During April of 1939, newspapers throughout the U.S. published a Chesterfield Cigarettes ad featuring Errol and Olivia in their Dodge City costumes. The film’s famous world premier was on April 1, 1939. The ads below were published on April 10 in the Yuma Sun, and April 28 in the Detroit Jewish News.
The Detroit Jewish Chronicle – April 28, 1939
…
— Tim
April 8, 1935
Jimmy Starr
LA Evening Herald Express
Errol Flynn, the new RAVE on the Warner lot, is slated for an important role in Captain Blood starring Robert Donat.
— Tim
April 8, 1944
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
An uncommon lot of “criminals” seem to be doing noble things for France these days—at least, in motion pictures. There was Humphrey Bogart in “Passage to Marseille” and Jean Gabin in “The Impostor.” Now it is Errol Flynn who is abandoning crime for patriotism in “Uncertain Glory,” at the Strand.
In this rather hopped-up Warner picture, which takes place in occupied France, Mr. Flynn plays a man condemned for murder who, in hopes of getting away, offers to surrender himself to the Nazis as a particularly desired saboteur. The offer is grudgingly accepted by Paul Lukas of the French police, who suspects Mr. Flynn’s intentions and keeps a careful watch on him. But when the chance does come for Earnest Erroll to take it on the lam, he does the noble thing bravely. You see, he had meanwhile met a girl. (It is always, or almost always, a girl who inspires Mr. Flynn.)
You may note that our references to characters have been by their own familiar names. It is because this picture is plainly an actor’s vehicle. An air of French actuality is entirely foreign to it. The whole thing is artificial, in structure, mood and atmosphere. But if you accept it on that basis — as a purely theatrical show — it does have some compensations in the entertainment line. The sparring of Mr. Lukas and Mr. Flynn is amusing throughout, mainly because of the performance of Mr. Lukas as an anxious plain-clothes cop. (Mr. Flynn is his boyish self, as usual, and quite remote from a faithful criminal type.) Director Raoul Walsh has keyed it to a subdued, suspenseful pace which is suggestive of explosive tension, even if it never explodes. And Jean Sullivan, who bears a close resemblance to Teresa Wright, is a nice new face in it. However, we casually wonder what values one can hold to when one sees Errol Flynn as a murderous criminal symbolizing the spirit of France.
UNCERTAIN GLORY; screen play by Laszlo Vadnay and Max Brand; from an original story by Joe May and Mr. Vadnay; directed by Raoul Walsh; produced by Robert Buckner for Warner Brothers. At the Strand.
A version of this article appears in print on April 8, 1944 in the National edition with the headline: Errol Flynn Assists the French Underground in Strand Film, ‘Uncertain Glory’
— Tim
Only “slightly wounded” by falling plaster. However, his heroic reputation suffers severe, long-lasting, near-fatal wounds due to fraudulently-false, self-serving reports of Errol’s death by publicity-seeking, back-stabbing, fascist-colloaborating-pawn and psycho-quack-physician, Hermann Erben. As a publicity Erben was the first to report that Errol was killed, which he knew not to be true.
Los Angeles Evening Herald Express – April 5, 1937
LILI DAMITA MAY FLY TO WOUNDED ERROL FLYNN
All Lili Damita is sure of today is that she must get post-haste to the side
of her wounded husband, Errol Flynn — by airplane if possible.
After a night of frantic worry over the fate of the handsome actor-adventurer
as the result of an alarmist telephone call from a London friend saying Flynn
had been killed near Madrid, Miss Damita planned to ask the foreign office for
a special permit to fly to Spain.
The actress poured out her thanks in a torrent of emotional words when she was
informed that latest information said that Flynn had been only slightly wounded
and had left Madrid for Valencia.
(Madrid advisers said Flynn was grazed on the head by a machine gun bullet
when he was visiting the University City front.)
In the meantime Miss Damita made frantic efforts to get in touch with Flynn,
planning to defer her departure until she gets direct word from her husband.
Her only worry as she prepared from Leeds Castle in Kent to the foreign office
here was whether the reported injury to Flynn’s handsome Irish face will mar his
film career.
“Lili Frantically Worried About Errol’s Handsome Irish Face”
— Tim
By Machine Gun Bullets on the Guadalajara Front
New York Daily News: April 5, 1937
* Rumors of his death may have been exaggerated. Initial report of Errol’s death was disseminated by “eye-witness” Hermann Erben.
— Tim
STARS GET WELCOMED FOR FILM PREVIEW
Evening Herald Express
By Jimmy Starr
Dodge City, Kan. April 1 (1939)
For years they have been saying that Hollywood is colossal, but it took the Warner Brothers’ 14-car special train which arrived in Dodge City this morning to prove that moviedom was never colossal until today.
With no strings on a bank account, the party, which includes 35 stellar names, 72 newspapermen and magazine correspondents and cameramen and dozens of studio technicians departed Thursday night from Santa Fe station in Los Angeles and arrived in Dodge City this morning.
A typical Hollywood gathering of several thousand persons were at the station to greet the stars. Radios and loud speakers blared gala tunes. Dozens of luminaries were ushered through wildly gesticulating crowds.
The baggage car of the special train was transformed into a replica of the famous “Gay Lady Saloon” of Dodge City’s wildest and wooliest days, and it was visited by thousands of Dodge City fans.
OLD WEST ATMOSPHERE
The Warner studio had given it an Old West atmosphere with sawdust on the floor, typical signs warning customers against crooked faro dealers and advice to check shooting irons with the bartender. All it needed to complete the picture was a dirty old villain to shoot it up and a tree to hang him on.
Then there was a palace car, but it was not for for the human stars of Hollywood. Instead it housed 16 equine stars to be used in an especially staged rodeo in Dodge City this afternoon as a warm-up for the triple preview of the 2-million dollar Technicolor picture Dodge City tonight. In order to accommodate the terrific influx of visitors from four states it was necessary to engage three theaters, which will run all night, to show the production to the tremendously swollen population.
150,000 THERE
Dodge City, which has a normal population of 13,000 persons, is today entertaining a swarming multitude of 150,000 yelling, restless, staring, snoopy, autograph-hunting, curious, hungry, thirsty, dusty, foot-weary and movie-mad spectators. As a tribute to Jack Warner and the picture, Dodge City citizens took it upon themselves to emulate the founders of their rough and ready village by growing enough bushy beards that not only would frighten Boris Karloff, but also would supply a thousand baseball teams for the House of David. It was indeed a sight to turn a mattress factory green with envy.
ODDITIES BETWEEN WHISTLESTOPS
Olivia de Havilland, heroine of the picture, was the heartbroken ingenue of the train when she was rudely and without warning snatched from the special at Pasadena.
It seems that Mr. Selznick, who stalled for two years before making Gone with the Wind, is now in a big hurry. It also happens that Miss de Havilland is playing Melanie in Mr. Selznick’s picture and there was rumor that her presence would be needed. Olivia jumped up and down, stamped her feet, yelled and carried on. But she isn’t on the train anymore. Poor Melanie.
SCHOOLS LET OUT
Unusual fascination for such a stellar caravan caused city officials of three cities to declare a school holiday so that Young America could see and hear some of its celluloid heroes and heroines. Fifteen-minute stops were made in Flagstaff, Ariz.; Gallup, N.M.; and Albuquerque, N.M. Indians, Mexicans, hermits, prospectors and ranchers with their families came afoot, on horseback, in rickety buggies and chugging jalopies to join the townsfolk in their amazing display of admiration for Hollywood’s parade on wheels.
— Tim
March 31, 1936
Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Express
Since Saturday, Warners is beseeching Errol Flynn to stay off horses except when the cameras are actually turning for The Charge of the Light Brigade. The Irish actor, not so long out of the hospital for an appendicitis operation, got the idea of practicing jumps for the picture. He went to a riding academy in the valley and was doing very nicely until the horse balked at a four-foot barrier and sent Flynn flying through the air. Landing, he missed a large rock by about an inch. The studio, which had 250 men ready to start to Lone Pine on location the next day, practically did a nipup when the news got around.
— Tim
March 31, 1939
Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Express
Lili Damita let Errol Flynn go on to the Dodge City preview trip alone. She and Dolores Del Rio are spending time at Palm Springs.
— Tim
