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Mail Bag! Errol, Audie and the Bird Man!

05 Jul

Received a great email from Audie in Portugal who has a question and an interesting story about how Errol reaches so many people even today!

This photo of Fishing Pier is courtesy of TripAdvisor. Photo by Audie!

I read MWWW in the late 70’s/early 80’s in paperback edition, borrowed from a friend and was hooked!

It wasn’t until much later while at a St. Simons Island, GA, USA library I found a book about his son and himself and was hooked all over again.

My future (and now) husband (living as expats in Portugal) attended a Flynn celebration in St Augustine, Florida when Rory was supposed to be there at a “Sea Hawk” film in 2015.

Even tho she was not there, my future husband and myself enjoyed the festivities. We will always remember that time as “young” oldsters.

I have followed (lurked) this blog since a bit before then and have collected many books about ELTF.

My all time wish about MWWW’s is to know about the first edition copy, printed in England in which “Tiger Lil’s” comments were deleted for the USA edition. If anyone knows, I would be very much interested in what she had to say about him.

Does anyone know?

I have several first edition books about our favorite playboy and also have several first edition books by David Niven, who has several amusing (or not, in David’s case) anecdotes about his Hollywood friend.

From a somewhat long time lurker (only about 4 years, now), I very much like the daily edition of this great blog.

Keep up the good work David!

Warm regards,

Audie

And an addendum:

About giving books to interested Flynn fans, here is another personal Flynn story.

There happens to be a bird loving gentleman who frequents the park next to the pier on St. Simons Island, GA. He arrives in the morning with his lawn chair and several bags of day old bread. Once settled in, he tosses up bread tidbits and watches the starlings (and now sea gulls) play their swoop and grab game in mid air. The amazing thing is that the birds respect him and never leave their “calling cards” anywhere near where he is sitting. They light upon his head and his arm, when extended, for the treat. He can individually identify them and one he calls Niki because of the recognizable white brand on its wing. The locals call him “Bird Man” and he has been the focus of a couple of news worthy articles.

The first time I met him, somehow within the first 10 minutes of conversation settled on Flynn. Not a usual topic for a first meeting. He told me that his middle name was Errol and it seems as though he was conceived one night after his parents watched an amorous Flynn movie.

While making plans to visit the Flynn blowout at St. Augustine Florida with my future husband on our first date… I had noticed a duplicate first edition copy of MWWW in my library and gave it to him. He was very grateful and hesitated to take it but after knowing of the duplicate, he accepted the book, smiling.

I didn’t have a chance before we left to let “Bird Man” know that the man I introduced to him (and also this blog) is now my husband and we moved to Portugal a year ago. Maybe he will reading this and I am raising my hand from far away, wishing him well. I will call him by the name he wished his parents had used, “Ian Errol”.

I love this blog and it is the only one I read faithfully every day. Thank you everyone for your contributions.

Audie in PT

— David DeWitt

1 Comment

Posted in Flynn and..., Flynn-related, Mail Bag

Mail Bag! Dead Ringer for Flynn, The Sons of Flynn!

03 Jul

The mailbag brings us a wonderful email from William Russo:

I’ve been reading your stuff I guess for a couple years now. Truly enjoy it. Takes me into a world I truly love. Though it was the world of my parent’s generation, I feel a nostalgia for it I cannot explain. Though I grew up on Flynn’s movies, I did not come to become immersed into his life and personality until late hippie years. One of my best friends then was a guy named Steve Gilbert. He was a dead ringer for Flynn. Amazingly he had gone to Hollywood High, knew and even dated, I think, Rory! I introduced him to “My Wicked, Wicked Ways”. We each had a copy and would quote from it regularly. We both thought of it as kind of a Bible. I started a club; called it “The Sons of Flynn”. I always kept a couple copies of the book and whenever I met someone who reminded me of Flynn in some significant way, I’d give them a copy. There were only about four additional that I deemed worthy. Most recently, a couple years ago, I met a twenty something attractive blonde from South Africa by way of Canada, at a Cannabis farm in Humboldt county. Not only was she into Flynn, but astonishingly, knew that Vivica Linford played the Queen of Spain, in Don Juan ! She wanted a copy of the book (I didn’t have one at the time), and demanded to become a member of the club! Unfortunately, we lost touch before she could be initiated. This was never a club in anything more than a name, and in my own imagination. One “member” lives in Honolulu, a good look-a- like, the most like Flynn athletically, an ex Army Ranger. Another lives in western Massachusetts. The other is the guy who owned the cannabis farm; eerily reminiscent of the Robin Hood persona. As for Steve, sadly he died about the same age as Erroll, from drug and alcohol abuse. I think Rory’s book, the Baron of Mulhollandis a treasure. It’s like being there, feeling it all. I am going to be traveling in Europe soon (doing some sword fighting!) and living my own version of The Sun Also Rises. Though most of my reading material will on kindle on my tablet, I will be taking only one book, my original paperback copy of My Wicked, Wicked Ways.

Cisco Bill

Thanks so much for the note! and what a read MWWW’s is … I envy anybody who is reading it for the first time, and understand why we keep going back it! Here is the first paperback I read of it:

And two others I read later on:

— David DeWitt

2 Comments

Posted in Author Errol Flynn, Books about Flynn, Collectibles, Errol Flynn Book Covers, Mail Bag

Mail Bag! Errol Flynn and Olas Atlas!

01 Feb

Author Sue Carnes writes to us:

I am right about now writing the part of my new book about the Belmar Hotel that includes stories about Errol Flynn. He was one of the many exciting individuals who spent time on the Bay of High Waves (Olas Altas) in Mazatlan. His special interest was the Belmar where he kept a room, but also a certain establishment called the Stratosphere on Ice Box Hill. That is the hill in the old photograph, and the Belmar is right in the middle of the Bay of High Waves pictured there a little to the right between the trees. Errol’s yacht the Sirocco was often anchored right out front as he made his way to Mazatlan or further South to Acapulco. Errol’s room was No. 35 which could never be rented later. No one could stay there. The room was remodeled and renumbered. Any insight to any of this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sue Carnes

Thanks, Sue!

Author Sue Carnes

— David DeWitt

1 Comment

Posted in Books about Flynn, Flynn and..., Flynn-related, Mail Bag, Main Page, Requests, Sirocco, The Early Errol, Travels

Mail Bag! Errol Flynn: It’s in the Bag?

28 Jan

Tis a bit of a puzzle, as always, with dear ol’ Errol! Shari Lee and her husband Rob write to us:

Hello,

While researching Mr. Flynn I ran across your email address. I’m hoping you can provide some guidance. My husband has what we are sure is a piece of Mr. Flynn’s luggage. We are trying to find someone who can authenticate this for us. We do have pictures. Please let me know if you can help!

This piece of luggage has been to many places, it looks like it has been to japan, hawaii. Scandinavia, egypt, switzerland, france, austria, GB, pennsylvania, Ohio, Yellowstone, Argentina, Columbia, Barbados for sure. The franks and stamps are mostly in foreign language and we can’t interpret. The Japanese stamps are cuneiform. The airline stickers are Matson, Western, NPA, and a Scandinavian line that depicts an early seaplane. The luggage piece checks out as period correct. It appears to be colored hide over wood construction with gun metal brass hardware. It has very nice age patina with scuffs and handling wear and is quite nice looking. The amulet inside is fairly large and we believe is solid copper. If any more photos or info is needed let us know.

All I have is my camera on this phone. My husband researched all of the stickers and he is pretty certain they are authentic to the period. Not re-pop’s. It was acquired from an older person who had it in storage for several decades. Prior to that it was used as a stage prop in a folk group.

Here is what we see:

A label that says 1939 National Air Races, Cleveland, OH September 2,3,4
A destination label that says French Line, S.S. Champlain sailed 23 July 1939 destination Hotel – Ritz.

A destination label that says Cunard Line RMS Queen Mary First Class, deck and room A 23 sailing 6-8-1938, New York to South Hampton c/o Lady Julian (?) Windham, London England.

One with his name is Cooks Nile Service, S.S. Delta, along with another one that says Hastings Barbados Marine Hotel Ste. 22 , with a stamp that says Coral Bay-Marine. He stayed at Eastern Exchange Hotel Port Said Egypt per one label.

There are about 26 stickers and 2 postage stamps affixed to the exterior and numerous franks and custom stamps. The travel stickers are both air and sea. This is a carry-on size piece of luggage.

Thanks, Shari

Thank you, Shari & Ron!

Now, can any of you Flynn Detectives match Errol’s travels to this beautiful vintage travel bag?

— David DeWitt

26 Comments

Posted in Collectibles, Flynn and..., Flynn-related, Mail Bag, Main Page, Travels

Mail Bag! Adventures of Robin Hood Mistakes!

21 Dec

The Mail Bag brings us this interesting list of mistakes in Errol’s classic The Adventures of Robin Hood from our fellow Flynnmeister Jan Vander vliet:

Enjoy!

Revealing mistake: When Will Scarlet finds the injured Much in Sherwood Forest about three quarters of the way through the movie, a white vehicle can be seen travelling from right to left in the background.

Revealing mistake: When Robin jumps off the scaffold after being saved from hanging, you can see one of the soldiers spear tips bend under his weight.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Robin is rescued from hanging, watch the shadows on the church in the background. It keeps going in and out of shadow.

Continuity mistake: After winning his fight with Guy of Gisbourne, Robin races to Marian’s door with his badly bent sword in hand. The moment he enters Marian’s chamber, the sword is perfectly straight again.

Continuity mistake: When Robin is competing in the golden arrow archery contest, Marion’s veil alters between being behind her right shoulder to in front of her shoulder, depending on which camera is shooting her.

Continuity mistake: The horse Robin is on when he is exhorting his men to return to Sherwood and the one he is on when he rides over to the right to slash the portcullis rope could be two different horses as their saddle cloths are different colours.

Continuity mistake: In the final swordfight, Basil Rathbone lunges past Errol Flynn, who dodges him and leaps to the floor below. Rathbone continues on dropping his sword at the base of the steps. In the next cut, however, the sword lies between Rathbone and Flynn – a good eight feet away – allowing Robin Hood to pick it up gallantly and offer it back.

Continuity mistake: The scene where Robin is being chased through Sherwood Forest, early on in the film, is supposed to be taking place at night. But, at several times, blue sky can be seen overhead. This was corrected on the DVD.

Continuity mistake: After escaping from hanging, Robin heads for the castle gate. The first time we see it, the portcullis rope Robin later cuts is hanging away from the castle in a nice loop. In the next shot it is hanging vertically, but reverts to being a loop again for the rest of the scene.

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie when Errol Flynn is escaping from within the castle he starts with five arrows in his quiver. He shoots ten, and when he’s finished he still has five left.

Continuity mistake: Robin, in his escape from the scaffold, pauses on his horse before the portcullis and exhorts his men to return to Sherwood. He then rides over to the right, draws a sword from behind him and slashes through the rope which activates the portcullis and rides the rope to the top of the wall. No sword is seen on the horse when he is exhorting his men.

Continuity mistake: When the soldiers have the man tied to some wine barrels, they begin filling a metal jug, but then they throw a wooden mug over his head.

Continuity mistake: In the scene near the beginning when Robin is in the “great hall” — a spear is thrown at his chair. He arises in time to avoid injury, but the spear goes through the back of the chair. However, the next time you see the chair, there is no hole in it.

Continuity mistake: When Robin escapes from hanging, he jumps from the scaffold onto his horse and rides off, all with his hands tied behind his back. When he jumps, just briefly before the shot changes, you can see his hands break the breakaway bindings and grab the horse’s saddle.

Continuity mistake: In the feast in the forest scene which occurs after Robin Hood and his men capture Sir Guy’s entourage, Robin sits next to Marian and offers her a roasted bird. She refuses the bird, but when the camera cuts back to Robin he has a mutton leg. Next the camera goes back to Marian who looks at Robin who now has the bird agaain.

Thanks, Jan!

— David DeWitt

12 Comments

Posted in Films, Flynn-related, Mail Bag

Mail Bag! Crossed Swords Remembered!

14 Dec

Vincenzo Castaldo writes us about his new book on the filming of Errol Flynn’s Crossed Swords circa 1954. You may remember him from a previous post last year. His book is finished and was the center of attention in the village of Lauro at the Lancellotti Castle where the movie was filmed when Vincenzo (who lives in Lauro) held a public showing of the film, and discussion of his book. It was a grand affair attended by all the dignataries of the town. Vincenzo speaks no English but does well with Google Translate:

Crossed Swords – Stories and anecdotes about the Holy Grail by Errol Flynn (Il Papavero).

(Il Papavero is the book’s Italian Publisher. It may also be purchased online, he says.)

The book, the result of a three-year research conducted by the author mainly between Naples and Rome, unveils the gestation and elaboration of “Crossed Swords” (M. Krims, 1954), a compelling and unknown film from ’52 and ’53 made in Cinecittà , at Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples and in the Irpinia villages of Lauro and Marzano with the main interpreters Errol Flynn and Gina Lollobrigida.

The book is divided into four parts. The first offers a historical synthesis of swashbuckling, which found fertile ground first in America and then in Italy since the Thirties, and pays tribute to stars such as Burt Lancaster, Sean Connery, Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp who, in the wake of the mythical Errol Flynn, have made the caste of the hood famous. The second focuses exclusively on the cinematographic work of Milton Krims, revealing the artistic and technical cast, the plot, the places and the various assumptions about how the troupe has landed in Lower Irpinia.

The third part includes a series of stories, stories and very funny anecdotes retrieved by the author, who interviewed the exclusive diva Gina Lollobrigida, Prince Pietro Lancellotti with his sisters Ginevra and Maria Cristina, who met the main interpreters during the realization of the film in the family castle, and several citizens of the time of Lauro who have lived the period of filming or have participated in the film with more or less important roles.

The fourth and last part includes news and various curiosities about the vicissitudes of the company during the period of the film, the journalistic reviews of the major newspapers of the time and those “found” by four great critics of Italian cinema, including the late father of David Gian Luigi Rondi.

Everything is accompanied by scene photos and amateur shots found by the author.

The book uses the preface by Valerio Caprara (well known film historian and journalist) and the afterword by Alessandro Cecchi Paone. A well respected journalist).