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Okay, so Cary Grant is a versatile actor. Well, so is Errol Flynn. A look at the popularity of actors, both male and female, kind of implies it:
Popular Actors
1. Cary Grant
2. Alexis Smith
3. Humphrey Bogart
4. Ingrid Bergman
5. James Cagney
7. William Powell
8. Irene Dunne
9. Joan Crawford
10. Zachary Scott
11. Errol Flynn
Other Additions:
1. Olivia de Havilland
2. Michele Morgan
So, the film industry’s reception to Flynn as an actor can be comparable to the film industry’s reception to Grant as an actor. The list above is of the top actors who worked with an influential director and grossed more than $3.5 million at the box office. Is Errol Flynn a convincing actor in your eyes?
Errol Flynn was prolific. He dripped charm. He had range from comedy to drama.
He was a solid actor with star personna. Who would argue otherwise?
He was in many action movies and was highly entertaining. Who at the time would have played a better Robin Hood?
He was type-cast doing wonderful pulp entertainment. It is not his fault he was never allowed to do very serious movies or huge budget work that would have gained him an academy award. He had the looks and talent. It is just that his studios made so much money off his pulp action films in the 1940s and 1950s, he was never allowed to do anything serious.
As an aside, I find Alexis Smith's name there, and so high, to be...well, weird...but not as weird as Zachary Scott? And no mention of Bette Davis? Or Clark Gable? And who is Michele Morgan???
What is that list from???
But, as far as Errol Flynn goes...yes, he could do comedy, but drama was his forte. I love many of his action films, particularly when paired with Olivia DeHavilland.
Now if I could just get the autopsy results out of mind.
I remember the international furor that erupted over a World War II film he starred in called Operation Burma. It centered on an American commando unit deployed to Japanese controlled Burma to destroy a radar installation. The British banned the film saying it underplayed their own role as a combat force in Burma.
Flynn had a son named Sean who was a freelance combat reporter during the Vietnam War. He was stationed in Saigon. A good looking guy who inherited his Dads good looks and charisma. Like his Dad he was a charming guy who attracted the ladies. In this case the local bar girls. Sean went out on a motorcycle to cover a combat operation in Cambodia and disappeared. To this day it remains a mystery.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Igor Blevin
Errol Flynn was prolific. He dripped charm. He had range from comedy to drama.
He was a solid actor with star personna. Who would argue otherwise?
He was in many action movies and was highly entertaining. Who at the time would have played a better Robin Hood?
He was type-cast doing wonderful pulp entertainment. It is not his fault he was never allowed to do very serious movies or huge budget work that would have gained him an academy award. He had the looks and talent. It is just that his studios made so much money off his pulp action films in the 1940s and 1950s, he was never allowed to do anything serious.
That is not his fault.
Yes, great actor. He could do it all.
I think that his alcoholism had a lot to do with his career demise. Bad judgment, ensuing scandals, compromised health, diminished capacity all point back to the bottle...the oldest story in Hollywood.
Peter O'Toole performed an amusing (and I think heartfelt) homage to Errol in My Favorite Year:
As an aside, I find Alexis Smith's name there, and so high, to be...well, weird...but not as weird as Zachary Scott? And no mention of Bette Davis? Or Clark Gable? And who is Michele Morgan???
What is that list from???
But, as far as Errol Flynn goes...yes, he could do comedy, but drama was his forte. I love many of his action films, particularly when paired with Olivia DeHavilland.
Now if I could just get the autopsy results out of mind.
The list is compiled based off both Warner Bros films’ box office data gathered during Jack Warner’s reign as studio chief (particularly for films directed by Michael Curtiz, Best Director academy award winner whose films were far more consistent at being successful at the box office than those of John Ford’s), and the signficance of the actors’ screen time in those films. Relevant box office data is below.
1. Night and day (1946) w/Cary Grant and Alexis Smith: $7,418,000
2. Casablanca (1942) w/Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman: $6,859,000
3. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) w/James Cagney: $6,523,000
4. Life with Father (1947) w/William Powell and Irene Dunne: $6,455,000
5. Mildred Pierce (1945) w/Joan Crawford and Zachary Scott: $5,638,000
6. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) w/Errol Flynn (and Olivia de Havilland): $3,981,000
7. Passage to Marseille (1944) w/Humphrey Bogart (and *Michele Morgan): $3,786,000
*Fun fact: Michele Morgan was one of the actresses in consideration to play Bogart’s leading lady in Casablanca (also considered were Ann Sheridan, Luise Rainer, and Hedy Lamarr) prior to Bergman being cast.
Last edited by FandDlover2; 05-10-2024 at 07:28 PM..
Reason: Forgot to add more info
As an aside, I find Alexis Smith's name there, and so high, to be...well, weird...but not as weird as Zachary Scott? And no mention of Bette Davis? Or Clark Gable? And who is Michele Morgan???
Clark Gable could recite lines, but he could not act.
I think that his alcoholism had a lot to do with his career demise. Bad judgment, ensuing scandals, compromised health, diminished capacity all point back to the bottle...the oldest story in Hollywood.
Peter O'Toole performed an amusing (and I think heartfelt) homage to Errol in My Favorite Year:
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