Errol Flynn
Highest Rated: 100% Gentleman Jim (1942)
Lowest Rated: 60% The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
Birthday: Jun 20, 1909
Birthplace: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Athletic, dashing, and heroic onscreen, and a notorious bon vivant in his personal life, Errol Flynn ranked among Hollywood's most popular and highly paid stars from the mid-'30s through the early '40s, and his costume adventures thrilled audiences around the world. Unfortunately, a combination of hard-living, bad financial investments, and scandal brought Flynn's career to a tragic end in 1959. He was born on the isle of Tasmania, the son of distinguished Australian marine biologist/zoologist Prof. Theodore Thomson Flynn. In school, Flynn was more drawn to athletics than academics and he was expelled from a number of exclusive Australian and British schools. At age 15, he found work as a shipping clerk in Sydney, and the following year he sailed to New Guinea to work in the government service, but the daily grind proved not to the adventuresome Flynn's taste, so he took off to prospect for gold. In 1930, Flynn returned to Sydney and purchased a boat, and he and three friends embarked upon a seven-month voyage to New Guinea. Upon arrival, Flynn became the overseer of a tobacco plantation and also wrote a column for the Sydney Bulletin. Flynn's introduction to acting came via an Australian film producer who happened to see photographs of the extraordinarily good-looking young man and had him cast as Fletcher Christian in the low-budget docudrama In the Wake of the Bounty (1933). After a year of stage repertory acting to hone his dramatic skills, Flynn headed to London for film work. Attaining a contract at Warner Bros. in 1935, Flynn languished in tiny parts until star Robert Donat suddenly dropped out of the big-budget swashbuckler Captain Blood (1935). The studio took a chance on Flynn, and the result was overnight stardom. It was also during this year that Flynn married actress Lili Damita. Although he'd make stabs at modern-dress dramas and light comedies, Flynn was most effective in period costume films, leading his men "into the Valley of Death" in Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), trading swordplay and sarcasm with Basil Rathbone in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and even making the West safe for women and children in Dodge City (1939). At his romantic best onscreen, Flynn was king of the rouges, egotistically strutting before such damsels as Olivia de Havilland and Alexis Smith, arrogantly taunting them and secretly thrilling them with his sharp, often cynical wit and his muscular legs. But despite such rapscallion behavior, the ladies and his cohorts loved Flynn because, undisguised in his arresting blue eyes, they could see that he was a man of honor, passion, sincerity, and even a little vulnerability. Thus, an Errol Flynn adventure caused female fans to swoon and male fans to imagine themselves in his place.By the early '40s, Flynn ranked among Warner Bros.' most popular and lucrative stars. It should come as no surprise that the actor, with his potent charisma and obvious zest for life onscreen, was no less a colorful character, albeit a less heroic one, offscreen. His antics with booze, young women, and brawling kept studio executives nervous, PR men busy, and fans titillated for years. In 1942, Flynn was brought up on statutory rape charges involving two teenage girls, but was acquitted. Such allegations could easily have destroyed a lesser star's career, but not in Flynn's case. Instead of finding his career in ruins, he found himself more popular than ever -- particularly with female fans. In fact, the matter inspired a new catch phrase: "In like Flynn." That same year, he divorced Damita. (The couple's son, actor Sean Flynn, a dead ringer for his father, worked as a photojournalist and war correspondent in Southeast Asia where he disappeared in 1970 and was presumed dead.)But while Flynn's pictures continued to score at the box office, the actor, himself, was declining; already demoralized by his inability to fight in World War II due to a variety of health problems -- including recurring malaria, tube
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
Movies
| Credit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet | The Perfect Specimen | Actor | — | 2014 |
| No Score Yet | Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn | Actor | — | 2007 |
| No Score Yet | Memories of Hollywood | Actor | — | 1990 |
| No Score Yet | Assault of the Rebel Girls | The American Correspondent Screenwriter | — | 1959 |
| No Score Yet | The Roots of Heaven | Forsythe | — | 1958 |
| No Score Yet | Too Much, Too Soon | John Barrymore | — | 1958 |
| No Score Yet | The Sun Also Rises | Mike Campbell | — | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | Duel | Actor | — | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | Istanbul | James Brennan | — | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | The Big Boodle | Ned Sherwood | — | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | Lilacs in the Spring (Let's Make Up) | Actor | — | 1954 |
| No Score Yet | The Master of Ballantrae | Jamie Durie | — | 1953 |
| No Score Yet | Cuban Story | Host | — | 1953 |
| No Score Yet | Against All Flags | Brian Hawke | — | 1952 |
| No Score Yet | Mara Maru | Gregory Mason | — | 1952 |
| 78% | Kim | Mahbub Ali, the Red Beard | — | 1951 |
| No Score Yet | Adventures of Captain Fabian | Screenwriter Capt. Michael Fabian | — | 1951 |
| No Score Yet | Rocky Mountain | Capt. Lafe Barstow (CSA) | — | 1950 |
| No Score Yet | Montana | Morgan Lane | — | 1950 |
| No Score Yet | It's a Great Feeling | Jeffrey Bushfinkle | — | 1949 |
| No Score Yet | That Forsyte Woman | Soames Forsyte | — | 1949 |
| No Score Yet | Adventures of Don Juan | Don Juan de Marana | — | 1948 |
| No Score Yet | Silver River | Capt. Mike McComb | — | 1948 |
| No Score Yet | Escape Me Never | Sebastian Dubrok | — | 1947 |
| No Score Yet | Cry Wolf | Mark Caldwell | — | 1947 |
| No Score Yet | Never Say Goodbye | Phil Gayley | — | 1946 |
| No Score Yet | San Antonio | Clay Hardin | — | 1945 |
| No Score Yet | Objective, Burma! | Maj. Nelson | — | 1945 |
| No Score Yet | Uncertain Glory | Jean Picard / Emil DuPont | — | 1944 |
| No Score Yet | Hollywood Canteen | Actor | — | 1944 |
| No Score Yet | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Specialty | — | 1943 |
| No Score Yet | Edge of Darkness | Gunnar Brogge | — | 1943 |
| No Score Yet | Northern Pursuit | Steve Wagner | — | 1943 |
| 100% | Gentleman Jim | James J. Corbett | — | 1942 |
| 67% | Desperate Journey | Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes | — | 1942 |
| No Score Yet | Dive Bomber | Lt. Douglas Lee | — | 1941 |
| No Score Yet | Footsteps in the Dark | Francis Warren | — | 1941 |
| 82% | They Died With Their Boots On | George Armstrong Custer | — | 1941 |
| 100% | The Sea Hawk | Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe | — | 1940 |
| 83% | Santa Fe Trail | Jeb Stuart | — | 1940 |
| No Score Yet | Virginia City | Capt. Kerry Bradford | — | 1940 |
| 71% | The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Robert Devereaux | — | 1939 |
| 100% | Dodge City | Wade Hatton | — | 1939 |
| No Score Yet | The Dawn Patrol | Courtney | — | 1938 |
| No Score Yet | The Sisters | Frank Medlin | — | 1938 |
| No Score Yet | Four's a Crowd | Robert Kensington Lansford | — | 1938 |
| 100% | The Adventures of Robin Hood | Robin Hood | — | 1938 |
| No Score Yet | Another Dawn | Captain Denny Roark | — | 1937 |
| 60% | The Prince and the Pauper | Miles Hendon | — | 1937 |
| No Score Yet | The Perfect Specimen | Gerald Beresford Wicks | — | 1937 |
| No Score Yet | Green Light | Dr. Newell Paige | — | 1937 |
| 71% | Charge of the Light Brigade | Major Geoffrey Vickers | — | 1936 |
| 100% | Captain Blood | Dr. Peter Blood | — | 1935 |
| No Score Yet | The Case of the Curious Bride | Moxley | — | 1935 |
| No Score Yet | In the Wake of the Bounty | Fletcher Christian | — | 1933 |
QUOTES FROM Errol Flynn CHARACTERS
Don Juan de Marana says: I have loved you since the beginning of time.
Catherine says: But you only met me yesterday...
Don Juan de Marana says: Why, that was when time began!
Don Juan de Marana says: Like most other men there has always been an imaginary woman in my life. I endow her with all the virtues, I clothe her in perfection. Naturally I search for her in vain. I thought she could never exist except in my mind. Now I find out she does.
Maid Marian says: Why, you speak treason!
Robin Hood says: Fluently.
Don Juan de Marana says: My dear friend, there's a little bit of Don Juan in every man, and since I am Don Juan, there must be more of it in me!
Tom Randolph says: Why don't you relax?
Himself says: If you want Dinah Shore you don't talk to HER.(Horton)
Himself says: If you want Dinah Shore you don't talk to HER. [Horton]
Barney Johnson says: Barney Jackson never let a client down.
Barney Johnson says: Now there's 50 dollars worth of advice and now we're even.
Tom Randolph says: I got my radio deal, 500 bucks, I'm set for life.
Pat Dixon says: Well, this is something even Ripley wouldn't believe (her new home).
Pat Dixon says: Well, this is something even Ripley wouldn't believe. [her new home]
Tom Randolph says: I'm smart enough to sing nothing but hits.
Kerry Bradford says: I must go on, this jobs got to be finished.
Julia Hayne says: I love you darling (to Kerry).
Julia Hayne says: I love you darling.
Kerry Bradford says: That.s enough for me (being told Julia loves him).
Kerry Bradford says: That's enough for me. [being told Julia loves him]
Kerry Bradford says: Some consolation to know that I'm not the first person to be fooled by a woman (Julia).
Kerry Bradford says: Some consolation to know that I'm not the first person to be fooled by a woman. [Julia]
Vance Irby says: to Murrell: I'll give you 10,000 dollars to do a job for me.
Vance Irby says: [to Murrell] I'll give you 10,000 dollars to do a job for me.
Julia Hayne says: Have you told ME everything? (to Flynn)
Julia Hayne says: Have you told ME everything?
Julia Hayne says: You're in some sort of danger aren't you? (to Flynn).
Julia Hayne says: You're in some sort of danger aren't you?
Vance Irby says: I know what this means to you Julia, but you are the one person that can do it (send Flynn to Vance)
Vance Irby says: I know what this means to you Julia, but you are the one person that can do it [send Flynn to Vance]
Kerry Bradford says: I never argue with women, and certainly not one with a gun! (with a rifle to his chest).
Kerry Bradford says: I never argue with women, and certainly not one with a gun! [with a rifle to his chest]
Kerry Bradford says: When I was a boy in Ireland, I thought the same way (badly) about Englishmen.
Kerry Bradford says: When I was a boy in Ireland, I thought the same way [badly] about Englishmen.
Vance Irby says: Theres a Union spy in town (speaking of Flynn).....
Vance Irby says: Theres a Union spy in town. [speaking of Flynn]
Kerry Bradford says: I want you, your gold and your friends. (on discovering the secret shipment of gold to the South.)
Kerry Bradford says: I want you, your gold and your friends. [on discovering the secret shipment of gold to the South]
Vance Irby says: They may get me, but thats not important, its the gold thats important.
John Murrell says: You should remember doctor, its not the first time I was here. (arriving with a bullit in arm).
John Murrell says: You should remember doctor, its not the first time I was here. [arriving with a bullit in arm]
John Murrell says: I'm hoping you aren't thinking of collecting this reward ( a bounty is on Murrell's head).
John Murrell says: I'm hoping you aren't thinking of collecting this reward [a bounty is on Murrell's head]
Dr. Cameron says: What do think this is? a sideshow?
Vance Irby says: 5 million and a thousand miles.....(to deliver the gold to the Confederacy in secret)
Vance Irby says: 5 million and a thousand miles... [to deliver the gold to the Confederacy in secret]
Kerry Bradford says: Frankly, I'm not too sure of anything these days (about Julia Haynes that is).
Kerry Bradford says: Frankly, I'm not too sure of anything these days. [about Julia Haynes that is]
Kerry Bradford says: Oh anything, and make it a double. (a drink after seeing Julia on stage).
Kerry Bradford says: Oh anything, and make it a double. [a drink after seeing Julia on stage]
Marblehead says: I wonder what she'd do if we had another drink (picture on the wall of a near nude gal).
Marblehead says: I wonder what she'd do if we had another drink. [picture on the wall of a near nude gal]
Vance Irby says: What harm can a few southernors do out here (in Virginia City)
Vance Irby says: What harm can a few southernors do out here [in Virginia City]
Kerry Bradford says: Don't let him question you, he's (Irby) a Union spy.(speaking to Julia who trusted Irby as a fellow southrerner)
Kerry Bradford says: Don't let him question you, he's [Irby] a Union spy. [speaking to Julia who trusted Irby as a fellow southerner]
Kerry Bradford says: I believe in predestination.....
Kerry Bradford says: Now Mr. Murrell, your going to tell your boys playtimes over.
Kerry Bradford says: You stay there, if you behave yourself I may come back and get you. (left her on a tree limb)
Kerry Bradford says: You stay there, if you behave yourself I may come back and get you. [left her on a tree limb]
Kerry Bradford says: I wish you would (fall), I fell ten days ago (fell in love).
Kerry Bradford says: I wish you would [fall] I fell ten days ago. [fell in love]
Kerry Bradford says: The interesting thing is what keeps them here.
Kerry Bradford says: I've been looking on the other side of mountains all my life.
Kerry Bradford says: I only understand that we must go seeing each other....
Julia Hayne says: Promise me we won't ask each other questions until we cross bridges and reach the other side.
Drover says: He was just another murderer (ie Picard)..... Nobody can help me decide this (ie the fate of Picard).
Drover says: He was just another murderer [ie Picard]..... Nobody can help me decide this. [ie the fate of Picard]
Jean Picard says: I'd better be going along, Gestapo clocks may be fast.
Jean Picard says: Somehow (Paris) is always beautiful before dark.
Jean Picard says: Somehow [Paris] is always beautiful before dark.
Jean Picard says: Tell (Marianne) .... we'll think of something.
Jean Picard says: Tell Marianne... we'll think of something.
Drover says: What is it that brought you (Picard) back (to turn himself in to the Gestapo).
Drover says: What is it that brought you [Picard] back. [to turn himself in to the Gestapo]
Jean Picard says: What time do they shoot me?
Jean Picard says: Its been a long road.
Jean Picard says: Yes, but it has a good ending.
Gestapo Agent says: You see, you forgot how to answer that one (a question that quizzed all captives).
Gestapo Agent says: You see, you forgot how to answer that one. [a question that quizzed all captives]
Innkeeper says: She's (the horse) like France , too old too beat, too old to die.
Innkeeper says: She's [the horse] like France , too old too beat, too old to die.
Marianne says: I don't know, I don't understand these things. (the killing, the war)
Marianne says: I don't know, I don't understand these things. [the killing, the war]
Jean Picard says: There must be somewhere we can go.... we can find a new life somewhere..... you wait for me here.
Marianne says: I love you with all my heart (to Picard).
Marianne says: I love you with all my heart. [to Picard]
Jean Picard says: I want to go to this village priest and clear my soul. (Picard gets "relgion" as he faces certain death on turning himself in. It was all an act to escape).
Jean Picard says: I want to go to this village priest and clear my soul. [Picard gets 'relgion' as he faces certain death on turning himself in. It was all an act to escape]
Marianne says: They're ready to turn you in. (the villagers suspect Picard of being the one the Germans are after).
Marianne says: They're ready to turn you in. [the villagers suspect Picard of being the one the Germans are after]
Father Le Clerc says: They would have turned you (the crowd) into murderers......the only crime is that you should believe them and send an innocent man (Picard) to his death.
Father Le Clerc says: They would have turned you [the crowd] into murderers......the only crime is that you should believe them and send an innocent man [Picard] to his death.
Police Commissioner says: Why were they (the crowd) gathered here?
Police Commissioner says: Why were they [the crowd] gathered here?
Father Le Clerc says: That my dear friend, is our affair.
Jean Picard says: I'm running away from more than those villagers.
Marianne says: Take me with you.
Jean Picard says: Its so late in so many ways. (kisses Marianne)
Jean Picard says: Its so late in so many ways. [kisses Marianne]
Jean Picard says: I'm looking a that little pulse there in your throat. (talking to Marriane)
Jean Picard says: I'm looking a that little pulse there in your throat. [talking to Marriane]
Drover says: We've had enough fishing, both of us. (after wasting time fishing).
Drover says: We've had enough fishing, both of us. [after wasting time fishing]
Drover says: No Picard, you have an appointment in Paris tonight.
Jean Picard says: At this point everybody in the world is trembling.
Jean Picard says: How better can a man live the last than three days of his life (on meeting Marianne.)
Jean Picard says: How better can a man live the last than three days of his life [on meeting Marianne]
Marianne says: We don't know where to turn or who to tell.
Jean Picard says: What? are all the men around here blind? (asking about Marianne's romances)
Jean Picard says: What? are all the men around here blind? [asking about Marianne's romances]
Drover says: It wasn't my idea,[their plan to fool the Germans] there is always the guillotine you know.
Drover says: It wasn't my idea, [their plan to fool the Germans] there is always the guillotine you know.
Drover says: I intend to enjoy my pension some day. (chains Picard to the bed)
Drover says: I intend to enjoy my pension some day. [chains Picard to the bed]
Jean Picard says: Always the policeman, here I dig help to dig my own grave and you still don't trust me.
Jean Picard says: At least it has more dignity than the guillotine. (being shot by a firing squad)
Jean Picard says: At least it has more dignity than the guillotine. [being shot by a firing squad]
Jean Picard says: A hundred innocent lives for one guilty one (his own)
Jean Picard says: A hundred innocent lives for one guilty one [his own]
Jean Picard says: I'll be honest with you, I do have a prejudice against the guillotine.
Jean Picard says: A hundred men you could have saved and didn't.
Drover says: I'm willing to risk everything on a theif and a murderer (he will release Picard to be caught by the Germans and certain death for Picard)
Drover says: I'm willing to risk everything on a theif and a murderer [he will release Picard to be caught by the Germans and certain death for Picard]
Father Le Clerc says: Anything that maintain a free spirit is worth a life.
Jean Picard says: What's wrong with [a name like] Emile on a tombstone? Sounds like a hair dresser.
Jean Picard says: My head comes off the way it is (he was being shaved for the guillotine).
Jean Picard says: My head comes off the way it is. [he was being shaved for the guillotine]
Jean Picard says: I said it was the floor. Isn't that blunt enough? (when asked about his using a blunt intstrument to kill someone)
Jean Picard says: I said it was the floor. Isn't that blunt enough? [when asked about his using a blunt intstrument to kill someone]
Henri Duval says: Even if I could, the whole world is asleep.
Louise says: You look like you got caught in an air raid.
Henri Duval says: I see you helped yourself to my best suit. (Picard was dressed in Duval's suit as he needed a change of clothes)
Henri Duval says: I see you helped yourself to my best suit. [Picard was dressed in Duval's suit as he needed a change of clothes]
Drover's Wife says: Well, it said coffee on the bag. (Her husband Drover asked her what awful coffee he just drank)
Drover's Wife says: Well, it said coffee on the bag. [her husband Drover asked her what awful coffee he just drank]
Louise says: If anyone told me I would take a train clear across France, I'd laugh in his face.
Jean Picard says: Then laugh in mine, sweetheart.
Steve Wagner says: Whatever he is, he's no northwoodsman.
Jim Austen says: A German officer in the north country. I don't get it.
Col. Hugo von Keller says: I give you my word as a German officer.
Jim Austen says: I think we captured a German flyer. [uh, no, he was sent by submarine]
Laura McBain says: You're not going to marry him, I am.
Laura McBain says: He captured 3 German aviators. [no, just one and he was not flying to Canada]
Steve Wagner says: Fast? We've had the longest engagement in Manitoba!
Flying Officer Johnny Hammond says: Pull up a Swastika [a chair] and sit down.
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: By the way, has it occurred to you what will happen if we are caught in these [german] uniforms?
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: If you play your cards right, I may throw in a couple of old [girls]telephone numbers for good measure.
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: If you play your cards right, I may throw in a couple of old [girls] telephone numbers for good measure.
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: Say, can't you get some hot conga music on that? (airplain radio)
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: Say, can't you get some hot conga music on that? [airplain radio]
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: Why don't we go down (to bomb) and get it over with.
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: Why don't we go down [to bomb] and get it over with.
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: Brace yourself sonny boy. [trying to unload bombs under heavy anti-aircraft fire]
Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes says: Tell the men to stand by for a crash landing.
Flying Officer Johnny Hammond says: He had to do it (set the plane afire). The bombsight's in there.
Flying Officer Johnny Hammond says: He had to do it. [set the plane afire] The bombsight's in there.
Gunnar Brogge says: She went to college.
Capt. Koenig says: You are staying in this hole like I am.
Dr. Martin Stensgard says: This man is in no condition to talk.
Gunnar Brogge says: I could kill you for this (to the doctor).
Gunnar Brogge says: I could kill you for this. [to the doctor]
Dr. Martin Stensgard says: God help us, God help us all.
Anna Stensgard says: How many mornings are we going to say goodbye?
Gunnar Brogge says: If we are going to fight, we must be like steel.
Gunnar Brogge says: I could sail away to England blindfolded (after seeing a map to England).
Gunnar Brogge says: I could sail away to England blindfolded [after seeing a map to England]
Will Scarlett says: Robin, I've just got word of- [sees Friar Tuck and breaks off]
Robin Hood says: It's all right, he's one of us.
Will Scarlett says: One of us? He looks like three of us!