The Perfect Specimen | |
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Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
Written by | Norman Reilly Raine Lawrence Riley Brewster Morse Fritz Falkenstein Story: Samuel Hopkins Adams |
Starring | Errol Flynn Joan Blondell |
Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
Edited by | Terry O. Morse |
Music by | Heinz Roemheld |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $505,000 [1] |
Box office | $1,281,000 [1] |
The Perfect Specimen is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Joan Blondell. The picture is based on a novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams.
It was Flynn's first comedy. [2]
Gerald Wicks, the heir to a large fortune, has never been outside the gates of his childhood estate. He goes on an adventure with newspaper reporter Mona Carter and they fall in love.
Author | Samuel Hopkins |
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Language | English |
Genre | Comedy |
Publisher | New York Liveright Publishing Corporation |
Publication date | 1936 |
Pages | 224 |
The book was based on a novel. The New York Times called it "a trifling little number. It reads like one of those old fashioned farce comedies... hammock reading for a hot afternoon." [3]
The film was Flynn's first comedy starring role and the movie always seems to have been considered a vehicle for him. [4] He made it after holidaying in Europe. [5]
Warners originally sought Carole Lombard or Miriam Hopkins to play against Errol Flynn [6] and for a while it seemed Hopkins was set to co-star. However she turned down the role and Warners decided to look at players assigned to their contract roster. The two leading contenders were Olivia de Havilland and Joan Blondell; [7] it was thought the former was ideal if the role was played in a "romantic" way but the latter should be preferred it they wanted someone "pepful and sparkling". [8] Blondell was cast and filming started in May 1937.
Marie Wilson was meant to play a small role but was assigned to The Great Garrick instead. [9] Dennie Moore replaced Jane Wyman. [10]
Joan Blondell fell ill during filming but recovered. [11]
The New York Times called the film a "light and unaffecting romantic comedy." [12]
May Robson's performance was highly praised in particular. [13]
According to Warner Bros records the film earned $786,000 domestically and $495,000 foreign. [1]
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles include Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th-greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in Captain Blood (1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail, Virginia City and San Antonio (1945).
Virginia City is a 1940 American Western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, Randolph Scott, and a mustachioed Humphrey Bogart in the role of the real-life outlaw John Murrell. Based on a screenplay by Robert Buckner, the film is about a Union officer who escapes from a Confederate prison and is sent to Virginia City from where his former prison commander is planning to send five million dollars in gold to Virginia to save the Confederacy. The film premiered in its namesake, Virginia City, Nevada. The film was shot in black and white (sepiatone).
The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 American historical adventure film from Warner Bros., starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Samuel Bischoff, with Hal B. Wallis as the executive producer. The film's screenplay is by Michael Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, from a story by Michael Jacoby, and based on the 1854 poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The music score was composed by Max Steiner, his first for Warner Bros., and the cinematography was by Sol Polito. Scenes were shot at the following California locations: Lone Pine, Sherwood Lake, Lasky Mesa, Chatsworth, and Sonora. The Sierra Nevada mountains were used for the Khyber Pass scenes.
Gentleman Jim is a 1942 film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn as heavyweight boxing champion James J. Corbett (1866–1933). The supporting cast includes Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, William Frawley, and Ward Bond as John L. Sullivan. The movie was based upon Corbett's 1894 autobiography, The Roar of the Crowd. The role was one of Flynn's favorites.
Adventures of Don Juan is a 1948 American Technicolor swashbuckling adventure romance film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Errol Flynn and Viveca Lindfors, with Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford, and Robert Warwick. Also in the cast are Barbara Bates, Raymond Burr, and Mary Stuart. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Jerry Wald. The screenplay by George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz, based on a story by Herbert Dalmas, has uncredited contributions by William Faulkner and Robert Florey.
The Sisters is a 1938 American drama film produced and directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis. The screenplay by Milton Krims is based on the 1937 novel of the same title by Myron Brinig.
The film appearances of movie actor Errol Flynn (1909–1959) are listed here, including his short films and one unfinished feature.
That Forsyte Woman is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Greer Garson, Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young and Janet Leigh. It is an adaptation of the 1906 novel The Man of Property, the first book in The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.
The Prince and the Pauper is a 1937 film adaptation of the 1881 novel of the same name by Mark Twain. It starred Errol Flynn, twins Billy and Bobby Mauch in the title roles, and Claude Rains and has been described as "a kids' fantasy."
Seton Ingersoll Miller was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with film directors such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz. Miller received two Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for the 1941 fantasy romantic comedy film, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, along with Sidney Buchman.
Green Light is a 1937 American drama film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Errol Flynn, Anita Louise and Margaret Lindsay. The film is adapted from a novel written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The novel is closely related to Douglas' previous book, Magnificent Obsession, which was also adapted as a movie. It was Flynn's first starring role in a studio film that was not an action movie.
The Master of Ballantrae is a 1953 British Technicolor adventure film starring Errol Flynn and Roger Livesey. It is a loose and highly truncated adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson 1889 novel of the same name. In eighteenth century Scotland, two sons of a laird clash over the family estate and a lady. It was the last film directed by William Keighley.
The Case of the Curious Bride is a 1935 American mystery film, the second in a series of four starring Warren William as Perry Mason, following The Case of the Howling Dog. The script was based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner, published by William Morrow and Company, which proved to be one of the most popular of all the Perry Mason novels.
Footsteps in the Dark is a 1941 American comedy mystery film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall and Ralph Bellamy. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Flynn plays a novelist and amateur detective investigating a murder. It takes its title from the 1935 play Footsteps in the Dark by Ladislas Fodor and also used material from the 1937 play Blondie White by Jeffrey Dell.
Cry Wolf is a 1947 American mystery film noir directed by Peter Godfrey and starring Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck and Geraldine Brooks. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Marjorie Carleton.
The Petty Girl (1950), known in the UK as Girl of the Year, is a musical romantic comedy Technicolor film starring Robert Cummings and Joan Caulfield. Cummings portrays painter George Petty who falls for Victoria Braymore (Caulfield), the youngest professor at Braymore College who eventually becomes "The Petty Girl".
Silver River is a 1948 American western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan and Thomas Mitchell. The film is based on a Stephen Longstreet story that was turned into a novel. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.
Don't Bet on Blondes is a 1935 American romantic comedy film.
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