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100 today: Was Errol Flynn the biggest Tasmanian ever?

Today, June 20, is the centennial of Tasmania's biggest thespian, Errol Flynn. While I pondered some three years ago whether Ricky Ponting was a bigger Tasmanian, his Punterness hasn't been swashing his buckle too well in those live action shorts better known as the ICCWT20 lately.

My usual daggy way of celebrating the life of much loved movie stars (either at their 100th birthday or following their death) is to list my Top 10 Favourite Films of [Insert Name Here]. In the Flynnmeister's case this will not be easy. Best remembered for his adventure films of course, but I think his whole wartime body of work for Warner Bros was his standout.

Here we go, in chronological order:

  1. Captain Blood (1935)
  2. Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) and one of the few instances I have seen where colourisation [eng-us translation: colorization] has improved a film
  3. Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Errol in codpiece in the days before widescreen, 3D or Imax
  4. Dodge City (1939)
  5. Virginia City (1940) Errol, Humphrey Bogart and Randolph Scott all in the one Civil War potboiler!
  6. They Died With Their Boots On (1941) Imperialist revisionist anti-indigenous pseudo-historical action melodrama, but hey!
  7. Gentleman Jim (1942) One of my favourite boxing films (and that is a list not long enough for a Top 10)
  8. Northern Pursuit (1943) Errol co-stars with Julie Bishop ten years before he plays the part of Jamie Durie in The Master of Ballantrae
  9. Edge of Darkness (1943)
  10. Objective Burma (1945)

I regret never having seen Errol's "Big Boodle". On second thoughts...