Is The Above From Hello, God?

Errol Flynn Behind Scenes on MGM's Kim

Reader Brian commented earlier today and mentioned that he had what may be a still from Hello, God, Errol Flynn's so-far missing feature referenced in Part Two of Greenbriar's Against All Flagspost. I invited Brian to send the image along, and here it is. Time, then, for Flynn authorities to step up and educate us. Was this photo taken during the Hello, God shoot? If so, it's the first I've ever seen. Per Brian in his comment, Errol sports the Kim beard from that just-finished show, and we know Hello, God followed Kim on the actor's schedule. Varietysays Flynn and William Marshall partnered to do Hello, God, and that "Flynn was making Kim at Metro ... on loanout from WB." Variety also reported the Flynn/Marshall lawsuit dating their initial Hello, God agreement to 2-15-50. According to The American Film Institute Catalog, Kim was filmed between December 1949 (beginning with location in India) and late February (and possibly into March) 1950, back at Culver City.

Flynn Cultivates Kim Goatee and Short-Lived Fiancée Princess Irene Ghika

Errol Does Kim Publicity with "Harem Beauty" Laurette Luez

Also understood is that much of Flynn's Hello, God action takes place on a beach. I'm tilting toward Brian's still being the McCoy, andErrol Flynn Slept Here/Errol and Olivia author Robert Matzen agrees: The fact that he's wearing his 1949 goatee authenticates the still rather than casting doubt about it. The Films of Errol Flynn also talks about a stop-off in Italyfor Hello God on the way back to MGM to finish Kim. Fascinating stuff! To what Bob Matzen writes, I'd add Variety's reportage that beach scenes with Flynn were made at Santa Barbara. Could these have been in addition to footage shot during his sojourn in Italy, or was it true that, as some claim, William Marshall shot Italian scenes with a double, then matched these with material later done with Flynn in the US?Whatever the details, it would appear that, thanks to Brian, we now have an actual Hello, God image to reflect upon, and debate over.

Life High Up: Errol and Princess Irene Taking To The Air Again

7-12-12: More from Robert Matzen re Errol Flynn and Hello, God:

To answer your original question, John, I have never seen any image published anywhere on Hello God. Flynn fans have never had a point of reference to even imagine what this motion picture would have looked like.

On and Off Planes: Flynn and Betrothed Patrice Arrive in Paris (9-27-50)

For the record, I’m not buying that EF participated in Hello God to break a lucrative contract he had just recently signed and desperately needed so that he could maintain a lifestyle that included Mulholland Farm and Zaca. True, he had scaled back the luxuries of Mulholland by this time, but keeping a 118-foot schooner manned, seaworthy, and stocked with provisions was enough for Flynn to contend with—and then you add in alimony to two ex-wives with children. If you look at this photo and if we agree that this is indeed a Hello God still that was shot on the coast of Italyearly in 1950, you see a sober, focused performer at work and not a self-destructive force of nature. Flynn the chameleon could clean up his act when motivated and arrive on set as a charming professional. There’s lots of evidence available in his post-war pictures.

Flynn with Caddies at the Rome Golf Club During Italian Stopover

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9-30-50: Errol Gifts Patrice Wymore With Sapphire Ring as
 Monte Carlo Wedding Date Approaches

Hello God was a small, independent production that Flynn apparently did on a whim at a time when he was really feeling his oats— courting Princess Irene, having just worked for MGM on two splashy productions in a row. The first surrounded him with major Metro stars and the second took him around the world in luxury. Now here was a juicy little picture that would allow him to really act, without a horse or a sword in sight, and he was big on showing his craft in this second half of his career. Yes, it was an anti-war vehicle, and he’d done one of those already, The Dawn Patrol, and it had been a big hit. So he stopped and made Hello God figuring this would be his one outside picture a year (1951) allowed in the Warner Bros. contract. What makes sense to me is that, by the time Hello God was ready for release, somebody had advised that he would soon be consumed in the HUAC witch hunts if this thing saw light of day. The Red Scare and the rise of Joe McCarthy were the wildcards here, it stands to reason, and caused Flynn to panic and turn on William Marshall. It wasn’t like Flynn to turn on a friend, so the scare must have been big indeed, and he thought he was fighting for his very survival.

Many thanks to Robert Matzen for the foregoing --- and be sure to check out hisChasing Legends blog for lots more about Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland.

Pirate Banners Fly At Universal --- Part Two

Hard Not To Like Such Publicity as This for Buccaneer's Girl

A same ship and deck served as well for Captains Philip Friend, Jeff Chandler, Scott Brady, even Flynn when he took command. Pirate action at Universal might soar on borrowed wings of The Spanish Main, The Black Swan --- whatever color footage other companies supplied (for a price) to augment budget sailings from U-I. In a right spirit, these are entertaining and a window to picture-making done old-fashioned ways for not so choosy patronage.  Where's harm in switching off intellect to watch stalwarts Chandler and Brady spar over Suzan Ball in 1952's Yankee Buccaneer? They couldn't all be artful pirates after a lavish fashion of The Sea Hawk ... even Flynn never did another to approach that. As seagoing was mainly regarded a child's enterprise, there were precious few moneyed forays to the genre (did MGM ever try them?) --- not unlike poverty of horror and sci-fi done deluxe.

Flynn Lends On-Camera Hosting Support To U-I's Trailer for Against All Flags

Was Night Life Still As Much Fun
 for Early 50's Flynn?

Against All Flags brought back $1.4 million in domestic rentals --- OK, but not great (Burt Lancaster's 1952 go at Crimson Pirating took $2.1 domestic and an additional three million foreign). I don't know what AAF realized in oversea dollars, but I'd wager it topped the $1.4 in US loot. Most Flynn actioners traveled well --- Adventures Of Don Juan, Mara Maru, and The Master Of Ballantrae all grossed better cross-ocean than here. He was an international star in the most profitable sense of the term. EF got square behind Against All Flags, even to hosting its trailer and "truthfully" saying this was the action picture he most enjoyed making. I'd like to think Errol came away with some green, the heaven knows he needed it, given combo of wives, creditors, and tax agents dunning him.

On-location Errol Enjoys Society of a Character-Acting Rogue's Gallery

Heads Up, Errol! These Friar's Club Temptresses are Actually Bob Mitchum and Burt Lancaster in Femme Disguise

Trade-reported backdrop to Against All Flags was Errol Flynn's quicksand of an outlaw movie, if you'd even call it a movie, one Hello, God, so misbegotten (and buried since) as to make us wonder if it was real or just dreamed up to inspire lawsuits and bad press. Few names of Flynn's caliber had come to such tawdry impasse, this a year or three ahead of public awareness that he'd slipped. There would be disaster of an unfinished William Tell to clinch the fall, not really Errol's fault (he'd made unwise partners --- again), but Hello, God was ill-fated from a start, and according to estranged-from EF writer/producer William Marshall, done by the star in hopes of breaking his Warner contract (what sense did that make?).

Flynn Clowns It Up on Radio's In Town Tonight with Jack Benny, Dennis Day, and Danny Kaye

Hello, God began as an anti-war screed, or maybe a documentary --- who knew other than Marshall? --- whose brainchild it was. He and Flynn clashed quick enough, court and column bound from there, and the beating EF took made him look less pro than chump, one perhaps in need of contract supervision to avoid bogs like this. Flynn had played scenes to go with real-life war footage Marshall claimed to have got. They'd call it Before You Sleep Tonight, and four reels Marshallbrought to the project would be blown up into a full-length feature, according to Variety, the balance to be Flynn's stuff, which was shot on rented stages at Hal Roach Studios and beach locations at Santa Barbara.

Go On, Ya Big Lug! Third Wife Patrice Wymore Playfully Chastises EF During Club Crawl

William Marshall claimed Flynn had given him a $50,000 note in exchange for half-interest in Hello, God. To this he added demand for $300K of lost revenue as a result of Errol spiriting away the finished negative and hiding same --- seems Marshall had shown Hello, God to a consortium known as The Motion Picture Sales Corporation, whose membership included actor Vincent Price, but then Flynn snatched Hello, God's negative and obliged Marshall to reconstruct the pic using other takes and trims. Despite "important shots" still missing, said Variety, his intent was to release what was cobbled, "in Europe before Christmas (1952)."

A Colorful Twenty-Four Sheet Serves as Youngster Lure to Sweet Treats Served Here

Flynn was for blocking any showings, "since with its pacifist theme, it would be detrimental to the public welfare to release it at this time," according to Variety. Errol was concerned that "it might be construed as Communist propaganda." Flynn's reputation was done no good being associated with this mess. Might the fiasco of Hello, God have impacted on EF's later effort to get completion cash for his stalled William Tell? At last year's Western Film Fair in Winston-Salem, I asked guest Sherry Jackson, age eight when she co-starred with Errol in Hello, God, what if anything she remembered about working with Flynn. Not too much as it turned out, though he did hand her a dime when they finished and told her to give him a call once she turned eighteen. On my inquiry as to whether she'd had or seen any stills from Hello, God, Ms. Jackson replied there were but two her mother kept. They're probably the only images that exist from this rarest of missing Flynn links (unless a Greenbriar reader has some socked away ... or maybe a print of the film?).

Flynn Sails With Universal-International --- Part One

Among the unexpected to show up on Region 2 Blu-Ray comes Against All Flags, a costume actioner Errol Flynn did for Universal-International shortly before truest career plummet began. Did U-I maintain standing sets for repeated pirate forays their contract and guest players took? Certainly these had polish, if not lasting value, of Warner, or even Fox, sailings. I watched Flags close for economies, there in abundance, but not once does it openly cheat, as pretender sword pics oft-would. Errol looks surprisingly preserved as well --- did he behave in hopes of continued Uni work and more percentage pay like Alan Ladd, Jim Stewart, and Tyrone Power were getting?

So Far as Errol Figured, Those Scars on His Back Were Ones Slave-Driving Warner Bros. Left

Flynn was represented by MCA agent Lew Wasserman, lately responsible for getting Stewart 50% of profit flowing from Universal's Winchester'73, a deal said to have yielded upwards of $600K to the actor. Soon enough came other name players beating at the percentage door. The money seems to have been real enough, at least for some. Tyrone Power allegedly took $750,000 by The Mississippi Gambler's theatrical wind-up. Alan Ladd was satisfied enough with Desert Legion to stay on for Saskatchewan. Wasserman by 1951 represented power beyond that of most studio heads. He had succeeded in re-negotiating Errol Flynn's Warner pact to allow outside pictures, one per annum, Against All Flags to be the star's first go at profit participantion with Universal.

Errol at Maureen's Mercy --- She'd Write Later That He Was a Pleasure To Work With

Flynn Rehearses Swordplay on Universal Soundstage

Flynn's doubled a lot in Flags --- Blu-Ray betrays such in action not as noticeable before. Were 35mm Tech prints so sharp as HD projection? I've gone long enough with digital to have near-forgot. You're way past surfeit of this stuff when sword scuffles become more a matter of spotting stand-ins than what action is performed. Flynn was good with medium-shot dueling ... sometimes he'd get too frisky, or in cups, so opponents got cut. Didn't I read where young Chris Lee spilled blood a few years later on TV's Errol Flynn Theatre wherein he guested?

There is Maureen O'Hara as a lady pirate, loath to kiss Errol unless it's her idea. Was she any sort of feminist role model ... ever? ... or did too many pairings with (and spankings from) John Wayne scotch O'Hara placement among icons for gender equality? She's actually good with a sword, near so as Flynn. Small wonder Universal touted their teaming as one that had to happen. Blu-Ray supports O'Hara's rep as a (no, the) Queen Of Technicolor. With lards of damaging make-up they used to put on stars, especially for Tech work, I'm surprised her complexion stood up to years of such application (and maybe it didn't, as unretouched stills of any Gold Age femme star are hard to come by).

Errol Flynn's Most Dependable Companions --- A Good Book
 and a Faithful Dog

George Sherman directed Against All Flags. He knew action from herding horseflesh and cowboys mounted thereon. I'll bet he finished this under budget. Sherman's is effort we call "workmanlike," by no means a pejorative, as age and further exploration of modest output makes me better appreciate pro jobs done by journeymen still awaiting their due. Universal saw Against All Flagshighlighting a '52 season --- this was a money show and they'd spend (comparative) lots to put it equal as possible with period-dressed Metro, the latter's Stewart Granger series by far richest of adventure writ with feathers. Just having Flynn got AAF in houses less receptive to Uni programmers Tony Curtis or Jeff Chandler top-lined. It was sure-fires like Flynn, Stewart, Ladd, and Power that gave U-I revenue to develop in-house Curtis, Rock Hudson, and others who'd come to represent stardom for 50's youth, and indeed, it was company quest for unassailable A's that made them roll over for big-name % demands.

Among Universal's Junior Varsity Pirate Crew --- Philip Friend and Yvonne De Carlo

Universal's were otherwise the dime comic books of pirate movies. Looking at one was same as watching six for as much as they varied. Star potential was tested, option pick-ups determined by how (mostly) kid/teens responded to new faces. Some clicked, like Yvonne De Carlo as titular Buccaneer's Girl in 1950, but opposite number Philip Friend, "introduced" here (despite being in pics ten years), didn't registerand walked the plank. Such product serviced what was left of a movie-mad public, down principally to youth, enough of them fortunately there to generate profits so long as Universal kept costs at bay. Technicolor was a common thread through postwar U-I actioners, westerns and costume piece alike. Whatever deficiency lay in script or direction saw compensation for being at least pretty to look at. With proper DVD delivery, many still are.