--- name: "Errol Flynn" canonical: "https://film.one/person/errol-flynn" roles: ["Actor"] born: "20 June 1909" died: "14 October 1959" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 85 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-19T23:39:29.732693+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Errol Flynn Actor. Born 20 June 1909 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Died 14 October 1959. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 20 June 1909, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia - **Died:** 14 October 1959 - **Active:** 1935–1938 - **Also known as:** Errol Leslie Flynn, Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn - **Frequently works with:** [Basil Rathbone](https://film.one/person/basil-rathbone.md), [Michael Curtiz](https://film.one/person/michael-curtiz.md), [Olivia de Havilland](https://film.one/person/olivia-de-havilland.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errol_Flynn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q93188, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001224/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8724 ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*The Adventures of Robin Hood*](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-robin-hood.md) (90) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Errol Flynn > Flynn played rebels who found the whole business of rebellion faintly funny, and the grin did what other actors needed a speech for. In the Warner swashbucklers of the late 1930s that was close to perfect; the studio rarely asked him for anything else. Condemned to hang, Dr Peter Blood looks the judge over and informs him that he is a dying man. It is a small moment about forty minutes into *Captain Blood* (1935), and it is where Errol Flynn's career starts. He is not defiant and he is not frightened; he finds the proceedings faintly ridiculous and lets us see that he does. Blood is a doctor who never wanted to be a soldier and does not want to be a pirate, and Flynn plays the reluctance as amusement, so the man is charming where another actor would have been a brute. We grinned at him against our better judgement, and we were still grinning when he put on the captain's coat and Korngold's brass came in behind him. Warner Bros. had cast him in place of Robert Donat, and having found what they had, they used it for a decade. Michael Curtiz directed him ten times, Olivia de Havilland was his romantic lead eight times, and Basil Rathbone was on the other end of his sword three times. *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938) and *The Sea Hawk* (1940) are the shape of it: a period costume, a rebel with a cause, somebody in authority to defy and a heroine to win while he does it. Raoul Walsh took him on from *They Died with Their Boots On* (1941), the first of five together, and gave him the boxer James J. Corbett in *Gentleman Jim* (1942), the film most often produced when someone argues he could do more. At the end there is Mike Campbell in *The Sun Also Rises* (1957), a man coming apart. We have not reviewed those and will not judge them here. What he could do was move. He fenced as if it were a dance he had been asked to lead, and in the surf on that beach in *Captain Blood*, with Ernest Haller and Hal Mohr putting the light on the water behind him and George Amy cutting so we see each exchange whole, it is a pleasure to watch. Rathbone was plainly the better swordsman and made Flynn look good, which is a gift. What Flynn could not always do, early on, was stand still and feel something for the camera; the talky first forty minutes of *Captain Blood* show it, and *The Charge of the Light Brigade* (1936) has been accused of the same. The studio noticed and kept him in the coat. He noticed too: "I had by now made about forty-five pictures, but what had I become? I knew all too well: a phallic symbol." Start with *Captain Blood*. Doze through the trial and wake for the beach. The grin has not dated; the speeches around it have. ## Biography Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, he began acting in England with the Northampton Repertory Company and appeared in a few British films before signing with Warner Bros. in 1935. Flynn’s breakthrough came when he replaced Robert Donat as Dr. Peter Blood in *Captain Blood* (1935), directed by Michael Curtiz and co-starring Olivia de Havilland. He went on to star in swashbucklers and westerns for the studio, including *The Charge of the Light Brigade* (1936), *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938), *Dodge City* (1939), *The Sea Hawk* (1940) and *They Died with Their Boots On* (1941). He appeared with de Havilland in eight films. *Sources: britannica.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938), Fi1m 90, as Robin Hood — [page](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-robin-hood.md) - *Captain Blood* (1935), Fi1m 80, as Dr. Peter Blood — [page](https://film.one/film/captain-blood.md) ## Complete filmography (73) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year* (2023), series, Actor - *In Like Flynn* (2018), Book - *Warner at War* (2008), as (archive footage) - *Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths* (1990), as (archive footage) - *Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies* (1988), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn* (1985), Book - *That's Entertainment!* (1974), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Cuban Rebel Girls* (1959), as The American Correspondent · Screenplay - *The Roots of Heaven* (1958), as Forsythe - *Too Much, Too Soon* (1958), as John Barrymore - *The Sun Also Rises* (1957), as Mike Campbell - *Without Incident* (1957), as Capt. Russell Bidlack - *The Big Boodle* (1957), as Ned Sherwood - *Istanbul* (1957), as James Brennan - *The Sword of Villon* (1956), as Francois Villon - *Screen Director's Playhouse* (1955), series, as Francois Villon - *King's Rhapsody* (1955), as Richard, King of Laurentia - *The Dark Avenger* (1955), as Prince Edward - *Lilacs in the Spring* (1954), as John 'Beau' Beaumont - *Crossed Swords* (1954), as Renzo · Producer - *The Master of Ballantrae* (1953), as Jamie Durie - *The Story of William Tell* (1953), as William Tell · Producer - *Against All Flags* (1952), as Brian Hawke - *Cruise of the Zaca* (1952), Director - *Mara Maru* (1952), as Gregory Mason - *Deep Sea Fishing* (1952), Director - *Adventures of Captain Fabian* (1951), as Capt. Michael Fabian · Screenplay - *Hello God* (1951), as US Soldier on Anzio Beach · Producer - *Kim* (1950), as Mahbub Ali, the Red Beard - *Rocky Mountain* (1950), as Capt. Lafe Barstow - *Montana* (1950), as Morgan Lane - *Rabbit Hood* (1949), as Robin Hood (archive footage) (uncredited) - *That Forsyte Woman* (1949), as Soames Forsyte - *It's a Great Feeling* (1949), as Jeffrey Bushdinkle, the Groom (uncredited) - *Adventures of Don Juan* (1948), as Don Juan de Maraña - *Silver River* (1948), as 'Mike' McComb - *Escape Me Never* (1947), as Sebastian Dubrok - *Cry Wolf* (1947), as Mark Caldwell · Associate Producer - *Never Say Goodbye* (1946), as Phil Gayley - *Peeks at Hollywood* (1946), Actor - *San Antonio* (1945), as Clay Hardin - *Objective, Burma!* (1945), as Capt. Nelson - *Uncertain Glory* (1944), as Jean Picard · Associate Producer - *Northern Pursuit* (1943), as Corporal Steve Wagner - *Edge of Darkness* (1943), as Gunnar Brogge - *Gentleman Jim* (1942), as James J. Corbett - *Desperate Journey* (1942), as Flight Lt. Terry Forbes - *They Died with Their Boots On* (1941), as George Armstrong Custer - *Dive Bomber* (1941), as Douglas S. Lee - *Footsteps in the Dark* (1941), as Francis Monroe Warren II, alias F.X. Pettijohn - *Santa Fe Trail* (1940), as Jeb Stuart - *The Sea Hawk* (1940), as Captain Geoffrey Thorpe - *Virginia City* (1940), as Kerry Bradford - *The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex* (1939), as The Earl of Essex - *Dodge City* (1939), as Wade Hatton - *Breakdowns of 1938* (1938), as Robin Hood (archive footage) (uncredited) - *The Dawn Patrol* (1938), as Capt. Courtney - *The Sisters* (1938), as Frank Medlin - *Four's a Crowd* (1938), as Robert Kensington 'Bob' Lansford - *Out Where the Stars Begin* (1938), as Robin Hood (archive footage) - *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938), as Robin Hood — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-robin-hood.md) - *The Perfect Specimen* (1937), as Gerald Beresford Wicks - *Another Dawn* (1937), as Captain Denny Roark - *The Prince and the Pauper* (1937), as Miles Hendon - *Green Light* (1937), as Dr. Newell Paige - *The Charge of the Light Brigade* (1936), as Major Geoffrey Vickers - *Captain Blood* (1935), as Dr. Peter Blood — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/captain-blood.md) - *Pirate Party on Catalina Isle* (1935), as Errol Flynn - *Don't Bet on Blondes* (1935), as David Van Dusen - *The Case of the Curious Bride* (1935), as Gregory Moxley - *Murder at Monte Carlo* (1935), as Dyter - *I Adore You* (1933), as Extra (uncredited) - *In the Wake of the Bounty* (1933), as Fletcher Christian ## Gallery - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-6e8310a39421.jpg) Errol Flynn — User Roisterer on en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Errol_Flynn1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Errol Flynn in 1944 (2021)](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-8db69f8e14ee.jpg) Errol Flynn in 1944 (2021) — Photoplay, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Errol_Flynn_in_1944.jpg/1280px-Errol_Flynn_in_1944.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Errol Flynn posando junto al avión después de aterrizar. (1954)](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-cb087de1e983.jpg) Errol Flynn posando junto al avión después de aterrizar. (1954) — Iberia Airlines, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Errol_Flynn.jpg/1280px-Errol_Flynn.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![A Cena Muda - N. 34 Errol Flynn - 22 de Agosto de 1950 - Brasil (2021)](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-d806a343061e.jpg) A Cena Muda - N. 34 Errol Flynn - 22 de Agosto de 1950 - Brasil (2021) — A Cena Muda Magazine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/A_Cena_Muda_-_N._34_Errol_Flynn_-_22_de_Agosto_de_1950_-_Brasil.jpg/1280px-A_Cena_Muda_-_N._34_Errol_Flynn_-_22_de_Agosto_de_1950_-_Brasil.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-200a45c4c18b.jpg) Errol Flynn — Image via TMDB - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-f05a654cc718.jpg) Errol Flynn — Image via TMDB - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-0bc95d7bdfcf.jpg) Errol Flynn — Image via TMDB - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-bfa4b7e7ecc9.jpg) Errol Flynn — Image via TMDB - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-a1001cc3e146.jpg) Errol Flynn — Image via TMDB - ![Errol Flynn](https://film.one/media/person/1227991/gallery-7d7f7971527b.jpg) Errol Flynn — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/errol-flynn