Errol Flynn, the face of adventure showcase

Following the success of the showcases offered by the Mario Gromo Library/Mediatheque in 2017 dedicated to Alain Delon, Romy Schneider and Jeanne Moreau, and a brief showcase on French polar - this first showcase of the year is proposing four films in which the talent of Errol Flynn, directed by brilliant filmmaker Michael Curtiz, produced some of the best action and adventure films made in Hollywood between the Thirties and Forties. The Errol Flynn, the face of adventure showcase will be inaugurated by the screening of Captain Blood by Michael Curtiz, the film that marks the beginning of the artistic partnership between the actor and the director.

With an athletic physique and a seductive smile, Errol Flynn (1909-1959) was the most perfect incarnation of the reckless, daring and lighthearted hero of Hollywood cinema in his time. An Australian, the restless son of a bourgeois family, a globetrotter and adventurer, he made his debut in 1933 with In the wake of the Bounty by Charles Chauvel. After a brief theatrical period in London, Flynn reached Hollywood, where Warner Bros. intended to launch him as an emulator and heir to Douglas Fairbanks. The heavy burden of such an inheritance did not frighten daring Flynn, who, often directed by Michael Curtiz, soon created a series of energetic and resolute, but at the same time appealing and romantic heroes, that would characterize his entire career, becoming one of the most beloved actors worldwide, conquering the public with the athletic audacity of his performances, always corroborated by a note of Gasconade irony.

The Errol Flynn, the face of adventure showcase wants to pay a tribute to an actor who, even in what was perhaps a limited range of expression, was able, more than any other, to embody the Hollywoodian positive hero that became established in the second half of the Thirties, the main character of a golden age in which adventure cinema - presented in various ways according to the "swashbuckler", the pirate film or the fictional reconstruction of historical facts models - was made for dreaming and for making people dream. So, in Flynn’s "perhaps" not so expressive face, so distant from psychology subtleties, from acting sophistication but also a stranger to forced expressions and histrionic excesses, we can truly find the infancy of cinematic spectacle, in wonder, adventure and an awareness of the victory of good over evil: a flickering dream, but sometimes it is pleasant to be able to dream.

All screenings are admission free until full seating capacity is reached, subject to free membership registration to the Library/Mediatheque and presenting an identity document.

Screenings calendar

Monday 8 January, at 3.30 p.m.

Captain Blood (Michael Curtiz, USA 1935, 119’, b/w)

In 17th-century England doctor Peter Blood gets arrested and deported to the Caribbean island of Port Royal because of the help given to a group of rebels. Sold as a slave, he is bought by Arabella, the niece of the governor of the island. But the yearning for freedom leads Blood to escape and makes him become a privateer. Initially without ideals, he will redeem himself by fighting against the French and freeing Port-Royal, becoming its governor and rejoining his beloved Arabella. The association between Michael Curtiz and Errol Flynn in this first film, imposed the latter as a charismatic actor of adventure cinema.

With Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill

Monday 15 January, at 3.30 p.m.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (Michael Curtiz, USA 1936, 115’, b/w)

During the Crimean War, in the English garrison stationed at Chuckoti, Major Goeffrey Vickers and Captain Perry Vickers contend for the love of Elsa Campbell, the daughter of their commander. But romance and love skirmishes are short-lived, because the rebel rajah Surat Khan attacks the village and engages the British army in a battle to the death. During the famous cavalry charge in the Valley of Death, the lancers of the 27th Light Brigade meet their destiny of death and glory. The film, which sees the couple formed by Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland for the second time, contains one of the most famous and spectacular action sequences in the classical Hollywood cinema period, with the reconstruction of the charge of the 600.

With Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patrick Knowles, Donald Crisp

Monday 22 January, at 3.30 p.m.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, USA 1938, 102’, col.)

England, year 1191. While Richard the Lionheart is a prisoner of the Turks, his brother John assumes the regency of the country and establishes a repressive regime against ordinary people, oppressed by the arrogance of the nobles and the unbearable burden of taxes. Robin Hood, a fearless archer loyal to Richard, fights with his comrades against the usurper king and the sheriff of Nottingham, stealing money from tax collectors and returning it to ordinary people, waiting for the legitimate ruler to return home to bring back order. Flynn, in the role of Robin Hood, gives life to one of the best characterizations of his career, in an adventure film that is at the top tier of the swashbuckler genre.

With Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains

Monday 29 January, at 3.30 p.m.

The Sea Hawk (Michael Curtiz, USA 1940, 127’, b/w)

Goeffrey Thorpe is a buccaneer in the service of the English crown, on whose behalf he assaults and raids Spanish ships. A victim of the double game by English prime minister Lord Wolfingham, who maneuvres in the shadows to overthrow Queen Elizabeth, he falls into a trap as he prepares to attack Panama and is sentenced to life at the oars on a Spanish ship. But Thorpe does not lose strength and manages to organise a revolt and, seizing a ship, he sails to England where, after challenging Lord Wolfingham to a duel, he reveals the deceitful plot of which he was the victim to the queen. Inspired by the deeds of Francis Drake, the film confirms Flynn as one of the best performers of swashbuckler movies, ideally lining up with the Capitan Blood which introduced the actor to success.

With Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp