Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn (TV 2007)

The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making ... See full summary »

Director:

Simon Nasht

Writers:

Simon Nasht, Robert de Young

Stars:

Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Meyers, Kathryn Medlock

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Lee	...	Himself - Narrator
Jeffrey Meyers	...	Himself - Biographer
Kathryn Medlock	...	Herself - Zoologist, Tasmanian Museum
Ila Andrews	...	Herself - School Friend
Deirdre Flynn	...	Herself - Daughter
John Hammond Moore	...	Himself - Biographer
Lincoln Hurst	...	Himself - Film Historian
Peter Valenti	...	Himself - Biographer
Vincent Sherman	...	Himself - Film Director and Friend
Rory Flynn	...	Herself - Daughter
Jack Marino	...	Himself - Actor
Nora Eddington	...	Herself - Interviewed 1985 (archive footage) (as Nora Eddington Flynn)
Beverly Aadland	...	Herself
Kyra Pahlen	...	Herself - Victor Pahlen's Daughter
Christopher Stollery	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 2007 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Errol Flynn - Teufel aus Tasmanien

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flaming Star Films, Lowlands Media, Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 59 min (documentary)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Dark Avenger (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Let's Never Stop Falling In Love"
Pink Martini

User Reviews

Enjoyable, surprising. A nice antidote to the usual cable TV fare

So many biographies stick to a ready-made and familiar pattern-- little more than a lame recital of movies and talking head interviews that do little to dig beneath the surface. A recently released American documentary about Errol Flynn was just that: predictable and lame Now from Australia, the homeland of the Tasmanian Devil himself, comes a much-more imaginative effort. This film is less about his film and much more about the man himself. And what a man! Flynn's amazing life was more extraordinary than any of his movie roles, and this film captures it with honesty, humour and not a little sadness.

Recently shown by the BBC and a feature of the 2007 Sydney Film Festival, director Nasht has complied another of his telling portraits of Australian icons. We can only wonder at the reaction it engendered from Flynn's surviving widow, Patricia Wymore, when she saw the rake's last girlfriend Beverley Aadland claim that she was the one true love of his life. Narrator Christopher Lee does a deft job of taking us through the often difficult life of his old friend and colleague. Despite Flynn's many faults, we can understand why so many of his contemporaries- and most of his many wives and girlfriends were so fond of the man.

Notable for some cheeky photographic montages (though it could have done with more)this is a fond but clear-eyed assessment of one of Hollywood's most fascinating characters- and a reminder of how anodyne most actors are today.