Errol Flynn on TMC (1 Viewer)

lancer

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Turner Classic Movies is running an Errol Flynn day today, June 20. Line-up includes Dawn Patrol @ 9:45 am EST, followed by Charge of the Light Brigade, Santa Fe Trail, The Warriors, Rocky Mountain, The Master of Ballantre, up thru 8pm. -- Al PS- obviously, I mistyped the thread title, should be TCM.
 
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Have always enjoyed his films.From the time I was a little boy up to and including now.
Mark
 
I find it a relief to know that Hollywood managed to solve the mystery surrounding the Charge of the Light Brigade. The charge was, apparently, all the fault of a certain Maj. Geoffrey Vickers of the 27th Lancers, who forged phoney orders to have the LB attack the Balaclava Heights, in order to get at and kill Surat Khan, the man responsible for the hideous massacre at Chokoti. Glad the confusion has been cleared up. Never underestimate the power of revenge as a driving emotion. {eek3} I notice, also, that while the 17th Lancers did not carry their colors into this battle, the 27th Lancers most definetly did! -- Al
 
What, no "Adventures of Robin Hood"? I can't believe TCM left it out.

Prost!
Brad
 
What, no "Adventures of Robin Hood"? I can't believe TCM left it out.

Prost!
Brad
Hi Brad. I think TCM aired Robin Hood not too long ago. At least it seems like they did. But, I agree, kind of tough to do an Errol Flynn salute without Robin Hood or Custer.:wink2:^&grin -- Al
 
Hi Brad. I think TCM aired Robin Hood not too long ago. At least it seems like they did. But, I agree, kind of tough to do an Errol Flynn salute without Robin Hood or Custer.:wink2:^&grin -- Al

The Errol Flynn Trinity - Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk..

Jim
 
In David Nivens autobio he wrote a good deal about his close friend Errol and their party days in hollywood and especially palm springs where they were weekenders and I was once a part time resident,,not to mention Errols,,"my wicked wicked ways",,Niven especially mentions dawn patrol and why they laughed a great deal during the film,,fly on Errol,,passing in the arms of his teen delight,,objective burma and desperate journey,,alan hale was always a favorite in the films but hard to figure as a kid how an old guy could be a soldier or flyer,,or little john
 
Al
We Brits rarely get to see any of this Tasmanian Devil's films over here on terrestial TV but I have quite a few of his movies within my DVD library. Got to love his Adventures of Robin Hood-still considered today by film historians to be the finest celluloid depiction of that mythical hero- Robin of Sherwood. But his portrayal of Custer in They Died With Their Boots On as a reckless, romantic, charismatic rebel which was based on exactly the same blueprint as all of his previous roles is another good rollicking role even with a plot full of dreadful historical inaccuracies- which was about on par with any of those Hollywood's historical dramas. This movie however, proved to be a massive hit with the US public. By a pure chance of fate it's release in late November 1941 coincided with the attack on Pearl Harbor a week later and the film's unlikely climactic scene of a brave lone buck-skin clad Flynn, standing defiantly with sabre in hand ready to meet his fate, burnt indelibly into America's patriotic psyche as it stood on the brink of war. This film however, would be the last hurrah for Custer as an unblemished frontier hero but it still remains today a thoroughly enjoyable romp as were most of his movies.

However, his Captain Nelson character in Objective Burma (1945) became hugely unpopular on this side of the pond which upset so many Brit veterans it went all the way to 10 Downing Street and got banned in the UK for almost 10 years and then only released with an apology disclaimer. One British Colonel even went as far as to say "Not only was the Burma campaign conducted by British & Commonwealth Troops but the ruddy lead character in this American film even has the same name as our greatest national hero"

Bob
 
Al
We Brits rarely get to see any of this Tasmanian Devil's films over here on terrestial TV but I have quite a few of his movies within my DVD library. Got to love his Adventures of Robin Hood-still considered today by film historians to be the finest celluloid depiction of that mythical hero- Robin of Sherwood. But his portrayal of Custer in They Died With Their Boots On as a reckless, romantic, charismatic rebel which was based on exactly the same blueprint as all of his previous roles is another good rollicking role even with a plot full of dreadful historical inaccuracies- which was about on par with any of those Hollywood's historical dramas. This movie however, proved to be a massive hit with the US public. By a pure chance of fate it's release in late November 1941 coincided with the attack on Pearl Harbor a week later and the film's unlikely climactic scene of a brave lone buck-skin clad Flynn, standing defiantly with sabre in hand ready to meet his fate, burnt indelibly into America's patriotic psyche as it stood on the brink of war. This film however, would be the last hurrah for Custer as an unblemished frontier hero but it still remains today a thoroughly enjoyable romp as were most of his movies.

However, his Captain Nelson character in Objective Burma (1945) became hugely unpopular on this side of the pond which upset so many Brit veterans it went all the way to 10 Downing Street and got banned in the UK for almost 10 years and then only released with an apology disclaimer. One British Colonel even went as far as to say "Not only was the Burma campaign conducted by British & Commonwealth Troops but the ruddy lead character in this American film even has the same name as our greatest national hero"

Bob
Hi Bob. I quite agree about Flynn's pictures. Great fun but certainly not to be used as a reference for one's term paper. As many times as I have seen his various pictures, I must say the naming of his character in Objective Burma went right over my head until you pointed it out. I would say it is obviously a case of national percertion as I can now see why it might have upset people in your country and not have been noticed in the US. Considering the level of involvment in Burma, Hollywood should have been smarter, if that is even possible for them. Anyway, I still am impressed that Major Vickers was able to pull the whole Light Brigade into his scheme of revenge against Surat Khan. Now that's a cult of personality.:wink2:^&grin -- Al
 
How odd. Just chatting about Errol and bingo, I turn on the TV and there he is in The Sea Hawk on TCM. Is there a better channel than TCM? I don't think so. The Sea Hawk is one of his best. ^&grin -- Al
 
Pity about captn nelson but I alwys thought his accent very charming,,always the same in every film
 
Al

However, his Captain Nelson character in Objective Burma (1945) became hugely unpopular on this side of the pond which upset so many Brit veterans it went all the way to 10 Downing Street and got banned in the UK for almost 10 years and then only released with an apology disclaimer. One British Colonel even went as far as to say "Not only was the Burma campaign conducted by British & Commonwealth Troops but the ruddy lead character in this American film even has the same name as our greatest national hero"

Bob

The Brits and Commonwealth Troops had a role in the CBI theater? Really?^&confuse

Gee, the saw the historical movies Objective Burma” and “Merrill’s Marauders” and “A Yank on the Burma Road” (whose leading man is also called Nelson); “Never so few” (Frank Sinatra and Steve McQueen) ..... all Yanks giving it to the evil little devils!

Even in “Bridge over the River Kwai” the hero was US Commander Shears … right?

But seriously, no flame please …. I didn’t know that Britain was upset over the movie?
Larry
 
But seriously, no flame please …. I didn’t know that Britain was upset over the movie?
Larry

The Brits do intend to get more than a little peeved when the Yanks depict themselves as sole involvement in a celluloid version of a very British miltary campaign. Following the outcry over Flynn's adventures in Burma exactly the same thing happened again in the mid 60's when the BBC started airing The Rat Patrol a US version of the exploits of the LRDG in North Africa. Big problem arose when they put 3 Americans and just one Brit in the jeep. At the time I was a young engineering graduate working with the military and myself and my classmates purely viewed this weekly American extravaganza as a rollicking good 30 minute TV series but our officer tutors were utterly outraged. Understandably so too were the LRDG veterans who ably assisted by the British press completely savaged the series to such an extent that the BBC were forced to ditch it after screening only five or six episodes.

Objective Burma if one can lay aside the historical inaccuracies I always thought was a darn good Hollywood yarn and obviously Warner Bros. thought so too. The screenplay was based primarily on the MGM movie Northwest Passage but the studio remade the movie again a few years later with Gary Cooper. However, this time they located it on less controversial terrain-the Florida Swamps during the Seminole war- Distant Drums is an exact copy of OB with just an added female for interest. And the studio was still not finished with the story as it turned up again as an episode of the TV series Cheyenne starring Clint Walker. Old Jack Warner sure got his money out of WB remakes ^&grin
 
Darn hollywood swinehunds,,reading flynns bio,,the geese incident and the things he did to poor olivia dehaveland,,forgive the spelling ,,I am a little understanding
 
I was only a youngster at the time - but I think at least part of the problem - was that the British guys who fought in the Burma campaign, called themselves "The forgotten Army". Britain was just tired of the War by that time - and many of the blokes felt like they were not given a fair shake when it all came to the sudden end - after the Bomb was dropped.

Imagine therefore, how those who survived the terrible conditions of Jungle Warfare - against a foe where little quarter was often given - to find that on their return home, Tinseltown had recorded that Eroll Flynn - had won it almost single-handed.

They didn't like it then - and the few of them who remain - don't like it now.

As for me - well - I take all of Hollywoods output with a pinch of salt. A good old ripping yarn - I thought. Historically accurate - well No - but there' plenty more like that.

By the way - my Dad was awarded the Burma Star - and I still have it to this day. I doubt whether Mr Flynn got one! jb
 
Following the outcry over Flynn's adventures in Burma exactly the same thing happened again in the mid 60's when the BBC started airing The Rat Patrol a US version of the exploits of the LRDG in North Africa. Big problem arose when they put 3 Americans and just one Brit in the jeep.

Oh my {eek3} ...... how did I forget the Rat Patrol, one of my all time favorites?

Ya,' I'll admit that growing up myself, during that series, I would have sworn that 3 Americans and one British soldier, in a couple of beat up jeeps, personally won the entire African Campaign. I also believed that the Germans were TERRIBLE shots. Gee 150 Germans shooting at one Jeep and they hardly ever hit a thing. Too much Schnapps I guess!

I doubt that Hollywood had any intention of offending anyone; they just saw $$$$ and that was / is their ONLY focus.

Still, as has been pointed out so well by folks on this forum, NO ONE should believe anything from a Hollywood portrayal.
However, I will take personal responsibility for the US movie industry and issue an apology :redface2: to our gallant British WWII Allies. --- Larry
 
Oh my {eek3} ...... how did I forget the Rat Patrol, one of my all time favorites?

Ya,' I'll admit that growing up myself, during that series, I would have sworn that 3 Americans and one British soldier, in a couple of beat up jeeps, personally won the entire African Campaign. I also believed that the Germans were TERRIBLE shots. Gee 150 Germans shooting at one Jeep and they hardly ever hit a thing. Too much Schnapps I guess!

I doubt that Hollywood had any intention of offending anyone; they just saw $$$$ and that was / is their ONLY focus.

Still, as has been pointed out so well by folks on this forum, NO ONE should believe anything from a Hollywood portrayal.
However, I will take personal responsibility for the US movie industry and issue an apology :redface2: to our gallant British WWII Allies. --- Larry

I was looking for ref on the LRDG ages ago and stumpled onto the " Rat PTL"...from memory there was a bloke wearing a diggers slough hat...I took him to be an aussie.....there were no aussies in the LRDG (the aust army would not let any diggers join the LRDG because they were short of troops)....... heaps of Kiwi"s though...they wore a type of slough hat..pinched at the top...like the USMC hat in WW2 or maybe still wore by instr's in marine boot camp's.....yair......after seeing me old mate Errol single handed win the war in Burma..I have a few doubts about Hollywood....cheers TomB.....PS......I forgot about the 3 Yank's...but it was a yankee TV show...and really..all in all....Aust would have been stuffed if the Yank's had'nt help our troops in WW2....so I guess we can forgive them for getting a few details wrong
 
The Brits do intend to get more than a little peeved when the Yanks depict themselves as sole involvement in a celluloid version of a very British miltary campaign. Following the outcry over Flynn's adventures in Burma exactly the same thing happened again in the mid 60's when the BBC started airing The Rat Patrol a US version of the exploits of the LRDG in North Africa. Big problem arose when they put 3 Americans and just one Brit in the jeep. At the time I was a young engineering graduate working with the military and myself and my classmates purely viewed this weekly American extravaganza as a rollicking good 30 minute TV series but our officer tutors were utterly outraged. Understandably so too were the LRDG veterans who ably assisted by the British press completely savaged the series to such an extent that the BBC were forced to ditch it after screening only five or six episodes.

Objective Burma if one can lay aside the historical inaccuracies I always thought was a darn good Hollywood yarn and obviously Warner Bros. thought so too. The screenplay was based primarily on the MGM movie Northwest Passage but the studio remade the movie again a few years later with Gary Cooper. However, this time they located it on less controversial terrain-the Florida Swamps during the Seminole war- Distant Drums is an exact copy of OB with just an added female for interest. And the studio was still not finished with the story as it turned up again as an episode of the TV series Cheyenne starring Clint Walker. Old Jack Warner sure got his money out of WB remakes ^&grin
Loved both Northwest Passage (It was the movie that got me emersed in the French and Indian War) and Distant Drums. One of my favorite Flynn movies is "Rocky Mountain". A little different and off-beat but a great western.
 
I never heard of Rocky Mountain with Flynn.
Mark
Mark, Flynn is a Confederate cavalry office with a small detachment out west, runs into a Federal detachment, with a woman naturely, and all are trapped by Indians. Don't want to spoil the ending, but its quite good. As a matter of fact, the first Cheyenne TV episode is the same as the movie, with most of the movie spliced in.
 

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