Book review – “Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was” by Tony Thomas

Thomas, co-writer of the first important book about Flynn (by someone other than Flynn himself), The Films of Errol Flynn, wrote this in response to Charles Higham’s famous 1980 hatchet job on Errol. The Higham book was notorious for claiming that Errol was a sexual deviate and a Nazi spy to boot, claims which have forever got the tits of Errol fans in a tizz.

Alright, for what it’s worth here’s my take on the Higham factor – even Higham’s most fervent critics don’t deny that Errol’s mate Erben was a Nazi spy, so Higham uncovering this (I understand he was the first) was a major score. Ditto his reports on Errol trying to get a visa for a German who was suspected by the FBI of being a spy and being tailed by the FBI.

But it was extremely naughty of Higham to distort the reports the way he did. Thomas is on solid ground with these criticisms, going through the papers from which Higham draws his conclusions. (eg On reports about Erben and Flynn in Spain the original refers to Erben spying, saying “he” – Higham changed his to “they” to imply Erben and Flynn, which is shocking). He also deservedly takes Higham to task for major errors like saying Errol never did USO shows, proving Errol couldn’t be in places alleged by Higham, and interviews people like Olivia de Havilland and Nora Eddington, who point out how Higham distorted their interviews with him.

There’s material there for a really good strong paper, if maybe not an entire book. (Even though this book is only short it feels padded at times, complete with a chapter by Patric Knowles). Thomas occasionally resorts to refuting Higham’s allegations by saying things like “that’s unlikely” instead of actually providing evidence to disprove them, but just when you’re worried he’s starting to coast, he comes up with a well-researched point about something.

I get the feeling that when Higham uncovered all the Erben stuff and FBI files on Errol Flynn he got over excited and ran with it too far. For biographers those sort of discoveries are the mother lode – Higham presumably knew that this discovery could ensure his immortality. (I bet when Higham dies the Errol-as-Nazi stuff will be in the first paragraph of any obit). I think Higham wanted to believe Errol was a Nazi – he had some proof and went a bit gag a over it, leading him whether intentionally or not, to distort the evidence. But when all is said and done, Higham did uncover that stuff about Erben, and even Thomas acknowledges that Errol was capable of casual racism and anti-Semitism very common from people of his class during the era.