"Errol Flynn Adventures" - DVD Boxed Set Giveaway and More...

Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away and in commemoration of this special holiday, The Lady Eve's Reel Life is giving away a copy of the DVD boxed set Errol Flynn Adventures from TCM Spotlight/Warner Home Video.

A collection of five World War II actioners, the set includes Flynn’s own favorite of his films, Objective Burma! (1945), directed by Raoul Walsh. Three more Walsh/Flynn collaborations are included in the set: Desperate Journey (1942), Northern Pursuit (1943) and Uncertain Glory (1944), along with Lewis Milestone’s Edge of Darkness (1943).

Objective Burma! (1945)

Extras were carefully chosen to accompany each film, “like the pre-show at the neighborhood Bijou,” as the packaging puts it, with “newsreels, trailers and short subjects…each selection from the film’s release year.”

To enter, send an e-mail with “Flynn Adventures” in the subject line to ladyevesidwich@gmail.com. Include your name, address and e-mail. Entries must be received by Noon PDT on Monday, May 30, 2011.

UPDATE:  A winner was selected in a random drawing at  Noon PDT on May 30. Congratulations to "Captain Gregg," a member of TCM's Classic Film Union who learned of the giveaway through that site. Thanks to all who participated, I hope to do more contests like this one in the future.

This boxed set retails for $39.99 on Amazon and has a 4 ½ star rating from the site’s customers. From Amazon’s editorial review: “Unlike so many boxed-set tributes to actors, this one's actually got a tight, logical theme: Errol Flynn Adventures offers five World War II pictures made at Warner Bros. during Flynn's reign as a top leading man. Four of the films were directed by one of Flynn's favored collaborators, the robust Raoul Walsh, and all of them have an urgent wartime commitment that puts them in a zone between entertainment and propaganda.” For a full review of this boxed set by CMBA member Classic Becky, click here.

This boxed set is an unopened review copy provided by Warner Home Video, and The Lady Eve’s Reel Life is not responsible for any defects or other product or packaging glitches.

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Errol Flynn was born in Hobart, Tasmania in 1909. His father was a biologist and professor and his mother was descended from a long line of seafarers who claimed an ancestor who served on the HMS Bounty.

Errol Flynn, circa 1923

Always a handful (a handsome, athletic handful), young Errol set off to seek his fortune in New Guinea in the late 1920s. His exploits there are open to debate due to his habit of embellishing his adventures, but it’s generally agreed that Flynn found various ways to make a living, from government service to slave trading. One of these many endeavors led to his life as a film star.

The story goes that in the early '30s filmmakers employed by the Australian government ventured to New Guinea to make a record of the territory. Flynn agreed to take them through uncharted waters on his boat. As the skipper of the vessel, he was often on camera. A while later Flynn received a telegram from Australian producer Charles Chauvel who offered him £50 plus expenses to travel to Tahiti and star in a film. It was a friend of Chauvel's who'd shot the government footage and word had gotten around that the "pilot" of the expeditionary boat had star potential. Flynn took the opportunity and starred as Fletcher Christian in In the Wake of the Bounty (1933). He was billed as Leslie Flynn.

A few adventures later Flynn arrived in London in pursuit of an acting career. It didn't take too much time but it took a lot of bravado for him to land the lead in Teddington Studio's production of Murder at Monte Carlo (1935) directed by Ralph Ince (younger brother of Hollywood pioneer Thomas and actor/director John). His performance prompted the head of the studio to cable Jack Warner: "WE HAVE HELL OF PERSONALITY HERE SUGGEST SIGN HIM FOR HOLLYWOOD FILM." Warner responded, "AGREE YOUR SUGGESTION."

Swashbuckling!

Flynn's first appearance in an American film was as a cadaver in The Case of the Curious Bride (1935). In his next film, Don't Bet on Blondes (1935), he had a speaking part. His third film and a starring role came about because Robert Donat dropped out. The movie was Captain Blood (1935) and it made Errol Flynn a star. His stardom grew with The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Dawn Patrol (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1941) and several other box office hits. Classified 4F and unable to serve in the war (a status Warner Bros. did not publicize), Flynn was cast in a series of World War II films - highlighted by Objective Burma! (1945). He delivered one of his finest performances cast against type in That Forsyte Woman (1948).

A high-profile movie star, Flynn's reputation as an epic womanizer, drinker and brawler was well-known and well-earned. His career waned and he aged rapidly in the 1950s, but he continued to work until the time of his death. His last major studio effort was John Huston's adaptation of Romain Gary's The Roots of Heaven (1958). His very last film, Cuban Rebel Girls (1959), co-starred his 17-year-old girlfriend, Beverly Aadland.

Flynn died in 1959 at age 50. He left behind a widow, two ex-wives and four children. Sean Flynn was born in 1941 to Errol Flynn and his first wife, actress Lily Damita. Sean, who resembled his father, had a brief movie career during the early 1960s.  By the mid-60s he'd become a freelance photojournalist and went on to cover the Arab-Israeli war and the war in Vietnam. He disappeared in Cambodia in 1970 with photojournalist Dana Stone, on assignment for CBS News and Time magazine. The two are presumed dead. Sean Flynn would have celebrated his 70th birthday this May 31.

Errol and Sean Flynn

Sean Flynn

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Posted by: Tukiyooo "Errol Flynn Adventures" - DVD Boxed Set Giveaway and More... Updated at : 7:30 AM

Monday, May 23, 2011