Swashbuckling Days
Many years ago, when Three Arch Bay was just a remote outpost south of Hollywood, film crews would sometimes traverse the cliffs down to the beach to shoot scenes for movies that required some sort of a Pacific Island backdrop. The sets spared no expense. Entire villages were erected. One for the 1935 film “Captain Blood” starring Erroll Flynn and another for the 1936 movie “Give Us This Night”, featuring Gladys Swarthout.
Flynn was somewhat of a newcomer to the big screen, but his performance put him on the map along with costar Olivia de Havilland who was also making a name for herself in Hollywood in her fourth major motion picture. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Sound Editing.
Most of the film was shot on a sound stage in the summer of 1935 but the sword fight between Flynn and Basil Rathbone (his nemesis) were shot on location at Three Arch Bay as a stand-in for the fictional island of Virgen Magra.
“Warner Bros. Pictures took a serious risk in pairing two relatively unknown performers in the lead roles. Flynn’s performance made him a major Hollywood star and established him as the natural successor to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and a “symbol of an unvanquished man” during the Depression.”
Everett Collection.
A specially designed t-shirt by Three Arch Supply commemorating the past filmmaking era of sword-play among heroes and villains on the shores of Laguna Beach. Comes in crew and v-neck styles.
