

www.thedailybeast.com…

“At Warner Bros. from 1929 to 1949, he wrote, not for the masses, but for a film’s producer who wanted a song for a comedy or a western, or a drama or a musical. Take, for example the 1945 film San Antonio, starring Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith. He and his lyricist partner, Ted Koehler, quickly created a lovely ballad called “Some Sunday Morning.”

“The film was an instant hit. So was “Some Sunday Morning.” It was Flynn and Smith’s romantic theme song. Every time the two appeared on screen, the melody played in the background, courtesy of the film’s composer, Max Steiner. Smith sang it in a large production number set in the local saloon.”

“As early as January 5, 1946, the song made Billboard’s “Honor Roll of Hits,” a list denoting America’s top tunes. It charted at Number 9. Sales of sheet music were also excellent: for 14 weeks, the song was in the top five. And early in 1946, the song was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song.”

Some Sunday Morning”

What initially brought Jerome great fame and success, however, was “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight”, a song he wrote during World War I – once contemporaneously called “the greatest constructed song ever published.”

“Moe had high hopes for a particular melody he wrote, a kind of lullaby he often hummed when he put his young son to sleep. But he wanted this song to be a statement about the cost of the war, what it did to those left behind.”

“Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (For My Daddy Over There)”

— Tim

 
No Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Film Clips, Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, New Articles

 

Go Get ‘Em, Livvie!

14 Sep

We’re in your corner!

The Feud Over Feud is Not Over: Livvie Scores an Early Knock Down!m.economictimes.com…

— Tim

 
9 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Co-Stars, Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, New Articles

 

A Lone Wolf Quiz

13 Sep
    Which of the following did Errol refer to as “a lone wolf”?

    Doris Duke

    Ralph Bellamy

    John Garfield

    Warren William

    Louis Hayworth

    Hermann Erben

    Freddie McEvoy

    King Farouk

    Orson Welles

    Fidel Castro

    Howard Hughes

    Rex Long-Innes

    Barbara Stanwyck

    Talullah Bankhead

    Generalisimo Francisco Franco

    — Tim

     
13 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Main Page

 

“Bosum Buddies”

13 Sep

Flynn & Livvie, Stan & George

See the new article and video for details:

comicbook.com…

— Tim

 
No Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Flynn and..., Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, New Articles

 

“Blown Off Course”

10 Sep

Legend has it Errol was “blown off course” by a hurricane in 1946, causing him to dock The Zaca in Jamaica, leading him to discover and soon move to Port Antonio. If this is true, which hurricane was it? Officially, per the charts below, there were seven Atlantic Ocean hurricanes in ’46. By my calculations, it appears No. 7 would have been most likely. Earlier that year, during all the other official hurricanes that could have forced Errol into Jamaica (except possibly “extratropical” No. 6), it appears to me that Zaca was exclusively in the Pacific – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexican islands & waters (filming Cruise of The Zaca), Acapulco (filming Lady from Shanghai), et al. Anyone out there know for sure? If any of this is not accurate, please let us all know!

Here’s a Jamaican-written history:

“1946: Actor Errol Flynn’s schooner Zaca docks in Kingston for repairs, Flynn discovers Port Antonio and then sails there, beginning his lifelong love affair with the area and reviving Porty as a secluded destination for the rich and famous.

Christopher Columbus arrived in Jamaica in 1494 and claimed it for Spain. He liked the island so much he returned four times. In 1655 the British took control, turning it into a colony. It was Errol Flynn, however, who really turned the international spotlight toward Port Antonio. The swashbuckling actor was a social swashbuckler in real life, and to this day the people of Porty love to tell tales about Flynn – many of them taller than the Blue Mountains.

No doubt, the hard-living, high-sporting Flynn enjoyed women, drinking, gambling, sailing, fishing and being a prankster. He was dead serious, however, about his love of Port Antonio and its prospects. Flynn’s very presence in Port Antonio in the 1950s helped attract celebrities and international attention.”

— Tim

 
4 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, Ships & the Sea, Travels, Zaca

 

Crews of The Zaca

05 Sep

I think it would be great to collect and publish names of Zaca crew members since the days of the legendary schooner’s first launch in Sausalito nearly ninety years ago.

It’s been reported that Templeton Crocker’s Zaca had up to eighteen crew members, including on his circumnavigation of the world, and his legendary scientific expeditions. This included his personal valet, a doctor, and a photographer. From photos, it appears the Navy appears to have had that amount or even more crew.

The number of crew on Zaca when Errol sailed her appears to have varied.

Nail polish millionaire, Freddie Tinsley, certainly must have had some crew at times, mostly only a skeletal crew for dockside entertainment. It’s unclear, however, how often he actually sailed The Zaca.

I am not certain if Joseph Rosenberg, Bernard Voisin or Phillip Coussins ever actually sailed Zaca.

Today’s Zaca – majestically restored and cared for by its current owner, Robert Memmo – has been said to day cruise out of Monaco with as few as four in its crew.

For the historical record, can anyone help name members of these various crews?
(Ahoy San Francisco Bay Area Marine Historians, Wallace Berry, WWII Navy Alumni Associations, Port Antonians, Bonny Cother, and Palma de Majorcans!!!)

1929 – 1942 – Templeton Crocker, San Francisco
1942 – 1945 – U.S. Navy – renamed “USS Zaca” “IX-73”, San Francisco
1945 – 1945 – War Shipping Administration
1945 – 1946 – Joseph Rosenberg, San Francisco
1946 – 1959 – Errol Flynn, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Jamaica, Mediterranean
1959 – 1965 – Freddie Tinsley, Palma de Mallorca to Villefranche Su Mer
1965 – 1990 – Bernard Voisin, Villefranche Su Mer
1990 – 1990 – Phillip Coussins, Villafranche Su Mer
1990 – 2017 – Robert Memmo, Monaco

LE “ZACA” DANS LE PORT DE FONTVIEILLE, MONACO.

Some of the crews can be seen in the videos below:

— Tim

 
10 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Documentaries, Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, Ships & the Sea, Travels, Zaca

 

In the Words of Wallis

17 Aug

A Salute to Elvis on the Fortieth Anniversary of His Passing.

Hal Wallis had seen one of Elvis Presley’s appearances on the Dorsey Brothers Show, and before the performance was even over, he was making calls, trying to get Presley to come to Hollywood for a screen test. Wallis remembers his first impressions of Presley in his autobiography Starmaker:

“A test was necessary to determine if Elvis could act. I selected a scene for him to do with that very fine actor Frank Faylen. Elvis would play a young man just starting out in life and Faylen would play his father, holding him back. It was a difficult dramatic scene for an amateur. But I had to be sure. When I ran the test I felt the same thrill I experienced when I first saw Errol Flynn on the screen. Elvis, in a very different, modern way, had exactly the same power, virility, and sex drive. The camera caressed him.”

— Tim

 
36 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Flynn and..., Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim

 

“The Leonardo of Leather”

24 Jul

He made Errol’s Robin Hood leather boots, and lent his horse Don to Errol for “Boots”. He was Bob Brown. Norman Rockwell declared him “The Leonardo of Leather”.

“Bob Brown’s first job was to create the tunic, belt, shoes and cap for Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood. Other famous owners of Bob’s work are John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Lash Larue, Sunset Carson, Hopalong Cassidy, Tex Williams and many many more. There is a story saying that Bob Brown was the one who taught John Wayne his famous walk.”

californiabountiful.com…

m.newsok.com…

— Tim

 
7 Comments

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Flynn and..., Flynn-related, Gentleman Tim, Main Page, Newspaper & Headlines

 
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