Errol & Olivia: Ego Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood

by Robert Matzen

Finalist, Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award, Biography Category

 

Digging deep into the vaults of Warner Brothers and the collections of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as other private archives, this book explores the complex personal and professional relationship of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Flynn, even 50 years after his death, continues to conjure up images to the prototypical handsome, charismatic ladies' man; while de Havilland, a two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner, is the last surviving star of Gone with the Wind. Richly illustrated with both color and black-and-white photos, most previously unpublished, this detailed history tells the sexy story of these two massive stars, both together and apart.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Robert Matzen is the author of eight books, including the bestsellers Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe and Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3, which won the 2015 ‘Biography of the Year’ Benjamin Franklin Award and earned praise from the Smithsonian Institution.

His forthcoming Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II, involved three years of intense research and several trips to the Netherlands, where Audrey spent the war. He worked in close consultation with Luca Dotti, Audrey Hepburn's younger son, and with many Dutch citizens who survived the war with Audrey in the town of Velp.

Robert has appeared on the BBC, Talk Radio Europe, Radio Russia, and many U.S. television and radio outlets, including NPR. His previous print work includes many articles about classic films and national bylines for the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets. His work as a filmmaker earned national awards and his feature documentary about George Washington, When the Forest Ran Red, is a genre classic that premiered on PBS in 2001. He is a former communications professional for NASA, where he spent 10 years.

Reviews

[George Heidemark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Matzen writes about Hollywood and his books on Jimmy Stewart and Carole Lombard are first rate. This book examines the motion picture relationship between Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHaviland. On screen their chemistry was palatable off screen it was much more complex. Flynn was married during much of their film life together and DeHaviland was often involved in romances with actors such as Jimmy Stewart. And when they were both single- well things got complicated. The book begins as a dual biography and eventually it examines their films together. Matzen has gathered some interesting source material including reminiscences of a photographer from Robin Hood discussing the film. One of the best chapters deals with the making of Gone With The Wind. There is inside Hollywood material here particularly studio head Jack Warners campaign to break DeHaviland down. The book ends on a sad note with Flynn's eventual decline and their drifting apart. But as long as film lasts as an art form we will have the movies of these two significant stars and the author brings them to life.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Adventures of Robin Hood; Captain Blood, Sea Hawk, They Died with Their Boots On & more just scream Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland to me as well as bring back memories of watching these exciting films with my three brothers on television. Errol & Olivia Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood by Robert Matzen contains amazing pictures of both Errol & Olivia beginning with their entrances to Warner Bros. Studios when they were 26 & 19 respectively. Oh, the photos of these two young people were & are so beautiful to see. (Personally, I have always had this huge crush on Errol Flynn & still do!) Along with all these fabulous pictures, the author provides captions explaining each picture. (For instance, with some of the still portraits made for particular pictures, other actors maybe present such as Basil Rathbone and (Pres.) Ronnie Reagan and the author identifies the roles these actors play & why they are in a certain photo. In addition to all this, the author runs a narrative explaining the studio system, the movie under discussion in relation to the photos present on the page, & information about these two young talents. Year- 1934. I enjoyed all of it-almost could not get enough of everything. As the author delved deeper into the lives of Errol & Olivia, we, the readers, begin to comprehend that lives of these celebrities were not necessarily easy ones in any shape or form. Unhappiness played a sizable role in the lives of these two stars who were in eight movies together. I hope they had/have some great memories as they grew to truly understand one another. Errol Flynn died slowly and passed away around 50 years of age. Olivia de Havilland lives in Paris and has achieved the young age of 102/103!! 4.25 stars

[Meg (fiction_gryphon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly well-written, and well-researched account of the lives and interactions between two of the Silver Screen’s brightest stars, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. I’ve been fascinated by Errol Flynn as an actor and a person for quite some time, and his roles aside Olivia de Havilland are so magical, I had to get my hands on this piece of cinematic history. Matzen takes you through both actor’s early years, all the way through to their 8 wonderful films together, and everything in between. I absolutely loved the photos in this book as well, as many of them have never been seen by the public. Altogether, this book is a must-have collectible for cinephiles and fans of Flynn and/or de Havilland!

[Hope Denney · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the introduction alone in which Matzen makes excuses for not conducting interviews with the then-alive de Havilland, you know this book is going to be cobbled together with half-truths. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland have gone on record many times to state their feelings for each other, and while it's obvious they would have liked to have been able to have a relationship, de Havilland recognized early on that Flynn was not that type of man. While the book contains lots of interesting material about both stars, it has been dubiously researched in spots and therefore reaches too much and contains some highly sensationalized conjectures. For anyone interested in their early lives and what their early careers were like, there's quite a bit of decent material. And the book is filled with wonderful pictures, many I hadn't seen before. Worth a look for Golden Era fans who already have some knowledge about these two screen favorites.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-have for any classic film fan. There is a lot of fun information about the stars and learning about them at different stages of their lives was a real treat. Errol & Olivia made me look at celebrities in a new light. This would make a perfect gift!

[Ani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently discovered a handful of Errol's movies that I hadn't seen before and binge-watched them with my parents. Then, of course, I rewatched my all-time favorite, The Adventures of Robin Hood. This trip down memory lane and my love for both stars, Errol and Olivia, motivated me to pick up this book. It was so interesting, especially for a biography, that I wasn't bored at all. It was like reading an engaging gossip column, but clearly researched better and written with compassion. I feel like I know both actors much better now, for better or worse. I do wish the timeline of stories/pictures wasn't so unruly and that the plots of multiple movies weren't described so fully. Also, several quotes were repeated within mere paragraphs of each other, which seemed odd. However, overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to checking out Matzen's others!

[Judy Hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing Read

After reading Fireball which was very interesting an gave great insight to Gable and Lombards careers and personal lives I anticipated the same from Errol & Olivia. I was very disappointed. The writing was choppy and jumped back and forth in time line. Way too much information regarding film production, producers, and really no meat to sink your teeth into. It was extremely difficult to even finish the book

[Julie Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting Relationship

I learned a lot about their complex relationship and how things changed over the years. Quite an interesting story to read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather sad. 3.5 Stars. Somewhat missing pieces...with little depth.

[Chrisanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading a book about a favorite movie star is like dating a crush.

On one hand, it could make your enjoyment of time spent with that person so much greater, or it could ruin any vestige of feeling that you ever had for that person.

In this case, it did more. I still like Flynn and de Havilland, but I was reminded of two things. First, the greatest talent often masks horrible pasts and events and, second, it's all about choice.


P. S. I don't recommend the last two chapters of the book. The author ran out of things to talk about. Also, it wasn't exactly what I thought. But what book ever is?

[Elisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was torn between 3-4 stars for this book but finally had to go with three because of the writing. I'm not sure where the author got his "facts" but I found the presentation came off like reading a bad celebrity tabloid. I'm not sure how much is fact or how much is speculation and embellishment. Regardless of the writing, it is worth buying/reading this book for the photos alone. They are lovely and in my opinion the redeeming quality of the book.