Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland—1939 to 1941
Legendary Romantic Screen Couple Star in Westerns, Elizabethan Drama
Jul 27, 2009
Did the off-screen relationship between the “Tasmanian devil” Flynn and the divine Olivia de Havilland match the steam of their on-screen personas? De Havilland recently told John Lichfield of the Independent (14 July 2009, “Golden Girl: The Divine Olivia de Havilland”) that she was “terribly attracted” to Flynn and he to her, but her sense of propriety meant they couldn’t be together unless his divorce was final, which didn’t happen until 1942, a year after their last film together.
Their first four films included the swashbuckling Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood, the quasi-historic Charge of the Light Brigade, and the screwball comedy Four’s a Crowd. (See Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland—1935 to 1938.) In 1939, Hollywood saw a resurgence of interest in Westerns, so three of the four remaining pictures, featuring Flynn and de Havilland as Warner Brothers’ biggest adventure-romance box-office draws, were Westerns along with the costume drama, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.
5. Dodge City (1939)
Dodge City was a highly successful “A” Western. In this Technicolor crowd pleaser, Flynn trades his tights in on fringed buckskin as wagon master, Wade Hatton. After guiding a wagon train to Dodge City, he is convinced to stay on as sheriff to clean up the lawless town. De Havilland’s outspoken Abbie Irving at first dislikes Hatton, unfairly blaming him for her brother’s death in route to Dodge City. Hatton though is smitten with Abbie and half the fun is watching him woo her. Bruce Cabot plays the town bad guy and Ann Sheridan the saloon hall singer. Alan Hale Sr. as Hatton’s trusty sidekick Rusty adds levity and is central to one of the best barroom brawls in film. Max Steiner’s bouncy score adds to the pleasure of this light, enjoyable westward excursion.
6. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Elizabeth and Essex is a quasi-historical drama, with Bette Davis as Queen Elizabeth I and Flynn as Robert Devereau, Earl of Essex. Essex is a charming rogue drawn to the Queen for ambition’s sake; the Queen is drawn to Essex for being a charming rogue. This does not, however, stop her from eventually having him beheaded for treason. Olivia de Havilland’s turn as the manipulative Lady Penelope Grey, a lady-in-waiting suffering unrequited love for Essex, is strong, but lacks the connection with Flynn their fans might prefer. (This casting was Jack Warner’s attempt to put de Havilland “in her place” lest she prove choosy after her successful Gone With the Wind loan-out to David Selznick.
Davis and Flynn hated each other during shooting, but Flynn later acknowledged Davis as “the greatest thing in the movies” (J. Steffen, 31 July 2009, Turner Classic Movies) and Davis later proclaimed to de Havilland upon re-watching the film, “I was wrong, wrong, wrong. He was brilliant” (Heeley, 2005, The Adventures of Errol Flynn).
The sets and costumes are extravagantly designed in this Technicolor showpiece which was nominated for Oscars for Best Color Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Score (another Korngold tour de force), Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. The sets and costumes reappear in Flynn’s superb 1941 return to piracy, The Sea Hawk. Also featured in Elizabeth and Essex are Alan Hale Sr. (as Essex’s foe, the Earl of Tyrone), Vincent Price (Sir Walter Raleigh), and Donald Crisp (Sir Francis Bacon).
7. Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Santa Fe Trail is an historically confused pre-Civil War drama trying to capitalize on the popularity of Westerns. As Bosley Crowther notes in his 21 December 1940 New York Times review, Santa Fe Trail “is chiefly a picture about something else”– that “something else” found somewhere fuzzily in the midst of a bio-pic of J.E.B. Stuart and an account of John Brown’s radical abolitionism.
Flynn stars as West Point graduate J.E.B. Stuart and de Havilland as the independent-minded Kit Carson Holliday (a substitute for Flora Cooke, Stuart’s actual wife). Stuart’s best friend and rival for Kit’s affections is George A. Custer (whom the real Stuart never met), played by a dashing Ronald Reagan. Alan Hale Sr. serves as comic sidekick Tex Bell, William Lundigan as Kit’s brother, Van Heflin as the greedy Carl Rader, and Raymond Massey as a fanatical John Brown. A score by Max Steiner adds neither clarity nor depth to the film, which despite all flaws was a leading money-maker in 1940. The only of the Flynn–de Havilland films now in the public domain, a rather rough copy is available as a Google video.
8. They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
As George Armstrong Custer, Flynn returns to West Point, graduates last in his class, and then serves with distinction as a Union officer in They Died with Their Boots On. Historical accuracy is never allowed to get in the way of good storytelling and the result is a highly entertaining action film. Olivia de Havilland plays Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Custer’s wife. After the Civil War, the Custers move west as George takes up a frontier command which requires a delicate balancing of the needs of the Sioux and Cheyenne, military interests, and demands of westward-moving settlers. Ultimately that balance could not be found, with Custer's efforts ending in infamous disaster at the Little Big Horn (aka Custer’s Last Stand).
Flynn and de Havilland knew this would be their last film together as her star power had moved her beyond roles serving mainly as romantic interest; thus their final farewell as George and Elizabeth Custer takes on added poignancy.
Directed by Raoul Walsh, They Died with Their Boots On was filmed by Bert Glennon (Oscar-nominated in 1939 for Best Cinematography in Black and White(Stagecoach) AND Color (Drums Along the Mohawk). It features Anthony Quinn (Crazy Horse), Sydney Greenstreet (Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott), and Hattie McDaniel (Callie). The score by Max Steiner takes full advantage of the iconic Seventh Cavalry regimental song, “Garry Owen.”
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