Sunday, February 28, 2016

One Last Kiss -- Errol and Olivia

On Valentine's Day, the talented writer of Second Sight Cinema hosted a blogathon called "A Kiss Is Just A Kiss."  I was not able to participate, but I'd like to offer a belated article about one of the most sensuous and touching kisses in the classic era.  (Don't miss the other wonderful articles in the blogathon by clicking here:  http://secondsightcinema.com/happy-valentines-day-weekend-welcome-to-the-you-must-remember-this-a-kiss-is-just-a-kiss-blogathon/.)


Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland were one of the most famous movie couples.  They were a match made in heaven, and were together in several films.  Of course there was plenty of kissing, but the  sweetest, most genuine kiss was in "They Died With Their Boots On."  This 1941 Warner Brothers production was, as were most of the historical films of the period, full of inaccuracies and made-up Hollywood stories.  We may know more now than at that time, but it doesn't change the excitement of the movie at all.  The relationship between George Armstrong Custer and his wife, Libby Bacon, was pretty close to the truth, at least in the love they had for each other.  The movie portrayed this beautifully.  Toward the end, Custer  prepares for what would be the battle of the Little Big Horn, and the scene of their parting is, to me, their best.  It never fails to bring a tear.  As a woman, it rings true, as it must for men from their point of view. 

Olivia and Errol likely did not know that this would be their last film together.  The scene is all the more poignant to us now.  Enjoy a wonderful piece of film, and a wonderful kiss.