While for years everyone has been aware of the cameos that Alfred Hitchcock made in his own films, it has only just come to light that the puckish director had a penchant for sneaking into other people's films as well. Here he is crashing CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935), directed by an unwitting Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn!
— David DeWitt
Errol owned the famous Titchfield Hotel in Jamaica and lived in a small house on Navy Island (which he also owned) opposite the hotel. He had a rowboat with which to row over to the hotel to have breakfast, visit the bar or sit around the pool…
— David DeWitt
Errol Flynn with Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes” fame.
I sent Wallace a print of this photo and wrote to him many times over the years but he never responded.
— Shamrock
Hello fellow Olympiads!
Here's a candid from “The Sword of Villon” that Rick Dodd sent to me in his Christmas card many years ago. Enjoy!
— Shamrock
From Sunday Afternoon:
Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn
Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn remains one of the greatest matinee idols ever produced by the Hollywood machine. Discovered in 1935 at the age of 26 by studio boss Jack Warner for the role of Captain Blood, Flynn's gorgeous good looks and swashbuckling roles have ensured his status forever as one of Hollywood's most enduring icons.
His short and flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, lovers and excess was largely played out in front of the cameras – either starring in the movies which were to make him extremely rich and very famous, or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines.
But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known – his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his own documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's revolution in Cuba both of which he covered as a journalist on assignment for Hearst newspapers.
Much of this part of Flynn's life has been buried under the salacious (and not entirely unfounded) stories and unrelenting gossip which eventually broke his heart and, despite his brashness and bravado, finally killed him. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 and yet the myths live on.
Tasmanian Devil: the Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn will take a look at the fascinating life and career of Flynn, the man beyond the film star… 'the good-looking bad boy from Hobart'.
The ABC was the first to kick-start this project, supporting it at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC 2005) and Hot Docs in Canada, the two international forums where it found its finance. The FFC came on board at their last meeting and this film is now in go-mode.
Duration 1 x 55 minutes
Director Simon Nasht
Producer Sharyn Prentice
Writer Robert de Young
EP Amanda Duthie
Now complete, this docu has been shown on BBC4 and in Europe, as well. Look for a more detailed Review here soon!
Btw, our Author's Karl, Jack, Bri, Ralph, Steve and Genene and David are also in the credits of this nicely done docu…
— David DeWitt
From Delvin Irwin's Blog, “The Lighter Side of Life” published online at the Clarion Ledger:
Directing duo are 'Sensational'
Glatzer, Westmoreland sign TV deal
By Michael Fleming
Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (“Quinceanera”) have made a deal with HBO Films to write and direct “Sensational,” a drama that chronicles a scandalous affair Errol Flynn had with a 15-year-old girl. Glatzer and Westmoreland have also made a deal to turn “Quinceanera” into a TV series for the ABC Family Channel. They will direct, write and produce a series inspired by the film, a story of coming of age and culture clash in L.A.'s Echo Park.
“Sensational” tells the story of Flynn's dalliance with Beverly Aadland, a girl who was being pushed into a movie career by her mother, a wannabe actress whose aspirations were cut short after an accident. After Flynn collapsed and died at a party, the affair became a tabloid staple, and the girl's mother found herself on trial for child abuse.
Elysa Koplovitz is producing “Sensational.”
Look for Delvin Irwin in a small role in the film!
— David DeWitt
Flynn with Faye Emerson outside the Flynn-Decker Art Gallery. Michael Curtiz has his back to the camera. I don't know who the other two guys are. The painting (photograph?) between Flynn and Emerson is allegedly John Decker's portrait of Mrs. Decker but I have no way of verifying that info. The unguarded look on Flynn's face tells a story of its own. His expression shows pure affection.
— Shamrock
Flynn with Nora at the premier of Silver River, downtown Hollywood. I don't remember which theater. This is the type of still that makes collecting so much fun. Candid photographs like this are a window in time. Look at the faces in the crowd – charming. It all makes me wish I had been there. And is that little girl Deirdre?
— Shamrock
