Carl Esmond
Actor Carl Esmond, who plays a general in Spain during the civil war there- in "My Wicked, Wicked Ways"- played a German flier in Flynn's 1938 film "The Dawn Patrol." He was the guy who shoots down David Niven's plane, and is then captured, and brought in for interrogation to the Royal Flying Corps headquarters. When Donald Crisp brings him in, and he meets Basil Rathbone and Flynn, they are all under the impression that Niven has been killed. He is Flynn's best friend in the film, and Flynn's character, Courtney, is understandably upset about losing his buddy. When Rathbone introduces the German aviator, it looks like sparks will fly. But Flynn being Flynn, after a moment of hesitation, he smiles, shakes Esmond's hand, and offers him a drink. They then become the best of enemies. Of course, things aren't what they seem, and Niven is a hard man to keep down...
Esmond plays the part very well, and is a gentleman, and basically a good fellow. This chivalrous behavior between enemy fliers was featured in many 1930s films about World War I. And it is fairly true to life. As everyone knows, that war was very different from World War II, when at least some German fliers were dedicated Nazis. You don't find that same relationship in films about the Second World War. Just grim determination to beat back the fascist foe. Esmond captures that different spirit in the earlier war quite well, as do both Flynn and Niven. The drinking scenes among these actors are very entertaining, and well done.
Anyway, I think it's interesting that Esmond was given a part in "My Wicked, Wicked Ways," made almost fifty years after his co-starring bit with the real Flynn. I can only think that this wasn't a coincidence. I'm guessing that director Don Taylor, who supposedly knew Flynn a little, wanted him for this part. He would have been one of the few remaining actors who had worked with Flynn in the '30s. One can only imagine what stories he might have told on the set of this TV film about working on "The Dawn Patrol."
According to imdb., Esmond lived to be 102! He was born in 1902, and died in 2004. Not a bad run for his money. He appeared in a lot of movies, including Fritz Lang's "Ministry of Fear," in 1944, with Ray Milland. I think his best-ever part was in "The Dawn Patrol." He is very effective, and touching, as the pilot who now realizes his war is over. I wonder if any other performer ever appeared in a film about a real-life actor, who said performer had once acted with in real life. I can't imagine that this happened very often!