The Story of William Tell (lost footage from unfinished Errol Flynn film; 1953): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:30, 8 May 2020

A portrait of Errol Flynn.

Status: Lost

The Story of William Tell is an unfinished 1953 historical film by Australian celebrity Errol Flynn. By this time, the Australian celebrity was starting to get more ambitious with his work. He made a deal with Jack Cardiff to make a movie based off of the Swiss folklore of the legendary William Tell.^[1]

After ordering an expensive model ski resort just off Mont Blanc, he barely had enough money to pay his actors. He could only afford to film 30 minutes worth of footage before having to halt production.^[2]

He showed the unfinished film at a few film festivals to try to get some investors interested, but was hindered by bouts of dysentery. He also attempted to fake an injury to make an insurance claim, which didn't work. Ultimately, Flynn never got the opportunity to finish his dream project.

Availability

A little over a minute of footage was shown on Turner Classic Movies in the early 1990's as part of a feature on Flynn, but the feature has never re-aired. None of the 30 minutes of footage of the film has surfaced since, and there are no known owners of the footage. Flynn's estate has provided very little information about the film, and the footage is now considered entirely lost. The model ski resort was turned into a real ski resort that uses the film's production to lure tourists in every year and is still active today.

Gallery

Flynn as William Tell, in a still from the film.
Photograph taken during the film's production.

References

↑ Wikipedia article. Retrieved 27 Mar '16.
↑ Sun-Herald article about the production. Retrieved 27 Mar '16.

[1] Wikipedia article. Retrieved 27 Mar '16.

[2] Sun-Herald article about the production. Retrieved 27 Mar '16.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Flynn as William Tell.jpg|thumb|300px|Flynn as William Tell, in a still from the film.]]
+{{InfoboxLost
-[[File:Flynn.png|thumb|300px|Photograph taken during the film's production.]]
+|title=<center>The Story of William Tell</center>
-In 1953, Errol Flynn was riding high with his popular acting career. The Australian celebrity started getting more and more ambitious with his work and decided to start producing as well. He made a deal with Jack Cardiff to make a movie based off of the Swiss folklore of the legendary William Tell; the film appropriately titled '''''The Story of William Tell'''''.
+|image=ErrolFlynnWilliamTell-InfoboxPortrait.jpg
+|imagecaption=A portrait of Errol Flynn.
+|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
+}}
+'''''The Story of William Tell''''' is an unfinished 1953 historical film by Australian celebrity Errol Flynn. By this time, the Australian celebrity was starting to get more ambitious with his work. He made a deal with Jack Cardiff to make a movie based off of the Swiss folklore of the legendary William Tell.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_William_Tell Wikipedia article.] Retrieved 27 Mar '16.</ref>
-Flynn had a set built as a model ski resort, (just off Mont Blanc), known for its elaborate location and building designs. The cost of the set's production was so high that by the time Flynn got shooting he barely had enough money to pay his actors. He could only afford to film 30 minutes worth of footage before having to halt production.
+After ordering an expensive model ski resort just off Mont Blanc, he barely had enough money to pay his actors. He could only afford to film 30 minutes worth of footage before having to halt production.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28661545 Sun-Herald article about the production.] Retrieved 27 Mar '16.</ref>
-He showed the unfinished film at a few film festivals to try to get some investors interested, though bouts of dysentery kept him in the bathroom, unable to meet with them and discuss a deal. He then attempted to fake an injury to make an insurance claim, which also blew up in his face. Ultimately, Flynn never got the opportunity to complete his dream project.
+He showed the unfinished film at a few film festivals to try to get some investors interested, but was hindered by bouts of dysentery. He also attempted to fake an injury to make an insurance claim, which didn't work. Ultimately, Flynn never got the opportunity to finish his dream project.
-A little bit over a minute of footage was shown on Turner Classic Movies in the early 90s as part of a feature on Flynn, but the feature itself is now lost as well. None of the 30 minutes of footage has surfaced and nobody knows where any copies can be found, as Flynn's estates have chosen to remain silent about it. The footage is now considered entirely lost, with only a single still from the film remaining, as well as a single photograph taken during production. The model ski resort was turned into a real ski resort that uses the film's production to lure tourists in every year, and is still active today.
+==Availability==
+A little over a minute of footage was shown on Turner Classic Movies in the early 1990's as part of a feature on Flynn, but the feature has never re-aired. None of the 30 minutes of footage of the film has surfaced since, and there are no known owners of the footage. Flynn's estate has provided very little information about the film, and the footage is now considered entirely lost. The model ski resort was turned into a real ski resort that uses the film's production to lure tourists in every year and is still active today.
-[[Category:Lost films]]
+==Gallery==
+<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>
+ErrolFlynnWilliamTell-FilmStill.jpg|Flynn as William Tell, in a still from the film.
+ErrolFlynnWilliamTell-ProductionStill.png|Photograph taken during the film's production.
+</gallery>
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
+[[Category:Lost films|Story of William Tell]]
+[[Category:Completely lost media|Story of William Tell]]