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There shall never be another Errol Flynn. Many have tried, but none have come to the level of a swaggering-swashbuckler like Errol.

We really have actor Robert Donat to thank for Errol's stardom as a swashbuckler, for if Mr. Donat had not turned down the role of Captain Blood, we might not have had Errol's swashbuckling portrayal on film at all! Mr. Donat, who had played in "The Count of Monte Cristo" in 1934, was asked to play Peter Blood in an upcoming film by Warner Brothers that was scheduled for release in 1935. But after having read the screenplay of "Captain Blood" Donat felt that the role demanded too much physical strain on his already bad health.

Having seen Flynn in a screen test, the movie makers decided to take a chance on an unknown, that is - Errol, who had just recently played minor roles in a couple of movies, and who had not too long before played in a "B" swashbuckler movie called "The Bounty," based on the famous book by captain Bligh.

With that flop behind his belt, it is a wonder that Flynn got cast in such a big role as Rafael Sabatini's "Captain Blood" in 1935. But his on-screen presence won the role over for him.

After this break, audiences screamed for more swashbucklers from their new screen idol, and more they did get!! Over the next few years, Errol continued to pour out high-budgeted swashbucklers for Warner Brothers Pictures. He became Robin Hood, the Sea Hawk, the rescuer of the Prince and the Pauper, and even Don Juan!!

Errol, at his height, was perhaps the most famous film actor in the world!!

His hard life of women and booze, which he claimed would eventually kill him, finally did when he was in his 50's. But even though the aging actor showed signs of his failing health in later films, he nevertheless stayed the king of the swashbucklers all the way to the end!!