By Patrick Humphries
Presenter, Robin Hood and the Cuban Revolutionaries
Newspaper articles written by film star Errol Flynn documenting his last
years spent in Cuba with Fidel Castro's rebels have been unearthed in a
university library.
Mention the name of Errol Flynn, and an image of a larger-than-life,
swashbuckling screen hero comes to mind. Or the sly grin of a sexual
athlete who sparked the saying: "In like Flynn."
But towards the end of his life, Flynn was at the epicentre of Fidel
Castro's Cuban revolution.
" I think he was a hero-worshipper, and I think Errol thought that
Castro was a good guy trying to free the country for everyday citizens "
Beverly Aadland, former girlfriend
It was a surprise to discover the famous actor moonlighted as a
newspaper correspondent who wrote a number of articles about his adventures.
His features "Me and Castro" and "I fought with Castro" for the New-York
Journal American remained unread for 50 years, buried in the archives of
the University Of Texas at Austin's Center for American History.
I have always been a fan of Flynn's films and believe he was a far
better actor than he gave himself credit for.
Errol Flynn was cinema's biggest star from the mid-30s until the late
1940s, thanks to his debut in Captain Blood and a series of
swashbuckling epics such as The Sea Hawk, The Dawn Patrol and The
Adventures Of Robin Hood.
But even I was unprepared to find the man who was a screen idol as Robin
Hood to a generation of movie-goers in the company of revolutionary
pin-ups Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. But, ever the hero, he admired
those who fought on others' behalf.
I was surprised to find there was a serious side to Flynn - he
sympathised with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, and set
off for Spain "to follow in Hemingway's footsteps" in February 1937.
While in Madrid, Flynn condemned the fascist General Franco. He was
shelled, survived an aerial attack and narrowly avoided being
machine-gunned by an over-enthusiastic Republican.
Errol's daughter Rory Flynn said the public image of her father did not
accurately reflect the man who wrote two novels, an autobiography and
newspaper reports.
'Swashbuckling hedonist'
She said: "It is said that he was a swashbuckling hedonist, but my
father was a serious man.
"He thought about things, he wrote books, he wrote poems and he wrote
documentaries, this is not just something that came about.
"He wrote for the Hearst (news)papers. I think underneath it all, he was
a journalist."
Flynn had been a regular visitor to Batista's Cuba, where the dictator
welcomed distinguished tourists, drawn to the island for its brothels
and legalised gambling.
By the time he returned to the country in late 1958 with his teenage
girlfriend Beverly Aadland, a lifetime of hard-living had taken its
toll, and roles were hard to find - although ironically, during the dog
days of his career, Flynn gave two of his best-received performances -
The Sun Also Rises and The Roots Of Heaven.
" I feel that the citizens will know who you are... and it will cheer
them to know that someone from the United States, whom they perhaps have
seen on the screen, is interested enough to come and see them "
Fidel Castro to Errol Flynn
Flynn claimed Castro invited him to Cuba at the very dawn of the revolution.
Beverly Aadland said: "Errol had talked to Hearst newspapers in New York
about interviewing Castro, and through some contacts in the 'Havana
Hilton', went up into the Sierra Mistra mountains to talk to Fidel."
Beverly was installed at the capital's prestigious Commodore Hotel,
while Flynn went off to the mountains with the rebels, spending five
days with Castro and interviewing him.
In his articles, he described how Fidel Castro told him that "no
American knew him or his brother Raul better than I did" and how he gave
Cuba's leader lessons in public speaking.
Castro is quoted as saying to Flynn: "I feel that the citizens will know
who you are... and it will cheer them to know that someone from the
United States, whom they perhaps have seen on the screen, is interested
enough to come and see them."
Flynn also reportedly had a brief encounter with Che Guevara, who did
not recognise the bloated and faded film star when they met.
In other articles he described gun battles and how he was shot in the
leg. He also witnessed Castro's swearing-in as president in February 1959.
But Flynn was criticised for spending time with the rebels, and had to
defend his allegiances.
He wrote: "Ever since boyhood I have been drawn, perhaps romantically -
to the ideas of causes, crusades."
" For a Hollywood actor who has played Robin Hood, could there be any
more sort of perfect matchup than Fidel in the mountains fighting
against a corrupt dictator? "
Carlos Eire, author
Beverly said she felt he did not realise Castro would go on to be a
Communist.
"I think he was a hero-worshipper, and I think Errol thought that Castro
was a good guy trying to free the country for everyday citizens. I guess
Castro fooled him too," she said.
Cuban exile and author Carlos Eire said: "At that point when Flynn was
there, Castro's policies were purely democratic. His goal was to remove
Batista and stabilise the nation politically.
"For a Hollywood actor who has played Robin Hood, could there be any
more sort of perfect matchup than Fidel in the mountains fighting
against a corrupt dictator?
"Fidel Castro and his men knew how to work the publicity machine, and
there was freedom of the press.
"This is one sign of how inefficient Batista's repression was, basically
if any foreign journalist or big star like Errol Flynn wanted to go and
end up in the mountains, they'd end up there."
Flynn was impressed with the vigour of the revolution, and was behind
two films made in Cuba at the time.
Looking bloated and ill, he starred alongside Beverly in Cuban Rebel
Girls, in what turned out to be his final film appearance.
'Pathetic swansong'
But the film was panned as "a truly pathetic swansong to a mighty
career" by critics.
He also appeared in the documentary he made, Cuban Story, which was a
far more substantial piece, and in hindsight, has become one of the key
accounts of Castro's revolution.
In the last months of his life, Flynn was beset by financial woes and
ill health, his third wife Patrice Wymore wanted to divorce him and he
was being sued.
He died in Vancouver, aged 50, on 14 October, 1959, where he and Beverly
had travelled to sell his beloved yacht Zaca to try and pay off some of
his debts.
Errol Flynn's life was one of contrasts - a star who wanted to be an
actor; a legendary hedonist who wanted to be taken seriously as a writer
and a man who deliberately placed himself in the heart of two revolutions.
Robin Hood and the Cuban Revolutionaries is broadcast on
on Saturday at 1030 BST.
BBC NEWS | Americas | Errol Flynn's Cuban adventures (10 October 2009)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8298582.stm
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