Editing Errol Flynn (section)

===Second World War===
[[File:Bette Davis - Errol Flynn.jpg|right|thumb|upright|With [[Bette Davis]] in ''[[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex]]'' (1939)]]
Flynn was reunited with Davis, Curtiz and de Havilland in ''[[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex]]'' (1939), playing [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex]]. Flynn's relationship with Davis during filming was quarrelsome; Davis allegedly slapped him across the face far harder than necessary during one scene. Flynn attributed her anger to unrequited romantic interest,<ref name="Flynn, Errol 1959">{{cite book|last1=Flynn|first1=Errol|first2=Earl|last2=Conrad|date=1959|title=My Wicked, Wicked Ways|title-link=My Wicked, Wicked Ways}}</ref> but according to others, Davis resented sharing equal billing with a man she considered incapable of playing any role beyond a dashing adventurer. "He himself openly said, 'I don't know really anything about acting,{{' "}} she told an interviewer, "and I admire his honesty because he's absolutely right."<ref>Spada, J. ''More Than a Woman: An Intimate Biography of Bette Davis''. Bantam (1993), p. 143; {{ISBN|978-0-553-09512-8}}.</ref> Years later, however, de Havilland said that during a private screening of ''Elizabeth and Essex'', an astounded Davis had exclaimed, "Damn it! The man ''could'' act!"<ref>Matzen, R. ''Errol & Olivia: Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood''. Paladin (2010), pp. 186–87; {{ISBN|978-0-9711685-8-9}}.</ref>

Warners put Flynn in another Western, ''[[Virginia City (film)|Virginia City]]'' (1940), set near the end of the Civil War. Flynn played Union officer Kerry Bradford. In an article for TCM, Jeremy Arnold wrote: "Ironically, the Randolph Scott role [as Captain Vance Irby, commandant of the prison camp where Bradford was a prisoner of war] was originally conceived for Flynn.... In fact, ''Virginia City'' was plagued with script, production and personnel problems all along. Shooting began without a finished script, angering Flynn, who complained unsuccessfully to the studio about it. Flynn disliked the temperamental Curtiz and tried to have him removed from the film. Curtiz didn't like Flynn (or co-star Miriam Hopkins) either. Humphrey Bogart apparently did not care for Flynn or Randolph Scott. Making matters worse was the steady rain that fell for two of the three weeks of location shooting near Flagstaff, Arizona. Flynn detested rain and was physically unwell for quite some time because of it. As Peter Valenti has written, "Errol's frustration at the role can be easily understood: he changed from antagonist to protagonist, from Southern to Northern officer, almost as the film was being shot. [This] intensified Errol's feelings of inadequacy as a performer and his contempt for studio operation".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnold|first=Jeremy|title=TCM Film Article Virginia City|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/33915|access-date=28 May 2024|website=Turner Classic Movies|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731011147/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?id=333905%7C33915|url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the troubles behind the scenes, the film was a huge success, making a profit of just under $1&nbsp;million.

Flynn's next film had been planned since 1936: another swashbuckler taken from a Sabatini novel, ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]'' (1940), but only the title was used. A reviewer observed in [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] 19 August 1940, "''The Sea Hawk'' (Warner) is 1940's lustiest assault on the double feature. It cost $1,700,000 and exhibits Errol Flynn and 3,000 other cinema actors performing every imaginable feat of spectacular derring-do, and lasts two hours and seven minutes... Produced by Warner's Hal Wallis with a splendour that would set parsimonious Queen Bess's teeth on edge, constructed of the most tried-and-true cinema materials available, ''The Sea Hawk'' is a handsome, shipshape picture. To Irish {{sic}} Cinemactor Errol Flynn, it gives the best swashbuckling role he has had since Captain Blood. For Hungarian Director Michael Curtiz, who took Flynn from bit-player ranks to make ''[[Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood]]'' and has made nine pictures with him since, it should prove a high point in their profitable relationship."<ref>''Time'' Review. Retrieved 13 September 2008.</ref> It was not, but ''The Sea Hawk'' made a profit of $977,000 on that budget of $1.7&nbsp;million.

[[File:Santa Fe Trail De Havilland Flynn.jpg|upright|thumb|left|With [[Olivia de Havilland]] in ''[[Santa Fe Trail (film)|Santa Fe Trail]]'' (1940)]]
Another financial success was the Western ''[[Santa Fe Trail (film)|Santa Fe Trail]]'' (1940), with de Havilland and [[Ronald Reagan]] and directed by Curtiz, which grossed $2,147,663 in the U.S., making it Warner Brothers' second-biggest hit of 1940. At the zenith of his career, Flynn was voted the fourteenth most popular star in the U.S. and the seventh most popular in Britain according to ''[[Motion Picture Daily]]''. According to [[Variety (magazine)|''Variety'']], he was the fourth-biggest star in the U.S. and the fourth-biggest box-office attraction overseas as well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47308347|title=FILM WORLD|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|location=Perth|date=14 February 1941|access-date=24 April 2012|page=16|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47309649|title=FILM WORLD|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|location=Perth|date=21 February 1941|access-date=24 April 2012|page=14|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>''Variety'', 8 January 1941, pg. 1.</ref>

Flynn consistently ranked among Warner Bros.'s top stars. In 1937, he was the studio's No. 1 star, ahead of [[Paul Muni]] and [[Bette Davis]].<ref>''Variety'', 5 January 1938.</ref> In 1938, he was No. 3, just behind Davis and Muni.<ref>''Variety'', 5 January 1939</ref> In 1939, he was No. 3 again, this time behind Davis and [[James Cagney]].<ref>''Variety'', 18 December 1939.</ref> In 1940 and 1941, he was Warner Bros.'s No. 1 top box-office draw.<ref>''Variety'', 8 January/31 December 1941.</ref> In 1942, he was No. 2, behind Cagney.<ref>Variety, December 1942</ref> In 1943, he was No. 2, behind [[Humphrey Bogart]].<ref>''Variety'', December 1943.</ref> Warners allowed Flynn a change of pace from a long string of period pieces in a light-hearted mystery, ''[[Footsteps in the Dark (film)|Footsteps in the Dark]]'' (1941). ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''' Edwin Schallert wrote: "Errol Flynn becomes a modern for a change in a whodunit film and the excursion proves eminently worth-while... an exceptionally clever and amusing exhibit ..."<ref>Scihallert, Edwin (27 Feb 1941). "'Footsteps in the Dark' Engaging Mystery-Comedy".|work=Los Angeles Times. p. 12.</ref> The film was not a big success; far more popular was the military drama ''[[Dive Bomber (film)|Dive Bomber]]'' (1941), his last film with Curtiz.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

In later years, ''[[Footsteps in the Dark (film)|Footsteps in the Dark]]'' co-star [[Ralph Bellamy]] recalled Flynn at this time as "a darling. Couldn't or wouldn't take himself seriously. And he drank like there was no tomorrow. Had a bum ticker from the malaria he'd picked up in Australia. Also, a spot of TB. Tried to enlist but flunked his medical, so he drank some more. Knew he wouldn't live into old age. He really had a ball in ''Footsteps in the Dark''. He was so glad to be out of swashbucklers".<ref>Bawden, James; Miller, Ron (4 March 2016). ''Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era''. University Press of Kentucky. p. 36.</ref>

Flynn became a [[naturalised]] American citizen on 14 August 1942.<ref name="Basinger, Jeanine p. 247"/> With the United States fully involved in the Second World War, he attempted to enlist in the armed services but failed the physical exam due to recurrent [[malaria]] (contracted in [[New Guinea]]), a heart murmur, various venereal diseases and latent pulmonary tuberculosis.<ref name="Basinger, Jeanine p. 247">Basinger, Jeanine: ''The Star Machine''. Vintage reprint (2009), p. 247; {{ISBN|978-0-307-38875-9}}</ref> Flynn was mocked by reporters and critics as a "draft dodger" because the studio refused to admit that their star, promoted for his physical beauty and athleticism, had been disqualified due to health problems.<ref>{{cite news|date=14 October 1950|title=STAR SYSTEM 'ON THE WAY OUT'. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/55850501|access-date=28 May 2024|newspaper=[[The Mail (Adelaide)|The Mail]] |location=Adelaide|page=8 Supplement: Sunday Magazine|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Flynn started a new long-term relationship with a director when he teamed with [[Raoul Walsh]] in ''[[They Died with Their Boots On]]'' (1942), a biopic of [[George Armstrong Custer]]. De Havilland was his co-star in this, the last of eight films they made together. The movie grossed $2.55&nbsp;million in the U.S. alone, making it Warner Bros.' second-biggest hit of 1942.<ref>''Variety'', January 1943.</ref> Flynn's first World War II film was ''[[Desperate Journey]]'' (1942), directed by Walsh, in which he played an Australian for the first time. It was another big hit.

The role of [[Gentleman Jim Corbett]] in Walsh's [[Gentleman Jim (film)|''Gentleman Jim'']] (1942) was one of Flynn's favourites.<ref>Tony Thomas, Rudy Behlmer * Clifford McCarty, ''The Films of Errol Flynn'', Citadel Press, 1969 pp. 116–117</ref> Warner Bros. purchased the rights to make a film of Corbett's life from his widow, Vera, specifically for their handsome, athletic and charming leading man.<ref>Douglas W. Churchill (17 July 1941). "SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: Ernst Lubitsch Signs Ginger Rogers to Star in His First Production for Fox NEW FILM AT MUSIC HALL 'Tom, Dick and Harry' to Open Today – Arnold Pressburger to Produce 'Saxophone'&nbsp;". ''[[The New York Times]]''. p. 23.</ref> The movie bears little resemblance to the boxer's life, but the story was a crowd-pleaser. Despite—or perhaps because of—its departure from reality, ''Gentleman Jim'' packed the theatres. According to ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', it was the third Errol Flynn movie to gross at least $2 million for Warner Bros. in 1942.<ref name="ReferenceA">Glancy, H. Mark. "Warner Bros film grosses, 1921–51", ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'' (March 1995).<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

Flynn eagerly undertook extensive boxing training for this film, working with Buster Wiles and [[Mushy Callahan]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Scheuer, Philip K|date=7 June 1942|title=Town Called Hollywood|work=Los Angeles Times|page= C3}}</ref> Callahan's remembrances were documented in Charles Higham's ''[[Errol Flynn: The Untold Story]]''. "Errol tended to use his right fist. I had to teach him to use his left and to move very fast on his feet...Luckily, he had excellent footwork, he was dodgy, [and] he could duck faster than anybody I saw. And by the time I was through with him, he'd jab, jab, jab with his left like a veteran".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Steinberg|first=Jay S. |title=Gentleman Jim (1942) Articles |url=http://www.tcm.turner.com/tcmdb/title/617/Gentleman-Jim/articles.html#00 |website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref>

Flynn took the role seriously and was rarely doubled during the boxing sequences. In ''[[The Two Lives of Errol Flynn]]'' by [[Michael Freedland]], Alexis Smith told of taking the star aside: "'It's so silly, working all day and then playing all night and dissipating yourself. Don't you want to live a long life?' Errol was his usually apparently unconcerned self: 'I'm only interested in this half,' he told her. 'I don't care for the future. {{' "}}<ref>''Gentleman Jim'' at the [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM Movie Database]]</ref> Flynn collapsed on set on 15 July 1942, while filming a boxing scene with Ward Bond.<ref>{{cite news|title=Errol Flynn Collapses on Set|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=16 July 1942|page=22}}</ref> Filming was shut down while he recovered; he returned a week later.<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', 21 July 1942. p. 22.</ref> In his autobiography, ''[[My Wicked, Wicked Ways]]'', Flynn describes the episode as a mild heart attack. In September 1942, Warners announced that Flynn had signed a new contract with the studio for four films a year, one of which he would also produce.<ref>{{cite news|title=Of Local Origin|work=The New York Times|date=30 September 1942|page=29}}</ref>

In ''[[Edge of Darkness (1943 film)|Edge of Darkness]]'' (1943), set in Nazi-occupied Norway, Flynn played a Norwegian resistance fighter, a role originally intended for [[Edward G. Robinson]]. Director [[Lewis Milestone]] later recalled, "Flynn kept underrating himself. If you wanted to embarrass him, all you had to do was to tell him how great he was in a scene he'd just finished playing: He'd blush like a young girl and muttering 'I'm no actor' would go away somewhere and sit down".<ref>Higham, Charles; Greenberg, Joel (1971). ''The celluloid muse; Hollywood directors speak''. Regnery. p. 184.</ref> With a box office gross of $2.3 million in the U.S., it was Warner Bros.'s eighth-biggest movie of the year. In Warners' all-star musical comedy fund-raiser for the [[Stage Door Canteen]], ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (film)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]'' (1943), Flynn sings and dances as a cockney seaman boasting to his pub mates of how he's won the war in "That's What You Jolly Well Get", the only musical number that was ever performed by Flynn on screen.