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Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was
Examines the enigmatic life and career of the box-office idol, touching on his love affairs with men and women, manslaughter charges, smuggling, kleptomania, and work for the Nazis
- GenresBiography
22 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 14, 2021
Excellent defence against claims by gossip-hack Charles Higham that Flynn was a closet Nazi.
Fans of TVO (public television channel in Ontario) may know Tony Thomas as a subject-matter expert interviewed by movie-show host Elwy Yost, regarding actors, movies and the old Hollywood. Some of you may even hark back enough to recall this Brit-Canadian's days as a CBC reporter. Either way, he's best known now for books about Hollywood's golden era--many of which probably languish in pieces in your public library'a shelves next to slick tell-alls about current movie stars.
Higham also made up and/or inflated a slew of scandal about Cary Grant (homosexuality), Olivia de Havilland and her sister Joan Fontaine (mutual loathing), etc.
When he crossed the line from outrageous exaggerations (de Havilland, Joan Fontaine) to outright fabrications (Flynn and Grant), Higham astutely released his muckraking best-sellers after his subjects' deaths.
In this book, Thomas illustrates how, to ensure good sales for his incendiary trash, Higham falsified documents and twisted beyond recognition spoken and even written testimony by some Flynn pals. A few were still around to help Thomas clarify the record about what was really said.
We get some very telling examples here, including one reconstructed quotation that horrified de Havilland, as it completely distorted something she'd remarked on seeing Errol late in life. She sued and he had to settle in court.
In a second instance, Thomas holds up original, recently-declassified US government documents about Flynn that show Higham's distorted claims about their actual contents. Such detective work sheds refreshing light on this very commercially-minded writer's lack of scruples, and may nudge some not to be so credulous about what appears in print. (Mind you, that effort may be undercut by Facebook, where often-stated rumours often turn into utter certainties for many.)
Higham was apparently conflicted in several ways that may explain some of his writings. Ever the smooth gentleman, Thomas doesn't explore this at any length, but Web sources affirm that Higham was molested by a stepmother, and that after his divorce both he and his ex-wife ended up in a gay relationships. Given the homophobic times in which he lived, it may be a small wonder that he found such skeletons lurked in the closets of the famous.
Thomas is always a delight to read, here no less than elsewhere. For as long as the studio era of Hollywood matters, his books should remain in print.
This quick, enjoyable read is recommended as much for the sharp detective work that puts Higham in perspective, as for Thomas's vindication of Flynn--who may have ended up a sad wastrel, but it's doubtful he was ever a traitor.
Fans of TVO (public television channel in Ontario) may know Tony Thomas as a subject-matter expert interviewed by movie-show host Elwy Yost, regarding actors, movies and the old Hollywood. Some of you may even hark back enough to recall this Brit-Canadian's days as a CBC reporter. Either way, he's best known now for books about Hollywood's golden era--many of which probably languish in pieces in your public library'a shelves next to slick tell-alls about current movie stars.
Higham also made up and/or inflated a slew of scandal about Cary Grant (homosexuality), Olivia de Havilland and her sister Joan Fontaine (mutual loathing), etc.
When he crossed the line from outrageous exaggerations (de Havilland, Joan Fontaine) to outright fabrications (Flynn and Grant), Higham astutely released his muckraking best-sellers after his subjects' deaths.
In this book, Thomas illustrates how, to ensure good sales for his incendiary trash, Higham falsified documents and twisted beyond recognition spoken and even written testimony by some Flynn pals. A few were still around to help Thomas clarify the record about what was really said.
We get some very telling examples here, including one reconstructed quotation that horrified de Havilland, as it completely distorted something she'd remarked on seeing Errol late in life. She sued and he had to settle in court.
In a second instance, Thomas holds up original, recently-declassified US government documents about Flynn that show Higham's distorted claims about their actual contents. Such detective work sheds refreshing light on this very commercially-minded writer's lack of scruples, and may nudge some not to be so credulous about what appears in print. (Mind you, that effort may be undercut by Facebook, where often-stated rumours often turn into utter certainties for many.)
Higham was apparently conflicted in several ways that may explain some of his writings. Ever the smooth gentleman, Thomas doesn't explore this at any length, but Web sources affirm that Higham was molested by a stepmother, and that after his divorce both he and his ex-wife ended up in a gay relationships. Given the homophobic times in which he lived, it may be a small wonder that he found such skeletons lurked in the closets of the famous.
Thomas is always a delight to read, here no less than elsewhere. For as long as the studio era of Hollywood matters, his books should remain in print.
This quick, enjoyable read is recommended as much for the sharp detective work that puts Higham in perspective, as for Thomas's vindication of Flynn--who may have ended up a sad wastrel, but it's doubtful he was ever a traitor.
February 28, 2024
In 1980, a biographer named Charles Higham, wrote a biography of an actor who died 30 years earlier. A man who lived a wild and raucous life, Errol Flynn. Higham claimed in his book to have found evidence implicating the actor of having been a Nazi Spy. This book, written 10 years later, by Tony Thomas comes to Errol Flynn’s defense and dismantles Higham’s allegations. And does a fairly good job of it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews