In 1940, the 4th most popular star in the U.S. was a foreign actor from Australia, and unlike other movie stars, he was more notorious for his pursuits off the screen than on it. In an era long before social media, Errol Flynn represented the epitome of a swashbuckling playboy, with enough mystery and intrigue surrounding him and his background to fascinate even those who didn’t see his movies. Even Hollywood stars accustomed to mingling with each other were awestruck by Errol Flynn, who was an industry newcomer in 1935 but a huge star in just a few years. When Olivia de Havilland, who would eventually become an Academy Award winner and played Melanie in Gone With the Wind, met Flynn ahead of appearing with him in Captain Blood (1935), she recalled, “And I walked onto the set, and they said, ‘Would you please stand next to Mr. Flynn?’...We had never met, and we just stood there next to each other. Oh!”
Some actors were recruited based on their appearance alone, signing contracts before taking screen tests or ever having been on a stage or set. Others became overnight sensations, darlings of the public for decades. Only a few of these turned out to be excellent actors, but one of them was certainly Tyrone Power, one of Hollywood’s leading men from the 1930s into the 1950s. With a career spanning over 50 films, Power did not have to work through the system, rising to the top almost immediately at the age of 22. or most viewers, however, Power was the best swashbuckler in the business, the perfect heir to Errol Flynn and the Fairbanks men. The Mask of Zorro has been immortalized in Hollywood history alongside The Black Swan, Prince of Foxes, The Black Rose, and Captain from Castile, and thanks to his “seemingly charmed life,” Power appeared with the best actors and actresses of his era.
