Archive for July, 2011
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29
Jul
2011
Favorite Fridays: Film Where Errol Flynn Pretends To Act Edition
Lindsay picks: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Watching Errol Flynn alongside frequent co-stars like Olivia de Havilland and Alan Hale is tolerable. But put Flynn opposite an acting force like Bette Davis and he turns to oatmeal. And not the steel-cut kind, either.
The strength of Davis’ performance makes it all-too-clear who played hooky from acting class a few too many times to go yachting. It’s a great credit to Bette Davis that she was able to pull off a memorable performance while acting opposite feigned emotion and melodrama.
Alix picks: Captain Blood (1935)
I read in an IMDB review for this film something to the effect of “Errol Flynn’s acting is as subtle as a stoplight.” Good thing Captain Blood is an over-the-top, melodramatic, swashbuckling adventure that only requires Flynn to portray about two emotions! The supporting cast also includes Olivia de Havilland as the damsel in distress and British actor Basil Rathbone as a Frenchman with an accent that wouldn’t be out of place in a Monty Python sketch.
