The Errol Flynn Centennial

Well, no. It can't be. Errol Flynn at 100 is unimaginable. Yet, as of Saturday, June 20th, the great swashbuckler of the sound era passed the one hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1909 in Tasmania.

In his fifty years on earth, he lived as much as a dozen other men, and left those of us who only knew him after his demise in movies breathless with the exuberance and zest he showed in his many dashing roles such as Captain Blood (1935), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and The Sea Hawk (1940). In a few, such as his part in The Dawn Patrol (1938), Edge of Darkness (1943), The Sun Also Rises (1957), and Too Much, Too Soon (1958), he impressed with his too often hidden, introspective side.

Still, thinking of him brings alive memories of Flynn as the personification of the recklessness of youth, boyish mischief, the spirit of adventure and the simple, unalloyed joy in breathing. Thank goodness it was captured on film for a time, even though it couldn't possibly last within one gifted person for very long on earth.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Flynn

Stan Laurel, Happy Birthday

Born this date in 1890 Arthur Stanley Jefferson has long been one of the most beloved comedy figures in film. With his partner and dear friend Oliver Hardy they are, for my money, the best comedy team in film.

Having worked together occasionally they finally became a team in the mid twenties when they were still making silent films. As they worked on Stan became the creative force behind the team while Ollie showed up to work and when they weren't filming was happy enough playing golf. Out of this partnership there came a lifelong friendship that is obvious in their films. In addition to being so funny their affection shows which I believe gives another dimension to their work that, for me, lacks in the films of Abbott and Costello for instance.

They also migrated the journey from silent to sound better than any comedy team/comedian of their time. The advent of sound gave them an entire new way to express their humor. Chaplain didn't even really attempt a sound film until 1940. Buster Keaton's problems coincided with sound coming in and the two together relegated him to a lower level of films. Harold Lloyd may have come close to Stan and Ollie but that, I guess, is a matter for debate. Their popularity ever growing they not only made more films but often made several foreign langauge versions of the same film.

They were always dignified. Even when their world came down around them they showed that they may be bowed but were unbroken. Polite and helpful to a fault, most of the time, it was their inability to get anything done, much less right, that added to their appeal. Whether planning a party, moving a piano, installing a radio aerial or finding a way to sneak out for the evening they were going to get it done if it killed them. Sometimes it nearly did. Their "Kneesy, Earsy, Nosey" bit has been entertaining me for years as I, being one of the few to have mastered it, have watched the futility of others trying to learn. I have not, however, accidently lit my thumb as a lighter.

After their film career ended (save for the unfortunate "Utopia") Stan and Ollie toured England to sell out crowds several times until Oliver took sick. He finally died in 1957. Stan continued to plan and write as if there was another project around the corner. Stan Laurel pased away in 1965.

Ah, that smile, that hair. Thank you Stanley.

Robert Young: A Second Look

Jacqueline's analysis of They Won't Believe Me (1947) on the finely written Another Old Movie Blog made me think about the under-rated Robert Young last week, which caused me to take "A Second Look at Robert Young" and two of his less well-known films, Joe Smith, American (1943) and The Second Woman (1951) on the TCM website's Movie Morlocks Blog. You can see a hyperbolic trailer for the interesting, and surprisingly intelligent wartime propaganda film of Joe Smith, America, co-starring the intelligent Marsha Hunt below. The entire movie of The Second Woman can be accessed below that. The latter is a fascinating, if rather budget conscious thriller that highlights Young's capacity for showing psychological ambiguity opposite Betsy Drake in one of her few film roles. Here's the start of the TCM blog:

Sometimes, the man seems to have been dismissed during his film career as having "had a face like a duck". He was regarded as a pretty nervous sort who might be a second lead at best, but could fake a certain hearty good fellowship whenever a part called for it and exemplified a sort of unadventurous husband and father. What most of us may not have been prepared for was the discovery that the man had talent too. Thanks to TCM, in the last few years, I've had a chance to see that he was more than the lightweight, improbable romantic lead of comedies cranked out in the studio era.

My fellow blogger, Jacqueline, of Another Old Movie Blog reminded me of this actor recently when she turned her nuanced eye on They Won't Believe Me (1947) starring Robert Young and Susan Hayward as very star-crossed lovers in a small scale film noir about greed, desire and fate...the rest of the blog entry

Joe Smith, American Trailer:


The Second Woman (1951):

The Iron Mask (1929) with Douglas Fairbanks directed by Allan Dwan

The Iron Mask (1929) with Douglas Fairbanks directed by Allan Dwan

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In her most famous role her hair was very prominent.

Who Is She?

Brother Waldo with his sister who
would become popular. Who is she?