Monday, September 19, 2016

No Wicked Ways With Her

I just realized that Olivia de Havilland, the only surviving cast member of the 1939 classic movie Gone With the Wind (she played Melanie), recently turned 100. I looked her up on Wikipedia and learned an interesting tidbit. She made eight films with Australian heart-throb Errol Flynn, but despite their many pairings, fireworks between them never ignited. Here's why:

Although known as one of Hollywood's most exciting on-screen couples, de Havilland and Errol Flynn were never involved in a romantic relationship.Upon first meeting her at Warner Bros. in August 1935, Flynn was drawn to the 19-year-old actress with "warm brown eyes" and "extraordinary charm." In turn, de Havilland fell in love with him,but kept her feelings inside, later recalling, "He never guessed I had a crush on him ... it never occurred to me that he was smitten with me, too."

Flynn later wrote, "By the time we made The Charge of the Light Brigade, I was sure that I was in love with her." Flynn finally professed his love on March 12, 1937, at the Coronation Ball for King George VI at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where they slow danced together to "Sweet Leilani" at the hotel's Cocoanut Grove nightclub. "I was deeply affected by him," she later remembered, "It was impossible for me not to be." The evening ended on a sobering note, however, with de Havilland insisting that despite his separation from his wife Lili Damita, he needed to divorce her before their relationship could proceed. Flynn reunited with his wife later that year, and de Havilland never acted on her feelings for Flynn. 

I thought I'd read somewhere that she couldn't stand him. Guess I was wrong!

These are the films they appeared in together: 
Captain Blood (1935) 
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) 
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 
Four's a Crowd (1938) 
Dodge City (1939) 
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) 
Santa Fe Trail (1940) 
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

I haven't viewed all of them, but of the ones I have, I think I enjoyed Robin Hood best! Have you seen any of them?  If so, which are your favorites?  

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

5 comments:

Norma said...

And I'd read somewhere that he was gay!

Maria--I have a question for you that has nothing to do with the post, so I apologize in advance. You always have such great crock pot recipes--I love my crock pot, but I'm lazy. Can you maybe do a post on recipes for crock pots that don't need any prior cooking?

Maria McKenzie said...

Hi Norma! I don't think he was gay; maybe bi? He did love the ladies, so I've read.

I will be happy to post some crock pot recipes that don't involve any prior cooking. I'm lazy too and prefer to dump everything in and turn it on! I'll make sure what I post from now on is like that:).

William Kendall said...

Adventures of Robin Hood is my favourite. I've seen a couple of their other pairings.

Maria McKenzie said...

I've seen maybe three others, but Robin Hood stands out as the most enjoyable;).

Norma said...

Thank you so much!