I wasn’t sure what to expect about this book; it had some decent reviews but the concept wasn’t overly impressive (a look at the career of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, concentrating only on their relationship). And when the book arrived it seemed slim. But to my delight it turned out to be a terrific piece of work.
The best books about Errol Flynn seem to be the ones that concentrate on a portion of his career – Errol Flynn in Northampton, Young Errol Flynn – and this one joins that small group. It’s highly entertaining, excellently researched with some wonderful photos. My only real gripe is some occasional over-ripe writing and the fact Matzen is so dismissive of the Aleutians campaign, in which thousands of Allies died and was important strategically.
Fascinating stuff: Hal Wallis was always bagging de Havilland’s performances in memos and arguing Anita Louise should be cast instead of her; Flynn and de Havilland went out on a date during a ball for the coronation of George VI; Frederick March was considered for many parts Flynn went on to play; the amount of meddling done by the studio on studio films (constant memos, replacing directors as easily as screenwriters, the amount of fighting and sniping).
I knew many of the stories concerning Captain Blood or Robin Hood but not the other films made by Olivia and Errol, particularly ones like Four’s a Crowd. Charge of the Light Brigade was physically tough, with an awful role for de Havilland; she loathed making Dodge City, being anxious throughout filming that she could make Gone with the Wind; she was cast in Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex to be shown who was boss by Jack Warner (he basically instructed everyone to ignore her during filming, which they did); Flynn freaked out on Elizabeth and Essex with all the dialogue, Bette Davis hassle and unsympathetic direction (I wondered why his performance was so weak when it was a role he could have hit out of the park); Santa Fe Trail saw Flynn become jealous of Ronald Reagan and de Havilland, contributing to Flynn storming off set and refusing to work with her again – but they later made up on a train trip to Santa Fe to promote the film (there are some charming photos of this); They Died with their Boots on saw some of their best ever work as a team (a strong case is made for Raoul Walsh being the inspiration behind this), and they dated for a time after filming… but then had a major falling out, the cause of which has never been known (my theory: he had sex with her and treated her badly after). But this meant plans to co-star them in Saratoga Trunk, which might have been a really good film, didn’t work out.
The impression I got from the book is of two massively attractive kids who became famous together, was stressed out by what it brought them, who loved flirting and squabbling with each other, and were never really serious about being romantic, but liked the idea of it. When things got serious, Flynn probably freaked out and dumped her – and de Havilland went running off after a similar literary womaniser, John Huston. It’s a shame she and Errol never worked together after 1942, but eight films is pretty good, and They Died With Their Boots On was a particularly apt one to go out on. Excellent value for Flynn/de Havilland fans.
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