— David DeWitt
Robin Hood show at NYC’s Bryant Park to Huge Happy Crowd!
08
Aug
Our own Jim Turiello writes:
Last night at Bryant Park in the heart of New York City, The Adventures of Robin Hood delighted the thousands that attended. It was a total sell out, (even though it was free to the public.The movie was met with resounding cheers each and every time Errol Flynn did something magical. Loud applause filled the night air and at times, the crowd was silent, they were really, really into the movie. At the conclusion a standing ovation was giving with unbelievable enthusiasm. The most unusual fact about the showing was the average age of the people in attendence, to my pleasant surprise they were students and young adults, I was delighted that the new generations embraced Errol in a way that we have done our entire lives. There is great hope for Errol to capture the hearts and souls of all movie goers. I am in the process of getting more movies shown in the coming weeks.
Yours truly
Jim
— David DeWitt
Errol’s Master of Music
07
Aug
Years ago I was able to conduct a short interview with Andy Hamilton, a Jamaican musician who worked for Errol in the latter 1940’s before emigrating to England in 1949. If you like a bit of jazz you could do a lot worse than buy Andy’s two albums; Silvershine and Jamaica By Night. Both are excellent and the title track of Silvershine was actually a piece of music written for Errol in the 40’s. Silvershine was the biggest selling Jazz album of the year in 1991 and was voted The Times jazz album of that year.
Sadly Andy died in June of this year at the ripe old age of 94. He was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queens New Years honours of 2008 for his services to music in his adopted home town of Birmingham ( UK ).
When I spoke to him he didn’t have a bad word to say about Errol and dismissed any suggestion that he could have been a fascist sympathiser. There was one aspect of Errol’s life that he was unwilling to discuss with me and I suspect this was around Errol’s use of drugs during that period. He spoke with considerable amusement however about the girls who continually tried to get aboard the Zaca!
Anyway, check out Silvershine if you’ve not yet heard it.
Rest in peace Andy Hamilton MBE (26th March 1918 – 3rd June 2012)
.
— DerekD
Errol in fiction
06
Aug
I noticed on Amazon the other day a new book called Flynn’s Last Stand by Al Hooper. I wonder if any of you chaps have read it yet? Previous outtings for Errol in works of fiction havent been too successful, my favourite being Stuart Kaminsky’s Bullet for a Star. The Pirates Daughter was also a decent read although probably sitting better with a female readership.
So fellow Flynn fans, have you any opinions, good or bad, on Flynn fiction? Perhaps the world is ready for Fifty Shades of Flynn!!
— DerekD
The Sea Hawk US Insert
05
Aug
I mentioned yesterday how much I missed my Insert poster from The Sea Hawk. Well, today I found this picture of one on line which, to judge by the description is the very one I used to own (paper-backed with some restoration to a bottom corner). I hope you all agree it’s a beauty!
— DerekD
The latest Rock-Itt Magazine is online! August 2012!
05
Aug
Dear Rock-itt readers:
The August edition of The Rock-itt magazine is now online. Please click on the link to go straight there.
Happy reading!
Cheers
Pete
— David DeWitt
Back after all these years….
04
Aug
Many thanks to David for asking me to post here. I look forward to contributing here and I hope you’ll all forgive some of my hazy recollections. It’s been a while.
Some of you may recall that in the distant past I used to have one of the only Flynn web sites out there. If you never saw it, you didn’t miss much but it was all we had at the time! As I recall, there was only mine and D.David’s excellent site on the web. Thankfully, these days there a whole host of profesional looking pages to browse and I’m sure it doesn’t take about ten minutes to scan and upload a photograph anymore either- which helps!
In the late 90’s circumstances were such that I had to sell off most of my Flynn collection to pay for more pressing needs. At this point I lost heart in the Flynn hobby and to be honest it’s taken me this long to recover from the emotional trauma of having to say goodbye to all that great stuff that I could never replace. To make matters even worse, Lincoln Hurst purchased a lot of my stuff and I could at least console myself that it had gone to a good home but then poor Lincoln passed away before he could finish what would have been a great Flynn book.
I’ll give you a taste of some of the great pieces I’d picked up in the early 90’s when I got the collecting bug (I can talk about it now without sobbing…).
A signed Malvern Festival programme from 1934
A signed copy of Beam Ends
A letter from Errol to Olivia asking her to appear in Never Say Goodbye and her reply to him
A letter from Errol to his Harley Street doctor, the content of which could only be interpreted as being about the supply of cocaine (for Errol’s sinuses…)
A signed photo of Errol and Lili almost certainly taken by Herman Erben
A Charge of the Light Brigade US one sheet
A beautiful Sea Hawk insert (I REALLY miss that one!)
Various original release Robin Hood lobby cards
A 1934 programme from Northampton Rep
The list was a long one including numerous autographs, original posters and hundreds of vintage stills and postcards. As I say, impossible to replace now when even a nice original portrait still seems to cost $50 or so on Ebay.
Another cool thing from those days was that the National Film Theatre in London had an Errol Flynn season, showing his films on the big screen (including They Died With Their Boots On in a cut that had several extra bits of footage that do not appear on any VCR or dvd version I’ve ever seen!). The highlight of this event was a panel session with Pat Wymore and the late, great, Jack Cardiff. Jack also showed some of the rushes from William Tell and spoke with great affection about Errol.
It’s great to see that the Flynn literature has moved on since those days. Tom McNulty’s and Jeffry Meyers’ books have really improved the knowledge base compared to 15 years back. Of course, we’re still served up the odd slice of guff in the form of David Bret’s books but I suppose it’s better than Higham, eh? Sad that Lincoln’s book never got finished as I’m sure that would have been THE one as I know he’d got some great original research material together.
It’s a pleasure now to be able to watch most of Errol’s films in relatively clear dvd quality compared to some wobbly VCR copies of copies. In those days I had everything but Hello God and Murder in Monte Carlo. I have to be honest and say that just about everything worth watching is now available on dvd (except perhaps for Another Dawn which I quite enjoyed).
Anyhow, since leaving Errol I’ve become more interested in other stars of the era such as Cary Grant and Bogart and more modern figures such as Oliver Reed and the Indiana Jones films. I’m just a big old geek I’m affraid.
I’ll leave you for now with my personal top five Flynn films for your consideration:
The Sea Hawk
The Dawn Patrol
They Died With Their Boots On
The Adventures of Don Juan
Gentleman Jim
His most underated film for me is Never Say Goodbye. By far the best of his comedies and really gives a flavour of what he could have done in that genre given more of a chance. Also it’s essential Christmas viewing in my house!
Ciao for now
Derek
PS- I’m on Facebook if any of you are looking to chat!
— DerekD
We Welcome new Author Derek Dubery to The Errol Flynn Blog!
04
Aug
I am especially pleased to welcome new Author Derek Dubery to The Errol Flynn Blog. Derek has been a figure in all things Flynn for many years and a familiar name to many. We look forward to your posts and comments Derek!
Top masts of the Zaca under full sails!
— David DeWitt
We Welcome new Author Derek Dubery to The Errol Flynn Blog!
04
Aug
I am especially pleased to welcome new Author Derek Dubery to The Errol Flynn Blog. Derek has been a figure in all things Flynn for many years and a familiar name to many. We look forward to your posts and comments Derek!
Top masts of the Zaca under full sails!
— David DeWitt
The day when Hollywood came to Dodge City, KS
31
Jul
I found this article about when Errol, cast, and others came to premiere the movie “Dodge City” in Dodge City, KS in 1939:
DODGE CITY, Kansas — The year 1939 is considered by most experts to be the greatest year in the history of movies. There were such classics as “Gone with the Wind”, “Wizard of Oz” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” along with many others. There were also a number of very good movies, one of which helped to make Dodge City, Kansas, the focal point of the midwest and much of the country for a couple of days in April of 1939.
The movie was “Dodge City”, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland. Dodge City and the state of Kansas lobbied hard to convince Warner Brothers to open the movie in the town for which it was named. Jack Warner agreed and it led to one of the biggest days in Kansas history. At the time, it was only the second movie opening ever held outside Hollywood.
Warner Brothers went all out, sending a trainload of studio stars, including Flynn, to Kansas for the opening.
Noel Ary is former director of the Kansas Heritage Center in Dodge City and 88- year-old Luis Sanchez is a former mayor who was there that day as a 15 year old.
Ary talks of the unprecedented spotlight shone on Dodge City: “It attracted the attention of people from all over the country. All the major New York newspapers were represented by reporters.”
In addition to that, NBC Radio did five live broadcasts from Dodge City over that weekend, and Life Magazine put together a lengthy picture spread circulated around the country.
When the train rolled in, among the thousands at the Dodge City depot was 15-year-old Luis Sanchez, who talked his way onto the train to meet movie stars and get autographs.
“I hadn’t seen any movie stars”, says Sanchez, “and I figured here’s a trainload of them. Now’s the chance. You better take advantage of it.”
Among the stars on hand were such names as John Payne, John Garfield, Jane Wyman, Ann Sheridan and a man who would become to many the greatest movie star of all: Humphrey Bogart.
But that was in the future. In 1939, none of those names was even close to Errol Flynn (Miss DeHavilland could not make the trip). To understand how big Flynn was in 1939 just think George Clooney and Brad Pitt, combined. Flynn was simply one of the top handful of movie stars in the world.
“He was a swashbuckler. He was a good looking guy, he was tall and he played the part well,” says Ary. “He fit everybody’s dream, he really did. He played the part of hero and ladies’ man the way you thought it should be played.”
Following the greeting at the train station, complete with a live, nationwide broadcast, there was a one mile parade with thousands of people lining the streets. It included all the stars who were there, governors of three states, floats and a marching band. The parade ended at the new stadium just south of downtown where there was a rodeo and more.
“They had a wedding”, says Sanchez. “And Errol Flynn was the best man and Ann Sheridan was the maid of honor. The place was packed. It was packed.”
And as much as anything, that was the story of the day: the crowds. No one can say for sure, but most agree that about one-hundred thousand people showed up in a town of ten thousand. Pictures and film of that day showed wall-to-wall people at the train station, the parade route and the stadium. For one day, it made Dodge City the second largest city in the state of Kansas.
That night, at three local theatres, the Dodge, the Cozy and the Crown, the movie premiered. It was a story of cattle drives, railroads, romance and cleaning up a rowdy town. It bore little resemblance to the actual history of Dodge City, but it’s fair to say no one complained. Had they been handing out Oscars in Dodge City on that day, the movie would have swept the awards.
The Dodge theatre still stands, refurbished but empty, standing now as mute testimony to a day when Hollywood came to Dodge City.
“Hollywood did well by Dodge City”, says Ary. “We’re gonna talk about it for a long time, at least as long as somebody remembers it. And we’d like to make sure nobody forgets.”
This is the link to this station’s website: www.ksn.com…
— Mary Ann
