Flynn was the greatest swashbuckler of the sound era, he always looked great in period clothes and played such roles with a winning enthusiasm and panache. He wasn't considered much of an actor but others never looked as dashing or as suitable as Flynn in these roles, his films are pure entertainment and must have been an inviting escape for audiences of the time weary of Depression and war. Sadly Flynn had trouble seeing their worth and by extension his worth as an actor, the fifty years of his life he spent really drinking, drug taking and womanising himself into oblivion. On the surface he had everything but Flynn had fatal character flaws.
 
He had a most promiscious early life if his boasting is to be believed but was first noticed by the general public when he starred in Michael Curtiz's Captain Blood (1935) the first of a series of exciting swashbucklers and action films they made together : The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (the best action movie of all for many), Dodge City (1939) and The Sea Hawk (1940). Both director and star despite these successes hated each other, Flynn's leading lady in many of them was Olivia de Havilland. Their last film together They Died With Their Boots On (1941) a typical Hollywood version of the story of General Custer had an extra poignancy.




In the early Forties Flynn's run of great action movies seemed to dry up and he got himself into serious trouble when he was charged with raping a minor. He was aquitted but was likely guilty, sadly this lucky escape just seemed to accelerate his dependencies on drink and drugs. By the time he starred in Adventures of Don Juan (1949) the last of his fine swashbucklers Flynn's lifestyle was showing in his face, he and Alan Hale had to be held up on their horses.

Ironically in his last years Flynn got some critical plaudits for playing drunks such as John Barrymore in Too Much, Too Soon (1958) but it was too late to really boost his flagging ego. At the age of fifty his heart gave up the struggle but he remains forever vibrant and vital in those action classics of the Thirties and Forties.


FILMOGRAPHY

1932    IN THE WAKE OF THE BOUNTY (Australia) as Fletcher Christian
1934    MURDER AT MONTE CARLO (UK)    performer
1935    CAPTAIN BLOOD    title role
1935    THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE    performer
1935    DON'T BET ON BLONDES    performer
1936    THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE    performer
1937    ANOTHER DAWN    performer
1937    THE GREEN LIGHT    performer
1937    THE PERFECT SPECIMEN    performer
1937    THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER    as Miles Hendon
1938    THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD    as Robin Hood
1938    THE DAWN PATROL    performer
1938    FOUR'S A CROWD    performer
1938    THE SISTERS    performer
1939    DODGE CITY    performer
1939    THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX/ ELIZABETH THE QUEEN as the Earl of Essex
1940    SANTA FE TRAIL    performer
1940    THE SEA HAWK    performer
1940    VIRGINIA CITY    performer
1941    DIVE BOMBER    performer
1941    FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK    performer
1941    THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON as General Custer
1942    DESPERATE JOURNEY    performer
1942    GENTLEMAN JIM    as boxer James J. Corbett
1943    EDGE OF DARKNESS    performer
1943    NORTHERN PURSUIT    performer
1943    THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS    cameo
1944    UNCERTAIN GLORY    performer
1945    OBJECTIVE, BURMA!    performer
1945    SAN ANTONIO    performer
1946    NEVER SAY GOODBYE    performer
1947    CRY WOLF    performer
1947    ESCAPE ME NEVER    performer
1948    ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN    as Don Juan
1948    SILVER RIVER    performer
1949    IT'S A GREAT FEELING    cameo
1949    THAT FORSYTE WOMAN    as Soames Forsyte
1950    KIM    as Mahbub Ali
1950    MONTANA    performer
1950    ROCKY MOUNTAIN    performer
1951    ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN FABIAN    performer, screenwriter
1951    HELLO GOD (semidocumentary feature)    performer
1952    AGAINST ALL FLAGS    performer
1952    CRUISE OF THE ZACA (color 2-reeler record of Flynn's 1946 cruise to the South Seas)    performer, director, narrator
1952    DEEP-SEA FISHING (one reel)    performer
1952    MARA MARU    performer
1953    THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE (UK)    performer
1953    WILLIAM TELL (unfinished)    title role
1954    CROSSED SWORDS/ IL MAESTRO DI DON GIOVANNI (Italy)    performer
1954    LET'S MAKE UP/ LILACS IN THE SPRING (UK)    performer
1955    KING'S RHAPSODY (UK)    performer
1955    THE WARRIORS/ THE DARK AVENGER (UK)    as Prince Edward
1957    THE BIG BOODLE    performer
1957    ISTANBUL    performer
1957    THE SUN ALSO RISES    as Mike Campbell
1958    THE ROOTS OF HEAVEN    performer
1958    TOO MUCH, TOO SOON    as John Barrymore
1959    CUBAN REBEL GIRLS/ ASSAULT OF THE REBEL GIRLS/ATTACK OF THE REBEL GIRLS    performer, screenwriter, co-producer, narrator