The Adventures of Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn has always been grist for story mills - his off-screen life was as outrageous as his on-screen antics, so it's no surprise that a documentary about him appears from time to time on Turner Classic Movies, which owns the Warner Brothers Library.

What made this Flynn story particularly interesting was the input from the family, ex-wives Patrice Wymore and Nora Eddington, and daughter Rory. They described him as a robe and slippers man who loved his home. That may come as a surprise to some people, but you can't booze and womanize 24/7, and it's clear from photographs that he loved his three children. The documentary fails to mention the death of Sean Flynn, probably because it happened after his father's death.

The other element that puts this biography one step above is the interview with Olivia de Havilland, who speaks quite frankly about the attraction she and Flynn had for one another and how the romance was never to be. de Havilland's affection for Flynn, spoken of so emotionally when she was in the U.S. to receive an award at the time of her 90th birthday, is an indication that there was more to Flynn than young girls, drugs, and liquor. The classy de Havilland obviously saw something special in him, beyond the physical.

The film clips from Robin Hood, Captain Blood and Flynn's other films are fun to watch. He was unique in that while other actors did musicals, dramas, comedies and adventure films, Flynn primarily did adventure films throughout his career. He was a tremendous natural athlete with great flair and charm, born to play the Robin Hoods and Captain Bloods. He could have been excellent in comedy, but his attempt didn't catch on. The problem for Flynn was that while others at Warners could act the big roles and play comedy as well as Flynn, no one at Warners was as adept at playing swashbucklers. This frustrated him, as a similar situation frustrated Tyrone Power at Fox, though Power had many more opportunities to do different types of films than did Flynn.

The wonderful thing about this documentary is it debunks Charles Higham's Nazi premise (which had already been debunked) and, as one poster mentioned already, the homosexuality/bisexuality assertion is ridiculous. Flynn's big problem was underage girls. It's certainly possible that he experimented with the opposite sex under the influence - probably everybody did! Why this is considered noteworthy is anybody's guess.

Flynn was embarking on a career as a character actor at his death, and again, like Tyrone Power, he would have been happy with the meatier roles that supporting roles offer. Neither man lived to fulfill that potential. Flynn had a particular heartbreak in a film version of William Tell that was never finished and IRS problems. The end of his life was a sad one for someone with so much charm, beauty and humor.

This is one cinematic legend that continues to grow. Ask just about anyone as to who the greatest costume swashbuckling star is and most of the time you'll get the answer of Errol Flynn. Even when he appeared in westerns and he never understood his popularity in them, his 8 westerns still have a certain swashbuckling élan to them. When you've seen Flynn in The Charge Of The Light Brigade and in They Died With Their Boots On, note the similarity in style of those characters. Errol Flynn put his signature on every part he ever did.

Most important to this narrative of people giving their recollections of Flynn is Olivia DeHavilland. They were a wonderful screen team though Olivia at the time was desperately trying to get out of those patient leading lady parts who waits for her man to route the villains. With the long life she continues to have she's reflected back and now appreciates the wonderful films she did with Errol.

I was fascinated by those takes from In The Wake Of The Bounty where the D.W. Griffith of Australian cinema, Charles Clauvel is directing Flynn in his feature film debut. I've seen and reviewed In The Wake Of The Bounty and while it doesn't have the MGM production values to it, the charisma of Errol Flynn as Fletcher Christian comes through. He was born to be a star.

And like many stars, Flynn kind of backed into it. He was a rebellious type from the beginning and in his teens and twenties led a footloose existence. His discovery by Clauvel was as serendipitous as Lana Turner in Schwab's Delicatessen with that famous sweater. Charisma like that you're born with.

Errol Flynn as all who know anything about him lived a life that anyone would envy except for its relative brevity. His fifty years were more exciting than 99% of the rest of the planet. In terms of physical abuse to his body, he partied heartier than most and paid for it. Still who would not want to be Errol Flynn if you're a male member of the species?

While this made for Turner Classic Movies documentary is very, very good, it isn't quite as good as their best--such as their special about Joan Crawford. This is because the print is a bit rough looking and I could have liked to hear some experts talk about Flynn's psychological profile, as he was a HUGELY dysfunctional guy. Still, it's well worth your time--especially since he was a terrific actor.

Like you'd expect in such a film, it consists of narration, film clips and various interviews. Some of the folks who talked about Errol Flynn seemed like odd choices (after all, what was their connection to Flynn?!)--such as Joanne Woodward, Bury Reynolds and Richard Dreyfus. I don't think any of them knew Flynn. Perhaps part of the problem is that most folks who knew him are dead--and we are fortunate that at least they could assemble folks like his daughter, an ex-wife and Olivia de Havilland (who was the BEST part of the documentary--as her comments were priceless--what a classy and interesting woman!). Interesting topics covered were his relationship with the petulant Bette Davis, drug abuse and the insane allegations he was a Nazi that came out about 30 years ago! Interesting throughout and well worthy your time.

This was a very complete look at Flynn's life and career featuring archival footage of interviews of people who had worked with Flynn, comments from one of his three children, his daughter Dierdre, as well as quite a bit of time spent with Flynn's wife at the time of his death. Particularly touching were Olivia De Haviland's insights into Flynn's personality and her relationship with him through eight films and a romance that never really was or could have been.

Also, finally clearly explained, is the entire issue of Errol Flynn and the draft during World War II. Flynn had a spot on his lungs and an enlarged heart as a result of a bout of malaria, and thus was legitimately 4F. Warner Brothers had understandably downplayed the fact that one of their biggest male stars was in fact a rather sick man, so this came as a bit of a surprise to the public, and quite a few unflattering things were said about Flynn at the time.

I just recently watched his 1958 film "Too Much Too Soon" in which he portrayed John Barrymore in his last days, and it was interesting to hear the narrators mention that perhaps Flynn did so well in this role not only because of his dedication to his past mentor, Mr. Barrymore, but also because he identified so well with where John Barrymore was at this stage of his life. Both men always seemed to be looking for something they could never find.

Also revealing was that Flynn always wanted to be appreciated as an actor and he felt somewhat disappointed that a large part of his fame came because of his personal appeal rather than an appreciation for his skills. If you're interested in Flynn I highly recommend this as a very well done look at the man's life and career. Produced by Turner Classic Movies, it has the same high standards I've come to expect from all of their documentaries.

Caught this documentary on You Tube and absolutely loved it. An interesting and entertaining documentary on the man and his career. I do feel that they could possibly have gone into certain areas more deeply - the rape trial for example as this was undoubtedly the factor that changed the course of Flynn's life - as well as his later career, which isn't examined in great detail, which is a shame because it can be argued that the 1950s were possibly the most interesting in terms of looking at his downfall and then resurgence towards the end. The sequences with Olivia de Havilland being interviewed are especially good. Overall a very good piece of entertainment.