There have been a number of famous cinematic couples over the years that have won the hearts of film-goers: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and of course, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, audiences couldn't get enough of Flynn's cinematic adventures, nor of his wonderful chemistry with de Havilland. Over a period of six years, they would co-star with each other in eight films, and the evolution and unfortunate deterioration of their working relationship is itself worthy of a movie. Since I'm not in a position to make such a movie, I'm going to make it the focus of this week's INCspotlight. (There's actually a book about the Flynn/deHavilland that's either in progress or that has been recently published that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on.)
Errol Flynn (1909-1959) was born in Hobart, Tasmania to Professor Theodore Flynn, a school teacher and ornithologist, and Marelle Young, a descendant of an HMS Bounty mutineer. For over a decade, Flynn was one of Warner Bros.'s top moneymakers at the box office, with an extensive streak of one success after another for the first half of his career. He was also an accomplished writer, authoring two novels and numerous articles. Flynn, unfortunately, had a tragically self-destructive nature, indulging his vices to the point where they cost him everything - even his life, eventually, at the age of 50. Thomas McNulty's excellent biography of Errol Flynn is worth getting a hold of if you're interested, presenting an accurate depiction of Flynn without whitewashing his character, although dispelling many of the unsavory rumors and myths about him (for instance, the false accusation that Flynn was a Nazi sympathizer and anti-Semite).