Warner is releasing five more favorite films starring Errol Flynn, whose combination of natural athleticism and magnetic good looks made him one of the most popular and highly paid stars of the 1930s and 1940s. With this new collection theres another opportunity to experience Flynn as a soldier, boxer, pilot, and swashbuckler. The films included are Adventures of Don Juan, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Dawn Patrol, Dive Bomber and Gentleman Jim.
The Collection follows the successful 2005 Volume One collection, which featured Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Sea Hawk, They Died with their Boots On and Dodge City.
Each DVD features adventurous extras such as director/historian commentaries, Oscar-nominated film shorts, classic cartoons and vintage newsreels.
Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
Errol Flynn made his name portraying dashing heroes who clasped a sword in one hand and a maiden in the other. Audiences loved Flynns devil-may-care bravado as much as they admired his athletic grace and astonishing good looks. Filmed in glorious Technicolor, Adventures of Don Juan was Flynns first swashbuckler in eight years and a glorious reprise it is, directed with gusto by Vincent Sherman. In the title role, Flynn is a wiser, warmer, wittier version of his earlier characters as he rescues the Spanish queen (Viveca Lindfors) from the snares of an evil duke. Oscar-winning costumes and superb sets (including a knockout grand staircase) create a lavish atmosphere for dalliances with married beauties, narrow dungeon escapes and plenty of duels.
Special Features Include:
Commentary by director Vincent Sherman and historian Rudy Behlmer
Warner Night at the Movies 1948 short subjects gallery:
o Vintage newsreel
o Joe McDoakes comedy short So You Want to Be on the Radio
o Oscar-nominated travel short Calgary Stampede
o Classic Looney Tunes cartoon Hare Splitter
Trailers of Adventures of Don Juan and 1948s Silver River
Subtitles: English (Feature Film Only)
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
Inspired by history and Tennysons poem (Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred), The Charge of the Light Brigade tells the tale of a band of British Lancers who challenge an army of 25,000 Russians. The films highlight: the charge itself, a masterful, pulse-pounding nine minutes of thundering hoofs and flashing sabers that stands up magnificently against any Hollywood action scene of today–and brought 1936s Best Assistant Director Oscar to Jack Sullivan for his staging of the vaunted sequence. Errol Flynn, fresh off his success as Captain Blood, stars as the leader of the 600 horsemen. Olivia de Havilland, his Captain Blood leading lady, co-stars. And legendary composer Max Steiner makes his Warner Bros. debut a memorable one with his stirring, heroic musical score.
Special Features Include:
Warner Night at the Movies 1936 Short Subjects Gallery:
o Vintage newsreel
o Oscar-winning drama short Give Me Liberty
o Comedy short Shop Talk with Bob Hope
o Classic cartoon Boom Boom
Trailers of The Charge of the Light Brigade and 1936s Anthony Adverse
Subtitles: English (feature film only)
The Dawn Patrol (1938)
Errol Flynn and David Niven take to the skies in this thrilling aerial action yarn as World War I British flyboys who, whether quaffing down beers or gunning down their German foes, unite in devil-may-care gallantry and in disdain for their commander (Basil Rathbone). But wars realities will soon tarnish their bonhomie and change their disdain to understanding. They will also become commanders, forced each dawn to send young poorly-trained recruits in patched-up aircraft to certain death. Its superior pacing, performances and style, combined with amazing dogfights above and a haunting indictment of wars futility below, make The Dawn Patrol a soaring classic of guts and glory.
Special Features Include:
Warner Night at the Movies 1938 short subjects gallery:
o Vintage newsreel
o Musical shorts The Prisoner of Swing and Romance Road
o Classic Cartoon What Price Porky
Trailers of The Dawn Patrol and 1938s Fours a Crowd
Subtitles: English & Espaol (feature film only)
Dive Bomber (1941)
Dive Bomber is a stirring, authentic Technicolor tale about getting ready for war. Flynn portrays a flight medical researcher and Fred MacMurray plays a squadron commander, flyboys who put differences aside and risk all to confront the problems of blackout-inducing G-forces and high-altitude sickness. Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) directs from a script co-written by aviation pioneer Frank Spig Wead (the biopic subject of John Waynes The Wings of Eagles). And destined for wartime greatness was the aircraft carrier seen in several scenes: the USS Enterprise, the nations most decorated World War II ship.
Special Features Include:
New Featurette Dive Bomber: Keep Em in the Air
Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles: English, Franais & Espaol (Feature Film Only).
Gentleman Jim (1942)
In one of his biggest box-office hits, Errol Flynn portrays dapper James C. Corbett, whose style in and out of the ring helped bring acceptability to what had been an unsanctioned, back-room sport. The role was a Flynn favorite, and he rigorously schooled himself in the gliding footwork, deft jabbing, feinting and left-hooking that were Corbett trademarks. Raoul Walsh, director of seven Flynn films, balances bravura fisticuffs with family vignettes and flirtatious romance (Alexis Smith is Flynns co-star). And Ward Bond plays heavyweight champ, John L. Sullivan, a legendary ring king dethroned by the clever but tough Gentleman Jim.
Special Features Include:
Warner Night at the Movies 1942 Short Subjects Gallery:
o Vintage Newsreel
o Sports shorts Shoot Yourself Some Golf (with Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman) and The Right Timing
o Classic Cartoon Foney Fables
Trailers of Gentleman Jim and 1942s The Male Animal
Audio-Only Bonus: Radio Show Adaptation with Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith and Ward Bond Subtitles: English & Espaol (Feature Film Only)
Each DVD will be presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. All are in Dual-Layer format.
Flynn the Actor
Jack L. Warner, one of the studios four founding Warner brothers, said of Flynn, He was all the heroes in one magnificent, sexy, animal package. The actor became an overnight sensation when Warner brought him on as a last-minute replacement for Robert Donat for the pirate epic Captain Blood in 1935. From then on, whether as a buccaneer, nobleman, or frontier legend, he thrilled audiences and stole hearts during a career that encompassed more than 50 films.
Born Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn in Tasmania, Australia on June 20, 1909, Flynn was the son of respected marine biologist, Theodore Thomson Flynn (whom he credited with his life-long love of the sea) and Marrelle Young, a descendent of Fletcher Christian, of HMS Bounty fame, who Flynn later played onscreen. A rebellious child, more athletic than academic, he was expelled from almost every school he attended. His introduction to acting came through an Australian film producer who saw his photograph and had him cast as Christian in a small film In the Wake of the Bounty (1933). After a brief stint in London, Warner Bros. brought him to America.
His role in Captain Blood (one the lead titles in Warner Home Videos ERROL FLYNN SIGNATURE COLLECTION VOL. ONE) quickly established Flynn as the eras replacement for Douglas Fairbanks and he was cast in everything from swashbucklers to light comedies to westerns. The public, men and women alike, loved him best in romantic adventures as a man of action who won ladies hearts. His co-stars included Bette Davis, Alexis Smith and Olivia de Havilland. He made a total of eight films with Miss de Havilland, including one of his best remembered, The Adventures of Robin Hood.
In real life, Flynns off-screen adventures were as colorful as those on-screen. He became constant tabloid fodder, and, although married three times, Flynn was notorious for nonstop drinking and womanizing. His profligate lifestyle resulted in three statutory rape trials (from which he was eventually acquitted), and a new catch phrase, in like Flynn. Ultimately this lifestyle took its toll, and the Hollywood heartthrob died of a heart attack four months after his 50th birthday.
Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection Volume 2
$19.97 SRP (Per Title)
$49.92 SRP (Collection)
Street date: March 27, 2007
Adventures of Don Juan
Run Time: 110 minutes
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Run Time: 115 minutes
The Dawn Patrol
Run Time: 102 minutes
Dive Bomber
Run Time: 130 minutes
Gentleman Jim
Run Times: 104 minutes
