Claude Rains is "Shocked! Shocked!!"; that today is his 123rd birthday

Claude, stuck in the middle. That's Bogie on the right and Henreid and Bergman on the left. If I have to identify which movie this is from, your reading the wrong blog.

Claude Rains is one of my all-time favorite actors. If the movie is a turkey he made it seem better. If it is excellent [and they often are], that movie is all the better for having his presence in it. Blessed with one of cinema's most identifiable speaking voices [at least one critic called his voice as sounding like sand laced with honey]. Claude Rains, though late to film [he was 44 at the time of his debut], appeared in nearly 60 films the last coming in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. A good number of those movies have lived on as well regarded classics. As the invisible one in 1933's The Invisible Man to 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told, Rains garnered 4 Oscar nominations along the way. The first Oscar nod coming in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington as the corrupt Senator Joseph Paine in 1939. He lost the Best Supporting Actor award to Thomas Mitchell's Doc Boone in Stagecoach.

Rains confronting the real evil, Edward Arnold's big money man, in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, 1939

Rains' second bout with the little gold guy came in the role he may be best remembered, as the "poor corrupt official" Capt. Louis Renault in Casablanca, Rains gave a scene stealing performance that should have netted him the gold. Alas, voters saw things in a different light and rewarded Charles Coburn the prize for his comic turn in George Stevens' The More The Merrier. 

 

Not happy about losing the Oscar again.

 Rains was up for the Supporting Oscar again the very next year for Mr. Skeffington with Bette Davis, one of his favorite co-stars. Davis and Rains made a total of 4 films together starting with 1939's Juarez and culminating with 1946's Deception. Probably the best known of the 4 movies is the penultimate tearjerker Now, Voyager from 1942.

Mutual admiration: Bette and Claude, Mr. Skeffington, 1944

Rains' last tussle with little Oscar came in 1946 with the plum part of Alex Sebastian in the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece of intrigue, Notorious. As a Nazi living in post WW II Rio de Janeiro, Rains' Sebastian is infatuated with Ingrid Bergman's Alicia Huberman, marries her, not realizing she is not only an American spy sent to South America on a mission to find out all she can about Alex and his Nazi boys club, but that she is in love, not with him, but with Cary Grant's Devlin, her contact with the American agency she is employed with. To complicate matters further Sebastian is a momma's boy whose momma is not only still alive but very involved with her son's interests and lives in Alex' house. Notorious may contain the actor's greatest creation. Not only do we see the bad side of Sebastian, his Nazism, his weakness, being dominated by not only his mother but also to a certain extent by Alicia [talk about pussy whipped!], Rains not only makes us empathize with Sebastian's plight but also shows us his cruelty [the poisoning of Alicia]. Yet despite his position as the antagonist in the plot, Rains still allows us total access to Sebastian's motives and fears. The scene where Sebastian realizes Alicia is an agent sent to bring him and his Nazi associates down, goes to mother for comfort, help and support, is one of  Rains' finest moments. He allows the frightened little boy to emerge and the results are moving, yet we, the viewers are conflicted. We want Devlin to save Alicia from Sebastian's clutches, yet we also want Rains' Sebastian to be free of implication.

Claude, the odd man out again. With Grant & Bergman in Notorious.

Needless to say Claude Rains lost this bid for Oscar also, this time to real life WW II veteran Harold Russell for The Best Years of Our Lives. It was 1947, our boys were back from the war and Hollywood didn't have time to honor a portrait, not matter how exquisite, of an rich, exiled Nazi living the good life in South America. So when it comes to Oscar, Claude Rains is another in a long line of worthy but empty handed performers.  4 times a bridegroom, never a bride.

As the cruel, egoist conductor Alexander Hollenius. From Deception

 Other favorite Rains performances I savor include his virtuoso turn as the jealous, possessive conductor in Deception, the radio actor/entrepreneur in Michael Curtiz' 1947 noir The Unsuspected, the wandering father, trying to fit back into the family unit after 20 years away, in another Curtiz film 1939's much underrated Daughters Courageous and his cuckold husband in David Lean's too-little-seen The Passionate Friends in 1949. These are but a few of several memorable perfs Rains has left us and I didn't even mention Adventures of Robin Hood, The Wolf Man and Lawrence of Arabia and many others. Along with Peter Lorre, George Sanders and a handful of other character actors, Rains made movie watching in the 1930's and 1940's a singular treat and something which, sadly, is missing from the cinema today. To put it bluntly, we are shocked! Shocked!!

Happy birthday Claude.

Hedy, not Hedley, LaMarr's birthday is today!

Seductive

Hedy Lamarr. The name hardly registers a blip on the all-time-great-movie star radar, but there was a time, in the late 30's and early 40's of the 20th century, when she was considered one of the most beautiful woman in the movies. Probably best remembered as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's 1949's camp epic Samson & Delilah, Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler was born in Vienna on November 9, 1913. Married at 19 to Friedrich Mandl, a manufacturer 13 years her senior, she described him as a controlling man who would not let her pursue her acting ambition. By the time of her marriage to Mandl, Lamarr had already appeared in Ecstasy in which her character was featured in close-up having an orgasm and photographed  fully nude skinny dipping. By 1937 Lamarr's marriage to Mandl was kaput [ none of her 6 husbands had staying power, so it seems, the longest lasting 7 years ].

Topless in 1933's Ecstasy

Escaping Nazi Germany, Hedy made her way first to Paris, then to London where she caught the wandering eye of Louis B.Mayer of Metro Goldwyn Mayer fame. Mayer put her under contract and changed her name from Kiesler to Lamarr, after silent film actress Barbara [ Too Beautiful ] LaMarr. Her American film debut was 1938's Algiers opposite French heartthrob Charles Boyer as Pepe LeMoko in which in uttered the immortal line "Come with me to the Casbah", which per wikipedia, was said in the film's trailer but not in the film proper. A major success in it's day, Algiers went a long way in helping establish Hedy with American audiences, a good thing because her follow ups, I Take This Woman with Spencer Tracy [ dubbed I Re-Take This Woman, after so many starts, stops and changes of director ] and Lady of the Tropics with Robert Taylor both bombed. However, Boom Town with Clark Gable, Tracy and Claudette Colbert was a huge moneyspinner and 1942's Crossroads co-starring William Powell was well recieved and the extravagant musical Ziegfeld Girl [ Lamarr was one of several of Ziggy's Girls including Judy Garland and Lana Turner ] was a blockbuster.

"A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody": Ziegfeld Girl with Judy and Lana, lower right,  1941

But if there is one standout film it would have to be Samson & Delilah, in which Lamarr portrays one of the wickedest women of the bible. It's $11 million dollar gross made it the most successful film of 1950 and came at a time when Lamarr's career was in real need of a boost. Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Lana Turner and several others were considered for the part. C.B.DeMille's first epic bible film since 1932's Sign of the Cross, Burt Lancaster was the first choice for Samson but the role ultimately went to Victor Mature.

As the wicked, sexy Delilah, 1949

As the 50's progressed Lamarr's films became less and less successful. In fact she would make only 6 more movies after Samson with 1958's The Female Animal representing her farewell to the screen. In 1966 Lamarr made headlines when she was arrested for shoplifting in Los Angeles. The charges were dropped. 1967 brought her autobiography Ecstasy and Me and an attempt at a comeback on the silver screen with Picture Mommy Dead, in a part eventually played by Zsa Zsa Gabor. The talented Miss Lamarr was also an inventor. With composer George Antheil, Lamarr invented " frequency-hopping ", which is necessary for wireless communications.

"I am Tondelayo". 1942's White Cargo

By the 1970's Hedy Lamarr became reclusive and about the only news worthy item was the lawsuit for invasion of privacy brought on by Mel Brooks' movie Blazing Saddles in which one of the main characters played by Harvey Korman was named Hedley Lamarr but almost everyone in the film, at one point or other, call him Hedy. The real Hedy Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida in 2000 at the age of 86.

"Go do that voodoo that you do so well". Harvey Korman as Hedley.

Happy 99th birthday, Scarlett DuBois

 1939's Gone With The Wind, the ultimate romance

One of classic cinema's supreme beauties, Vivien Leigh's birthday was yesterday November 5th. Yes, Scarlett O' Hara would have been 99 years old, had she still have been with us. But she died far too soon in 1967 at the age of 53, not an old age by any stretch, however if she wished Vivien could have looked back upon her life with a sense of accomplishment. Twice an Oscar nominee for Best Actress, twice a winner, first for 1939's GWTW opposite Clark Gable, then 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Marlon Brando. In both Vivien played a southern belle, in fact one could make a case [ and probably already have ] for these two characters being flip sides of the same coin. One can see Vivien's Scarlett as a young Blanche DuBois, before the death of family, the burden of responsibility, age and sexual dysfunction took over her life and one can see a lot of Scarlett as a young and vivacious Blanche, entertaining, teasing and tempting all the men in her sphere, Blanche as the belle of the ball, before she "depended on the kindness of strangers".

On the verge: Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire

Vivien played other parts than Scarlett and Blanche in the movies but they are the roles upon which her legacy is firmly based. Other prominent characters in Leigh's filmography include Myra the doomed ballet dancer in 1940's haunting, romantic Waterloo Bridge with Robert Taylor, That Hamilton Woman opposite husband and love of her life Laurence Olivier and Caesar and Cleopatra in 1945 with the magnificent Claude Rains. Vivien didn't make a lot of films in her career, only 21. Based on the percentage of films she made and Oscars won, one could say she had the best wins per film ratio in all of cinema.

Do the Charleston! From Ship of Fools

With love of her life, Laurence Olivier. That Hamilton Woman, 1941

Other significant movies are 1961's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone also starring a very young Warren Beatty in his second film and Stanley Kramer's all star opus Ship of Fools from 1965 which was  Vivien's very last film in which she plays a faded actress, drinking and flirting on a luxury ocean liner in the early days of the Nazi take over of Germany. She aged considerably since her previous film, Mrs. Stone, and her health was not particularly good, but she gave a wonderful performance as Mary Treadwell fighting off the advances of Lee Marvin's uncouth former baseball player [ at one point she beats him off with her shoe ]. In a delightful scene she is shown dancing the charleston alone, to imaginary music. And in another, she is shown gazing at her aged image in a mirror grotesquely applying her make-up. Her performance doesn't save the film, yet it does make for fascinating viewing.

The frightened, lonely Mary Treadwell in Ship of Fools, 1965

Married to Olivier from 1940 to 1960, she, unlike Sir Larry, never remarried. Throughout her life Vivien suffered from tuberculosis and recurring mental problems. In 1948 Leigh and the actor Peter Finch began an on-off affair that would last for several years. In 1953 while making the Paramount film Elephant Walk, Leigh had a complete mental collapse and had to be replaced by Elizabeth Taylor. A fictional, disturbing portrait of Leigh at that time can be found in two chapters of David Niven's book Bring on the Empty Horses, his memoir of his Hollywood days circa 1935-1960, called Our Little Girl . I suppose one could say Vivien Leigh lost quite a lot in her quest and struggle for success but for millions of filmgoers worldwide, she provided us with nothing but wonder and joy, and we can always celebrate both her unique talent and magnificent beauty because the movies and performances she left us with will live on forever. 

This is the image Robert Taylor fell in love with. 1940's Waterloo Bridge

TCM's Night at the Movies: Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein

Along time ago in a galaxy far, far way I watched the Universal horror films with my father on sunday afternoons. At that time, while living in Santa Paula and newly transplanted from the midwest,  it was about the only thing we did together that I enjoyed and my love of those movies have never left me. I can remember curling up on the couch as a little five year old and my dad telling me about these movies and how they scared him when he was a boy, only back then, he would say, it was in a theater since there was not much TV in Sioux City, Iowa in the late 40's.

Every sunday afternoon about two or three o'clock my dad and I would get ready to get scared shitless. Well, I would anyway. That's when channel 5 out of Los Angeles would show a different Universal horror classic every sunday. On those precious weekend afternoons I would see Dracula with Bela Lugosi rising from his grave and Boris Karloff as Im-Ho-Tep in The Mummy or Lon Chaney, Jr as The Wolf Man and I would love it. These movies transported me into gothic world of graverobbers, mad scientists, screaming heroines, secret passage ways [ a real favorite ] and misunderstood monsters. Even at the tender age of five my sympathy was always with the so-called monster who really only wants to be loved and understood in a angry and paranoid world. My young mind grasped this immediately, with perhaps no better example than Boris Karloff's Frankenstein monster. Frightening when he first appears on screen, Karloff's portrayal gather's more and more pathos as it goes along, never more so than when he encounters Maria, the little girl playing with her flowers by the side of the lake. The wonder and discovery the monster makes while meeting this small girl is still touching. Shots of Karloff and his reactions, comparing his large hands and features with her small, delicate ones and not quite understanding how one could be so small, along with innocent Maria being the only one not to show any fear or recoiling from his horrid appearance, makes this scene along with the one with the blind man in Bride of Frankenstein, one of feeling and tenderness that doesn't exist in today's " torture porn " world of horror. 

I was reminded of this again while watching the Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein double feature that my son Tyler and I attended this past Wednesday October 24th as part of Turner Classic Movies and Universal Pictures special showing, in honor of Universal Studios 100th anniversary. The prints of these films, considering they were anywhere from 81 to 77 years old, were outstanding. Though probably primitive to modern eyes, these movies are timeless evocations of a gothic, old European view, with a charm and atmosphere that takes the viewer to another place entirely. None of them take place in the states and their actual sense of time is, at best, fuzzy. Even the more "modern" of them such as The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man take place in villages, not big cities. Before the franchise was exhausted in 1948 with the hilarious Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein their were a total of eight films. Besides Frankenstein and  Bride of Frankenstein there was also Son of Frankenstein [1939], the last to feature Karloff as the monster, Ghost of Frankenstein [1942], Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man [1943], House of Dracula [1944]  and House of Frankenstein [1945].  Unfortunately by the time the series had run out poor old Frankie had become something of a parody of himself, with precious little screen time and moving about like a zombie in need of some good eyeglasses. Of all the films I would recommend without hesitation the first three and also Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man which, despite it's somewhat cheesy title, is really a sequel to 1941's The Wolf Man and features a really good Lon Chaney, Jr perf as the hairy one.

A few thoughts on these classic films: The thoughtlessness of the mob, only wanting one thing, to destroy something they cannot understand. The Christ-like figure of the monster. More than any other classic horror figure, Frankenstein's monster represents US, the audience. The abused, downtrodden, helpless figure, the misunderstood minority, weather it be black, latino, asian, fat, gay or what have you, Karloff's portrait of the monster is what makes us come back to these films, again and again. Truly a classic performance and I think, to this day, an underrated one despite it's iconic status.

Also a big round of applause must go to Elsa Lanchester's bride in Bride of Frankenstein from 1935, four years after the original. Everyone recognizes Lanchester at first sight. Although she takes on an antagonistic role, in that she rejects our boy Frankie which leads to the ultimate destruction for all who try so hard to bring her to life and present her to Karloff as his mate [ except for Colin Clive's Henry Frankenstein and his bride, Elizabeth, who survive due to censors demands ], many find her the highlight of the film and she certainly is one of several, along with Dr. Pretorius, his collection of people in the jars and Una O'Connor's Minnie. I find it a somewhat incongruous portrayal and ending, with the bride's total rejection of Karloff, especially coming from director James Whale. As a gay man Whale identified completely with the monster and his outsider point of view, not only because he was gay, but also from the environment in which he grew up, as dirt poor laborers of the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds of Victorian England, which also spawned Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Whale's influence on the first two Frankenstein movie's are huge and should not be overlooked. Although Whale did not want to be typecast as a horror specialist, these two movies plus 1932's The Old Dark House and 1933's The Invisible Man has made his reputation among film and horror buffs.
.

The youtube clip above is from Bride of Frankenstein and it's the climax of the picture, the ultimate Adam & Eve moment. The monster craving companionship [" friend?" ] and Lanchester's heartless bride not only screams when he touches her, but practically chokes with laughter at the monster's presuming she could be his mate for life or any time for that matter. For anyone who has loved and lost or been rejected by a person they have pinned all there hope's and dream's of being with and connecting to, the finale of this most touching of "horror" films, is something one cannot easily forget. On that note, I can only add, happy Halloween.

Bond at 50

The start of something big

James Bond's movie incarnation, that cultural phenom, is turning 50 years old this year. The first Bond adventure, Dr.No, hit the theaters in the U.K. 50 October's ago. However, Bond wasn't seen by American audiences until the following May of 1963, movie release patterns not being the same now with a movie opening practically world wide simultaneously, as they were then. Bond was brought to the screen by the partnership of Albert " Cubby " Broccoli and Harry Saltzman two men who had been making films for several years, one American born, the other Canadian, with films like Hell Below Zero, Paratrooper, Safari  and Pickup Alley to his credit Broccoli was not exactly a top of the line moviemaker at this point in his career. Saltzman had a somewhat more refined filmography with titles like Look Back in Anger and The Entertainer. These were modestly budgeted black & white " kitchen sink " drama's featuring up and comers like Albert Finney and Richard Burton though The Entertainer starred Laurence Olivier and got him a Best Actor nom from the Academy in 1960. However successful or not, these two men seemed unlikely choices to bring Bond to the big screen. The film was actually a bit of a tough sell. According to wikipedia the Bond books were deemed "too British, too blatantly sexual" for audiences at the time.

The one and only Sean Connery

With Goldfinger the Bond explosion really took off

Casting of Sean Connery as Bond was, at the time, a bit daring, as Connery had made only a handful of films and didn't leave much of an impression in any of them. Ian Fleming [ you know, the man who wrote the actual books the movies were based on ] is said to have preferred David Niven or Cary Grant as 007. But Connery it was, and for some he is still the only Bond. Directed by Terence Young who would wind up directing a total of 3 Bonds, Dr No made on a low budget of just about $1 million dollars, grossed about $6 million on it's first release and the franchise was off and running. Producers Broccoli & Saltzman had assembled a good team both in front of and behind the camera, people like production designer Ken Adam who would work on 7 Bond epics. Composer John Barry scored a whopping 11 from From Russia With Love to The Living Daylights. Film editors, cameramen [ some of these below the line talent would work on the 007's for years ] writers like Richard Maibaum, who penned an incredible 13 of the first 15 Bond screenplay's. In fact if one wanted to attach an auteur to the 007 films, Maibaum's name would have to be near the top of the list.

The original M, Bernard Lee

                                                            And then there are the peripheral characters who appear in every Bond film but have little to do with the action once the plot takes wing. M, 007's boss originally played by Bernard Lee his last being 1979's Moonraker  and Miss Moneypenny M's secretary, played by Lois Maxwell who departed after A View To A Kill who wishes just once, James would sweep her off her feet and carry her away on one of his many travels.                                         
The Bond movies have other recurring people like Q and Felix Leiter, 007's American counterpart and one of Bond's few allies. The villain is also a major part of the recipe, usually involving some evil genius with thoughts of either world domination or world destruction.The theme song of any Bond film is a coup any performer it is offered to. From lounge type's like Shirley Bassey to rockers' like Paul McCartney, Duran Duran,Madonna and Carly Simon the Bond theme song has had some enduring hits [ Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me ] to forgettable ditties [ does anyone remember the theme song to the last 5 Bond's ? Me neither ]

Can you choose a favorite?

Then there is the Bond girl, as she is called, the love interest, but also at times the villain [ deadly is the female, so the saying goes ] The beauties that have graced the screen have had some clever names with a heavy dose of double entendre.  Some times the first name was Plenty or Honey or Octopussy. Other times it was the last name that got the message across: Onatopp and Goodhead. Pussy Galore had both a memorable first and last name. And let's us not forget Bambi and Thumper from Diamonds Are Forever. I would venture to guess that the males that take delight in the Bond movies are pretty much interested in the sexy appeal of such actresses as Halle Berry, Eva Green, Denise Richards going all the way back to the first one, Ursula Undress, I mean, Andress. And the gadgets
that Q is always coming up with. These 2 factors are part of what draws us back to the Bond's over and over again.

Iconic images

We all have out favorite Bond movies and the actors who played them. I would venture to guess Sean Connery would still finish in the top 2, while poor Timothy Dalton would end up on bottom. I prefer my Bond early. To me Connery set the bar, and set it high and no one actor has really taken his crown away, however I do like the current Daniel Craig portrayal and I also enjoyed Brosnan's Bond, especially in Goldeneye. As for Roger Moore I know he gets a lot of votes and is the favorite of many but he is just too glib and jokey for my tastes. Having said that, as a teenager in the 70's I went to nearly all the Moore vehicles and at the time, enjoyed them. But upon review, I find most of them lacking in any texture, detail and character. My Moore favorites would be The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only. The Roger Moore era did, whatever I may think of them in overall quality, make a ton of money and saved the Bond franchise from extinction. 

A Bond reunion

So I will get down to what all you readers have been patiently waiting for,  my top Bond movies of all time. I won't list them in order of preference because that could change depending on my mood. Do I feel like early Bond with Sean or Bond dark with Daniel Craig ? Do I want a sexy, hot french Bond villain like Sophie Marceau from The World is Not Enough ? Or do I want Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me ?  Here we go:

Dr. No 1962
Goldfinger 1964
From Russia with Love 1963
On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1969
The Living Daylights 1987
Goldeneye 1996
The Spy Who Loved Me 1977
Casino Royale 2006 

Wicked legs: Ms. Marceau in The World is Not Enough

So there you have it! Now can't wait to see Skyfall. Advance word is that is excellent. I may have to revise my favorites after I see it on November 9th. On the top right I have added a poll to vote for your favorite Bond of all time. Polls will be open until November 28th. Now it's time for a drink, a vodka martini shaken not stirred.

Mrs. Maxim De Winter is 95

After saluting your sister Olivia in July you don't think I would forget you, do you? Dear Joan..... Rebecca, Monkey Face [ as Cary Grant called you in Suspicion ], Jane Eyre, and as Crystal Belle in Nick Ray's Born To Be Bad [ and you were too!]  I believe you to be one of the cinema's most underrated and underappreciated performers and beauties the movies have given us. 

Isn't she cute?

Back in June I did a piece on your extraordinary talents as an actress and world class beauty, so let me just say happy 95th [ ! ] birthday, dear Joan. Many happy returns of the day and I hope you get a birthday call from your sister. XO

With Oscar.  Contemplating her future?

Joan and Olivia, the ultimate sibling rivalry.

Errol Flynn, The Baron

Relaxing

Nicknamed ' Baron ' by employer and nemesis Jack L. Warner, Errol Flynn swashbuckled his way through over 50 films. Starting in 1934 under contract to Warner Brothers Pictures at the age of 25, to his last, the exploitation film Cuban Rebel Girls, at age 50, Flynn cut a large path in Hollywood film history as the cinema's preeminent action-adventure star of his day before his death on October 14, 1959. His detractor's [ and there have been many ] say his best work was not on the screen but between the sheets, for Flynn was known far and wide for his wanton, wild ways. He made no secret of his love of women, drink and the occasional narcotic and his devil may care attitude toward hard work and his love of a good time sometimes spilled over into his work so that some critics, especially contemporary ones, had trouble separating the man from his myth. And some of the roles he took have a particularly autobiographical tinge to them. His Don Juan in 1949's  The Adventures of Don Juan  is one of his best post WWII films and shows us a Flynn that understands the character he is portraying all too well.

Climbing to new heights as Don Juan, 1949

     Flynn's Don Juan may be the most melancholy adventure hero in cinema history, for he plays Don Juan in a very world weary manner, a manner that entirely fits the situation Don Juan finds himself restricted to. Just returned to Spain after being kicked out of England, Juan finds himself a phallic symbol, as Flynn also did ever since his celebrated rape trial in 1942-43. It was a reputation Flynn could never escape. Juan also finds himself caught up in political intrigue between the King and Queen of Spain and the evil Duke de Lorca who has his sights on seizing the throne for himself. Furthermore, Juan finds he is strongly attracted to the Queen, but things being what they are and the Queen also not able to see Juan beyond his public reputation, nothing much comes of this relationship in a physical sense. Flynn married 3 times, but never found domestic life comforting for very long. He  proposed to Ida Lupino in the late forties, while still unhappily married to wife #2 Nora Eddington. Lupino was reportedly a great pal of Flynn's and loved him dearly, but she turned him down [ probably a wise thing ]. However, Adventures of Don Juan being an adventure for young adult males, there is a spectacular dual between Juan and de Lorca and their men. Juan beats de Lorca and saves the crown for the Queen but decides it is time to move on down the road in pursuit of more adventures, carnal or otherwise. Through it all, the women in this film are ready, willing and able to be alone with Juan and practically throw themselves at him simply because he is reputed to be a great lover. These are things Flynn repeatedly went through in his own life. In his portrait of Don Juan, Flynn plays this off as rather a bore and something that he must do, whether he likes it or not. And though he rather enjoys his time with the ladies while in their company, it seems he would rather be elsewhere. Adventures of Don Juan is pretty much Flynn's swan song to the type of film he toiled in since 1935 when Captain Blood made him an instant star and made his film reputation, although there would be 2 or 3 more swashbuckler's in the next few years with scaled back production values, deflated budgets, and poor scripts, Don Juan is Flynn's last classic in the genre. 

With first wife " Tiger" Lil ",aka, Lily Damita

With 3 of his 4 children Deidre, Rory and only son Sean in 1951 on set of Kim

                1957's The Sun Also Rises finds a Flynn post-bankruptcy, on his third and last wife, playing a supporting part for the first time since stardom hit 22 years earlier and having to take fourth billing behind Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner and Mel Ferrer [ ! ]. Taking billing after the first two stars is understandable but Mel Ferrer? Never mind the billing, because our boy Errol walked off with the picture. Some said it was petty theft, but at this juncture in his sagging career Flynn needed a boost and Sun was first class production all the way. In the previous 8 years since Don Juan, Flynn in 1953 rode out his Warners contract of 18 years, making one mediocre picture after another. Flynn started but was unable to complete an independent CinemaScope production of William Tell in Switzerland [ Flynn put up $430,000 of his own money but the Italian backers, backed out, leaving Flynn holding the bag ], his business manager died but not before embezzling thousands of dollars from Flynn, the IRS slapped him with a back taxes statement for a cool million and because of these financial setbacks ex- wife Lily claimed ownership of Errol's beloved home, Mulholland Farm, for his failure to pay back alimony. One body blow after another, it pretty much did Flynn in and he would take any job offered, for he was much in needed of cash. His last 6 films before Sun had all been money losing ventures - foreign produced epics like Crossed Swords and Dark Avenger,  Flynn's name still carrying some weight with the European movie going public. Others like 1956's Istanbul were tired old rehashed plots with backlots standing in for the real locale. A couple of these films didn't even play America until much later or were on the second half of double bills. In other words, when Errol took fourth billing on Sun he had nowhere to go but up.

As Mike Campbell in The Sun Also Rises, with Eddie Albert

     The Sun Also Rises, produced by former 20th Century-Fox production head Daryl F. Zanuck, is based on the celebrated novel by Ernest Hemingway about a handful of expatriates after WWI who, instead of returning home to the U.S., decide to stay on and work, play, drink and generally carouse their way through Europe. The plot isn't much, in fact the plot is pretty much what I described in my previous sentence. Flynn plays one Mike Campbell, once wealthy- now bankrupt - and down on his luck, but engaged to Lady Brett Ashley, played by Ava Gardner, the woman they all want to have. Tyrone Power is the lead, Jake Barnes. Mel Ferrer is Robert Cohn, friend of Jake's, who falls hard for Brett and causes all kinds of trouble during their time in Pamplona, Spain for the fiesta. The annual running of the bulls sequence is a highlight as are all the scenes in which Flynn appears but since he doesn't enter the picture until about the 40 minute mark the beginning can be especially trying. Once Jake and sidekick Bill Gorton, played by Green Acres' Eddie Albert, arrive in Spain, the pace picks up considerably with Eddie and Errol finding an immediate rapport as they both have a fondness for the bottle and are literally drunk for nearly the rest of the movie. This is what provides the most entertaining part of the film, the hijinks of these 2 drunks causing mayhem whenever we see them, though Flynn is also none too happy with Mel Ferrer's attention to his Brett and tries to pick fights with him every chance he gets.

Lobby card from the hotel room scene with Tyrone Power in The Sun Also Rises 

Flynn's best scene, the one that gives us a hint to his character's problem, is with Power's Jake Barnes [ see picture above ] after Lady Brett, who is rather the slut of all time, runs off with star bullfighter Pedro Romero [ an inept Robert Evans, years before his days as production chief of Paramount Pictures ]. Barnes goes to Mike in his room and asks Mike if he's going to be joining him and Bill for dinner and Mike reply's, with drink in hand, is sure he'll be there, but that it seems that there are about 12 people missing and laments his loss of Brett, and as Barnes leaves him on his own we see Mike setting his drink down and lowering his head into his hands. It's a touching scene and shows the real anguish Mike must be going through, despite appearances to the contrary. How many times did Flynn do this same kind of thing ? Drinking alone, wondering how his life may have been different and where he took the wrong road ? In his autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways, published in December 1959 after his death, Flynn recounts sitting on the bed in his home, with gun in hand, seriously considering suicide but being unable to. When Flynn did these things isn't made clear in the book and maybe it doesn't have to, because the image of Errol Flynn--Robin Hood, Captain Blood, Sir Geoffrey Thorpe, Gentleman Jim Corbett, George Armstrong Custer, all whom he played in movies--considering suicide is quite startling.

Errol's favorite time of day, the cocktail hour

No one in their right mind is saying The Sun Also Rises is good cinema. Although the movie has much going for it including an outstanding musical score by Hugo Friedhofer, nice photography by Leo Tover, excellent location work and a not bad screenplay, the main level of criticism of the film is that the movie was miscast, that all the actors were a good 10 to 15 years too old for their parts. It's a legitimate complaint and I would have to agree with it, if this movie was made in say 1945 or 1946 the casting would've been spot on. But by 1957 the cast was way too old. Especially Flynn, who made a nice little comeback and got the best reviews of his career with this movie, was too old and he looked it. 47 when Sun was made, he looks a good 10 years older and Mike Campbell, indeed all these characters, should be in their late 20's or early 30's. The best one can say about the film is that it's a guilty pleasure.

With his last companion, the teenaged Beverly Aadland, at his 50th and last birthday, June 1959

In fact the last few films Flynn made were guilty pleasures and Errol was generally the best thing in them. Following Sun in 1958 Errol got the chance to play one of his idols and a man whom he befriended, John Barrymore, in Too Much, Too Soon. This slice of Hollywood biography based on the memoir of Diana Barrymore, John's eldest, is ripe with fiction whether it be the names of certain people who played not insignificant parts in Diana's life or title's of the movie's both Diana and John made or the studio's each worked for, all are fictionalized. The one thing the film gets right or at least seems to have a sense of truth about, is the relationship between Diana and daddy dearest. Flynn's Barrymore is way past his prime, as Flynn was in real life. Alone in his decaying Beverly Hills palace, an estranged father, drink his only constant companion, in danger of losing his home, with no work in sight and living off past triumphs, Flynn's Barrymore must clearly have been a man he not only understood but empathised with. Flynn himself was a year away from death, living in the once fashionable but now run down Garden of Allah [ in fact it would be torn down in 1959 ], living with his underage mistress, Flynn was essentially a laughing stock in Hollywood despite his good showing in Sun the year before, there being talk of a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his stellar work. But there was no nomination for him and when Too Much, Too Soon [ love that title ] was released, Flynn again walked away with the acting honors and talk of award consideration, but in the end nothing, for people believed Flynn was playing himself, a burnt out, alcoholic, wash-out, and to a degree he was. But if Cary Grant is to be believed, that the hardest thing to do is play one's self, then Flynn did, indeed, achieve excellence.

The ultimate adventurer. Flynn as Captain Geoffrey Thorpe in The Sea Hawk.

 Errol Flynn passed away in Vancouver on October 14, 1959. Always short on funds in the last 6 or 7 years of his life, he was trying to sell his beloved schooner, the Zaca. At the home of  Dr. Grant A. Gould, Errol Flynn died of a heart attack, after complaining of back pains, at the age of 50, though the autopsy revealed a great many other ailments such as liver and kidney disease and cancer of the mouth. The coroner concluded that it was amazing that Flynn reached the age of 50. In those 50 years Flynn had seen more, done more, loved more, hated more and lost more than most men or women do in two life times. I suppose that is fitting for a man who was both heroic and cowardly, wild and introspective, rich and poor, sullen and comic, once handsome and later aged before his time, who would not let an opportunity for a new experience go by without at least dipping his foot into the pool. It may be that Errol Flynn was a portrait of Dorian Gray come to life.