Cuba si! Errol Flynn and the Adventure of Revolution

Two decades after his controversial visit to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, Errol Flynn would take part in a couple of pro-Castro projects, the documentary The Truth About Castro Revolution/Cuban Story and Cuban Rebel Girls, a hybrid tinged with fiction, prompted by the revolutionary processes underway on the Caribbean island, where the actor had spent a lot of time over the years. Made hastily and with very limited resources, both films came at the end of Flynn's career and have received very little attention by scholars (even in Cuba). Although the fairly worthwhile The Truth About Castro Revolution/Cuban Story remained out of circulation for many years and was only recently rediscovered, Cuban Rebel Girls was mostly written off as a by-product meriting only ridicule. Systematically defamed throughout his lifetime (and even more so after his death), Flynn by this time was going downhill at a rapid rate. Seriously ill and practically retired from the screen, it would seem that Flynn was not really the best person to comment on the revolutionary events in Cuba, and in fact, little notice was taken of his message. Nonetheless, his improvised, two-layered Cuban adventure does haveapart from its evident limitations and weaknessesan undeniable testimonial value, and it brings a new perspective to studies about the United States's initial reaction to the Cuban Revolution.

Cuba si! Errol Flynn and the Adventure of Revolution Articles