Errol Flynn was the ultimate swashbuckler, the most dashing hero that ever was, is, or will be. There are many imitations, but there has never been any who could truly match him, and I doubt will ever bee any who can even truly compare.
He made all the all the ladies dream and all the men wish they could be him (some admitted it, some did not, but they all did). However, that was not all he could do. There could be many better actors, but very few could make us dream as he did and does.
A lot has been said about Flynn, some good some bad, but his image remains beyond the reach of comments and criticism. He was, and is, the stuff of which myths and legends are made, on and off the screen. And he still unsurpassed.
As it was so eloquently put in the film "My Favourite Year", it doesn't matter if it was an illusion. It worked. He could not have convinced us the way he did unless somewhere inside he had that courage. He was that silly goddamned hero! Nobody is that good of an actor.
Besides, we cannot use him 'life-size'. We all need Errol Flynns as big as we can get them!
Today, we put on airs and claim to be a lot more sophisticated an audience than we were at the time when his movies were made.
But, the truth is that when see him on the screen today, he still inspires in us the same feelings, from awe to envy, and everything in between. Of course, some of us would admit it, some of us wouldn't, but we all feel it
His movies still tell us what true heroes and adventures are all about- and if they are not, they should be.
I would more than recommend "The Prince and the Pauper", and any or Errol Flynn's movies, to anyone who still dares to believe in dashing heroes and is not ashamed to admit it.
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