tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65423652126899685772024-03-28T00:56:42.762+01:00 Stars and Letters letters from hollywood's golden ageUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger462125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-83973721629378491542024-03-21T23:31:00.000+01:002024-03-21T23:31:17.444+01:00Nobody deserves that kind of slaughter<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">A year after Joan Crawford's death, Christina Crawford —the eldest of Joan's four adopted children— published her memoir </span><i style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">Mommie Dearest </i><span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">(1978), in which she accused her mother of</span></span><span style="color: #222222;"> emotional and physical abuse towards her and her siblings</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">. The book became a huge success and in 1981 was made into a film of the same name (starring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford).</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"> Several people corroborated Christina's story, s</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">tating they had personally witnessed some of the abuse (among them Helen Hayes, read more </span><a href="https://starsandletters.blogspot.com/2022/10/you-are-most-talented-woman-at.html" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">), while others said that the allegations were pure lies. Among the latter group were Joan's twin daughters Cathy and Cindy, </span><span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">Joan's ex-husband Douglas Fairbanks Jr., </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">Barbara Stanwyck and Myrna Loy. </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXiFndkANrPgG-MlG18p3WijT2Lw1h-4zo5acoXh36PXbHyCbsXBaoFAHrJZhfqWkEkOOXph62a2cu9WN-qYTh4MOVn7uQuvhB8gX8dd0a9Vub5zcP9DFKEIWjw6OQOI5uBye3gQRMh0_gzRxPPBJ5Mb_iDM6doFren3sxX4wjNcLEsAjoFw50D3QuvRd/s771/joan%20christina%20crawford.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXiFndkANrPgG-MlG18p3WijT2Lw1h-4zo5acoXh36PXbHyCbsXBaoFAHrJZhfqWkEkOOXph62a2cu9WN-qYTh4MOVn7uQuvhB8gX8dd0a9Vub5zcP9DFKEIWjw6OQOI5uBye3gQRMh0_gzRxPPBJ5Mb_iDM6doFren3sxX4wjNcLEsAjoFw50D3QuvRd/s16000/joan%20christina%20crawford.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joan Crawford and daughter Christina</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn also belonged to the group of people who didn't believe Christina's stories about her mother. In the letters below, the two actresses give their opinion on the subject. First up is Dietrich's letter to Paramount executive Peter Bankers (i.e. only the part that deals with <i>Mommie Dearest</i>), followed by Hepburn's note to a friend. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxcs2r77QkotBhLwjzKK9yv5KCjPCgftPJCB9rWkEu32TMLo0JSiCL5tcPLxc2v6_Qw-CqKqdJe6EhddOp9AqgQGzKtZfS0eTMRhB8cNbaknlVwsq5flrDghHJ0321BDNohNTzRLA0xN4vdAYyHn5AP8M_j6afz0qv5CFgYtUzu_X2Yx03uH3iMfzWvNt/s575/81dietrichletter1%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxcs2r77QkotBhLwjzKK9yv5KCjPCgftPJCB9rWkEu32TMLo0JSiCL5tcPLxc2v6_Qw-CqKqdJe6EhddOp9AqgQGzKtZfS0eTMRhB8cNbaknlVwsq5flrDghHJ0321BDNohNTzRLA0xN4vdAYyHn5AP8M_j6afz0qv5CFgYtUzu_X2Yx03uH3iMfzWvNt/s16000/81dietrichletter1%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: <a href="https://www.joancrawfordbest.com/celebletters.htm#dietrich81" target="_blank"> The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia</a> (click on the link if you want to read Dietrich's full letter)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8aM8K_5Yb2175HysZKMS8mHsr_Ya2fzywhLz4HxpnoYUPtUEGRiyD1FisGQbzgir7ZdloL7LvdKscIOuv3BrbpHUfvgphfxoJ4zOkw_l-l4oHCi_BI8ik05PY3otKPe0bNwv-4CqmvAtXmK_MCI2D5R7VrfIpFl6wauIo0cAw4VDOfYQpmHaZCXLp01L/s778/joan%20crawford%20marlene%20dietrich.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8aM8K_5Yb2175HysZKMS8mHsr_Ya2fzywhLz4HxpnoYUPtUEGRiyD1FisGQbzgir7ZdloL7LvdKscIOuv3BrbpHUfvgphfxoJ4zOkw_l-l4oHCi_BI8ik05PY3otKPe0bNwv-4CqmvAtXmK_MCI2D5R7VrfIpFl6wauIo0cAw4VDOfYQpmHaZCXLp01L/s16000/joan%20crawford%20marlene%20dietrich.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClvFmAaaMyQ-omv2eid-Q5wGyls87RtvCf0e7wDb-T62Z1O9zZfvjp8btzDvkR5HhwP3BbAe9NwtUcVxOaWzcIc-bARHYkUAWZHB2LvK2sYDL3eOQhUurg2jHh_ihOFK1-_-C8dIc8dwtuomfv98gqKFH_ecHVai8bebrYS7DnLchhMoMCXHJAXcZtRbB/s792/kate%20hepburn%20re%20mommie%20dearest.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClvFmAaaMyQ-omv2eid-Q5wGyls87RtvCf0e7wDb-T62Z1O9zZfvjp8btzDvkR5HhwP3BbAe9NwtUcVxOaWzcIc-bARHYkUAWZHB2LvK2sYDL3eOQhUurg2jHh_ihOFK1-_-C8dIc8dwtuomfv98gqKFH_ecHVai8bebrYS7DnLchhMoMCXHJAXcZtRbB/s16000/kate%20hepburn%20re%20mommie%20dearest.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: <a href="https://www.joancrawfordbest.com/celebletters.htm#Hepburn95" target="_blank">The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia </a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8X5_SFezbHyC1J446-DMKK_KAzNJURGQiBJ8n5tB1O0IajSsGr8GYlRtVkAf-FRTSfT0ev4kUDZ22rgmIaB307nbt4DRZoNUj7YQHJ81DPJWlDATJXWeWoVAZgxNU0LrDpLZ1_5rVahc2s2PVuUxI85TemYVec12Ah0OocXH0-h-J9r8sj12qPGoPMP0/s575/kate%20hepburn.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8X5_SFezbHyC1J446-DMKK_KAzNJURGQiBJ8n5tB1O0IajSsGr8GYlRtVkAf-FRTSfT0ev4kUDZ22rgmIaB307nbt4DRZoNUj7YQHJ81DPJWlDATJXWeWoVAZgxNU0LrDpLZ1_5rVahc2s2PVuUxI85TemYVec12Ah0OocXH0-h-J9r8sj12qPGoPMP0/s16000/kate%20hepburn.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kate Hepburn</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-75882494557321919002024-03-14T22:50:00.000+01:002024-03-14T22:50:07.283+01:00For Kim Novak I have nothing but praise<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">James Stewart and Kim Novak starred together in two films, i.e. in Alfred Hitchcock's <i>Vertigo</i> (1958) and the fantasy comedy<i> Bell, Book and Candle</i> (1958). The actors got along very well, and Novak later said that Stewart was her "<i>all-time favorite man, next to [her] husband</i>" and "<i>the best, nicest person [she] ever worked with</i>". According to filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, the two had an affair during <i>Vertigo</i> which continued through <i>Bell, Book and Candle</i>. When author Marc Eliot asked Novak about it —while doing research for his 2006 biography on James Stewart— she categorically denied the affair. "<i>She said she had been in love with Richard Quine, the director of </i>Bell, Book and Candle", said Eliot. "<i>She added that Jimmy was married, and there was no way that she would have an affair with a married man</i>." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0k_hw7eiHklO0AbhZMK9oAVoGTvsHB7E_euk46XVJlLeDDsNwDeAYkeG7loqCYjnstInrrSgAJ4bj6VMNCKyOHbItQPBuWTlo4t7Jh6JFeEMJkNQKk3m5aUDAkwyMZON1EU1z6lCUb-K5N_lvFOcwRaY0B3zSd0TRrEBcQgBa4yd2JVi542ifZHsNbVSL/s575/kim%20novak%20james%20stewart%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0k_hw7eiHklO0AbhZMK9oAVoGTvsHB7E_euk46XVJlLeDDsNwDeAYkeG7loqCYjnstInrrSgAJ4bj6VMNCKyOHbItQPBuWTlo4t7Jh6JFeEMJkNQKk3m5aUDAkwyMZON1EU1z6lCUb-K5N_lvFOcwRaY0B3zSd0TRrEBcQgBa4yd2JVi542ifZHsNbVSL/s16000/kim%20novak%20james%20stewart%20(2).jpg" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1980, Larry Kleno published his book on Kim Novak, entitled <i>Kim Novak on Camera</i>. In preparation for the book, Kleno contacted several of Novak's co-stars, asking them how they had experienced working with her. Naturally he also got in touch with James Stewart, who sent the requested information via the following letter:</div><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdniYD14-BHjV6eCIdG2Mq5UZ9vSUQHEj-knrQKPSLpvMIw4V0HHJJlCKGEP9E6Wsq8Nzx8fsjUaJ22lZkHjquNBYxKN8tTsjlAyRGKYNULTVv3pUMhYQgz_qkZw7Efc3Qg41OTqE1cfW4_WToV88Ops0uYtkCugKUSGYFgzmrgMAAp47USt9LZg4HHMs1/s721/james%20stewart%20re%20kim%20novak%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdniYD14-BHjV6eCIdG2Mq5UZ9vSUQHEj-knrQKPSLpvMIw4V0HHJJlCKGEP9E6Wsq8Nzx8fsjUaJ22lZkHjquNBYxKN8tTsjlAyRGKYNULTVv3pUMhYQgz_qkZw7Efc3Qg41OTqE1cfW4_WToV88Ops0uYtkCugKUSGYFgzmrgMAAp47USt9LZg4HHMs1/s16000/james%20stewart%20re%20kim%20novak%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auction/19045/lot/2216/celebrity-correspondence/" target="_blank">Bonhams</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXagke1V_m0vmrOqNLRFHUxmeTMcUBBz4-J5k4zLFca7WDKisGSDwmt_e4lKy2gZkuHO1TMNqIwPh2s_Tu68-DeNXNndzAv2mz_2oiIEb9QkWvIf88_PrbLNVyg-BmLd6YOyBgdErMzacKDso5D77l_46sWt3CI0IvTWy0UX_uaD66inVuQuUvlDfV23j/s575/kim%20novak%20jimmy%20stewart%20(2)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXagke1V_m0vmrOqNLRFHUxmeTMcUBBz4-J5k4zLFca7WDKisGSDwmt_e4lKy2gZkuHO1TMNqIwPh2s_Tu68-DeNXNndzAv2mz_2oiIEb9QkWvIf88_PrbLNVyg-BmLd6YOyBgdErMzacKDso5D77l_46sWt3CI0IvTWy0UX_uaD66inVuQuUvlDfV23j/s16000/kim%20novak%20jimmy%20stewart%20(2)%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Above clockwise:</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">James Stewart and Kim Novak in <i>Vertigo,</i> in a scene from <i>Bell, Book and Candle </i>and on the set of <i>Vertigo</i>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-11898113188027942662024-03-02T18:55:00.000+01:002024-03-02T18:55:25.613+01:00Rivalry at Warner Bros: Hal Wallis vs Jack Warner<div style="text-align: justify;"><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">I haven't posted here for a while, as some of you may have noticed. The reason is that I've been having serious health issues and consequently had to spend a few months in the hospital (five weeks in the ICU even). Luckily I'm doing much better now and, while recuperating at home, I am slowly returning to my old life again. This means that I also want to get back to blogging and continue to share with you interesting stories and correspondence. So, without further ado, let's get on with this post, which involves two of Warner Brothers' key people, Jack Warner and Hal Wallis.</span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">_____</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>In 1923, Hal B. Wallis started his career at Warner Bros as an assistant in the publicity department and not before long was appointed</span></span> chief of publicity.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Gradually Wallis involved himself in the production side of the business, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">to eventually become Warners' head of production </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in 1928 </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">(being temporarily replaced by Darryl F. Zanuck from 1931 to 1933). </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Until his departure from the studio in 1944, Wallis </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">was responsible for the production of numerous films, including classics like <i>The Adventures of Robin Hood</i> (1938), <i>Dark Victory</i> (1939), <i>The Maltese Falcon</i> (1941), <i>Now, Voyager</i> (1942) and —perhaps the classic of all classics—</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Casablanca </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(1942). It was </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Casablanca </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">that was Wallis' greatest triumph, a film he regarded as </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">his </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">film, having even provided the movie's famous last line ("<i>Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.</i>").</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">On 2 March 1944 </span><span style="color: #222222;">—on</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> the evening of the 16th Oscar ceremony, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">with<i> Casablanca</i> being nominated in eight categories, among them Best Picture— it became abundantly clear that Warner Bros' studio head Jack Warner had different ideas about <i>whose</i> film <i>Casablanca</i> was. After director Sidney Franklin had announced <i>Casablanca </i>as the Best Picture winner, Wallis rose from his chair to accept the Oscar, only to find that Warner had also stood up and beaten him to the stage. Warner, as studio head, felt that <i>Casablanca</i> was <i>his</i> film and claimed the Oscar on stage, with many people in the audience shocked to see him upstage Wallis like that. The once-close relationship between the two men, which had been tense for some time, was now damaged for good. Shortly afterwards Wallis left</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> Warner Bros to work as an independent producer, his</span><span style="color: #222222;"> films to be released through Paramount Pictures and later Universal.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjuxWmZXj6YvFVhBp1sq-S1H6nTntH0OXOioAhh3tzMPAUpEGredDezyGmmNImtv9rDcAqtCweeiGhoMcMf4c5rWYodkZZkozVPIk0a_J-X88b-GeeL6K6S-acGh2Yb_sD4BgnHP7rPVqMlhfzMfw01kzAEy4vb9ZQfFTvL7B16oYnNGuLUlerOWD4UIf/s786/credits%20casablanca%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjuxWmZXj6YvFVhBp1sq-S1H6nTntH0OXOioAhh3tzMPAUpEGredDezyGmmNImtv9rDcAqtCweeiGhoMcMf4c5rWYodkZZkozVPIk0a_J-X88b-GeeL6K6S-acGh2Yb_sD4BgnHP7rPVqMlhfzMfw01kzAEy4vb9ZQfFTvL7B16oYnNGuLUlerOWD4UIf/s16000/credits%20casablanca%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: Hal Wallis signed a new contract with Warner Bros in January 1942, specifying that "A Hal Wallis Production" or "Produced by Hal Wallis" should appear after the main title of his films. With <i>Casablanca</i>, however, "Jack L. Warner Executive Producer" had been added to the WB logo, even though Warner had nothing to do with the film at all. Below: Jack Warner (left) and Hal Wallis. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9ZFpLxgD8hevwgiFwUWXPzXOH9J9LARntHxGHGdyM1wan0aL4FWpIc9TaqSKt0dZo5-T-2mSC2ldxnbRDByiDA7mUG-fE0qUGVRZAqDb7no-nCgZqjL4SN9QKdYpaq5aou0wXhkwWtuWIGUebel_KsiWJVRJztjHRUkzQHIkcC-6uZRG4E4BL5OQo7e_/s575/jack%20warner%20hal%20wallis.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9ZFpLxgD8hevwgiFwUWXPzXOH9J9LARntHxGHGdyM1wan0aL4FWpIc9TaqSKt0dZo5-T-2mSC2ldxnbRDByiDA7mUG-fE0qUGVRZAqDb7no-nCgZqjL4SN9QKdYpaq5aou0wXhkwWtuWIGUebel_KsiWJVRJztjHRUkzQHIkcC-6uZRG4E4BL5OQo7e_/s16000/jack%20warner%20hal%20wallis.jpg" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;">The following telegrams from Jack Warner to Hal Wallis clearly show that by the end of 1943 the relationship between the two had deteriorated. Warner felt threatened by Wallis and complained about not getting the credit he deserved.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">November 28, 1943</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...per L.A. "Dailey News" Article 23rd, I resent and won't stand for your continuing to take all credit for "Watch on Rhine", "This is the Army", "God is my Copilot", "Princess O'Rourke" and many other stories. I happened to be one who saw these stories, read plays, bought and turned them over to you. You could have at least said so, and I want to be accredited accordingly. You certainly have changed and unnecessarily so.</p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">November 30, 1943</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stop giving me double talk on your publicity. This wire will serve notice on you that I will take legal action if my name has been eliminated from any article or story in any form, shape or manner as being in charge production while you were executive producer and in charge production since your new contract commenced. So there will be no misunderstanding it will be up to you to prove and see that my name is properly accredited in any publicity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZhqX3vNnecUWHULPxiNWb4TCj0NhVd1nwzvmE-m97dUXvvsMZYd-WBr52I48fd0ICtei232m1srZeKcvy2uH7uAZVv93GtvO_xcYBR8O3R8fHnEGZAD2sCkMPpX2i_c7p1rHLGRSx0ln_ltUDcw2a6PUIwU07YnItd2fiNjDkonVfsdneV7KKzk8cGWR/s575/casablanca.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZhqX3vNnecUWHULPxiNWb4TCj0NhVd1nwzvmE-m97dUXvvsMZYd-WBr52I48fd0ICtei232m1srZeKcvy2uH7uAZVv93GtvO_xcYBR8O3R8fHnEGZAD2sCkMPpX2i_c7p1rHLGRSx0ln_ltUDcw2a6PUIwU07YnItd2fiNjDkonVfsdneV7KKzk8cGWR/s16000/casablanca.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The day after Jack Warner had claimed the Best Picture Oscar for <i>Casablanca </i>at the 1944 Oscars, film critic Edwin Schallert wrote in his column about a rivalry between Warner and Wallis. In the following letter to Schallert, Wallis resolutely denied the rivalry, even claiming he "was glad to see Jack Warner accept the award". Of course this was not how Wallis really felt and almost forty years later, in his autobiography <i>Starmaker, </i>the producer described the Oscar incident, saying how Warner's action had left him "humiliated and furious" (excerpt from the book also seen below).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Edwin Schallert<br />Los Angeles Times <br />202 W First Street<br />Los Angeles Calif</div><p style="text-align: justify;">March 4 1944</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have been with Warner Bros for twenty years and during this time it has been customary here as elsewhere for the studio head to accept the Academy Award for the best production. Naturally I was glad to see Jack Warner accept the award this year for "Casablanca" as he did for "The Life of Emile Zola". I am happy also to have contributed my bit toward the making of that picture. Your comment in your column this morning on rivalry at Warner Bros. is totally unjustified. I would be grateful if you would correct the misleading impression created by it ...</p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Hal B. Wallis</div></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Excerpt from<i> Starmaker: </i><span style="text-align: left;"><i>The Autobiography of Hal Wallis </i></span>(1980) by Hal B. Wallis and Charles Higham:</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Matters came to a head that Oscar night. After it was announced that <i>Casablanca</i> had won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year, I stood up to accept when Jack ran to the stage ahead of me and took the award with a broad, flashing smile and a look of great self-satisfaction. I couldn't believe it was happening. <i>Casablanca</i> had been my creation; Jack had absolutely nothing to do with it. As the audience gasped, I tried to get out of the row of seats and into the aisle, but the entire Warner family sat blocking me. I had no alternative but to sit down again, humiliated and furious.<span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">[Eventually, Wallis did receive a Best Picture Oscar for </span><i>Casablanca.</i>]</p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Source of all correspondence:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Warner-Brothers-Behlmer-Hardcover/dp/B010CKLBG4/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="color: #994c4c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951)</a> (1985), selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer.</span></p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNtYrh9lMv484Ge9srxhkth5MI1F4vb4j8wRX8zIuAZcCMSAYA8Cxt8e7DCjyDpkY0GTvQa80ltMeF-wBOApvHPSjll6hyphenhyphenyZQyTX9-0VRBzYlkSZcA7PQRlaAJSDkO2DatcqtELVUns_z5XdYx4kGAK3OtzZwo5WQS6MeWOyeeu32XiWI8PEl5IBgC-x6/s741/jack%20warner%20hal%20wallis%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNtYrh9lMv484Ge9srxhkth5MI1F4vb4j8wRX8zIuAZcCMSAYA8Cxt8e7DCjyDpkY0GTvQa80ltMeF-wBOApvHPSjll6hyphenhyphenyZQyTX9-0VRBzYlkSZcA7PQRlaAJSDkO2DatcqtELVUns_z5XdYx4kGAK3OtzZwo5WQS6MeWOyeeu32XiWI8PEl5IBgC-x6/s16000/jack%20warner%20hal%20wallis%20(1).jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-5129458305530407402023-09-30T23:39:00.000+02:002023-09-30T23:39:59.780+02:00It’s very regrettable that so many people think of you as a special problem<p style="text-align: justify;">The critically and commercially successful <i>Splendor in the Grass</i> (1961), directed by Elia Kazan and starring Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood in the leads, was Beatty's screen debut. At age 23, Beatty was an ambitious young man who —in Kazan's words— "wanted it all and wanted it his way". Natalie Wood said in interviews that throughout production of <i>Splendor</i> she and Beatty had not gotten along, describing the actor as being "difficult to work with". Others shared her opinion, including Don Kranze, assistant director on <i>Splendor. </i>"<i>Warren was a pain in the ass"</i>, recalled Kranze. "<i>He was very young, anyway, but his emotional maturity was about thirteen... we all sort of felt about Warren that he's an immature boy playing a man's game</i>." According to <i>Splendor</i>'s production designer Richard Sylbert (a good friend of Beatty's), Beatty was going to do whatever he wanted to do, not caring what anybody thought.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQB1BXQ1w3kFvEyZ3nGul8DhBpsqyEI2B3KSSKK6sjGHulKvSA5OsXVcQaTo6cNxXmFDGWhITEsWuG0_T9_Z31L2YmZDx38MCei8yWi_iX28X3KasfNb5GkojDr-T0ZxV1FWWkXZOsprUOsrpcW9C3ZdZ24AYjxUDFNfQO37qyLMOocgizv5io7ym3NJ2/s575/elia-kazan-warren-beatty-natalie-wood.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQB1BXQ1w3kFvEyZ3nGul8DhBpsqyEI2B3KSSKK6sjGHulKvSA5OsXVcQaTo6cNxXmFDGWhITEsWuG0_T9_Z31L2YmZDx38MCei8yWi_iX28X3KasfNb5GkojDr-T0ZxV1FWWkXZOsprUOsrpcW9C3ZdZ24AYjxUDFNfQO37qyLMOocgizv5io7ym3NJ2/s16000/elia-kazan-warren-beatty-natalie-wood.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Warren Beatty, Elia Kazan and Natalie Wood on the set of <i>Splendor in the Grass. </i>Long after production of the film had ended Beatty and Wood entered into a tumultuous two-year relationship.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">A few years and a few films later, Beatty apparently hadn't changed his tune. During the shooting of <i>Lilith</i> (1964), co-star Jean Seberg wrote to a friend of hers: "<i>Warren Beatty’s behavior is just unbelievable. He’s out to destroy everyone, including himself</i>". While the entire cast and crew had to endure Beatty's behaviour, it was director Robert Rossen who received the brunt of it. Beatty was constantly arguing with Rossen, changing his lines, asking for his character's motivation and wishing to analyse each scene (which led Rossen to eventually remark: "<i>I hired you because I thought you knew how to act, for Christ's Sake. Don't ask me how to play the part</i>. <i>You're supposed to know how to play the part.</i>"). Assistant cameraman Tibor Sands said that Beatty's behaviour grew increasingly worse "until Rossen slapped him in front of everybody. That calmed him down." </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">At some point, word of Beatty's insufferable conduct on the set of <i>Lilith</i> reached Elia Kazan.<i> </i>Worried about what he had heard, Kazan next wrote Beatty a letter, addressing the actor's behaviour while also offering a bit of advice. Beatty was reportedly "upset" by the letter, seeing that the reprimand came from Kazan, whom he considered a mentor and a friend. (According to Beatty biographer Suzanne Finstad, during production of <i>Splendor in the Grass </i>Beatty and Kazan had actor-director discussions prior to every scene, something Beatty apparently wanted to have with Rossen too.)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">May 22, 1963</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear Warren:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Forgive the impertinence of a friend. I really do like you, and it disheartens me when I hear from the underground that you are giving everybody a bad time in Maryland. I know rumors are unreliable and it’s not right to repeat them. But, damn it, they dishearten me. I always say: "Warren at bottom is a damn fine guy!" But there’s some contradiction all through your behavior. On the one hand you say that you want to be a movie star. You’ve said it again and again not only to me but to lots of people. But I must tell you that becoming a first flight movie star depends, as you well know, on working with the elite directors on the real good stories. And when these director-glamour boys hear that you are being "difficult" their only reaction can be: "Who needs it?"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It seems to me that you must find a way of legitimately asserting yourself and even forcibly making your opinions and impulses felt. While, at the same time, being agreeable to work with, decent to deal with, fun to be with, and a contributor to an overall effort. It’s very regrettable that so many people think of you as a special problem. You have so much: intelligence, talent, sensitivity. You are handsome, vigorous, physically able. But all this can be nullified or badly handicapped by the kind of stories — true, part true, quite false, whatever — that have been getting back to me here.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I said, it’s possibly impertinent of me to write you this way. I am not your father or your brother, only a friend. But think about what I say.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yours,</p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Source: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Letters-Elia-Kazan/dp/1101911395/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="color: #994c4c; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan</a><span style="text-align: left;"> (2014), edited by Albert J. Devlin</span> <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUqIaW_B2HxZxXNCZ3YBPH7rZ5KH-xxsr0IMGo6K90JskYGUZddPbw8ri6Ydtn0qgoIjHxTFvRltHf5V7-9A5xVrwtI_z4Kmy-1pYX4DJF4cHboqf56ma8H8SBtLmvqIB77jIFCzVycvMXSqiRBFWT45dOoBJXrxI85mFRaTKPSfUJmfxEeK3zbccNksT/s575/beatty%20rossen%20seberg%20lilith%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUqIaW_B2HxZxXNCZ3YBPH7rZ5KH-xxsr0IMGo6K90JskYGUZddPbw8ri6Ydtn0qgoIjHxTFvRltHf5V7-9A5xVrwtI_z4Kmy-1pYX4DJF4cHboqf56ma8H8SBtLmvqIB77jIFCzVycvMXSqiRBFWT45dOoBJXrxI85mFRaTKPSfUJmfxEeK3zbccNksT/s16000/beatty%20rossen%20seberg%20lilith%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><span>Warren Beatty, Robert Rossen and Jean Seberg during filming of </span><i>Lilith. </i><span>The film was to be Rossen's last film. Rossen had previously directed the now-classics </span><i>All the King's Men </i><span>(1949) and </span><i>The Hustler </i><span>(1961). The director reportedly said following the clashes he had with Beatty, "<i>I was making Oscars when Warren was a baby pissing in a pot</i>."</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkf8Mujs0m4xbFjbeCftUz1GcrpfSJ0uD3UaPrQnpw6yVSwDg3-D8OFBdzbyvkEm93cPbGh3ACaVp0htm5_wxRlUqMAwOcq-vhS1LwuXLHpSa37aTUUoRrRgcD6Lyi31Xafsv87zteULRkFpeb516CJdA5BFdKxfoC8yE9YJG36jOuiSTbE6Su_2fcEnT/s575/elia%20kazan%20warren%20beatty.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkf8Mujs0m4xbFjbeCftUz1GcrpfSJ0uD3UaPrQnpw6yVSwDg3-D8OFBdzbyvkEm93cPbGh3ACaVp0htm5_wxRlUqMAwOcq-vhS1LwuXLHpSa37aTUUoRrRgcD6Lyi31Xafsv87zteULRkFpeb516CJdA5BFdKxfoC8yE9YJG36jOuiSTbE6Su_2fcEnT/s16000/elia%20kazan%20warren%20beatty.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Warren Beatty (an actor I don't particularly care for) pictured here with Elia Kazan. Beatty later said that Kazan "had given him the most important break in his career." Once called by a journalist "the most enfant of the enfants terribles", Beatty eventually became —next to being an actor— a successful producer, director and screenwriter. His first achievement as a producer was the acclaimed <i>Bonnie and Clyde </i>(1967), in which Beatty also played the male lead opposite Faye Dunaway. Other successes include <i>Heaven Can Wait </i>(1978) and <i>Reds </i>(1981), both films as actor, producer, director and screenwriter. Beatty was nominated for an Oscar 14 times (in different categories) but only won for <i>Reds, </i>for </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Best Director.</span></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-14824148103393671892023-09-15T23:10:00.001+02:002023-09-17T00:09:21.370+02:00We accepted a severe financial risk and merely want the exhibitor to compensate us ...<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwD8TZszvz6MCfdWqy_QF8aE_v_4yc9GDENGurTYoOPsK5h2Kk5uY_m8mcD5DGtOWYb2LXg7mkh5Ik0Jsf_SlHTWqcbT6FxVjy0Tr2RbnIG2_MdxeAWXl_DA9D023773p9dJL2F262zm_4MNu-nwd78Ndp1uppiI2reLakJO_K4uMp98CTbv53qOMTEIWa/s320/DisneyBanner-SnowWhite.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="202" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwD8TZszvz6MCfdWqy_QF8aE_v_4yc9GDENGurTYoOPsK5h2Kk5uY_m8mcD5DGtOWYb2LXg7mkh5Ik0Jsf_SlHTWqcbT6FxVjy0Tr2RbnIG2_MdxeAWXl_DA9D023773p9dJL2F262zm_4MNu-nwd78Ndp1uppiI2reLakJO_K4uMp98CTbv53qOMTEIWa/s1600/DisneyBanner-SnowWhite.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>By 1934 Walt Disney was no longer satisfied making animated shorts, despite their popularity with audiences. Shorts made very little money for the company, with the highly successful <i>Three Little Pigs</i> (1933) earning only $64,000 while it had cost $60,000 to make. ("<i>Every time I produce another </i>Mickey Mouse<i> or </i>Silly Symphony<i>, I'm accused of making another million dollars. I only wish it were true</i>," Disney once said.) In order for the studio to grow —both financially and artistically— Disney decided to make a feature-length animated film and as its subject chose the story of <i>Snow White, </i>the famous German fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Disney's <i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</i> (1937) would not be the first animated feature film in history —that distinction goes to the Argentinian film <i>El Apóstol </i>(1917)— it would be the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_animation" target="_blank">cel animated</a> feature film. Production<i> </i>was to<i> </i>last three years, during which the project was mockingly referred to as 'Disney's Folly'. Many people believed that audiences wouldn't go see a feature-length cartoon and that the film was going to bankrupt the studio. While this didn't happen, <i>Snow White</i> cost a whopping $1.5 million, six times more than its original budget of $250,000. Disney took a huge financial risk and even mortgaged his house to help finance the film. Halfway through production, he also needed an extra loan of $250,000 to complete his picture. Although bankers were reluctant to lend Disney money, Joseph Rosenberg of Bank of America —after watching a rough cut of<i> Snow White</i>— approved the loan and reportedly said, "<i>Walt, that thing is going to make a hatful of money!</i>".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Premiering in Los Angeles on 21 December 1937, after a long and difficult production, <i>Snow White</i> did what Rosenberg had predicted and made a hatful of money, in fact more than $8 million during its initial release. Apart from being a huge commercial success, the film was also hailed by the critics. To this day, <i>Snow White </i>is still considered one of the greatest animation films in history. It <span style="text-align: left;">set the standard for other animation features and </span><span style="text-align: left;">remains one the most popular Disney pictures of all time. (F</span><span style="text-align: left;">or this blogathon</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">I rewatched </span><i>Snow White</i><span style="text-align: left;"> and still loved it!)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDcHP-p4moptdN49UeFyPwwda9wscV2RM2CZM8AdukxNUcgCvY12HRvPXgLOBElOk5PotTz93nLYsuSTgzwYUpeHUlbso-T7H2BjpjMcxjOoVEqFJWBkzgYtIj6X9VKP9WXV2NVOr-_6VwvxA8ahMf0n_-Ka6KiXrnstgeIG2FBy-WzKDQxiqfZwjvZA1/s575/Snow%20white.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDcHP-p4moptdN49UeFyPwwda9wscV2RM2CZM8AdukxNUcgCvY12HRvPXgLOBElOk5PotTz93nLYsuSTgzwYUpeHUlbso-T7H2BjpjMcxjOoVEqFJWBkzgYtIj6X9VKP9WXV2NVOr-_6VwvxA8ahMf0n_-Ka6KiXrnstgeIG2FBy-WzKDQxiqfZwjvZA1/s16000/Snow%20white.gif" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: Snow White meets the Seven Dwarfs (gif made by my sister who blogs at <a href="https://classicmoviesroundup.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Classic Movies Round-Up</a>). Below: On 23 February 1939, at the 11th Oscars ceremony, Shirley Temple presented Walt Disney with an honorary Oscar for <i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,</i> the award consisting of one full-size Oscar and seven little ones (watch the clip <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfcKU4ORnv4" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0OKbYKwLMcrmJsBlWlW09OcKI7CDZM0Z2APjdMrZl4-Cxh7P1EgzxeiPUoDeFYgtFM5CWPGno2zOFUNCSnbfbvFY6oLwbjEy-8qwjmd1zWEbeDO4ll209SWYwswxWjitulKC5SqbsjMF7HkheyWZgwVwNklE4v-jVQsGkhOeu_J2GNT2-jc8fodEXhKA/s575/Walt-Disney-Getting-Oscar-for-Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarfs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0OKbYKwLMcrmJsBlWlW09OcKI7CDZM0Z2APjdMrZl4-Cxh7P1EgzxeiPUoDeFYgtFM5CWPGno2zOFUNCSnbfbvFY6oLwbjEy-8qwjmd1zWEbeDO4ll209SWYwswxWjitulKC5SqbsjMF7HkheyWZgwVwNklE4v-jVQsGkhOeu_J2GNT2-jc8fodEXhKA/s16000/Walt-Disney-Getting-Oscar-for-Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarfs.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">On to the correspondence!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Amidst all the praise for <i>Snow White </i>and Disney, there was also criticism. Many exhibitors resented both Disney and distributor RKO for the amount they were being charged to show the film in their cinemas (reportedly having to hand over 50% of the revenue). Also, Disney-RKO didn't allow <i>Snow White</i> to be played as part of a double bill, meaning that exhibitors couldn't make money from the second film with its more favourable conditions. As a result, exhibitors complained about not being able to make a profit and<i> s</i>ome claimed they were even losing money. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In June 1938, (Sidney?) Skolsky wrote about this subject in his column, which caught the attention of a Mrs Barker from Chicago. Feeling that Disney's tactics smelled "unpleasantly of greed or unfairness", Barker next typed a letter to the big man himself. The extensive and very cordial response she subsequently received did not come from Walt but from his older brother Roy (who handled the company's finances while Walt was the creative brain). It's quite an interesting correspondence, with Roy Disney explaining the business practices of the company and how they —considering the enormous financial risk that was taken— were only demanding their <span style="background-color: white;">rightful share.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPrVc3bQMNC5OVJQRXZshgK1rSbTqXhMZspvz51oKMwQby1viwfI1P4ndQxYXryeSahkI23J2vMQbVI32MLRubbqdFZdGn_ffVc9KS2IGHv89975YxQARa0wB2IZuBVEX3jqzch_TFUU2XVptoRxi3p1_aThS5r3yGrbe5-Mjt6UgiQgzWpe_xO7Vng/s702/14233909.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPrVc3bQMNC5OVJQRXZshgK1rSbTqXhMZspvz51oKMwQby1viwfI1P4ndQxYXryeSahkI23J2vMQbVI32MLRubbqdFZdGn_ffVc9KS2IGHv89975YxQARa0wB2IZuBVEX3jqzch_TFUU2XVptoRxi3p1_aThS5r3yGrbe5-Mjt6UgiQgzWpe_xO7Vng/s16000/14233909.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u><i>Transcript</i>:</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">901 N. Waller Ave.,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Chicago, Ill.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">June, 11, 1938.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My dear Walt Disney:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">If this column is a reliable picture of the whole case, it smells unpleasantly of greed or infairness [sic] somehwere [sic]. And I hope you can correct it pronto. Even my eleven year-old boy when hearing only that part which can be put in a sentence --- "Snow White is a headache to the exhibitors because it costs so much to book that they can't make a profit"--- said, after a thoughtful silence,"Looks like success has gone to Disney's head." Then he added, loyally, maybe it is the distributors and not Disney's doing."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The great power of your art is the clean, fine spirit that shines through it all. Neither greed nor unfairness is clean or fine. Any such getting into your creative make-up must spoil the spirit and effective charm. My personal belief is that no artist who ever lived has been as great as you, because no other ever gave so much good to a needy world. That makes you and all that is your good my sincere concern, heart-felt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">For all of us, then, I let you see my hope, and why, that you can make this unlovely impression a most short-lived one. Loyalty only allows time to correct mistakes, not excuse for their continuance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In reading this over, it sounds like a churchy reformer! How awful! Honestly I'm not. I am just a movie fan of such long standing and real interest in my hobby that I had much time to think, to observe, and by adding introspection to learn a bit of understanding of why we "tick" as we do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Very sincerely,</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dIibCIKJzITywXjSrsx08KIzQ5StUky-LXZGEWU9qkD0ga0X7brI4SFkJOG_wqZrUHY4PnWWWf9BVVCIXVdjW40F_JYhPXyqlhMr7hJuf2r9YfCrpu_Uu5vluZ9d2lR-7q_6Wnzcf4tGC-6oySAE1F-WmFqZSeXMsDCf7lu54jI8aN5gcHJosBq7fQ/s729/14233909_1%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dIibCIKJzITywXjSrsx08KIzQ5StUky-LXZGEWU9qkD0ga0X7brI4SFkJOG_wqZrUHY4PnWWWf9BVVCIXVdjW40F_JYhPXyqlhMr7hJuf2r9YfCrpu_Uu5vluZ9d2lR-7q_6Wnzcf4tGC-6oySAE1F-WmFqZSeXMsDCf7lu54jI8aN5gcHJosBq7fQ/s16000/14233909_1%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6-VFYN13aqDbUK104q5Y1up8F5NvM2GzaGF1BQdksQjF7gw_zqWl0g67noS89M3bA6z83O9lNzORCZ4dx4iaVP5Zxd2iUgu5Y6xB3vO_mSDHamHRDzHaIDO3Y7FN5HHV7TMdPY4fuCjTEHJSFeHVClVeY1LEq29pAm1dnZml1ZkVhPkfMhFtcvALwg/s689/14233909_2%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6-VFYN13aqDbUK104q5Y1up8F5NvM2GzaGF1BQdksQjF7gw_zqWl0g67noS89M3bA6z83O9lNzORCZ4dx4iaVP5Zxd2iUgu5Y6xB3vO_mSDHamHRDzHaIDO3Y7FN5HHV7TMdPY4fuCjTEHJSFeHVClVeY1LEq29pAm1dnZml1ZkVhPkfMhFtcvALwg/s16000/14233909_2%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><u>T</u></i><i><u>ranscript:</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><u><br /></u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: left;">June 15, 1938</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mrs. Beulah Barker</div><div style="text-align: left;">901 N.Waller Avenue</div><div style="text-align: left;">Chicago, Illinois</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear Mrs. Barker:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am answering your letter of June 11th, addressed to the attention of Mr. Walt Disney, because he confines himself entirely to production, while I supervise the sale and handling of our product.</div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The motion picture business, from production to distribution, is a very involved industry. It has many different personalities and entities engaged in its various ramifications. All the problems of any manufacturing and selling organization come into play in the motion picture business, with a great number of angles peculiar to our field. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are an independent organization; that is, we have no tie-up with any organization in the production or distribution field. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">o retain our independence as we have through the years has required a willingness on our part to stand up for our rights. One must expect under such a policy to differ with a great many people. Without going into detail, but merely as a matter of courtesy to you because of your nice letter and the interest you express, I want to tell you that under our policy my brother makes the very best pictures he possibly can, without stint of expenses or work. Of course, this has to be kept within the realm of reason and commercial limitations. We expect and want exhibitors to make money with our pictures. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">On the other hand, we want and demand our full share. This objective has been impossible of achievement with our Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony pictures for the reason that it is difficult to prove that anybody really comes to a theatre to see a Mickey Mouse. Therefore, I say to you very sincerely, that our short product has not been a financial success to any great extent. A number of our pictures have never returned our costs. This may sound like a Ripley "Believe it or Not"; nevertheless, it is true.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now we have ventured into the field of feature picture production. We can now definitely claim credit for the people who come to the theatre because our picture is the meat of the program. Here we demand our rightful share and if, by virtue of playing square with our product through the years, we have gained the good will and following of the public at large around the world, we feel we are entitled to share accordingly. This is all we are asking. We accepted a severe financial risk and merely want the exhibitor to compensate us for this risk and the public good will we have through the years so painstakingly sought. We must also consider the risk and financial necessity of future production. Our attitude has created quite a furor in the picture business because it is a precedent and people always dislike precedents. </span>Other companies sell thirty, forty or fifty pictures in one group, many of which are merely titles and before the particular story or cast is decided upon. Their ultimate entertainment value is, of course, only a matter of speculation. On such a basis, naturally, people sell their product for much less than we ask on a product in the production of which we have taken our own gamble. We are delivering something the public can see and judge on its merits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All this sales resistance shows itself in many different ways, </span>including press comments such as you read in Mr. Skolsky's article. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Specifically to the point, is a well known West Coast exhibitor who attempted to take his problem direct to us in place of our distributor, claiming our distributor was asking too much money for our picture. These people by their own statement have been losing money for twenty-five years but in the meantime have built up a chain of almost one hundred theatres. That tells the story briefly. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I trust you will pardon this long letter. It is not customary for us to attempt to justify ourselves in this manner. However, yours was an unusual letter and deserved a proper reply.</span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sincerely,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">(signed) Roy O. Disney</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>Source both letters: <a href="https://www.icollector.com/Roy-Disney_i14233909" target="_blank">icollector.com</a> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSuoQCv3ObnrMHthkO2HElh1SnVbFl-1u7hGJVaBCyXjPIAsYbHMvO1ILcRbza5ras2PDlXBPcVNn4FwPJCo-TyfHuM-yhU5wNoIGDUDLMXewRmRl28MDE9lF8WI4Ar-f3HutZLA-aP79Lk7nImlUHHHJQXJuoBfbaPWgCiVhUCFQb9MCFn3E0nnkuTep/s575/Walt%20&%20Roy.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSuoQCv3ObnrMHthkO2HElh1SnVbFl-1u7hGJVaBCyXjPIAsYbHMvO1ILcRbza5ras2PDlXBPcVNn4FwPJCo-TyfHuM-yhU5wNoIGDUDLMXewRmRl28MDE9lF8WI4Ar-f3HutZLA-aP79Lk7nImlUHHHJQXJuoBfbaPWgCiVhUCFQb9MCFn3E0nnkuTep/s16000/Walt%20&%20Roy.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Walt (l) and Roy Disney photographed in 1932 (with Walt's special Oscar for the creation of Mickey Mouse). On 16 October 1923, the brothers had founded their company and named it <i>Disney Brothers Studio</i>. Later the name was changed to <i>Walt Disney Studio </i>(1926–1929), <i>Walt Disney Productions </i>(1929–1986) and since 1986 it's named <i>The Walt Disney Company</i>. Walt Disney was both the creative force and the public face of the company, but without Roy's financial brain Walt could never have realised his dreams. "<i>If it hadn't been for my big brother, </i><i>I swear I'd have been in jail several times for check bouncing", </i>Walt<i> </i>once said. After Walt's death of lung cancer in 1966 (aged 65), Roy postponed his retirement, took control of the company and supervised the completion of the theme park in Florida which Walt had started. In October 1971, the park finally opened and Roy named it <i>Walt Disney World </i>in honour of his brother. Roy Disney died from a stroke less than three months later, 78 years old.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">_____</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This post is my contribution to <span style="text-align: left;"><b>The 100 Years of Disney Blogathon</b>, hosted by the Metzinger Sisters at <a href="https://silverscenesblog.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-100-years-of-disney-blogathon-has.html" target="_blank">Silver Scenes</a>. Click on the link for all the other entries!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-52062762851327715562023-08-26T00:03:00.001+02:002023-08-26T11:25:49.083+02:00Olivia de Havilland's first Oscar win<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">On 13 March 1947, the 19th Academy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles, honouring the films released in 1946. Olivia de Havilland was one of the nominees in the Best Actress category, being nominated for her role as Jody Norris in Mitchell Leisen's <i>To Each His Own.</i> Also nominated were Celia Johnson for <i>Brief Encounter</i>, Jennifer Jones for <i>Duel in the Sun</i>, Rosalind Russell for <i>Sister Kenny </i>and Jane Wyman for <i>The Yearling</i>. The Oscar eventually went to Olivia, this being her first of two Oscar wins. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A day before the Oscar ceremony, Margaret Herrick (Executive Secretary of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) sent telegrams to the Oscar nominees with instructions regarding the ceremony. The following telegram was sent to Olivia.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmGVDIWRm1CdW-DBzaLFSn8eoq-38VFwE7t1NdFFpGg3fptN44TapdAmyJwECpT35j3tAYULmDifElWOegY67Pm-tS0f40BKOYGpTt_jKHbxh7b2d-44Qeeqf3Btw5eypuCBX_SYowrYbiBGWSmrnljFNoLGLDSK3ZD5sC-bDBZfqMgEcKniwEvh36NgC/s575/margaret%20herrick%20to%20olivia%20de%20havilland%20oscars.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmGVDIWRm1CdW-DBzaLFSn8eoq-38VFwE7t1NdFFpGg3fptN44TapdAmyJwECpT35j3tAYULmDifElWOegY67Pm-tS0f40BKOYGpTt_jKHbxh7b2d-44Qeeqf3Btw5eypuCBX_SYowrYbiBGWSmrnljFNoLGLDSK3ZD5sC-bDBZfqMgEcKniwEvh36NgC/s16000/margaret%20herrick%20to%20olivia%20de%20havilland%20oscars.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28371/lot/179/a-collection-of-material-relating-to-the-academy-awards-including-notes-by-olivia-de-havilland-for-her-acceptance-speech/" target="_blank">Bonhams</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LfeXdl-TEzzxX9Cpy58wy5_aCnMaVLyjv1bAD43dBKi7jZGjdZsjg2lSGEETcMhjbq_Fq0XiQ0d65xCr7AcmomLIXDcSCEZ-14e9f_WHPzF6zMimZAZ27a83anoewPVizQsWGO9tg3U6mPM9KaWaFkflnRJ_iU0UBw63BwLDdRSd0IA_NtuD95Eomg/s660/1946_02_actress_dehavilland_milland%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LfeXdl-TEzzxX9Cpy58wy5_aCnMaVLyjv1bAD43dBKi7jZGjdZsjg2lSGEETcMhjbq_Fq0XiQ0d65xCr7AcmomLIXDcSCEZ-14e9f_WHPzF6zMimZAZ27a83anoewPVizQsWGO9tg3U6mPM9KaWaFkflnRJ_iU0UBw63BwLDdRSd0IA_NtuD95Eomg/s16000/1946_02_actress_dehavilland_milland%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Olivia de Havilland with Ray Milland at the 1947 Oscars, holding her coveted prize. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Olivia would receive a second Best Actress Oscar a few years later, i.e. for her performance in William Wyler's <i>The Heiress</i> (1949). Apart from her two Oscar wins, the actress also received nominations for the 1939 <i>Gone with the Wind </i>(for Best Supporting Actress) as well as <i>Hold Back the Dawn</i> (1941) and <i>The Snake Pit </i>(1948) (the latter two for Best Actress). </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr8nalEVTDzv0ryN4k_y3CsotIv-Imii65xYIUXRkPQ3U8Q7LwtV9XdP9jL6d51hnb_sgAlHKyisYKUVjY38Ebf1751Ta4zHqD3AjRqy_WuN6czPERy8RyZsK9FOsRlXP1x5W17UVsTV7TOC_-wvjYqVlzDzysmA-Rqd5n7MYyfg8UbRuVdWqE32462Gs/s575/to%20each%20his%20own.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr8nalEVTDzv0ryN4k_y3CsotIv-Imii65xYIUXRkPQ3U8Q7LwtV9XdP9jL6d51hnb_sgAlHKyisYKUVjY38Ebf1751Ta4zHqD3AjRqy_WuN6czPERy8RyZsK9FOsRlXP1x5W17UVsTV7TOC_-wvjYqVlzDzysmA-Rqd5n7MYyfg8UbRuVdWqE32462Gs/s16000/to%20each%20his%20own.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Olivia de Havilland and John Lund in <i>To Each His Own</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">_____</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As instructed in Margaret Herrick's telegram, after receiving the Oscar for <i>To Each His Own, </i>Olivia exited off stage to meet the press. There to congratulate her was her sister Joan Fontaine who had just presented the Best Actor Oscar. "<i>After Olivia delivered her acceptance speech and entered the wings, I, standing close by, went over to congratulate her as I would have done to any winner</i>", recalled Joan in her 1978 memoir <i>No Bed Of Roses</i>. "<i>She took one look at me, ignored my outstretched hand, clutched her Oscar to her bosom, and wheeled away just as Photoplay's photographer Hymie Fink captured the moment with his camera</i>". The reason for Olivia's rebuffing her sister was reportedly a derogatory comment Joan had made to the press about Olivia's first husband, author Marcus Goodrich ("<i>All I know about him is that he's had four wives and written one book. Too bad it's not the other way around</i>."). The two sisters had a lifelong feud which lasted until Joan's death in 2013.</div><div><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1Y3PYgqzunxEswraRgfnvJvAk4RKbXw_KLWflvLHDLOULZPUX_3m07Sj4WTBAzTavS1vSWO0cXIo1mt14TSKUL_JzaQK26luAedTsFTG0kaAaiEWPWnuwuJB7EGP2XJvViKL5JExOTu6uVdjAO_NxJX0pyy-tGy9Z-gYF50WCt9hkTLc19s0ZJTLaVNQ/s575/olivia%20de%20havilland%20joan%20fontaine%20oscars%201947.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1Y3PYgqzunxEswraRgfnvJvAk4RKbXw_KLWflvLHDLOULZPUX_3m07Sj4WTBAzTavS1vSWO0cXIo1mt14TSKUL_JzaQK26luAedTsFTG0kaAaiEWPWnuwuJB7EGP2XJvViKL5JExOTu6uVdjAO_NxJX0pyy-tGy9Z-gYF50WCt9hkTLc19s0ZJTLaVNQ/s16000/olivia%20de%20havilland%20joan%20fontaine%20oscars%201947.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The infamous picture of the two sisters, shot by </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hymie Fink</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-26004276296017781952023-08-12T19:49:00.001+02:002023-08-13T02:44:16.428+02:00You force me to refuse to make the picture unless the billing is mine<div style="text-align: justify;">By the spring of 1939 Bette Davis was already a star. She had just won her second Academy Award for <i>Jezebel</i> (1938) and had recently starred in successful films like <i>Dark Victory </i>(1939) and <i>Juarez </i>(1939). While the actress was still working on <i>The Old Maid </i>(to be released in September 1939 and also to become a big hit), her next project —a film based on Maxwell Anderson's 1930 play <i>Elizabeth the Queen</i>—<i> </i>was already underway. For a long time Bette had wanted to play Queen Elizabeth I in a film adaptation of Anderson's play and was thrilled when producer Hal Wallis bought the property for her. Bette wanted Laurence Olivier to play the role of the Earl of Essex, but Warners wanted Errol Flynn, the studio's then biggest male star. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Bette and Errol had played together in <i>The Sisters</i> a year earlier and at that time Bette was very happy to be co-starring with Flynn ("<i>He was a big box office star at the time and it could only be beneficial to me to work with him</i>"). For this project, however, she found Flynn "the only fly in the ointment"<i>, </i>feeling he was not up to the task, not being "an experienced enough actor to cope with the complicated blank verse the play had been written in." Apart from being unhappy with the casting of Flynn, Bette was also unhappy with the title of the film. The title of the original play, <i>Elizabeth the Queen, </i>was initially set to be the film's title, but Flynn was opposed to it, demanding to be acknowledged in the title too. Warners consequently came up with a new title, <i>The Knight and the Lady, </i>to<i> </i>which Bette, in turn, fiercely objected.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdjleXVt4JrPsfjWd5SVplLfSObbkYePEcCSHqvn66d9cgcyz8lQTgffQWUxO8sDkd1h5JbvMDnzbEUU7VbqViNBq-EZ-t2_lntfnp56R_g705RkkIcn6hRtA8_QTDFkp4B1CJX8yJ1vRpLn3pndKibn4QtOeOSzJl5z-Fcxmukg8rkp0TV3BUjGJbAMv/s709/Annex%20-%20Davis,%20Bette%20(Private%20Lives%20of%20Elizabeth%20and%20Essex,%20The)_04%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdjleXVt4JrPsfjWd5SVplLfSObbkYePEcCSHqvn66d9cgcyz8lQTgffQWUxO8sDkd1h5JbvMDnzbEUU7VbqViNBq-EZ-t2_lntfnp56R_g705RkkIcn6hRtA8_QTDFkp4B1CJX8yJ1vRpLn3pndKibn4QtOeOSzJl5z-Fcxmukg8rkp0TV3BUjGJbAMv/s16000/Annex%20-%20Davis,%20Bette%20(Private%20Lives%20of%20Elizabeth%20and%20Essex,%20The)_04%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Bette Davis and Errol Flynn as Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, in <i>The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex; </i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">below they are pictured rehearsing a scene, with producer Robert Lord (l) and director Michael Curtiz looking on.<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ47aO5Zy-yXE3UqYYM3eH4oCWoWrqwbIY0TKPc2T9qQj9u6NDBjlY8HkSztWj1ZwmhR0HiFMFNq1iLB7jahahtKU6ncH8JClqSS23nUqE2n34KFYYPg8GBUqF_R2SoMEqbSLKuZ0I3XieQQZLnKp-q_Lh23lERBl4mr81vTQzHfDtrnrLZP2e19AWiftQ/s575/bette%20davis%20mike%20curtiz%20errol%20flynn.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ47aO5Zy-yXE3UqYYM3eH4oCWoWrqwbIY0TKPc2T9qQj9u6NDBjlY8HkSztWj1ZwmhR0HiFMFNq1iLB7jahahtKU6ncH8JClqSS23nUqE2n34KFYYPg8GBUqF_R2SoMEqbSLKuZ0I3XieQQZLnKp-q_Lh23lERBl4mr81vTQzHfDtrnrLZP2e19AWiftQ/s16000/bette%20davis%20mike%20curtiz%20errol%20flynn.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In April 1939, Bette Davis sent the following telegram to Warner Bros' studio head Jack Warner, demanding that the title <i>The Knight and the Lady </i>be changed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><p style="clear: both;"></p></div></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><p style="clear: both;">Jack L.Warner, Personal </p><p style="clear: both;">Warner Bros Studio </p></div></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><p style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;">April 28, 1939 </span></p></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have been trying for some weeks to get an answer from you concerning the title of my next picture. I felt confident that you would of your own volition change it, considering the fact the play from which it is taken was bought for me and was called "Elizabeth the Queen". I have found out today you are not changing it. You of course must have realized my interest in the title change concerned the billing ... The script "The Knight and the Lady", like the play, is still a woman's story. I therefore feel justified in requesting first billing, which would automatically change the title, as the present title is obviously one to give the man first billing. I feel so justified in this from every standpoint that you force me to refuse to make the picture unless the billing is mine. If you would like to discuss this matter with me I would be more than willing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Bette Davis<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzhiJ627oTDWccJ6CirV3l4Bu6CULxGgZnPJZTDYqIXnyAmKJ8R9zuPDjxEWV0jHUynVfr8YDh2Pm2FcSqcL2SmnRX9JsvzlFEW_DfDZvoAtbX5YMgFtKgI-UO6JUjcTBO93KNjZ8_IjNfvB3BbUL9XxXA2Nh4v5gqVcJHplYLcTmURE6JkkrO1cEJQ/s585/bette%20davis%20jack%20warner%201.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzhiJ627oTDWccJ6CirV3l4Bu6CULxGgZnPJZTDYqIXnyAmKJ8R9zuPDjxEWV0jHUynVfr8YDh2Pm2FcSqcL2SmnRX9JsvzlFEW_DfDZvoAtbX5YMgFtKgI-UO6JUjcTBO93KNjZ8_IjNfvB3BbUL9XxXA2Nh4v5gqVcJHplYLcTmURE6JkkrO1cEJQ/s16000/bette%20davis%20jack%20warner%201.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Bette Davis and Jack Warner</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">A week later, Jack Warner informed Bette that she would get first billing while assuring her <i>The Knight and the Lady </i>would not be used. The title was later changed to <i>The Lady and the Knight, </i>but Bette was <i>s</i>till not satisfied. Again she sent Warner a telegram, demanding another title change. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><blockquote><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">J.L Warner<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">June 30, 1939</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have waited now since day picture started for title to be settled. I was promised it would not be "The Knight and the Lady". The present title "The Lady and the Knight", as announced in paper and called such in fan magazines, I consider the same thing ... You have the choice of "Elizabeth and Essex", "Elizabeth the Queen", or "The Love of Elizabeth and Essex". If Mr. [Paul] Muni is allowed the title "Juarez", another historical picture ... you need have no worry about the box office with the title "Elizabeth and Essex" with far more well known people than "Juarez". </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Bette Davis</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">Source of both telegrams:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Warner-Brothers-Behlmer-Hardcover/dp/B010CKLBG4/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="color: #994c4c; font-style: italic; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951)</a><i> (1985)</i>,<i> selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer.</i></span></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The title<i> Elizabeth and Essex</i> was already under copyright (as the title of a book by Lytton Strachey) so it couldn't be used. As said, Flynn objected to <i>Elizabeth the Queen</i>, so this title couldn't be used either. Apparently Warner didn't approve of Bette's last suggestion (<i>The Love of Elizabeth and Essex</i>) and eventually opted for <i>The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, </i>inspired by other historical films, such as the successful <i>The Private Life of Henry VIII</i> (1933).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex</i> became the box-office hit Warner Bros. had anticipated. It received five Oscar nominations, yet none in the major categories. While Bette Davis was expected to receive a nomination for her performance, she was not nominated for thís role but for her role in <i>Dark Victory </i>(also a Warners production). Eventually, the Oscar for Best Actress went to Vivien Leigh for <i>Gone with the Wind, GWTW </i>being that year's big winner.</p><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div></div></div></blockquote><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjYn5bf5_mTGWfuJdDQH-nY-rEUkSFLQL6jV7R_XDOpi9ekmQ12haIaWwjdIpmk6X3KAelCDJZtRn4_v7aFumD6sD8Vhn7fBFGWqlUhWsevTuG4PaGpNiAMO0KTWTfoqI7HqfanVGvtSsArbPV9dSF3g4wJf8QYeJFhINJycCNOV4UKJbGIJ1IGI3Fw/s16000/billing%20bette%20davis%20errol%20flynn%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span>Billing for <i>The Sisters </i>(top photo) and <i i="">The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex</i>. For <i>The Sisters</i>, Flynn would initially receive sole billing above the title. "<i>At that time I had no billing clause in my contract,</i>" Bette recalled. "<i>I felt after</i> Jezebel<i> that my name should always appear above the title. That is star billing</i>." She held her ground and Warners eventually gave her above-the-title billing, although she came after Flynn. For <i>The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex</i>, like she had demanded, Bette came first.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-32875997728240093502023-07-29T00:14:00.002+02:002023-07-29T00:26:20.431+02:00My dear Cole<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqD6KRVefIIF1f4wq3_KRj6ONJ1B7bAbOQEavokA5HdkwlFw5IA-UsURkH2KkTbr8vTpNCQ0sWWbpSZRPYQO8DwTL0RDyVYDuvKO_2z3xhwTLDANj00O7FammPUv0EWEDeMgnjw7IpqyKfC0BL3maRTwXybC87JF33lIsHNC5AYdq76-4JoYawJw6PVFVq/s2579/edward%20my%20son.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1970" data-original-width="2579" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqD6KRVefIIF1f4wq3_KRj6ONJ1B7bAbOQEavokA5HdkwlFw5IA-UsURkH2KkTbr8vTpNCQ0sWWbpSZRPYQO8DwTL0RDyVYDuvKO_2z3xhwTLDANj00O7FammPUv0EWEDeMgnjw7IpqyKfC0BL3maRTwXybC87JF33lIsHNC5AYdq76-4JoYawJw6PVFVq/w320-h245/edward%20my%20son.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In the summer of 1948, George Cukor was in England directing <i style="text-align: justify;">Edward, My Son</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> (1949), which was being filmed at the MGM British Studios in Borehamwood near London. Cukor was a happy man, seeing that </span>Spencer Tracy (his male lead) was in a rare good mood, needing fewer takes than usual and being helpful to other actors. Production of the film went smoothly and was ahead of schedule by several days. Besides being happy with the film's progress, Cukor was also glad to be away from Hollywood, feeling at home in London while comfortably staying at the Savoy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">On 14 July 1948 </span>—a month after production of <i>Edward, My Son </i>had started— Cukor wrote a letter to composer Cole Porter, thanking Porter for his birthday greetings and telling him how things were going in England. Cukor was pleased with the quality of the material they had been shooting, but despite his hopes for the film it ultimately became both a critical and commercial disappointment. (Leading lady Deborah Kerr did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, but lost to Olivia de Havilland in <i>The Heiress.</i>)</div><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLY7w8dT6KdtxWHL0g0rRUh11G5NR8wNJOZVV0VpzycEebpmBjmoaL08UR4HegjhXmDGBB7wc74OIhBWEtKuIMIbPeEDSsgwL_34Oc3QkJUOKIgQoZ9or2__78QPCUD-QeS_5xoYHgAcIaUhn4ft5clLaJfLJ22MFcf2C6zYE5CJKfHfaO6Pa0TJ2aQ/s575/george%20cukor%20with-spencer-tracy-and-deborah-kerr-on-set-of-edward-my-son-1949.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLY7w8dT6KdtxWHL0g0rRUh11G5NR8wNJOZVV0VpzycEebpmBjmoaL08UR4HegjhXmDGBB7wc74OIhBWEtKuIMIbPeEDSsgwL_34Oc3QkJUOKIgQoZ9or2__78QPCUD-QeS_5xoYHgAcIaUhn4ft5clLaJfLJ22MFcf2C6zYE5CJKfHfaO6Pa0TJ2aQ/s16000/george%20cukor%20with-spencer-tracy-and-deborah-kerr-on-set-of-edward-my-son-1949.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">George Cukor flanked by his leading actors Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr on the set of <i>Edward, My Son</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJZK4zrB0XStBQ98Ez-cp8nC5_GUliqVh-lQz9VbOpQuhEfHbU1xpLXSb351OFEoDWn3PqXBIwhav-pw2my2-acg_YWMOXMZHemV8kgdF1NyfkF-OjjFgsSclCLNFqEWbXzXhrTUdQbnegymjFu5_H3NYjawZXH2XiZmgwu9XsfmTruZrxwBE-JkCSw/s575/george%20cukor%20cole%20porter%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJZK4zrB0XStBQ98Ez-cp8nC5_GUliqVh-lQz9VbOpQuhEfHbU1xpLXSb351OFEoDWn3PqXBIwhav-pw2my2-acg_YWMOXMZHemV8kgdF1NyfkF-OjjFgsSclCLNFqEWbXzXhrTUdQbnegymjFu5_H3NYjawZXH2XiZmgwu9XsfmTruZrxwBE-JkCSw/s16000/george%20cukor%20cole%20porter%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">George Cukor and Cole Porter</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Incidentally, Cukor and Porter were friends and would work together twice, i.e. on <i>Adam's Rib</i> (1949) and <i>Les Girls</i> (1957). An interesting titbit about the two is that there was an unspoken rivalry between them that started in the years after World War II. Both men were homosexual and Cukor was known for his extravagant Sunday pool parties, which attracted Hollywood's gay crowd. Porter, after moving to Hollywood, was a regular guest there. At some point, however, Porter started to hold his own Sunday pool parties, an invitation to hís parties eventually becoming more coveted than an invitation to Cukor's. There were people who attended both parties, but they were always careful not to tell one host about the other.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmzQ5wxXfEEFBP2S5Gf1827tNGDoV8zJ0OZaDkB52bv62He9ncNrmqCnNZozLVBqtR93557tJA1UoHlD8tUVC8yc6qeZ6uhob2yf_V2c96GSeCKqUJ1BATHvn8DNexTQe4DbB7FMMvVN-ABsHvmH1KQ_PL5h8Y7z7Ui3d6-gXM3baAOi-3g2Rh0TsFg/s820/george%20cukor%20to%20cole%20porter.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmzQ5wxXfEEFBP2S5Gf1827tNGDoV8zJ0OZaDkB52bv62He9ncNrmqCnNZozLVBqtR93557tJA1UoHlD8tUVC8yc6qeZ6uhob2yf_V2c96GSeCKqUJ1BATHvn8DNexTQe4DbB7FMMvVN-ABsHvmH1KQ_PL5h8Y7z7Ui3d6-gXM3baAOi-3g2Rh0TsFg/s16000/george%20cukor%20to%20cole%20porter.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFhYZW7Z69OkdwYXgbCe1UHbbWvtNt6CjEg4X-1y-NTgSENbtux0edUIuuhb4OATlUtwnvjeU8u8Q-4r81Fe13Nl4OvUGizFndBDwbwCpr1B-t-udNWBscab7oNe-lRZuB54cH6O7O3q-piDG3htvphoV9ZA4GE6RCODqCxpaeqdWN4r5XN1vLpNQPg/s724/cukor%20to%20porter.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFhYZW7Z69OkdwYXgbCe1UHbbWvtNt6CjEg4X-1y-NTgSENbtux0edUIuuhb4OATlUtwnvjeU8u8Q-4r81Fe13Nl4OvUGizFndBDwbwCpr1B-t-udNWBscab7oNe-lRZuB54cH6O7O3q-piDG3htvphoV9ZA4GE6RCODqCxpaeqdWN4r5XN1vLpNQPg/s16000/cukor%20to%20porter.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.icollector.com/item.aspx?i=11899303" target="_blank">icollector.com</a></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><i>Transcript:</i></u></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><i><br /></i></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>14th July, 1948.</div><div><br /></div><div>My dear Cole,</div><div><br /></div><div>It was mighty sweet of you to remember little me..... far, far away on alien shores. Your kind birthday greetings cheered me up to no end. Not that I am depressed at all, but I do have occasional twinges of home sickness for my dogs and for my house.... and oh yes! for my friends too of course.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am comfortably settled in a very nice apartment facing the river at the Savoy, directly over Sophie Tucker, but so far no "Some of these Days". I am far too well fed and treated with great courtesy and consideration - more than I usually get at what you once so aptly called "the Elephants Grave Yard".</div><div><br /></div><div>We are half-way through the picture and so far so good. If I were pressed, I would say 'So far...... better than good'. In fact there is real danger of us becoming smug! We are ahead of schedule by about four days. That is no mean accomplishment because the English take their picture-making at a much more leisurely clip than you Hollywoodians do - and it has been said by my enemies that I am a very slow director. But no longer!</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I mustn't take all the bows. Spencer Tracy, who carries the picture - he appears in every scene, is so wonderfully accomplished and such a sure actor that we are able to do long, long scenes, five pages in fact, in one take. That is how we manage to get on with it so well.....</div><div><br /></div><div>I think we are talking an awful lot about me and my picture.... so I will say one thing more. We are rather pleased with the quality of the stuff we are getting, but you will be the judge of that when we have a great big Premeerr at the Iris on Hollywood Boulevard.</div><div><br /></div><div>People have been very kind and hospitable, but I very prudently spend the weekends "layin' on de bed" at the Savoy, instead of being brilliant and scintillating at some great house and telling them all my comical stories. </div><div><br /></div><div>After I finish, which according to present computations will be in the early part of August, I hope to take a little trip to Paris, France, and maybe as far as Rome, Italy, and then home sometime in September. I feel sure that I am missing all kinds of delightful lunches and dinners and galas with you. I am even longing to hear Kay Francis tell of her feud with Miriam Hopkins again - or am I going too far?</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope, dear Cole, that you are well and happy, that your work is going on as you wish it to, and that your life - and your pool are full. I have a pretty good idea that they are.</div><div><br /></div><div>Again my thanks to you, and affectionate regards,</div><div><br /></div><div>(signed) George</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><span style="color: #999999;">_____</span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline;"><u>Note</u></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am intrigued by Cukor's comment about Kay Francis and Miriam Hopkins: "<i>I am even longing to hear Kay Francis tell of her feud with Miriam Hopkins again</i> ...". I didn't know about a feud between them and browsing the web I found nothing regarding a feud. In fact, several sources (including IMDB) claim the opposite. Francis and Hopkins reportedly became good friends ever since they had starred together in Ernst Lubitsch's <i>Trouble in Paradise</i> (1932). So perhaps Cukor didn't mean a "feud" literally and Francis was just telling him about a fight she'd been having with Hopkins?? (The only actress Hopkins seemed to have had a feud with was Bette Davis; read more <a href="https://starsandletters.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-old-hopkins-davis-feud-has-flared.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZizXdG6-1NbaT_DM_Hiwwv6ZCiVI-hJzhQY6E59AsnDa3Wda3x8R-1Ceiomk-uvZCxdP6xODX3Ppi2cubyahrpT-ZHlDcgSZl5V2p3ihvAMsbl2tl1_X5ge7OYN-j9n9Ang6MCfaVSQeQMP3LihjCLG0ZPR2IVgSXNAJiDGqDGv4e0sTkhlJ6GIKqg/s575/kay%20francis%20miriam%20hopkins%20(4).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZizXdG6-1NbaT_DM_Hiwwv6ZCiVI-hJzhQY6E59AsnDa3Wda3x8R-1Ceiomk-uvZCxdP6xODX3Ppi2cubyahrpT-ZHlDcgSZl5V2p3ihvAMsbl2tl1_X5ge7OYN-j9n9Ang6MCfaVSQeQMP3LihjCLG0ZPR2IVgSXNAJiDGqDGv4e0sTkhlJ6GIKqg/s16000/kay%20francis%20miriam%20hopkins%20(4).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Francis (l) and Hopkins</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-9667378499628930282023-07-16T00:53:00.002+02:002023-08-05T14:31:25.400+02:00There is no one even second to her ...<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">From the mid-1940s until the early 1950s, Jeanne Crain was one of the biggest stars at 20th Century-Fox. After signing a long-term contract with Fox in 1943, Crain made her (uncredited) debut in the musical <i>The Gang's All Here </i>(1943). Her first substantial role was in the horse racing drama <i>Home in Indiana </i>(1944), followed by roles in <i>Winged Victory </i>(1944) and in such box-office hits as the musical <i>State Fair </i>(1945) —opposite Dana Andrews, with her singing voice dubbed— and the film noir <i>Leave Her to Heaven</i> (1945) playing the good sister to Gene Tierney's bad one. By 1946, Crain had become one of the studio's main box-office draws. The actress received more fanmail than anyone on the Fox lot (except for Betty Grable) and was also a personal favourite of studio head Darryl F. Zanuck. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since Crain was a big Fox star, Zanuck wouldn't let her play the relatively small role of Clementine in John Ford's western <i>My Darling Clementine </i>(1946). In the memo below, Zanuck informs director Ford of his decision not to cast Crain in the part, which eventually went to newcomer Cathy Downs. According to John Ford biographer Ronald L. Davis, the director later responded to Zanuck's memo, saying he didn't care much who played Clementine, "providing she doesn't look like an actress".</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTM1Lg9iLUmfwOgm5mRQW6p1VKlWQApNAjfew7ErKRp75nIgZzOUBgfhh9ilrkRdiXNNens4mfDgC3SRcN78pim6oESrBcK0HmvsGF7WdbPC7Pb4KKVpq69f8J8RzTtTheDU425SukrcttWbCQahongDLV1KfMlnsjbDdcJY-M2KZmBx3DVkuZF_33EOD/s575/Annex%20-%20Crain,%20Jeanne_12%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTM1Lg9iLUmfwOgm5mRQW6p1VKlWQApNAjfew7ErKRp75nIgZzOUBgfhh9ilrkRdiXNNens4mfDgC3SRcN78pim6oESrBcK0HmvsGF7WdbPC7Pb4KKVpq69f8J8RzTtTheDU425SukrcttWbCQahongDLV1KfMlnsjbDdcJY-M2KZmBx3DVkuZF_33EOD/s16000/Annex%20-%20Crain,%20Jeanne_12%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">DATE: February 26, 1946</p><p style="text-align: justify;">TO: Mr. John Ford</p><p style="text-align: justify;">CC: Sam Engel [producer]</p><p style="text-align: justify;">SUBJECT: MY DARLING CLEMENTINE</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear Jack:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There will be no chance for us to get Jeanne Crain to play in <i>My Darling Clementine</i>. I know she would be delighted to be directed by you but the part is comparatively so small that we would be simply crucified by both the public and critics for putting her in it. She is the biggest box-office attraction on the lot today. There is no one even second to her ...</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="text-align: justify;">D.F.Z. </span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;">Source: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memo-Darryl-F-Zanuck-Twentieth/dp/0802133320" style="background-color: white; color: #994c4c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck: The Golden Years At Twentieth Century-Fox</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;"> (1993); selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMR8zoYgHv2HRgxKxibiRF1d0EfVwikaxE4_4T5txIM1BLrxUCYbsvcIIPCy_zFr5hH5IZIyQ6Pd5nw4gLHp20UuXWeyfgZOaqfZTrw1YXmT7eLFi32NWmVcv_mLFiBZL48uGH4wi0Nxhq-w370AbKHkikhz2qE_q_kMd-xg0lpN5zbQuekYK931l-q1nu/s460/Jeanne%20Crain%20and%20Darryl%20Zanuck.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMR8zoYgHv2HRgxKxibiRF1d0EfVwikaxE4_4T5txIM1BLrxUCYbsvcIIPCy_zFr5hH5IZIyQ6Pd5nw4gLHp20UuXWeyfgZOaqfZTrw1YXmT7eLFi32NWmVcv_mLFiBZL48uGH4wi0Nxhq-w370AbKHkikhz2qE_q_kMd-xg0lpN5zbQuekYK931l-q1nu/s320/Jeanne%20Crain%20and%20Darryl%20Zanuck.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">Crain with Zanuck and his children</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Jeanne Crain went on to make successful films for Fox like <i>Margie</i> (1946) and <i>Apartment for Peggy</i> (1948), in the latter picture playing William Holden's young, chattering bride. Her most acclaimed films were still to come, however. Being top-billed, Crain starred alongside Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern and Kirk Douglas in <i>A Letter to Three Wives </i>(1949); and she played the titular role in <i>Pinky </i>(1949) as a light-skinned black girl passing for white. The latter performance earned Crain an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, the only nomination of her career (losing to Olivia de Havilland in <i>The Heiress</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's interesting to note that the directors of <i>A</i> <i>Letter to Three Wives </i>and <i>Pinky</i>, respectively Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Elia Kazan, were both unimpressed with Crain's acting skills. Mankiewicz was unhappy with her performance in his film —against his will he would direct her again in<i> People Will Talk</i> (1951)— and once said about Crain: "<i>I could only rarely escape the feeling that Jeanne was, somehow, a visitor to the set. </i><span style="text-align: left;"><i>She worked hard. Too hard at times, I think, in response to my demands, as if trying to compensate by sheer exertion for what I believe must have been an absence of emotional involvement with acting...</i></span><i> She was one of the few whose presence among the theatre-folk I have never fully understood.</i>" And Kazan said about her: "<i>Jeanne Crain was a sweet girl, but she was like a Sunday school teacher. I did my best with her, but she didn't have any fire. </i><span><i>The only good thing about her was that it went so far in the direction of no temperament that you felt Pinky was floating through all of her experiences without reacting to them, which is what 'passing' is.</i></span>" While I agree that Crain was an actress of limited range, I have always liked her and I think she did a fine job in both <i>A Letter to Three Wives </i>and <i>Pinky.</i> (And I've just rewatched the delightful <i>Apartment for Peggy </i>and Crain is great in that.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After appearing in several other films including <i>Cheaper by the Dozen </i>(1950), <i>The Model and the Marriage Broker</i> (1951), <i>Dangerous Crossing </i>(1953) and <i>Vicki</i> (1953), Jeanne Crain eventually left 20th Century-Fox in 1953. A few years earlier, Marilyn Monroe had (re) joined the studio and would soon become Fox's biggest star.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu8N6zj6NMMNetKoAWnkbres_iYc3RD5DcGCPYFYVg4arKFVnrFPsP7wlbj8d_qKDdnyhkETZ6zCiCdXiItjdIsOYqFkTvtyGYvNmcY6skNf_V1n5FetzwfZNcAaSJbDT5aJJjwZg6jKaVDAUHl724S9Ty2k5xlG5wClFeYqMq87q8hQodpOnm0dIeMnQ/s575/jeanne%20crain%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu8N6zj6NMMNetKoAWnkbres_iYc3RD5DcGCPYFYVg4arKFVnrFPsP7wlbj8d_qKDdnyhkETZ6zCiCdXiItjdIsOYqFkTvtyGYvNmcY6skNf_V1n5FetzwfZNcAaSJbDT5aJJjwZg6jKaVDAUHl724S9Ty2k5xlG5wClFeYqMq87q8hQodpOnm0dIeMnQ/s16000/jeanne%20crain%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Clockwise: Jeanne Crain with Gene Tierney in <i>Leave Her To Heaven </i>(1945); Crain in <i>Margie </i>(1946); with William Holden in <i>Apartment For Peggy </i>(1948); with Linda Darnell and Ann Sothern in <i>A Letter To Three Wives</i> (1949), and with Ethel Waters in <i>Pinky </i>(1949). </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-63915616959696797222023-07-02T17:28:00.003+02:002023-07-20T18:09:22.720+02:00Working with you and knowing you has been a gentle and rare experience<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following her role in <i>Green Mansions</i> (1959), Audrey Hepburn was cast as a Native American girl in John Huston's <i>The Unforgiven</i> (1960), the only western of her career. The film, in which Audrey co-stars with Burt Lancaster, Lillian Gish and Audie Murphy, was plagued with problems. While shooting a scene Audrey was thrown from her horse, breaking several vertebrae in her back and causing production to be suspended for a number of weeks. Audrey recovered —nursed back to health by </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marie Louise Habets, the Belgian nun Audrey had portrayed in <i>The Nun's Story</i> (1959)</span>— <span style="font-family: inherit;">and eventually completed the film. (Audrey later suffered a miscarriage, due to her</span> fall.<span style="font-family: inherit;">) Besides Hepburn, co-star Audie Murphy was also in an accident, which occurred during a break in filming. On a duck-hunting trip Murphy's boat capsized and, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">unable to swim due to a war injury,</span> the actor <span style="font-family: inherit;">nearly drowned and had to be rescued. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There were also problems on the artistic front. D</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">irector John Huston was in constant disagreement with Burt Lancaster, whose production company Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions financed the film. Huston wanted the picture to be a bold commentary on racism in America, while Lancaster wanted it to be less controversial and more commercial. In the end, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Unforgiven</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> failed both commercially and critically. Unhappy with his film, Huston later said, "</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Some pictures I don't care for, but </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Unforgiven</span><i style="font-family: inherit;"> is the only one I actually dislike</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">...". </span>(For the plot of the film, go <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unforgiven_(1960_film)#Plot" target="_blank">here</a>.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5wMTxSPniAzg0A96oo513Yq5Sout4UHkaTVbbPBAE8KLB_hr-nyFHm0qr15TtbSPDFHtvPbW5MdiYoV-VU9aDTZajthIc9mwKDHAoi5t4aQ0Q7qy1wBQFHSUR8pi4ccPS5tgCYeIQ4IpLHpkMdPnpKsKt8WiuX6sON8iF0VYrug7yrFG9BvgBiBCKg/s575/scene%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5wMTxSPniAzg0A96oo513Yq5Sout4UHkaTVbbPBAE8KLB_hr-nyFHm0qr15TtbSPDFHtvPbW5MdiYoV-VU9aDTZajthIc9mwKDHAoi5t4aQ0Q7qy1wBQFHSUR8pi4ccPS5tgCYeIQ4IpLHpkMdPnpKsKt8WiuX6sON8iF0VYrug7yrFG9BvgBiBCKg/s16000/scene%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above (left to right): Burt Lancaster, Lillian Gish, Audrey Hepburn, Doug McClure and Audie Murphy as the Zachary family in John Huston's <i>The Unforgiven. </i>Below: The cast is getting directions from Huston whose back is turned to the camera.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMJsKyQQOG_jNd3vznVGAqfijTI13CihGyS4JQ3W0xQTI_FZFUWMLL6xMMWCYWJVRxzxlUZMHz8MpYCfBZ3NUIElXR4cE7DKBDs-gaHzpDy_Q0JHjAmhLodp_RHX24Dl5wt-lZeSGss54rYyjL-tkH3OAlp-7znMxSFD3rWTxzBcvcdemGmMxdA8Hiw/s575/the%20unforgiven%20set.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMJsKyQQOG_jNd3vznVGAqfijTI13CihGyS4JQ3W0xQTI_FZFUWMLL6xMMWCYWJVRxzxlUZMHz8MpYCfBZ3NUIElXR4cE7DKBDs-gaHzpDy_Q0JHjAmhLodp_RHX24Dl5wt-lZeSGss54rYyjL-tkH3OAlp-7znMxSFD3rWTxzBcvcdemGmMxdA8Hiw/s16000/the%20unforgiven%20set.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>The Unforgiven</i> was shot on location in Durango, Mexico. Audrey Hepburn had her horse riding accident in late January 1959 and, as said, it took several weeks before she recovered and started filming again (wearing an orthopaedic brace). Probably in March, after she had returned to the set, Audrey wrote the following two letters to Lillian Gish (on <i>The Unforgiven </i>horse-themed stationery). The women got along quite well, <i>The Unforgiven </i>being the only film they made together. In the first letter Audrey tells the veteran actress how "working with [her] and knowing [her] has been a gentle and rare experience" and also talks about the gift she made for Gish. In the next letter Audrey thanks Gish for always being there for her. The film Audrey refers to here is <i>Green Mansions, </i>which premiered in March 1959 and was<i> </i>directed by Audrey's then-husband Mel Ferrer. Despite Audrey's hopes for <i>Green Mansions</i>, it was a disaster at the box-office.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJEXqQEDkA2mfUEf9Xfrx3ua2UiKRHqtxBQqkDE_abazcIIL9ia0h97EdjVw8HM850yKC5hBzsUPFvhHqErghHC-QQEPYZ_hnrFl2KU-3A_HRtY_TBDp0eY1lygRrxcV0h77pSE6K35LyHShwLjU7bHpxz9z6CHlh9MuBMhE0g2Lo9xfwEVNKEhlPxw/s805/audrey%20hepburn%20to%20lillian%20gish.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJEXqQEDkA2mfUEf9Xfrx3ua2UiKRHqtxBQqkDE_abazcIIL9ia0h97EdjVw8HM850yKC5hBzsUPFvhHqErghHC-QQEPYZ_hnrFl2KU-3A_HRtY_TBDp0eY1lygRrxcV0h77pSE6K35LyHShwLjU7bHpxz9z6CHlh9MuBMhE0g2Lo9xfwEVNKEhlPxw/s16000/audrey%20hepburn%20to%20lillian%20gish.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPeqj5pz-FlBgkzqMLlUFe8UrqmiABF2vGZInTUqRbozH2XwAs9icY5N1L4FlW8UPtJtOjvoSx4LoVtZSjx5sBSeG3mrSglfA_YTY6SRbRuzKBt-ABmk9IHMGACVJViQOQ2R0a5r0Qm332sUHl3Ff475phZ43O7tMmbTcYj9Xj8ItcsWdxTSpO4IyjQ/s776/hepburn%20to%20gish.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPeqj5pz-FlBgkzqMLlUFe8UrqmiABF2vGZInTUqRbozH2XwAs9icY5N1L4FlW8UPtJtOjvoSx4LoVtZSjx5sBSeG3mrSglfA_YTY6SRbRuzKBt-ABmk9IHMGACVJViQOQ2R0a5r0Qm332sUHl3Ff475phZ43O7tMmbTcYj9Xj8ItcsWdxTSpO4IyjQ/s16000/hepburn%20to%20gish.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auction/26885/lot/86/an-audrey-hepburn-letter-to-lillian-gish/" target="_blank">Bonhams</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u><i>Transcript:</i></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Friday</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u>Dearest</u> Lillian</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I made this for you for chilly rehearsal halls or stages, drafty sets etc. In each stitch all my love — the wool comes from Finland and is soft but warm. Working with you and knowing you has been a gentle and rare experience — you are even <u>more</u> than what Herbie said you were. My gratitude and hugs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Audrey</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">P.T.O.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">P.S. It was hard to buy something for you in Durango — hence the home-made</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You wear it this way</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">[drawing]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">See you tomorrow— or else shall find out when you leave.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">About the tips— 50 pesos maximum should cover any one person— or a handbag for instance for Georgina— 25 pesos is fine for those you have been tipping as you went along.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0zl5UJVgRyrFWxtr0sTKfUbPlYgOXeoBfglp0O8EYrTn8KunvM-gMuyBtw2_yiP5Hngn0q9ZHUXAWoqyKZRW6rlBpJGs0qnm-an4z4VbAnqE9jSWV0b6t80NW4ITEulledSTluJBmvmjadc3nRaU0fZZ-VLfxD5D69SPh4UFdxPnLXsp-bIhNUOsHQ/s584/lillian%20gish%20audrey%20hepburn%20(3).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0zl5UJVgRyrFWxtr0sTKfUbPlYgOXeoBfglp0O8EYrTn8KunvM-gMuyBtw2_yiP5Hngn0q9ZHUXAWoqyKZRW6rlBpJGs0qnm-an4z4VbAnqE9jSWV0b6t80NW4ITEulledSTluJBmvmjadc3nRaU0fZZ-VLfxD5D69SPh4UFdxPnLXsp-bIhNUOsHQ/s16000/lillian%20gish%20audrey%20hepburn%20(3).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Lillian Gish and Audrey Hepburn as resp. Ma Zachary and her adopted daughter Rachel in <i>The Unforgiven. </i>I think that Audrey was miscast as the Kiowa Indian girl and agree with Bosley Crowther when he wrote for the NY Times in April 1960: "<i>As the girl, Audrey Hepburn is a bit too polished, too fragile and civilized among such tough and stubborn types as Burt Lancaster as the man of the family, Lillian Gish as the thin-lipped frontier mother and Audie Murphy as a redskin-hating son</i>."</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgleDeCX20otyRQTNg04kWdVb2qtZmjjH2njkM4ttusXyaUssKsFhbY1RUQJBFI9tXnkibg4tX5dYPW4pqlVzPxv8fBpS_z3uYWkYJyMlpkfHlU-RbL74s1VdVQK_fxdDcQwLS5OZT3XF5NoU3ZydVG1RLq7gf55gBOl9oLtMTVuaUb2y51l9BDSmr76A/s729/audrey%20hepburn%20knitting%20set%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgleDeCX20otyRQTNg04kWdVb2qtZmjjH2njkM4ttusXyaUssKsFhbY1RUQJBFI9tXnkibg4tX5dYPW4pqlVzPxv8fBpS_z3uYWkYJyMlpkfHlU-RbL74s1VdVQK_fxdDcQwLS5OZT3XF5NoU3ZydVG1RLq7gf55gBOl9oLtMTVuaUb2y51l9BDSmr76A/s16000/audrey%20hepburn%20knitting%20set%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Audrey Hepburn knitting on the set of <i>The Unforgiven</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQDNhbqOAP02clshFOeXXUvJGJ6zJw9m6XhtrVz3WlIDVrhjyOYi8YP94QN-eraNM05fWmVS4slRPzj67mvpJcHTK01hOgJ1uPelLUCrDjFTsjAjdmiCfGhjctTpdHPOKBcUFXdneJ6AAJk2HIyf3kBiuH4v1fHmcMROFasyy13-M_kP25s7JOdwwfw/s792/hepburn%20gish.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQDNhbqOAP02clshFOeXXUvJGJ6zJw9m6XhtrVz3WlIDVrhjyOYi8YP94QN-eraNM05fWmVS4slRPzj67mvpJcHTK01hOgJ1uPelLUCrDjFTsjAjdmiCfGhjctTpdHPOKBcUFXdneJ6AAJk2HIyf3kBiuH4v1fHmcMROFasyy13-M_kP25s7JOdwwfw/s16000/hepburn%20gish.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auction/26885/lot/85/an-audrey-hepburn-letter-to-silent-film-star-lillian-gish/" target="_blank">Bonhams</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><u>Transcript:</u></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><u><br /></u></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Friday</div><div>Durango</div><div><br /></div><div>Darling Mother Lillian</div><div><br /></div><div>How <u>good</u>, how very <u>good</u> you always are to me — how like you to know just how I felt yesterday and bring me <u>yourself</u> a bouquet of love and warmth and understanding — all my hearts thanks and love.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mel is HAPPY, terribly so, over the results— notices were mixed so far— most argue with the advisability of telling the story— Bosley Crowther said <u>very</u> <u>nice </u>things— N.Y. Daily News gave it 3½ stars!!! Motion Picture Daily excellent— O Lillian! and <u>lovely</u> ones for me— how deeply happy I am for Mel's sake— and how proud I am of him. [hearts drawing] Your completely devoted Audrey</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTw8u9bWsk33yhKFM_w6eM2J8GucT2rZCNVwmAE8fGjH37VJBxBdDnwHw7_o7QYojXd4ybI-hzqU2Dso6zfie7hLsA8JlNQXzDa_-ICBu9rwDY4ZcojqmutoWfosvWwyFgOCAgGEPGoYmSDs702JX_1-3btwDchbw3jg_f_dygX1XrPgPH8YQNgyTfA/s575/mel%20ferrer%20audrey%20hepburn%20accident%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTw8u9bWsk33yhKFM_w6eM2J8GucT2rZCNVwmAE8fGjH37VJBxBdDnwHw7_o7QYojXd4ybI-hzqU2Dso6zfie7hLsA8JlNQXzDa_-ICBu9rwDY4ZcojqmutoWfosvWwyFgOCAgGEPGoYmSDs702JX_1-3btwDchbw3jg_f_dygX1XrPgPH8YQNgyTfA/s16000/mel%20ferrer%20audrey%20hepburn%20accident%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Audrey Hepburn recovering in the hospital following her horse riding accident, with husband Mel Ferrer by her side.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHW0iQWsyIPSHZ0UU_aivuhxxGPUpRwzzOST1RdAR9nBYboFCabdgiO6oNhvwhaUyA88_YYC8XB6hYiz333D55ylFuXhfrmlqI_eERGwyEIE2GNoNZGlmUkb_jF75MBvh3GLAXFSgtNQ54wXpxtlic8clF8OgrM5tRQCefeMIluZskzxb0EDEK9Dn8Q/s575/huston%20gish%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHW0iQWsyIPSHZ0UU_aivuhxxGPUpRwzzOST1RdAR9nBYboFCabdgiO6oNhvwhaUyA88_YYC8XB6hYiz333D55ylFuXhfrmlqI_eERGwyEIE2GNoNZGlmUkb_jF75MBvh3GLAXFSgtNQ54wXpxtlic8clF8OgrM5tRQCefeMIluZskzxb0EDEK9Dn8Q/s16000/huston%20gish%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Director John Huston with Lillian Gish behind the scenes of <i>The Unforgiven</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStv4wgsmMNxu42lSBdlv85-I2ZYWDyBquLxDmBmMRz-OjIisb4aa7gdQ1YGG7ZZUquDHBktO7fTVCY7On3E9UaMYriQ9_jzcsYtNpS1bKofvomDGWMgWfOUGzo1ZDPSIRxM1FgTPDU3mbb2UUK1xn7Ud86DWTM7yxBrTzT2PgosSw3-7SFfM3jSKjPg/s826/lillian%20gish%20set%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStv4wgsmMNxu42lSBdlv85-I2ZYWDyBquLxDmBmMRz-OjIisb4aa7gdQ1YGG7ZZUquDHBktO7fTVCY7On3E9UaMYriQ9_jzcsYtNpS1bKofvomDGWMgWfOUGzo1ZDPSIRxM1FgTPDU3mbb2UUK1xn7Ud86DWTM7yxBrTzT2PgosSw3-7SFfM3jSKjPg/s16000/lillian%20gish%20set%20the%20unforgiven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Lillian Gish on the set of <i>The Unforgiven</i>. Gish was an expert shot. For the film John Huston and leading man Burt Lancaster wanted to teach her how to shoot, but Gish turned out to be a better marksman than either Huston or Lancaster. Early in her career she had been taught how to shoot by ex-bank robber Al J. Jennings, who had become an actor and had played in one of her films.</span></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-9387442829596263452023-06-15T23:12:00.000+02:002023-06-15T23:12:06.619+02:00A big big thank you for what you do<p style="text-align: justify;">Martin Landau began his acting career in the late 1950s. At one time a student at Lee Strassberg's prestigious acting studio and a good friend of James Dean, Landau made his Broadway debut in <i>Middle of the Night </i>in 1957. His first important screen appearance was in a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's <i>North by Northwest</i> (1959), playing James Mason's creepy henchman. Other film roles followed, including supporting roles in the epics <i>Cleopatra</i> (1963) and <i>The Greatest Story Ever Told</i> (1965). Landau's big breakthrough occurred on television, however, with leading roles in the series <i>Mission: Impossible </i>(1966–1969) and <i>Space: 1999</i> (1975–1977). The late 1980s saw a revival of the actor's film career when he was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's <i>Tucker: The Man and His Dream</i> (1988) and Woody Allen's <i>Crimes and Misdemeanors </i>(1989), both roles earning him Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Landau's only Oscar win came several years later for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's <i>Ed Wood</i> (1994), starring opposite Johnny Depp who played Ed Wood. Landau continued to act in both film and television productions until his death in 2017, aged 89.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNibHgg2KnqN_Un_0271TBNUoUkPxSAaG5Yjo4s7A4mceeeR3GeJrpizUZV13aeA03_L4DqN5kLeDJR9NNkqTHspvbsml9guI1ADHAS8oH92gSqwlvfxTzv8pEotPup_63ip-qv1xrTzwUb0xm_iROOX28mmRGLRl9TDbc9N7DZUl3wCoLMaWIUYoGg/s728/martin%20landau%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNibHgg2KnqN_Un_0271TBNUoUkPxSAaG5Yjo4s7A4mceeeR3GeJrpizUZV13aeA03_L4DqN5kLeDJR9NNkqTHspvbsml9guI1ADHAS8oH92gSqwlvfxTzv8pEotPup_63ip-qv1xrTzwUb0xm_iROOX28mmRGLRl9TDbc9N7DZUl3wCoLMaWIUYoGg/s16000/martin%20landau%201.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Seen below are two letters addressed to Martin Landau. First, a letter from Alfred Hitchcock with whom Landau had worked on <i>North by Northwest.</i> During production of the film, the two got along very well. Hitch wrote to Landau in connection with <i>Cleopatra, </i>in which Landau had played the role of Rufio, Julius Caesar's right-hand man. In his letter Hitch expresses his indignation about Landau not being included in <i>Cleopatra</i>'s Gala Premiere Program. The second letter to Landau is from fellow actor Anthony Hopkins. After rewatching <i>Ed Wood, </i>Hopkins liked the film even better than the first time and in particular Landau's performance in it. His letter is what Hopkins himself calls a "fan letter", showing his great admiration for Landau's work. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_jBnuY3wzs8A6c1Ark4a3JffB22xoGsvZVbEVfRBGHWPvNRA20B-c_GO9bHzg_x7Agoc93GXgtSWZW_uPvVeb8y5WpNiWaIRz_9Rw99GKkfUByZ4brB-7UA-yuUCR_YEYtTaKPHj1CID3d_3ko3PlabEupKvb_5bEFNCsI3Rsj_YBHY_BmIXoOHBBg/s755/Alfred%20Hitchcock%20to%20Martin%20Landau.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_jBnuY3wzs8A6c1Ark4a3JffB22xoGsvZVbEVfRBGHWPvNRA20B-c_GO9bHzg_x7Agoc93GXgtSWZW_uPvVeb8y5WpNiWaIRz_9Rw99GKkfUByZ4brB-7UA-yuUCR_YEYtTaKPHj1CID3d_3ko3PlabEupKvb_5bEFNCsI3Rsj_YBHY_BmIXoOHBBg/s16000/Alfred%20Hitchcock%20to%20Martin%20Landau.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/alfred-hitchcock-typed-letter-signed-to-martin-landau-complimenting-his-performance-in-cleopatra/a/997059-1116.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115" target="_blank">Heritage Auctions</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVovuNzs809ey2gAWgAX-0aI0MJsY3lhPEUk-ANL61mh2cvRwRFH11hUXweQPvmlas6xnknL_air6BolxoXdzrynr5BLOj086iYlqf0oFmuj1Ih27uewIz4aHFMj-9ltsTO16zKTpUT4QFtjtjAhIKFcuMUAg77jK1FmFMoLa1_PVL9qJuC_fnMS2jxg/s575/martin%20landau%20liz%20taylor%20cleopatra.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVovuNzs809ey2gAWgAX-0aI0MJsY3lhPEUk-ANL61mh2cvRwRFH11hUXweQPvmlas6xnknL_air6BolxoXdzrynr5BLOj086iYlqf0oFmuj1Ih27uewIz4aHFMj-9ltsTO16zKTpUT4QFtjtjAhIKFcuMUAg77jK1FmFMoLa1_PVL9qJuC_fnMS2jxg/s16000/martin%20landau%20liz%20taylor%20cleopatra.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"> Landau with Elizabeth Taylor in <i>Cleopatra</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIV27GXULJTNbPXuOG_c1gLsweLk3VMTqKhYIyUVPLmTKULS9_-OWvWeri6pw8Pv9xC_HcVmjfO6DHu8hza5W_GclZbOFkLxPEaCn9gOzG-sDjkC-ofzOVXRE6hHxn3czNXctdu8BdXhW96jPvZVIDFmLnfnlU0CCsIYejU96bMSxBk23jC0dm-bgY2w/s575/alfred%20hitchcock%20martin%20landau.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIV27GXULJTNbPXuOG_c1gLsweLk3VMTqKhYIyUVPLmTKULS9_-OWvWeri6pw8Pv9xC_HcVmjfO6DHu8hza5W_GclZbOFkLxPEaCn9gOzG-sDjkC-ofzOVXRE6hHxn3czNXctdu8BdXhW96jPvZVIDFmLnfnlU0CCsIYejU96bMSxBk23jC0dm-bgY2w/s16000/alfred%20hitchcock%20martin%20landau.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Hitchcock and Landau on the set of <i>North by Northwest</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-d7EitmNVCeV4v3QDkN6ehdgGpZqDmhQefe_Sr4Fh4IYzLphQDXC9B-NBs9Sp5GLSBpvWJRKfq5vWB0TLmQ74UXAk5QUt9exYayZdr8PGDfjW1fK5keR50Q1XcYHXPB41k2u5fCRU3UZGZjJbqC5YlvVhnXGZaaQ-g70kkJLzxJEGSd2RE2X-vL9crA/s714/Anthony%20Hopkins%20to%20Martin%20Landau.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-d7EitmNVCeV4v3QDkN6ehdgGpZqDmhQefe_Sr4Fh4IYzLphQDXC9B-NBs9Sp5GLSBpvWJRKfq5vWB0TLmQ74UXAk5QUt9exYayZdr8PGDfjW1fK5keR50Q1XcYHXPB41k2u5fCRU3UZGZjJbqC5YlvVhnXGZaaQ-g70kkJLzxJEGSd2RE2X-vL9crA/s16000/Anthony%20Hopkins%20to%20Martin%20Landau.jpg" /></a></div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGYXAoXItY3JvOhT2ATbXL7gnngAVDVO6pmmOepeYWYkTmxUXSh38HwjqjsA6g6y3bZLW_y-yQdJNXbs1kgqvn-somBMgc2tgKTQ67ljTvJg17jkseAgCU7myDq-xIldvGWzSxa9mhJNANHKSyCa4lW2Z3FOhhUPOrXy1BjLSv1ncD-qkigly2OZGtg/s608/Anthony%20Hopkins%20to%20Martin%20Landau%202%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGYXAoXItY3JvOhT2ATbXL7gnngAVDVO6pmmOepeYWYkTmxUXSh38HwjqjsA6g6y3bZLW_y-yQdJNXbs1kgqvn-somBMgc2tgKTQ67ljTvJg17jkseAgCU7myDq-xIldvGWzSxa9mhJNANHKSyCa4lW2Z3FOhhUPOrXy1BjLSv1ncD-qkigly2OZGtg/s16000/Anthony%20Hopkins%20to%20Martin%20Landau%202%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/martin-landau-personal-framed-letter-from-jose-ferrer-and-copy-of-a-fan-letter-from-sir-anthony-hopkins/a/997059-1201.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Inventory-BuyNowFromOwner-ThisAuction-120115#" target="_blank">Heritage Auctions</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u><i><br /></i></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u style="font-style: italic;">Transcript:</u> </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><br /></div><div>15 August 96</div><div><br /></div><div>Dear Martin</div><div><br /></div><div>It seems we meet only at award events in Hollywood; we manage a brief hello and then are whisked off in different directions to do our ... whatever it is we have to do. In order to avoid the usual actor's chit chat about how one admires another one's work etc etc I've always regretted the lost opportunity to say just that to you.</div><div><br /></div><div>My favourite Woody Allen movie was "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and of course your performance in that. Also your amazing performance in "Ed Wood". I am up in the wilds of Alberta, about to start a movie with Alec Baldwin. I've had a few evenings free, and so rented a few videos. I picked out "Ed Wood" because I wanted to watch it again ... I just wanted to see how the hell you created Bela Lugosi!! Suffice to say, I don't know <u>how</u> you did it, and it doesn't really matter. So I thought: "well here goes ... write the man a fan letter" You were amazing!! I loved the movie when it was released, and even more now. Your performance was so moving (and funny of course) .... I don't know what else to say really. That's it I guess. I sometimes write letters to actors expressing my admiration for their work, and I think I could do it more often. I think that what I find so moving (and I really mean it - emotionally moving) is the work and detail and care and love and obsession that has gone into the performance. You and Johhny Depp were extraordinary ... It is altogether a strange business this acting stuff. Sometimes scary and mysterious and it takes vast courage to give it one's best shot. Your performance in Crimes and Misdemeanours was also excellent.</div><div><br /></div><div>I just wanted to write you this note to express my appreciation for your work which is so powerful -what you captured in Ed Wood, as did Johnny Depp was the loneliness and pain of people desperately trying to make a mark in dreamland ... the hopes and longings for fame and success, and whatever it is that drives people sometimes into wonderfully rich and rewarding lives, and others over the edge to disaster and self destruction. I think what I am trying to say, Martin, is a big big thank you for what you do .... Thanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yours</div><div>(signed "Tony")</div><div>Tony Hopkins</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJVn50TWo7ZIsw_vKjL7H5KT1rOEoMPDhAehPZasIfnpY1_-lbuTd0W8JabW_4fmKppEHw-vwsGMco7Ep8a-kd9XekL3ZD6uxyRFD3LZ1pRwsDh9aJo6sML-PiKj2LfjgoKOob1VxlJ2jtsNrxdggkuwIjxdPg0T-tiN5-OaXHv1kvc1Vz58aObPJzA/s575/landau%20depp%20hopkins%20(2)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJVn50TWo7ZIsw_vKjL7H5KT1rOEoMPDhAehPZasIfnpY1_-lbuTd0W8JabW_4fmKppEHw-vwsGMco7Ep8a-kd9XekL3ZD6uxyRFD3LZ1pRwsDh9aJo6sML-PiKj2LfjgoKOob1VxlJ2jtsNrxdggkuwIjxdPg0T-tiN5-OaXHv1kvc1Vz58aObPJzA/s16000/landau%20depp%20hopkins%20(2)%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Landau and Johnny Depp in <i>Ed Wood </i>(l) and Sir Anthony Hopkins</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-59368457563662214792023-06-01T23:49:00.000+02:002023-06-01T23:49:14.538+02:00Betty Grable's legs are no joking matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After signing a long-term contract with 20th Century-Fox in early 1940, Betty Grable soon became a major star, some of her biggest hits being <i>Springtime in the Rockies</i> (1942), <i>Coney Island</i> (1943), <i>Mother Wore Tights</i> (1947) and<i> How to Marry a Millionaire</i> (1953). In 1943 she was the number-one box office draw in the world and in 1947 the highest-paid celebrity in the USA. Despite her talents, Grable was most famous for her legs. Her legs are prominently displayed in the now iconic bathing suit photo which adorned numerous lockers of American soldiers during WWII, making Betty the era's number-one pin-up girl. At one point, her legs were ensured for $1 million. Grable herself maintained a down-to-earth attitude about the subject of her legs, once saying to LIFE magazine, "<i>They are fine for pushing the foot pedals in my car</i>". And asked to describe her film career, she said dryly, "<i>I became a star for two reasons, and I'm standing on them</i>".</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1OxqhoGw-TE1FQ_eRQD8g1e_QWm8DDcZQGtzDDybQ18uRPidHU-tDPyUYgbe1Xoqa3EBy-cQC46g1_SBaQfLxJ63IJ8fwnfvRgWBshVor_LLBnOqR0r1Nn-MPE2FtFgNZE2aGmvCzaMh2GMaXFyuPVv4rRRcFBfy0DXPeqkKAJoffJhx8dEtjPJOaw/s702/Photographer%20Frank%20Powolny%20with%20Betty%20Grable%20,%201943.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1OxqhoGw-TE1FQ_eRQD8g1e_QWm8DDcZQGtzDDybQ18uRPidHU-tDPyUYgbe1Xoqa3EBy-cQC46g1_SBaQfLxJ63IJ8fwnfvRgWBshVor_LLBnOqR0r1Nn-MPE2FtFgNZE2aGmvCzaMh2GMaXFyuPVv4rRRcFBfy0DXPeqkKAJoffJhx8dEtjPJOaw/s16000/Photographer%20Frank%20Powolny%20with%20Betty%20Grable%20,%201943.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: 1943— Photographer Frank Powolny, who shot Betty Grable's iconic bathing suit photo, poses with his model in front of his work. Below: The original caption of this photo, taken for LIFE by Walter Sanders, reads: "Going to studio in the morning, Betty steps into roadster. Once asked to comment on her hips, well displayed here, she said, 'They’re just where my legs hook on.'"</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhHX5aovdyVoh7T1FdrCGmdmbYvD4INe3iBEEt9mgHBKXXWoC0hFRh3ixJ4Gup5kn87b_ThcOOLvNT5RPQJxNc3q6VTtvtEonjdOJE7inrzi4ICqum8kElokrIomDU8S_rdRP1VOFiNMg0Fs8wyeZ4emOH3qw-c8JS6yl7UHsb6X7ywvc0KXysEpgvQ/s575/betty-grable%20legs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhHX5aovdyVoh7T1FdrCGmdmbYvD4INe3iBEEt9mgHBKXXWoC0hFRh3ixJ4Gup5kn87b_ThcOOLvNT5RPQJxNc3q6VTtvtEonjdOJE7inrzi4ICqum8kElokrIomDU8S_rdRP1VOFiNMg0Fs8wyeZ4emOH3qw-c8JS6yl7UHsb6X7ywvc0KXysEpgvQ/s16000/betty-grable%20legs.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><p style="text-align: justify;">In late September 1948, Preston Sturges' <i>The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend</i> (1949) was about to go into production and Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck had just received the sketches for Betty Grable's wardrobe from costume designer René Hubert. In the following memo to Sturges, Zanuck asks for the director's opinion regarding the finale of the film. Zanuck wanted to show more of Grable's legs, something they had failed to do in <i>The Shocking Miss Pilgrim </i>(1947)<i>. </i>For the finale he suggests to have someone step on Grable's skirt, so that it comes off and the actress' legs are shown. While this was eventually incorporated into the scene, it didn't help the picture which did poorly at the box-office. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">DATE: September 20, 1948</p><p style="text-align: justify;">TO: Preston Sturges</p><p style="text-align: justify;">SUBJECT: THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear Preston:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I looked at the wardrobe sketches this afternoon that René Hubert has for Betty and I think they are wonderful, particularly the first red dress. The main reason I wanted to see them is that once when we made a picture called <i>The Shocking Miss Pilgrim</i> we did not show Grable's legs in the picture and in addition to receiving a million letters of protest the incident almost caused a national furor.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am glad that he has given her a split skirt, at least in the opening, and that later on we see her in her panties.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Right now, I have thought of another idea that I would like to get your reaction on:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Suppose in the fight to the finish she is wearing a simple two-piece suit, something like a bolero jacket with a long skirt. Someone steps on the skirt and it tears off in the start of the battle royal ...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps you have some other suggestion. I know it perhaps sounds like a silly thing to worry about, but from a commercial standpoint Betty's legs are no joking matter. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">D.F.Z.</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; text-align: justify;">Source: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memo-Darryl-F-Zanuck-Twentieth/dp/0802133320" style="background-color: white; color: #994c4c; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck: The Golden Years At Twentieth Century-Fox</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; text-align: justify;"> (1993); selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer.</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Incidentally, I recently watched <i>The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend</i> at the recommendation of my sister who thoroughly enjoyed it and I must say, despite the film's bad reputation, I enjoyed it too. Admittedly, <i>The Beautiful Blonde</i> doesn't rank among Sturges' finest but the film —about a trigger-happy saloon singer who hides out in the tiny town of Bashful Bend after shooting a judge in the butt— is still good fun. I'm not too familiar with Betty Grable but she is delightful here and looks great in René Hubert's colourful costumes. Grable herself reportedly hated the film. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIcofn6konpRQcr_LX1TMfM9UYgL9S1tIzfZrqgvYeE3sDyFzMiMASSB2GIcxEucm-swtyqDfWOMnxR0BBhxpuuO8aCA1qjngrnt84pu0CO2MvfWU9_0d6SgktZg6pSZjHu_KV-SueOEC4HyZOdW0E9EoXaJfhP0ldJCWWnQLyv2HqaVcnI8XbbxulA/s575/the%20beautiful%20blonde%20from%20bashful%20bend-%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIcofn6konpRQcr_LX1TMfM9UYgL9S1tIzfZrqgvYeE3sDyFzMiMASSB2GIcxEucm-swtyqDfWOMnxR0BBhxpuuO8aCA1qjngrnt84pu0CO2MvfWU9_0d6SgktZg6pSZjHu_KV-SueOEC4HyZOdW0E9EoXaJfhP0ldJCWWnQLyv2HqaVcnI8XbbxulA/s16000/the%20beautiful%20blonde%20from%20bashful%20bend-%20(2).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">A few scenes from <i>The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, </i>with<i> </i>Betty Grable in her panties and the red dress with a split skirt, as mentioned in Zanuck's memo. Top right, Grable pictured with Marie Windsor and Cesar Romero, and bottom right with Olga San Juan.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9z6-yp6jCwsi1h5yw-blC_1gwy-Y1Ee5C1ifv0w0n8j6GARqZv4VA345Rv17-GRqCqvY_cK4tRE0ZuvMw4a_fVDoZ1shnm0FTRr35kg-x7bY8NOV9sDSboWLxt63bUJIKJrECd6dcjeGSxvZmAd00UJjk625nrQ7pq5B-j0SsLoLvtRWgQZmdgkZOg/s575/the%20beautiful%20blonde%20from%20bashful%20bend-%20(3)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9z6-yp6jCwsi1h5yw-blC_1gwy-Y1Ee5C1ifv0w0n8j6GARqZv4VA345Rv17-GRqCqvY_cK4tRE0ZuvMw4a_fVDoZ1shnm0FTRr35kg-x7bY8NOV9sDSboWLxt63bUJIKJrECd6dcjeGSxvZmAd00UJjk625nrQ7pq5B-j0SsLoLvtRWgQZmdgkZOg/s16000/the%20beautiful%20blonde%20from%20bashful%20bend-%20(3)%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Betty in the finale of <i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend </span></i>after someone has stepped on her dress, tearing off the skirt and exposing Betty's legs.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21J6ixprTlKO-EvmpT-1dH33-XyWYAH4vxs87ZXr_AnffM7IvaFuy1juonTHITNKryYh2GCZA1QS89PQEnkPDQU2GrDV7V-TZbg1gBN9PFcFQtn-19NtfHk6GpNqlAwnma_jaDQFzBjqbgB4Z_qd5yKhAgifS1cjyDMLEd_KP1lC4rXMekMvw-6bstw/s575/Bashful-Bend-Grable-Sturges%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21J6ixprTlKO-EvmpT-1dH33-XyWYAH4vxs87ZXr_AnffM7IvaFuy1juonTHITNKryYh2GCZA1QS89PQEnkPDQU2GrDV7V-TZbg1gBN9PFcFQtn-19NtfHk6GpNqlAwnma_jaDQFzBjqbgB4Z_qd5yKhAgifS1cjyDMLEd_KP1lC4rXMekMvw-6bstw/s16000/Bashful-Bend-Grable-Sturges%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Betty and Preston Sturges on the set of </span><i style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-82186837673410377152023-05-25T18:19:00.000+02:002023-05-25T18:19:10.394+02:00In my heart you are my dearest friend in the whole world <p style="text-align: justify;">Linda Darnell hated the Hollywood social scene and made only one close friend in Hollywood, actress/dancer Ann Miller. As young starlets the two had first met at a benefit on Catalina Island and immediately got along. They had much in common, both being from Texas and having started their careers at a very young age. They both lived with their mothers, who also befriended each other. Linda and her mother Pearl often visited the Millers up in the Hollywood Hills. "While the two mama hens clucked," Ann recalled, "we would gossip about our two studios and all the goings-on there." (Linda was under contract to 20th Century-Fox while Ann had signed with Columbia.) The close friendship between Linda and Ann lasted for decades until Linda's untimely death in April 1965.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCmUaPmy5D9QkutsAKiZuLiJON5G6lXra-2RzXJxjvopL-Q-CfQBkV1MS3sKvquNtcnASZGCmFrjQli8M3T3ohLjNebm1puBQrn29HGaD96_353Aag9WT-Fw-eRbADT6bBS__ZrESen2_21hgl8uQKIjyiREYbxpd6rjLxjlPv3VXW_1slocF2BE5oQ/s660/linda%20darnell%20ann%20miller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCmUaPmy5D9QkutsAKiZuLiJON5G6lXra-2RzXJxjvopL-Q-CfQBkV1MS3sKvquNtcnASZGCmFrjQli8M3T3ohLjNebm1puBQrn29HGaD96_353Aag9WT-Fw-eRbADT6bBS__ZrESen2_21hgl8uQKIjyiREYbxpd6rjLxjlPv3VXW_1slocF2BE5oQ/s16000/linda%20darnell%20ann%20miller.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Linda Darnell (l) and Ann Miller<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The story of Linda Darnell's death is a tragic one. Linda was staying at the home of her friend and former secretary Jeanne Curtis when the house caught fire. The women had stayed up late watching one of Darnell's old films on television (the 1940 <i>Star Dust</i>) and afterwards went upstairs to go to bed. They woke up to the fire, which had started in the living room. Curtis and her daughter escaped through the second-floor window while Linda, who was too afraid to jump, had gone downstairs trying to escape through the front door. Firemen eventually found her lying behind the living room sofa, still alive but with burns over 90% of her body. Immediately rushed to the hospital, the actress underwent surgery but ultimately couldn't be saved. On 10 April 1965 —thirty-three hours after the fire— Linda Darnell passed away, only 41 years old. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">_______</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">While Darnell was in the hospital, letters, cards and telegrams from all over the world came pouring in to wish her well. Her friend Ann Miller sent her the following telegram, still hoping and praying Linda would recover. </p><div><p> </p><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Dearest Linda. If there's anything that Mom and I can do, we'll be there to help. In my heart you are my dearest friend in the whole world and always will be. We are saying prayers for your recovery. Love, Annikat and Mommikat.</p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p> </p></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>After Linda's death, Ann sent another telegram. </span><span>The telegram </span><span>was read during the second memorial service held in Burbank on 8 May 1965.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">To my dear friend Linda, lover of life and of people, a giver and not a taker. You will always live in our hearts. Farewell Tweedles. Love always, Annie and Mother K. </p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Source: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Beauty-Linda-Darnell-American/dp/0806133309" target="_blank">Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream</a><span> (1991), by Ronald L. Davis.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBG8IF9b3Z7MpVjrQB7OCp860noDnQ7NBjwdg_UAOgoSiYSXlteY7Ez-jesd6gSWNZ6ReCly2iTr_1P_b8dnLjNPluay8jKg-1hzLdAbtUEDq1mPZ2ArzPrQ7K0jaeXv7hiFKscwPjrRM2EGg-78TY_NghP7Dbxwhm9077FWT2xJvU9gW8gY2oJ8I52g/s587/linda%20darnell-%20ann%20miller.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBG8IF9b3Z7MpVjrQB7OCp860noDnQ7NBjwdg_UAOgoSiYSXlteY7Ez-jesd6gSWNZ6ReCly2iTr_1P_b8dnLjNPluay8jKg-1hzLdAbtUEDq1mPZ2ArzPrQ7K0jaeXv7hiFKscwPjrRM2EGg-78TY_NghP7Dbxwhm9077FWT2xJvU9gW8gY2oJ8I52g/s16000/linda%20darnell-%20ann%20miller.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u>Note</u>: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">According to Linda Darnell's biographer Ronald Davis, it was never determined what caused the fire. There was no evidence that careless smoking had started it, and rumours that Linda had been drinking that evening were denied by Jeanne Curtis. It remains a mystery, however, said Davis, why Linda, who was terrified of fire, went down into the smoke and flames. Relatives and friends firmly denied that it had been a subconscious suicide attempt. (After a period of feeling depressed, Linda felt much better again and her career was looking up with a few possible film offers.) Curtis stated that Linda was simply afraid to jump from the second-floor window and thought she could make it out the front door ("<i>Linda had very weak wrists and ankles and I'm sure she was afraid to get out on the ledge and jump.</i>").</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JyAz4p1DZ7cJAQS0Z9J1QpFHOatnZQMQ6U4q_2BEgD7Husg2--I1ipwnLxUCi50W5UCXvFrsMdwbkmikLf5i3OO_Eqg5mKu3GbuSVb_CRZlOM-bSujyFP_VIMqSRyNZCP1LWRQYu-yDC9qFeQi8w1sZKq1TCA1scWKaBUoFcSiDhyBIZF8JoddfdBg/s713/Linda%20Darnell%20on%20the%20set%20of%20Unfaithfully%20Yours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JyAz4p1DZ7cJAQS0Z9J1QpFHOatnZQMQ6U4q_2BEgD7Husg2--I1ipwnLxUCi50W5UCXvFrsMdwbkmikLf5i3OO_Eqg5mKu3GbuSVb_CRZlOM-bSujyFP_VIMqSRyNZCP1LWRQYu-yDC9qFeQi8w1sZKq1TCA1scWKaBUoFcSiDhyBIZF8JoddfdBg/s16000/Linda%20Darnell%20on%20the%20set%20of%20Unfaithfully%20Yours.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Often dubbed the “girl with the perfect face”, Linda Darnell was known for her roles in films like <i>The Mark of Zorro </i>(1940), <i>Blood and Sand</i> (1941), <i>Fallen Angel </i>(1945), <i>Unfaithfully Yours </i>(1948) and <i>A Letter to Three Wives</i> (1949). Here Linda is photographed on the set of <i>Unfaithfully Yours</i>.<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-91140603626865675602023-05-18T21:17:00.001+02:002023-05-19T00:12:41.254+02:00I'm a great deal better now <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In May 1956, during production of <i>Raintree County </i>(1957), Montgomery Clift attended a party at the house of co-star and friend Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Michael Wilding. On his way home from the party —feeling exhausted and having had too much to drink— Clift lost control of his car and smashed into a telephone pole. The actor had a severe concussion, broken jaw, broken nose and other facial injuries, which required surgery and several months of recovery. Clift's face eventually healed, although the left side of his face was left partially paralysed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">At the time of the accident, studio work at MGM had already been completed and the cast and crew of <i>Raintree County </i>were about to go on location to Mississippi. Due to the accident, however, the location shooting was postponed and it wasn't until 23 July that Clift returned to work. Two days earlier he had written a letter to his friend, theater actor William LeMassena, mentioning his recovery, his new dentures and the location shoot. Clift had reportedly been in a relationship with LeMassena during the early 1940s. The two remained close friends until Clift suffered a fatal heart attack in July 1966 (following years of drug and alcohol abuse). At the time of his death, Clift was only 45 years old. </div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrVGtKdSEFwbXenFiy__veKcTdf4sk3ipvcr4B3y9PdBLYdO2yhj7w4bRS3kc3-fyYbZpi5_DFjR5N096881SQx_A1qPDc5RPEIOq0XRQ-mS6CJ1JA4hw5D8jiD2nQxZh5K_Ldm_76KApEEtc9LN-BaLMcCiRSuiCKvD9KoNM4CGej55-J7TU3fcy4g/s575/montgomery-clift.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrVGtKdSEFwbXenFiy__veKcTdf4sk3ipvcr4B3y9PdBLYdO2yhj7w4bRS3kc3-fyYbZpi5_DFjR5N096881SQx_A1qPDc5RPEIOq0XRQ-mS6CJ1JA4hw5D8jiD2nQxZh5K_Ldm_76KApEEtc9LN-BaLMcCiRSuiCKvD9KoNM4CGej55-J7TU3fcy4g/s16000/montgomery-clift.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzi9TCYMnSetfJhyQxgy760ZZKD1VHMPwau06lrYpUTxEDA2fDYwZK6Q7qhx-G8bwiYWfs9r6iSuST9zbKjUTu28NSGAkADU7VALu9njaYrThQo3JDTRR2neCBfiudk0_4uilOaDfRt187LbVJNYMkcclDQoqAQdd9dfVRaO3hOJ_T6ef3pKyMTxEkw/s913/Montgomery%20Clift%20letter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzi9TCYMnSetfJhyQxgy760ZZKD1VHMPwau06lrYpUTxEDA2fDYwZK6Q7qhx-G8bwiYWfs9r6iSuST9zbKjUTu28NSGAkADU7VALu9njaYrThQo3JDTRR2neCBfiudk0_4uilOaDfRt187LbVJNYMkcclDQoqAQdd9dfVRaO3hOJ_T6ef3pKyMTxEkw/s16000/Montgomery%20Clift%20letter.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/Montgomery_Clift_Signed_Love_Letter_to_William_LeM-LOT24818.aspx" target="_blank">Gotta Have Rock and Roll</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaIGQ5hsOYPQd5hl5VTXhMK9jHDu3LePJphg3luC8-BJE1car83UdvbzNogNb6H8nb-S4LyrGmj4GTceap-HpGG10o-TxKbmDIVLB0D4jzjnDaExbKuj_zuCoweDVJ-xz-XdeXxn2c-iygCicqDpmZ9_68H65TD2yJEeruZjtornpCLTQGzuSyfpJ0g/s652/raintree%20county%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaIGQ5hsOYPQd5hl5VTXhMK9jHDu3LePJphg3luC8-BJE1car83UdvbzNogNb6H8nb-S4LyrGmj4GTceap-HpGG10o-TxKbmDIVLB0D4jzjnDaExbKuj_zuCoweDVJ-xz-XdeXxn2c-iygCicqDpmZ9_68H65TD2yJEeruZjtornpCLTQGzuSyfpJ0g/s16000/raintree%20county%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Monty Clift and Liz Taylor on the set of Edward Dmytryk's<i> Raintree County. </i>While the film did well at the box-office —people went to see it en masse, if only to see the difference in Clift's facial appearance before and after the crash</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">— it did not recoup its huge costs.<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">_______</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0Vo5wa-Ft2Y99JUqw5TLffakFqX7DfvfAGtsrgGLdNFZaSWVqjUKtd2VP4Tdul8IZGPqFfnFJpTZKE9V_rZmVqI321d5CRUReYTSXZxpHeC2WHvk_qqgojnlXu72f-dBv2iZdz4Zkvv6YwIEPEZDp4Xk77J8Sz2Yyl2KibCmbzmHZgfaNTz0ZmSbDg/s286/Publicity_Photo_of_William_LeMassena%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="210" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0Vo5wa-Ft2Y99JUqw5TLffakFqX7DfvfAGtsrgGLdNFZaSWVqjUKtd2VP4Tdul8IZGPqFfnFJpTZKE9V_rZmVqI321d5CRUReYTSXZxpHeC2WHvk_qqgojnlXu72f-dBv2iZdz4Zkvv6YwIEPEZDp4Xk77J8Sz2Yyl2KibCmbzmHZgfaNTz0ZmSbDg/w147-h200/Publicity_Photo_of_William_LeMassena%20(1).jpg" width="147" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">Billy LeMassena</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also addressed to William LeMassena is the following letter from Monty Clift several years earlier, dated 5 January 1952. Besides the personal content of the letter —with repeated use of the F-word— Clift fleetingly mentions David Selznick, whom he despised and reportedly called "an interfering f*ckface" behind his back. Clift worked with Selznick on <i>Terminal Station</i> (1953), a film directed by Vittorio De Sica and co-produced by De Sica and Selznick. The actor hated Selznick's interference with De Sica's picture and sided with the Italian director in his disagreements with Selznick. <i>Terminal Station</i> was re-edited by Selznick and in 1954 re-released in the USA under the title <i>Indiscretion of an American Wife</i>. When Clift saw the American cut, he hated it and called it a "big fat failure".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Eternity" mentioned in the letter is Fred Zinnemann's <i>From Here To Eternity </i>(1953), in which Clift played the role of Private Robert Prewitt. He was the first actor to be hired for the film, with production starting in the spring of 1953. For his performance Clift would receive his third Oscar nomination but didn't win (the other nominations were for <i>The Search</i> (1948) and <i>A Place in the Sun</i> (1951)).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoUhGTPWcYtMY4-pZR8tUeAywpeo-OxA34qA9QMjGvDnNxAZfaIxT3RZ4kEe8P0TLur7vGhW9p8o8mons5TaQYYT_rE8ukFamhRoYosxA2ParZoC50I9knKM23eZ9K0fbxkgXys61kw5eZoX-xxZ_jdSbGzzTPC3OgswkZmp0ZrGsyhR1MIWeKFNuFQ/s575/Monty%20Clift%20letter%20to%20William%20LeMassena.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoUhGTPWcYtMY4-pZR8tUeAywpeo-OxA34qA9QMjGvDnNxAZfaIxT3RZ4kEe8P0TLur7vGhW9p8o8mons5TaQYYT_rE8ukFamhRoYosxA2ParZoC50I9knKM23eZ9K0fbxkgXys61kw5eZoX-xxZ_jdSbGzzTPC3OgswkZmp0ZrGsyhR1MIWeKFNuFQ/s16000/Monty%20Clift%20letter%20to%20William%20LeMassena.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/Montgomery_Clift_Signed_Love_Letter_to_William_LeM-LOT24819.aspx" target="_blank">Gotta Have Rock and Roll</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Note:</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monty Clift probably misdated his letter, the year being 1953 instead of 1952. <i>Terminal Station</i> was filmed in Rome, Italy from October until December 1952. So it seems likely that the letter was written in January <i>1953</i> after production of the film had ended, with Clift being more than eager to go home.</div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Lo36E-kBxqt1y4N-kJGRls04LTPiXlYYgxIU8MbWs4rMVtrXiwTaH-R1XEtVzJv6pxHsHn8NdOTvHoqt_at1rZb7TPq4na18kBi71NRAHZL96V2YIcdNeZoc-7eLTpTBweNqEpNnXFyvCzx8-5ywIUcZuKOosgc6rZasEcNfUKIqRGaOYrshVqjaaw/s727/selznick%20monty%20clift%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Lo36E-kBxqt1y4N-kJGRls04LTPiXlYYgxIU8MbWs4rMVtrXiwTaH-R1XEtVzJv6pxHsHn8NdOTvHoqt_at1rZb7TPq4na18kBi71NRAHZL96V2YIcdNeZoc-7eLTpTBweNqEpNnXFyvCzx8-5ywIUcZuKOosgc6rZasEcNfUKIqRGaOYrshVqjaaw/s16000/selznick%20monty%20clift%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">David Selznick and Monty Clift</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-91995531935242726882023-05-11T23:46:00.000+02:002023-05-11T23:46:24.192+02:00I think I have been a good dog for three years<p style="text-align: justify;">In the summer of 1938, Warner Bros. cast Claude Rains as a tough New York City cop in <i>They Made Me a Criminal</i>, a Busby Berkeley film starring John Garfield in the lead as a boxer wrongly accused of murder. Rains, who had signed a long-term contract with Warners in November 1935, considered himself unsuited for the role and did not want to play it. Requesting to be released from the film, the actor sent studio boss Jack Warner a telegram on 31 August 1938. The role would do nothing to advance his career, Rains thought, and his miscasting could only hurt the picture. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QaxWu5tv4Mo-DUT_PFEpmh8NcdqrLiEfJZmZgj8XRAuxqdHB3_1-Bfudo569RTh0W2vFJp5_ChECTiMDkO169X50JXHdE_NxsgWc654G-5VmgZJNV7FjqsspEeQqVMlwLLVGyJ87wYxtXsSbW66_GF9q9TxQoMGgfVhrwMBeHmAUAxfcMJgZvQf2wA/s575/they%20made%20me%20a%20criminal%20rains%20garfield.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QaxWu5tv4Mo-DUT_PFEpmh8NcdqrLiEfJZmZgj8XRAuxqdHB3_1-Bfudo569RTh0W2vFJp5_ChECTiMDkO169X50JXHdE_NxsgWc654G-5VmgZJNV7FjqsspEeQqVMlwLLVGyJ87wYxtXsSbW66_GF9q9TxQoMGgfVhrwMBeHmAUAxfcMJgZvQf2wA/s16000/they%20made%20me%20a%20criminal%20rains%20garfield.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Claude Rains, John Garfield and Billy Halop (of The Dead End Kids) in a scene from <i>They Made Me a Criminal.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">August 31, 1938</p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Jack Warner</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vice President, Warner Brothers</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First National Pictures</div></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear Jack. Having thoroughly enjoyed my association with the studio and toed the line to cooperate to the best of my ability, I feel that you should know of my inability to understand being cast for the part of Phelan in "They Made Me a Criminal." Frankly, I feel that I am so poorly cast that it would be harmful to your picture. You have done such a good job in building me up that it seems a pity to tear that down with such a part as this, and I am confident that your good judgment will recognize this. Dogs delight to bark and bite and I think I have been a good dog for three years, so perhaps you will give me five minutes to talk it over.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Claude<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Source: <span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Warner-Brothers-Behlmer-Hardcover/dp/B010CKLBG4/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951)</a> (1985), selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p></blockquote></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">When Warner threatened Rains with suspension, the actor accepted the role and indeed —I must agree with Rains and the general opinion— he was terribly miscast. (But I don't think he harmed the picture, considering how little screentime he had.) Later Rains said that of the films he had made <i>They Made Me a Criminal</i> was one of his least favourites.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSyBGBhb7OCllSRqNRt5ab9IY25DSXe1txdsNDNv_batFMgvOS2LOWKKEX1_cnxrQHzFg3fnngcuazWLt2-m1IeIqfxQjVaOiVmJLgUiV3VJRNiKozJCsAtlw8YZEqrBIGmq1OG6BpRF-DTBc0jiJ35Q0NOKlL9Zx51opIUnckDk8k5jmCFIjeKeZKA/s575/ClaudeRains%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSyBGBhb7OCllSRqNRt5ab9IY25DSXe1txdsNDNv_batFMgvOS2LOWKKEX1_cnxrQHzFg3fnngcuazWLt2-m1IeIqfxQjVaOiVmJLgUiV3VJRNiKozJCsAtlw8YZEqrBIGmq1OG6BpRF-DTBc0jiJ35Q0NOKlL9Zx51opIUnckDk8k5jmCFIjeKeZKA/s16000/ClaudeRains%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><span>One of my favourite character actors, Claude Rains had pivotal roles in a number of classic Warner Bros. films, among them <i>The Adventures of Robin Hood </i>(1938), <i>Mr. Smith Goes to Washington </i>(1939), <i>Now, Voyager</i> (1942) and <i>Casablanca</i> (1942). Rains was </span><span>nominated four times for Best Supporting Actor, i.e. for </span><i>Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, </i><span><i>Casablanca, Mr. Skeffington </i>(1944) and <i>Notorious </i>(1946), the latter film on loan-out to David Selznick.</span></span></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-8239740179815511702023-05-05T23:57:00.000+02:002023-05-05T23:57:47.230+02:00Francis My Love<p style="text-align: justify;">In her 1990 autobiography <i>Ava: My Story</i>, Ava Gardner said that Frank Sinatra was the love of her life. The two had met in 1943 at a Hollywood nightclub and, after seeing each other only occasionally over the years, met again at a party in 1949. They started an affair, with Sinatra still married to his first wife Nancy Barbato (with whom he had three children). On 7 November 1951, ten days after Sinatra's divorce had come through, Ava and Frank tied the knot, entering into a very tumultuous and highly publicised marriage. The two were both —in Ava's own words— "high-strung people, possessive and jealous and liable to explode fast", their temperaments often leading to heated fights, sometimes even in public. During their marriage, Ava got pregnant with Sinatra's child twice but in both cases had an abortion. On 29 October 1953, after two years of marriage, the couple formally announced their separation, with the divorce eventually being finalised in 1957. Ava and Frank remained good friends until Ava's death in 1990, at age 67. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxK6Fzx1Q7F9uAggpJxDJ_fDUgjyLzMbi4QtoS6lr32RSDetS2_53aIaPLSPnO42mwqEl89pfI_SdeG3bYPWMTgl52AQK4Zvz7gSlOV9td2kdsgiRqJ3ZPpp2wFb4Mz7Vm0WgRG869ZM7tGyg71mOYXzQp1hnTD0BafofaZ81_8zHtAQx2B1Z11JbmA/s575/frank%20sinatra%20and%20ava%20gardner.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxK6Fzx1Q7F9uAggpJxDJ_fDUgjyLzMbi4QtoS6lr32RSDetS2_53aIaPLSPnO42mwqEl89pfI_SdeG3bYPWMTgl52AQK4Zvz7gSlOV9td2kdsgiRqJ3ZPpp2wFb4Mz7Vm0WgRG869ZM7tGyg71mOYXzQp1hnTD0BafofaZ81_8zHtAQx2B1Z11JbmA/s16000/frank%20sinatra%20and%20ava%20gardner.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, who was Ava's third and final husband (Artie Shaw and Mickey Rooney being husband number one and two)</span>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In April 1952, five months into their marriage, Ava wrote Sinatra the following note. At the time Ava was filming <i>The Snows of Kilimanjaro</i> (1952) at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles while Sinatra was in New York. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIb60D8l5fxBSrjZf4MZXdlnGUnZcUs8qFNxRjZKC88OkhF5JyoS4fb0jhuI9iVwJD7gEaBsCd5skMgvZt0upD26CfivJTQNzMl6N_97O0rNmLboEO7l_SPdc5XP_6zw3B5qG0n3CEzd6hQTxDI0kt6SI1Hz6GNdHzHbctKpFR7voyTIdT1oN6GK9oQ/s732/ava%20gardner%20to%20frank%20sinatra%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIb60D8l5fxBSrjZf4MZXdlnGUnZcUs8qFNxRjZKC88OkhF5JyoS4fb0jhuI9iVwJD7gEaBsCd5skMgvZt0upD26CfivJTQNzMl6N_97O0rNmLboEO7l_SPdc5XP_6zw3B5qG0n3CEzd6hQTxDI0kt6SI1Hz6GNdHzHbctKpFR7voyTIdT1oN6GK9oQ/s16000/ava%20gardner%20to%20frank%20sinatra%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOcM8WTvJDxAef9-TjWYlIcUeMQlY9-Tr2djp-zsIl_8PO0U1bYcqo5ZYAodG7wOvzBQ0AkJPi4wRKYvdCHBieqJomoMdH9_W5NWuNirl8u960sqs6vRDMhCZ8FtnXyH9z_svHSUCG3lW0WFPqsaHoff65j6hWqZebW_TuswIYlZpNIoE0e0kzGxjGA/s575/ava%20to%20frank%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOcM8WTvJDxAef9-TjWYlIcUeMQlY9-Tr2djp-zsIl_8PO0U1bYcqo5ZYAodG7wOvzBQ0AkJPi4wRKYvdCHBieqJomoMdH9_W5NWuNirl8u960sqs6vRDMhCZ8FtnXyH9z_svHSUCG3lW0WFPqsaHoff65j6hWqZebW_TuswIYlZpNIoE0e0kzGxjGA/s16000/ava%20to%20frank%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.lot-tissimo.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/eastbourne-auction-rooms/catalogue-id-srea10080/lot-bccce887-a63e-4c59-847e-ae3000e1c573" target="_blank">Lot-tissimo</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u><i>Transcript:</i></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u><i><br /></i></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Francis my love —</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I finally tricked Bappie [Ava's older sister] + Ben into buying some stationery for me so now I have to use it, cause it's new + cause I love you — That's all I have to say so goodnight baby— I can't wait till next Tuesday— Love, love, love, yours </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Ava</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFkiGOdCsO4joijxS5uNso6urJdGMxPlIK5YEZ5yeXiLrEKZyBkCthTv9VHcMDHptaQ_wFz_Z8avS3ULuDmWRUi4RCDMmEIj2qf-ttV01bQEL94MA_Em4yTQMbxoZbf1iVn383hfF5Db-zuJIAHojKOhlRbnZg564uuYd2szEz8O941G5uUePuMLMgw/s575/ava%20frank%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFkiGOdCsO4joijxS5uNso6urJdGMxPlIK5YEZ5yeXiLrEKZyBkCthTv9VHcMDHptaQ_wFz_Z8avS3ULuDmWRUi4RCDMmEIj2qf-ttV01bQEL94MA_Em4yTQMbxoZbf1iVn383hfF5Db-zuJIAHojKOhlRbnZg564uuYd2szEz8O941G5uUePuMLMgw/s16000/ava%20frank%20(1).jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-55065136061709772192023-04-27T14:34:00.003+02:002023-04-28T16:57:44.393+02:00 There are loyalties that are greater than the loyalties of friendship<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8fUPfCnHAsicL0BNxtaL0kB17Tx0nKa2BQhTbRR_5VGZJf1a9cHgAH5EaQ7zYmycuusdh-aP972em_YduOqEV4z_mwcuUvVu0NGiuxKewcmrtLswCWSkuYXfdY367kz0HxRr3G1kNe4QDLN5Zac-96_-ZlWO1d4xZ_AOKVUs-NKlcfQwvh0VZtCcUA/s3264/thalberg%20mayer%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="1976" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8fUPfCnHAsicL0BNxtaL0kB17Tx0nKa2BQhTbRR_5VGZJf1a9cHgAH5EaQ7zYmycuusdh-aP972em_YduOqEV4z_mwcuUvVu0NGiuxKewcmrtLswCWSkuYXfdY367kz0HxRr3G1kNe4QDLN5Zac-96_-ZlWO1d4xZ_AOKVUs-NKlcfQwvh0VZtCcUA/s320/thalberg%20mayer%20(1).jpg" width="194" /></a></div>Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg first met in November 1922. Thalberg, who was working for Universal Pictures, made a deep impression on Mayer and a few months later was appointed vice-president in charge of production at Mayer's production company, Louis B. Mayer Pictures. In 1924, the company merged with Metro Pictures Corporation and Goldwyn Pictures to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and 25-year-old Thalberg was made part owner and also vice-president and head of production of the new company. Thalberg and Mayer worked well together, Thalberg's ability to combine high quality with commercial success and Mayer's shrewd business sense proving a winning combination. In a few years' time, MGM would become the most successful studio in Hollywood, some of the studio's earlier successes being <i>He Who Gets Slapped </i>(1924), <i>The Merry Widow</i> (1925) and <i>Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ </i>(1925). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Mayer and Thalberg initially got along, their relationship became increasingly strained. By the fall of 1932, Thalberg had come to resent the fact that Mayer and his New York boss, Nicholas Schenck, were getting rich off what he felt were essentially hís successes. Thalberg wanted to take a year off —suffering from depression following the death of his friend Paul Bern— but when Schenck offered him a generous 100,000-share stock option he could not refuse. Mayer, despite being Thalberg's superior, only got 80,000 shares. The stock deal worsened the relationship between Thalberg and Mayer, leaving the latter's ego deeply hurt. Thalberg's growing power and success made Mayer feel increasingly threatened, even more so after an article was published in <i>Fortune</i> magazine in December 1932, depicting Thalberg as the guiding force behind MGM while barely acknowledging Mayer. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOpdGD-jGTOuchK2joQNwe6giG0adC6MnvQ5F0xFTjCBv9YZz66PJnycpATPA-dBxASQcHH4GMmr7vc4UCIGbfDO-Gn_6iVbGKN1LWHfxEpFCWP7PiyuwPiLuZpzGmH8U9Yfy1f-_pcvHsZW_g2ds9kOX-G31HVJ6VJ20iE8eFOFwYBAnPqK0m8iibw/s575/thalberg,%20gish,%20mayer.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOpdGD-jGTOuchK2joQNwe6giG0adC6MnvQ5F0xFTjCBv9YZz66PJnycpATPA-dBxASQcHH4GMmr7vc4UCIGbfDO-Gn_6iVbGKN1LWHfxEpFCWP7PiyuwPiLuZpzGmH8U9Yfy1f-_pcvHsZW_g2ds9kOX-G31HVJ6VJ20iE8eFOFwYBAnPqK0m8iibw/s16000/thalberg,%20gish,%20mayer.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Irving Thalberg, Lillian Gish and Louis B. Mayer in 1926<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then things suddenly changed on Christmas morning 1932 when Thalberg —born with a heart disease and once told he wouldn't live beyond thirty— suffered a heart attack. In order to keep the studio run smoothly, Mayer hired David O. Selznick (his son-in-law) as producer at MGM, giving him his own independent production unit. Thalberg was furious and felt betrayed, thinking that Mayer took advantage of his illness and intended to replace him with Selznick. Although he wasn't being replaced, Mayer would eliminate Thalberg's position of head of production. When Thalberg returned to work in August 1933 (after an extended trip to Europe), MGM had been reorganised and, like Selznick, Thalberg was given a production unit of his own. Several other producers also got their own production units, men who had previously been Thalberg's subordinates like Walter Wanger and Hunt Stromberg. Demoted from head of production to unit producer, Thalberg went along with the new system as long as he didn't have to answer to Mayer. While Selznick and the others were to report to Mayer, Thalberg would report directly to Schenck.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Despite his considerable loss of power, Thalberg continued to make successful films, among them such classics as <i>Mutiny on the Bounty</i> (1935), <i>A Night at the Opera</i> (1935) and <i>Camille</i> (1936). His relationship with Mayer, however, would never be the same. Thalberg biographer Roland Flamini said that what had once been a "friendly rivalry" had "soured into animosity and then degenerated into enmity".</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCzfDgOh9cs1z7BPot_DvsPnKrGTmVo-Qh_s8ocdY8efx34pJq0yhQxBiyVZ0QW73cioTh1eWyFd9QXLcBPYJNPfhpAGHNSW_icET3peu0mGrs7GHB6qZohS_09V4GdPLMXqI9tIKzXQT_FsWoaF68FAsk8D2uwZYDM4NqXfrwx_K3m0FWl7Y-fpZZQ/s575/thalberg%20gable%20capra%20oscars%201936%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCzfDgOh9cs1z7BPot_DvsPnKrGTmVo-Qh_s8ocdY8efx34pJq0yhQxBiyVZ0QW73cioTh1eWyFd9QXLcBPYJNPfhpAGHNSW_icET3peu0mGrs7GHB6qZohS_09V4GdPLMXqI9tIKzXQT_FsWoaF68FAsk8D2uwZYDM4NqXfrwx_K3m0FWl7Y-fpZZQ/s16000/thalberg%20gable%20capra%20oscars%201936%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Thalberg won the Oscar for Best Picture for <i>Mutiny on the Bounty </i>(1935), here photographed with Clark Gable and director Frank Capra at the Oscars of 1936. Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUcBWCprqKI" target="_blank">here</a> to see and hear Thalberg accept the award from Capra. Thalberg had won the Best Picture Oscar twice before, for <i>The Broadway Melody</i> (1929) and<i> Grand Hotel</i> (1932).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">_______</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On 23 February 1933, while Thalberg was recovering from his heart attack and about to depart on an extended journey to Europe, Mayer wrote him the following letter. He wanted to restore his relationship with Thalberg after their last meeting had ended in a heated argument and loss of temper. Producer David Selznick had just been hired by Mayer behind Thalberg's back, leaving Thalberg feeling angry and betrayed. As said, the episode caused a rift between Mayer and Thalberg that would never be repaired.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Dear Irving: </div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I cannot permit you to go away to Europe without expressing to you my regret that our last conference had to end in a loss of temper, particularly on my part. It has always been my desire to make things as comfortable and pleasant for you as I knew how, and I stayed away from you while you were ill because I knew if I saw you it was inevitable that we would touch on business, and this I did not want to do until you were strong again. In fact I told Norma [Shearer] to discourage my coming to see you until you felt quite well. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>It is unfortunate that the so-called friends of yours and mine should be only too glad to create ill feeling, and attempt to disrupt a friendship and association that has existed for about ten years. Up to this time they have been unsuccessful, but they have always been envious of our close contact and regard for each other. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>If you will stop and think, you cannot mention a single motive or reason why I should cease to love you or entertain anything but a feeling of real sincerity and friendship for you. During your absence from the Studio, I was confronted with what seems to me to be a Herculean task, but the old saying still goes —“The show must go on.” Certainly we could not permit the Company to go out of existence just because the active head of production was taken ill and likely to be away from the business for a considerable length of time. I, being your partner, it fell to my lot, and I considered it my duty and legal obligation under our contract, to take up the burden anew where you left off, and to carry on to the best of my ability . . . . </div><div><br /></div><div>I regret very much that when I last went to see you to talk things over I did not find you in a receptive mood to treat me as your loyal partner and friend. I felt an air of suspicion on your part towards me, and want you to know if I was correct in my interpretation of your feeling, that it was entirely undeserved. When I went to see you I was wearied down with the problems I have been carrying, which problems have been multiplied because of the fact that the partner who has borne the major portion of them on his shoulders, was not here. Instead of appreciating the fact that I have cheerfully taken on your work, as well as my own, and have carried on to the best of my ability, you chose to bitingly and sarcastically accuse me of many things, by innuendo, which I am supposed to have done to you and your friends. Being a man of temperament, I could not restrain myself any longer, and lost my temper. Even when I did so I regretted it, because I thought it might hurt you physically. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Regardless of how I felt, or what my nervous condition was, I am big enough to apologize to you, for you were ill and I should have controlled my feelings. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I am doing everything possible for the best interests of yourself, Bob [MGM attorney Robert Rubin], myself, and the Company, and I want you to know just how I feel towards you; and, if possible, I want you to divest yourself of all suspicion, and believe me to be your real friend, and to know that when I tell you I have the greatest possible affection and sincere friendship for you, I am telling the truth. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I hope this trip you are about to make will restore you to even greater vigor than you have ever before enjoyed, and will bring you back so that we may work together as we have done for the past ten years. </div><div><br /></div><div>And now let me philosophize for a moment. Anyone who has said that I have a feeling of wrong towards you will eventually have cause to regret their treachery, because that is exactly what it would be, and what it would be on my part if I had any feeling other than what I have expressed in this letter towards you. I assure you I will go on loving you to the end. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I am going to take the liberty of quoting a bit of philosophy from Lincoln. This is a quotation I have on my desk, and one which I value highly: “I do the very best I know how, and the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right, will make no difference.” <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I assure you, Irving, you will never have the opportunity of looking me in the eye and justly accusing me of disloyalty or of doing anything but what a good friend and an earnest associate would do for your interest, and for your comfort. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>If this letter makes the impression on you that I hope it does, I should be awfully glad to see you before you go and to bid you Bon Voyage. If it does not, I shall be sorry, and will pray for your speedy recovery to strength and good health. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>With love and regards, believe me,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Faithfully yours, </div><div>Louis</div></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thalberg responded two days later.</i></span></p><p> </p><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Dear Louis: <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I was deeply and sincerely appreciative of the fact that you wrote me a letter, as I should have been very unhappy to have left the city without seeing you. I was indeed sorry that the words between us should have caused on your part a desire not to see me, as I assure you frankly and honestly they did not have that effect on me. We have debated and disagreed many times before, and I hope we shall many times again. For any words that I may have used that aroused bitterness in you, I am truly sorry and I apologize. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I’m very sorry that I have been unable to make clear that it has not been the actions or the words of any—as you so properly call them—so-called friends, whose libelous statements were bound to occur, that have in any way influenced me. If our friendship and association could be severed by so weak a force, I am sure it would long ago have been ruptured by that source. There are, however, loyalties that are greater than the loyalties of friendship. There are the loyalties to ideals, the loyalties to principles without which friendship loses character and real meaning, for a friend who deliberately permits the other to go wrong without sacrificing all—even friendship—has not reached the truest sense of that ideal. Furthermore, the ideals and principles were ones that we had all agreed upon again and again in our association, and every partner shared equally in the success that attended the carrying out of those principles. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>I had hoped that the defense of those principles would be made by my three closest friends <span style="text-align: left;">[presumably Mayer, Schenck and Rubin]</span>. I say this not in criticism, but in explanation of the depths of the emotions aroused in me, and in the hopes that you will understand. I realize with deep appreciation the effort you have been making for the company and in my behalf, and no one more than myself understands the strain to which you are subjected. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Believe me, you have my sympathy, understanding and good wishes in the task you are undertaking; and no one more than myself would enjoy your success, for your own sake even more than for the sake of the company. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Please come to see me as soon as it is convenient for you to do so, as nothing would make me happier than to feel we had parted at least as good personal friends, if not better, than ever before. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Irving</div></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Irving-Thalberg-Wonder-Producer-Prince/dp/0520260481" target="_blank">Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince</a> (2009), by Mark A. Vieira</p></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><br /></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Despite their broken friendship, Thalberg and Mayer remained civil and polite to each other, at least in their letters. Not only the letters above show the courtesies between them, but also the following letter written by Mayer to Thalberg on 31 December 1933. Mayer expresses his wish to "get closer and closer in [his] association" with Thalberg in the new year, and also says he will do anything to make Thalberg's work "light and pleasant". However, it was Mayer who stonewalled Thalberg in preparing his first films as a unit producer. Thalberg found that writers and actors he wanted to work with were suddenly unavailable, assigned elsewhere by Mayer. Also, Mayer had blocked Thalberg's access to MGM's best directors, so for </span><i>Riptide </i><span>(1934) Thalberg had to look outside the studio and eventually hired freelancer Edmund Goulding.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcLyoti3i4zN_xuu9_PEaNW90CK0UFqsPYrwAjLB-yLcSuoiTT9qH5wUNsQlW6JeSHPgknm6vxlbAx9qyVucpcEYZsNwfIfTQKiEe846rtCMrWlzqBYqYIMzGholGpHCWz9XRd0TIpxFwpb5gMv2p4PAUkp7nENEssjcxh1ampolo0HwHn-BNeAStcw/s724/louis%20mayer%20to%20irving%20thalberg.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcLyoti3i4zN_xuu9_PEaNW90CK0UFqsPYrwAjLB-yLcSuoiTT9qH5wUNsQlW6JeSHPgknm6vxlbAx9qyVucpcEYZsNwfIfTQKiEe846rtCMrWlzqBYqYIMzGholGpHCWz9XRd0TIpxFwpb5gMv2p4PAUkp7nENEssjcxh1ampolo0HwHn-BNeAStcw/s16000/louis%20mayer%20to%20irving%20thalberg.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19045/lot/2138/?category=list&length=399&page=1" target="_blank">Bonhams</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><u>Sunday</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Dear Irving</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">First many thanks for your beautiful gift, when away from home I will think of you. Tomorrow starts the New Year and hope you shall not know of illness. We have much to be thankful for, as for instance your health, that financially we pulled through, but my prayer and fervent hope is that commencing with 1934 we shall get closer and closer in our association. Depend on me to do all in my power to make your task as light and pleasant as lies within my [power].</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">[signed </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"Faithfully and sincerely Louis B."]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">_______</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">On 14 September 1936, Thalberg suddenly died of pneumonia, only 37 years old. Mayer was very saddened by Thalberg's death and said that he had lost "the finest friend a man could ever have". <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">It must be noted, however, that according to IMDB "some Hollywood observers believe that Mayer was relieved by Thalberg's untimely death, though he professed a great deal of grief publicly...." Whether false or true, after Thalberg's passing Mayer appointed himself head of production in addition to being studio head. Without Thalberg MGM continued to thrive, and it was under Mayer's leadership that a few years later MGM released </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">Gone with the Wind </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">(1939), the story once rejected by Thalberg who famously said: "<i>No Civil War picture ever made a nickel</i>".</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBUgfmYJXnuAUMF_4Rsj8eC5Ao-Zd_6PGxk0EioMPzyjVzvjCSK1fUQ0GO29JWq1j0-gGdxXYkTAGQe81Jr50y7_Sw4dQUL_3tA-MOUqD0Ujzlilz2tFTzkZkdsb_StxKNQ7PVKwoX5DPz8acw680jqaZO_zoE6a0pMz7L255AQr0p7iDjDLAXPM9iA/s721/thalberg,%20shearer,%20mayer.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBUgfmYJXnuAUMF_4Rsj8eC5Ao-Zd_6PGxk0EioMPzyjVzvjCSK1fUQ0GO29JWq1j0-gGdxXYkTAGQe81Jr50y7_Sw4dQUL_3tA-MOUqD0Ujzlilz2tFTzkZkdsb_StxKNQ7PVKwoX5DPz8acw680jqaZO_zoE6a0pMz7L255AQr0p7iDjDLAXPM9iA/s16000/thalberg,%20shearer,%20mayer.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Thalberg with wife Norma Shearer and Mayer in 1932</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-43782095479978403812023-04-17T23:33:00.000+02:002023-04-17T23:33:17.654+02:00To tell you boldly like a lover that I love you<div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Six years after doing their first film together, <i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> (1941), Ingrid Bergman and Victor Fleming reunited for <i>Joan of Arc</i> (1948), a film based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play <i>Joan of Lorraine</i>. To great critical acclaim, Bergman had played the French heroine on the stage and was quite eager to reprise the role in the film version. While under contract to producer David O. Selznick, for years the actress had been promised to do a Joan of Arc film but it never happened. So when Walter Wanger (producer), Victor Fleming (director) and Maxwell Anderson (playwright, who would turn his own stage play into a script) committed themselves to bringing Joan of Arc to the screen, Ingrid was ecstatic.</div><div><br /></div><div>In early 1947, during pre-production of the film, 31-year-old Ingrid Bergman and 58-year-old Victor Fleming started an affair (Fleming being married to Lucile Rosson and Bergman to Petter Lindström). Fleming fell in love with Bergman, while Bergman was in love with Joan of Arc rather than with Fleming. Their respective spouses eventually found out about the affair, Petter Lindström at one point showing up unannounced at the New York hotel where Fleming and Bergman were staying. Lindström reportedly called Fleming's room from the hotel lobby at two A.M. —after he didn't find Bergman in her own room— and asked to speak to his wife. "<i>Damn embarrassing, that's what it was</i>", Fleming later said. In the end, the affair didn't last beyond <i>Joan of Arc </i>and Fleming reconciled with his wife while Bergman went back to Lindström. (In 1949, Bergman started an affair with another director, Italian Roberto Rossellini, and for him she would leave Lindström; read more about the scandal that followed in <a href="https://starsandletters.blogspot.com/2019/11/ingrid-bergmans-fall-from-grace_29.html" target="_blank">this post</a>.)</div><div><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUpc-AZU2UBF0G-6cuhPi-tIgaTXoTPx2WHrzOr0nmtiipb22P6J9_8wkbWc7riPs0dj2tv-tFItnyIz96aW0B55D7U80eekImdWyPu35fP8iIX1HXYeCZKEjpFjJrVw_3rzk8vhPgGP8lTlTxW6umW3yZt8D0iq7_CEnCdNXtojbhFu1HY8UAqnBHQ/s575/ingrid-bergman-joan-of-arc-victor%20fleming%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUpc-AZU2UBF0G-6cuhPi-tIgaTXoTPx2WHrzOr0nmtiipb22P6J9_8wkbWc7riPs0dj2tv-tFItnyIz96aW0B55D7U80eekImdWyPu35fP8iIX1HXYeCZKEjpFjJrVw_3rzk8vhPgGP8lTlTxW6umW3yZt8D0iq7_CEnCdNXtojbhFu1HY8UAqnBHQ/s16000/ingrid-bergman-joan-of-arc-victor%20fleming%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Victor Fleming and Ingrid Bergman on the set of <i>Joan of Arc</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xIDjY1BlbqwQbWqn7Vr2IV80yFnpaFvkN0GkV41JmFaw12TLQ1F2LD3YNm85VlRJS0mbeWBDyWsAp9gt6axzQdQaT4Pt_SvCP6TNIJEVqeWDyEDnVP1ySCPtR9fr24zk94waYXFhSDFu2W2HOPf6RRxVLZkC8fhyNAflB1KGB_djtyAcBLHEiR6Tbg/s575/bergman%20fleming%20joan%20of%20arc%20set.jpg" style="display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xIDjY1BlbqwQbWqn7Vr2IV80yFnpaFvkN0GkV41JmFaw12TLQ1F2LD3YNm85VlRJS0mbeWBDyWsAp9gt6axzQdQaT4Pt_SvCP6TNIJEVqeWDyEDnVP1ySCPtR9fr24zk94waYXFhSDFu2W2HOPf6RRxVLZkC8fhyNAflB1KGB_djtyAcBLHEiR6Tbg/s16000/bergman%20fleming%20joan%20of%20arc%20set.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Fleming and Bergman fooling around while filming </span><i style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joan of Arc</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKFA1poXAhhYXDlX9DKH624fc17PbCQ5yyWFpzTwLoVAdx2QdA49atU13TNLtxSuwunKO5A99uKCFWh5fV7bgCypfBBVsDWSAHMPZJl1cIbw0cbyU7607ehXSmFWVSjMP2-275Ug72KW4HCAsrQhUijGoiD-aW72BuyeH3vykc90_RihaEpbt9426Kw/s575/ingrid%20bergman%20petter%20lindstrom%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKFA1poXAhhYXDlX9DKH624fc17PbCQ5yyWFpzTwLoVAdx2QdA49atU13TNLtxSuwunKO5A99uKCFWh5fV7bgCypfBBVsDWSAHMPZJl1cIbw0cbyU7607ehXSmFWVSjMP2-275Ug72KW4HCAsrQhUijGoiD-aW72BuyeH3vykc90_RihaEpbt9426Kw/s16000/ingrid%20bergman%20petter%20lindstrom%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Bergman and her first husband Petter Lindström<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Fleming wrote several love letters to Bergman, two of them seen below. According to Alan Burgess (Ingrid's co-author on her 1980 memoir), Bergman never protested against Fleming's declarations of love as she felt that "it was all part of the flood of creation".</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">(<i>written on the envelope</i>) This was in my pocket when I arrived. Several more I destroyed. The <i>Lord</i> only knows what is written here, and no doubt His mind is a little hazy because he had not a very firm grip upon me at the time I was writing —we were slightly on the "outs". I was putting more trust in alcohol than in the Lord. And now I am putting all my trust in you when, without opening this, I send it, for you may think me very foolish. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">(<i>letter inside the envelope</i>) Just a note to tell you dear— to tell you what? That it's evening? That we miss you? That we drank to you? No—to tell you boldly like a lover that I love you—cry across the miles and hours of darkness that I love you—that you flood across my mind like waves across the sand. If you care—or if you don't, these things to you with love I say. I am devotedly—your foolish—ME.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">_____</span></p><p> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear and darling Angel,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">How good to hear your voice. How tongue-tied and stupid I become. How sad for you. Then when you put the phone down, the click is like a bullet. Dead silence. Numbness and then thoughts. Thoughts that beat like drums upon my brain. My heart, my brain. I hate and loathe both. How they hurt and torment me— pain my flesh and bones. When they have had their fill of that, they quarrel and fight each other. My brain beats my heart into a great numbness. Then my brain pounds my heart to death. All this I can do nothing about.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>In Arabian Nights it says: "Do what thy manhood bids thee do. From none but self expect applause. He best lives and noblest dies, who makes and keeps his self-made laws."</div><div><br /></div><div>Time stopped when I got aboard that train. It became dark and in the darkness I was lost. Why I did not think to do some drinking I don't know. I went to bed for fourteen hours and I slept fourteen minutes, forgot to order breakfast on the Century, and had no food or coffee until 1 p.m. That much I remember. Someone met me at the train. I'm very much afraid she found me crying. A hundred years old and crying over a girl. I said, "There's no fool like an old fool."</div></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sources: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Victor-Fleming-American-Movie-Master/dp/0375407480" target="_blank">Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master</a> (2008) by Michael Sragow and<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ingrid-Bergman-My-Story/dp/0440032997" style="background-color: white; color: #994c4c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Ingrid Bergman: My Story</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;"> (1980) by Ingrid Bergman and Alan Burgess. </span></span></p></blockquote><p> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Released in November 1948, <i>Joan of Arc</i> received mixed reviews while failing at the box-office. The film was Victor Fleming's final achievement. On 6 January 1949, while at home sitting in a chair, Fleming suddenly collapsed and died of a heart attack en route to the hospital. Bergman said that Fleming had worn himself out making <i>Joan of Arc, </i>anxious to make the film a success knowing how much Joan of Arc meant to her. The actress was deeply saddened by Fleming's passing and, according to Alan Burgess, felt a certain responsiblity, wondering whether the pressures of the film had contributed to his untimely death. Fleming, best known for directing the 1939 classics <i>Gone with the Wind </i>and<i> The Wizard of Oz,</i> was 59 years old. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5hT-R8MSNb4jvziX1nTVGB_9PqVzQ2CecyzmuIu8nz2VPyQQWtiEArr-vQEvPGxMNqqba0D-yPYeWpO-xhXCwlShHHiNIYSEZOBzp8n08rnAqHb-L21c59Ni8B2KlRH8Ylb0azxIq-oA2bxVhaJuVruKA-Lyujbex9gFEAx8RfugGrgeQ0sLq694EQ/s739/ingrid%20bergman%20victor%20fleming%20november%201948.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5hT-R8MSNb4jvziX1nTVGB_9PqVzQ2CecyzmuIu8nz2VPyQQWtiEArr-vQEvPGxMNqqba0D-yPYeWpO-xhXCwlShHHiNIYSEZOBzp8n08rnAqHb-L21c59Ni8B2KlRH8Ylb0azxIq-oA2bxVhaJuVruKA-Lyujbex9gFEAx8RfugGrgeQ0sLq694EQ/s16000/ingrid%20bergman%20victor%20fleming%20november%201948.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">10 November 1948, Ingrid Bergman is escorted by Victor Fleming to a benefit performance of <i>Joan of Arc, </i>given for the United Hospital Fund.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-69259051246875014082023-04-10T16:35:00.000+02:002023-04-10T16:35:28.021+02:00If I ever weaken and begin to pretty my characters up, I shall remember your Walter and be fortified<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It was a real treat to watch <i>Double Indemnity</i> (1944) again, not having seen it in years. Directed by Billy Wilder and based on the novella of the same name by James M. Cain, <i>Double Indemnity </i>is generally regarded as the first true film noir, setting the standard for other noirs that followed (it's the first noir to have "venetian blind" lighting and voice-over narration). For those not familiar with the story, it's about an insurance salesman who is seduced by a housewife into murdering her husband. The murder is made to look like an accident in order to collect the insurance money (to collect twice the amount in fact, thanks to a double indemnity clause in the policy). James Cain's novella was adapted for the screen by Billy Wilder and crime author Raymond Chandler who, despite disliking each other and having great difficulty working together, delivered a superb screenplay with razor-sharp dialogue.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQCy90quAPbH63w3My9tiBOlLmVAOCZs4nJi4zkgraPCbvseMb63gijWScBsGQXJLBvQdP6Q8D8F_l3z-aYwKfZ2aRH2PtEZPs4rtZze67y5bSH-70v5ISNjWDWsnBj946nDtTIjdnBJzTMBE-CwrWNCAwWnJZuqEJ4_xoHfVqq-0SzEQCrL74BhJ-A/s575/macmurray%20double%20indemnity.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQCy90quAPbH63w3My9tiBOlLmVAOCZs4nJi4zkgraPCbvseMb63gijWScBsGQXJLBvQdP6Q8D8F_l3z-aYwKfZ2aRH2PtEZPs4rtZze67y5bSH-70v5ISNjWDWsnBj946nDtTIjdnBJzTMBE-CwrWNCAwWnJZuqEJ4_xoHfVqq-0SzEQCrL74BhJ-A/s16000/macmurray%20double%20indemnity.gif" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray were cast as the leads (as respectively Phyllis Dietrichson and Walter Neff), both reluctant at first to accept their roles. Barbara, being Wilder's first choice, later recalled how she was hired: "<i>... because it was an unsympathetic character I was a little frightened of it and, when I went back to [Wilder's] office I said: “I love the script and I love you, but I am a little afraid after all these years of playing heroines to go into an out-and-out cold-blooded killer.” And Mr. Wilder - and rightly so - looked at me and he said, “Well, are you a mouse or an actress?” And I said, “Well, I hope I’m an actress</i>.” <i>He said, “Then do the part.” And I did and I’m very grateful to him."</i></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4rCduOwFLm6tbNgWUx8A7GaXcysfy4VUB65kK-oCWTR4F1nGZa03ZqApKnuP_dY8pTFydYE7SXwIgfUsAq1w6ermwh8uldNT2Yf4qunjcQAHiaYRE1rrotzsOLShM5-H_RwEGY6ivIrnHJ9f2IMgMt7myDcYXfJonJiYwopCrNJR0qeAi2oujd5Mgw/s647/double%20indemnity%20set.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4rCduOwFLm6tbNgWUx8A7GaXcysfy4VUB65kK-oCWTR4F1nGZa03ZqApKnuP_dY8pTFydYE7SXwIgfUsAq1w6ermwh8uldNT2Yf4qunjcQAHiaYRE1rrotzsOLShM5-H_RwEGY6ivIrnHJ9f2IMgMt7myDcYXfJonJiYwopCrNJR0qeAi2oujd5Mgw/s16000/double%20indemnity%20set.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: On the set of <i>Double Indemnity </i>with (l-r) Billy Wilder, Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Raymond Chandler. Below: Stanwyck and MacMurray, both perfectly cast and terrific in their roles,<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"> pictured in several scenes from the film. The two had great chemistry, with </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Double Indemnity </i><span style="color: #444444;">being the second of four films they made together (the other three being <i>Remember the Night </i>(1940), <i>The Moonlighter </i>(1953) and <i>There's Always Tomorrow </i>(1956)). </span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9S6Vmc0SoEzeFDR5-11i1_86IQDS5zBKUGiqaq881oFi4W1ggMtyxuZmDvE9lgQGkvgVdxJmsRAvkhfsqzXjicQyYEF4tAwMxPlkteDvhNZfpTfXujapYdmdLwJ5kqaHu0gGCfrN50NuXBO7IBDEpwjJ2qxTVOnWGmAp6i3GpvySTB6Rr_9vOR6KGmg/s575/double%20indemnity%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9S6Vmc0SoEzeFDR5-11i1_86IQDS5zBKUGiqaq881oFi4W1ggMtyxuZmDvE9lgQGkvgVdxJmsRAvkhfsqzXjicQyYEF4tAwMxPlkteDvhNZfpTfXujapYdmdLwJ5kqaHu0gGCfrN50NuXBO7IBDEpwjJ2qxTVOnWGmAp6i3GpvySTB6Rr_9vOR6KGmg/s16000/double%20indemnity%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Fred MacMurray had the same qualms about accepting the role as Stanwyck. Until then he had only played nice guys in lighter fare and was not at all eager to play a killer. Other actors before MacMurray had rejected the part, including Alan Ladd and George Raft, the latter because the film had no "lapel moment" (i.e. the moment where the male lead would flip over his lapel and reveal his police or FBI badge). As he had Barbara, Billy Wilder eventually persuaded MacMurray to accept the role, reportedly pestering the actor every day until he gave in. MacMurray never regretted his decision to play Walter Neff and later even stated that it was his best role.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljqXJBG1fuZ_0Y4tL9e_Yes9UB_FFGvOUUDiyUJTaBW7_0RBZlyyubd3f46_19e1yj0m5P7DSNZSvR4xl64h01KFM-rcpb_7Uox56uPiR7CcNq-0k4dlnvfOsFzmsB0o3DXloFmnb07W8NcOjfaE0bWyVysJ-sggwYaAIrWGtEbxlTb9b6PfiWBNaQg/s575/fred%20macmurray%20edward%20g%20robinson%20double%20indemnity.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljqXJBG1fuZ_0Y4tL9e_Yes9UB_FFGvOUUDiyUJTaBW7_0RBZlyyubd3f46_19e1yj0m5P7DSNZSvR4xl64h01KFM-rcpb_7Uox56uPiR7CcNq-0k4dlnvfOsFzmsB0o3DXloFmnb07W8NcOjfaE0bWyVysJ-sggwYaAIrWGtEbxlTb9b6PfiWBNaQg/s16000/fred%20macmurray%20edward%20g%20robinson%20double%20indemnity.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Fred MacMurray with the inimitable Edward G. Robinson who plays clever insurance investigator Barton Keyes.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">James Cain, who had created Walter Neff, was impressed with MacMurray's handling of the character. In early 1944, the author attended the Los Angeles premiere of <i>Double Indemnity </i>and wanted to tell MacMurray how much he had liked his performance. MacMurray had left the event early, however, so Cain didn't have the opportunity to tell him in person. A letter being the next best thing, Cain wrote to MacMurray on 4 February 1944. Five days later, MacMurray answered Cain's letter, telling the author about his initial reluctance to accept the role, while also expressing his hope to play another Cain character in the future (which ultimately never happened).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJnHa08d4PysOAyO0gjeO_pGwz92Xts1nt0z0Bm8Vp-0HU5vr4b7P1c07l1V9l5UNwRGdeRhrlKSTaB7USqv1CKDRs38YzWqi6A0JyjQC1SHFB7fTBjRTNGAXTP8hQbCa5baBaXLEq5woyTZ6P3Mn0LP868TtE8d6s5zVdQAxqdSjDT_2p_MTpAlGhg/s575/Cain%20to%20MacMurray%20Double%20Indemnity.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJnHa08d4PysOAyO0gjeO_pGwz92Xts1nt0z0Bm8Vp-0HU5vr4b7P1c07l1V9l5UNwRGdeRhrlKSTaB7USqv1CKDRs38YzWqi6A0JyjQC1SHFB7fTBjRTNGAXTP8hQbCa5baBaXLEq5woyTZ6P3Mn0LP868TtE8d6s5zVdQAxqdSjDT_2p_MTpAlGhg/s16000/Cain%20to%20MacMurray%20Double%20Indemnity.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhottj7dpMbNdTxiXSDXaSJas8gkFaBVIvXEnTkOebNShsD1exZW0bNh-ngVXusSC4ZRd2qCMMiG7LWbkPF6sxx-6-tRhSERbqkOR9FQl8npdovN8RoBE_y7RIEW3cC7MKouSzxaA3N3E9ucnKmfMuv6_778SKN7kHpopZl6b9kZRNbEoQcMc_07rz_vA/s575/MacMurray%20Double%20Indemnity.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="575" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhottj7dpMbNdTxiXSDXaSJas8gkFaBVIvXEnTkOebNShsD1exZW0bNh-ngVXusSC4ZRd2qCMMiG7LWbkPF6sxx-6-tRhSERbqkOR9FQl8npdovN8RoBE_y7RIEW3cC7MKouSzxaA3N3E9ucnKmfMuv6_778SKN7kHpopZl6b9kZRNbEoQcMc_07rz_vA/s320/MacMurray%20Double%20Indemnity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A fragment of MacMurray's letter</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Dear Mr. Cain — I want to thank you for your very nice letter. As you’ve probably been told, it took a lot of persuading by a number of people to get me to tackle the part. I was crazy about the story — but having never done anything like it, I was afraid to take a crack at it. Even after seeing the finished picture, I was sure I’d given an Academy performance — in underacting! But if you, the author, liked it — that’s good enuff for me! I hope I may sometime have another opportunity to do one of your very interesting characters — Thanks again — Fred MacMurray.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Source of both letters: <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2022/03/the-very-polite-letters-behind-double-indemnity/" target="_blank">Library of Congress Blogs</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOu2HJh00p5SguOhLHbDTtO8Vdk-GKgNBq7-ZgUdeUn2zvTG0ThC9rwk6saDWXxzCFfZc6f7u6WF4vc0ZyowiGhczmOSRun9eITFS2tWwkn_V7AFW7-UsFwseQcBCosl_3aZ1M2ERPl03gss0iCuDdWEsFeQ1YXbnrc_Iwyb4Qbfe2p8K49R-cGX3WQ/s575/cain%20macmurray%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOu2HJh00p5SguOhLHbDTtO8Vdk-GKgNBq7-ZgUdeUn2zvTG0ThC9rwk6saDWXxzCFfZc6f7u6WF4vc0ZyowiGhczmOSRun9eITFS2tWwkn_V7AFW7-UsFwseQcBCosl_3aZ1M2ERPl03gss0iCuDdWEsFeQ1YXbnrc_Iwyb4Qbfe2p8K49R-cGX3WQ/s16000/cain%20macmurray%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Cain (left) and MacMurray</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>Double Indemnity </i>was nominated for seven Academy Awards (including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Screenplay) but won none. Still, the film was a big success, both with critics and audiences. James Cain himself reportedly saw the film several times and once said: "<i>It's the only picture I ever saw made from my books that had things in it I wish I had thought of</i>." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Another <i>Double Indemnity </i>fan<i> </i>was author Charles Jackson who, shortly after viewing it, wrote the following letter full of praise to Billy Wilder. Jackson was the author of the bestselling novel <i>The Lost Weekend </i>(1944), which Wilder would make into a successful film a year later. While <i>Double Indemnity </i>came away empty-handed at the Oscars, <i>The Lost Weekend </i>would win four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-lMpua5C-EcQpVLEyPXDgctTe9owJHnNVJt02NY5ObrYg_S0xtEELdsbrdFC9ihhwMYLcNyzP86MmKL0a5ZI5i-xSAXXtNw2Q3J7430lwbQmR9OOglZl3mFto1X0cJVgpsHq9W3C6orEEDS22bAR8u1myL47idWoa7IIMwmC6t5Szqyed2uFhTniUQ/s746/18135917_1%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-lMpua5C-EcQpVLEyPXDgctTe9owJHnNVJt02NY5ObrYg_S0xtEELdsbrdFC9ihhwMYLcNyzP86MmKL0a5ZI5i-xSAXXtNw2Q3J7430lwbQmR9OOglZl3mFto1X0cJVgpsHq9W3C6orEEDS22bAR8u1myL47idWoa7IIMwmC6t5Szqyed2uFhTniUQ/s16000/18135917_1%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.icollector.com/Lost-Weekend-Charles-Jackson_i18135917" target="_blank">icollector.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObJ1eh8XwcqRJCo2qNgikjm-Gdp_rPHCYWCP55LTkmE4RV9wlKKWlv_FTDbPy0VCT6GGbYlopl73g5e03hjWuqIWRAqHylr7JYzzkQx80IHwlw-KYZZv2dKBwNfw62ZZ42ruB1UTfP9goxeCjl1XivuTjsYP9Kd3BJ7nIcF8n4kWvi435GkS1_Bya7w/s575/fred%20barbara%20billy%20double%20indemnity.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObJ1eh8XwcqRJCo2qNgikjm-Gdp_rPHCYWCP55LTkmE4RV9wlKKWlv_FTDbPy0VCT6GGbYlopl73g5e03hjWuqIWRAqHylr7JYzzkQx80IHwlw-KYZZv2dKBwNfw62ZZ42ruB1UTfP9goxeCjl1XivuTjsYP9Kd3BJ7nIcF8n4kWvi435GkS1_Bya7w/s16000/fred%20barbara%20billy%20double%20indemnity.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: MacMurray, Stanwyck and Wilder on the set of<i> Double Indemnity. </i>Below: Charles Jackson (left) and Billy Wilder with Ray Milland, the latter was cast as the male lead in Wilder's film adaptation of Jackson's novel <i>The Lost Weekend.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0_e7wTO5Iq7BdUelmOv_3IQWq1RECA1jVHtqoDIM2GvPQMbI4rVaIO289kRlhhZCmg5FspMDqprgE9ksBbbg6PDjYuo3VSPyTZGGZzTDfAA445E_7KosXTihhSDF1XzxD8vHYYI3aST9qWDG2tl3OLI-jhSGNbxwlhd72Z-WZ8uDxCvxjJ9O4RNZpQ/s575/lost%20weekend%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0_e7wTO5Iq7BdUelmOv_3IQWq1RECA1jVHtqoDIM2GvPQMbI4rVaIO289kRlhhZCmg5FspMDqprgE9ksBbbg6PDjYuo3VSPyTZGGZzTDfAA445E_7KosXTihhSDF1XzxD8vHYYI3aST9qWDG2tl3OLI-jhSGNbxwlhd72Z-WZ8uDxCvxjJ9O4RNZpQ/s16000/lost%20weekend%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-76203857279496421382023-04-04T23:26:00.000+02:002023-04-04T23:26:18.088+02:00I am not career minded at all any more<p style="text-align: justify;">When in early November 1941 Carole Lombard started filming <i>To Be Or Not To Be</i> (1942), it had been a year since she made her last film (i.e. Alfred Hitchcock's <i>Mr. & Mrs. Smith</i> (1941)). Lombard was quite happy focusing on her home and marriage to Clark Gable and was selective in choosing her projects. In a letter to her friends, socialites and polo stars Babs and Eric Tyrell-Martin, dated 29 November 1941, Lombard writes how she is "not career minded at all any more", being mostly concerned with pleasing her husband. The letter was written just six weeks before Lombard would meet her untimely death in a plane crash on 16 January 1942, returning home after a war bond rally. <i>To Be Or Not To Be</i> was released after Lombard's death, the film reportedly the happiest experience of her career. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdzLghsFqmW6zDuaxMX2dJ3naBlZYRTTb0-N5E7ud0YSvdMyDhVg7ybn7OVAhYwqs92bRVgBG-TeTsgPDJzJbDCvtDMb8pRY_jvJFMrmqXWDQgOK-dVDpuj35Mi45Jpy196cpWHKcakC-Be11txyUm8PnsFkAkiA4wlLWdbZQDZL6xI0jFakJpgFyFA/s575/carole-lombard-.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdzLghsFqmW6zDuaxMX2dJ3naBlZYRTTb0-N5E7ud0YSvdMyDhVg7ybn7OVAhYwqs92bRVgBG-TeTsgPDJzJbDCvtDMb8pRY_jvJFMrmqXWDQgOK-dVDpuj35Mi45Jpy196cpWHKcakC-Be11txyUm8PnsFkAkiA4wlLWdbZQDZL6xI0jFakJpgFyFA/s16000/carole-lombard-.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Beautiful Carole Lombard, below pictured with husband Clark Gable. There had been rumours that the couple was experiencing marital problems in 1941 and had separated and then reconciled. Lombard was also trying to get pregnant but had problems conceiving.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireRc9nrC_8o_JhYiR6k4GUpEi8dyer-ce5AjZfbUvpwgQ71o58iVbVUkSiixtEfxTP_8qppmHxvGC0-L3yFKu8yOGz32oaPOwkcXIwfWOj1iUltNW6z33lE1gCrPHRPCwTRja-kVDwdFeR0WTSDxEJD2-P0rI51EB0YDUIaReogoLfrYUnV28XBpVdA/s575/carole%20lombard%20clark%20gable.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireRc9nrC_8o_JhYiR6k4GUpEi8dyer-ce5AjZfbUvpwgQ71o58iVbVUkSiixtEfxTP_8qppmHxvGC0-L3yFKu8yOGz32oaPOwkcXIwfWOj1iUltNW6z33lE1gCrPHRPCwTRja-kVDwdFeR0WTSDxEJD2-P0rI51EB0YDUIaReogoLfrYUnV28XBpVdA/s16000/carole%20lombard%20clark%20gable.jpg" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDdx0aBu_yz38B3Nk--BqKpb67gSrHE8tAWG8J9DCF_jBAeZOkEBUaxhMwz215yddXUziB2M0ESTT5qD2UKrzCJ_s2Oo4_N4JFXTQsaFh-Yz423KA1sEyCtUBNqx89ljZi1NhUamLcDyPp7wFKV277A5AJVvBxIvPTRTwcaZd6mEej8c8qUUv7h28rcQ/s621/letter%20carole%20lombard.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDdx0aBu_yz38B3Nk--BqKpb67gSrHE8tAWG8J9DCF_jBAeZOkEBUaxhMwz215yddXUziB2M0ESTT5qD2UKrzCJ_s2Oo4_N4JFXTQsaFh-Yz423KA1sEyCtUBNqx89ljZi1NhUamLcDyPp7wFKV277A5AJVvBxIvPTRTwcaZd6mEej8c8qUUv7h28rcQ/s16000/letter%20carole%20lombard.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/321077503561037" target="_blank">RR Auction</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCGOmqrjsqWoJEHyeFFPdCvvSqapDZi64SqpK8xpB1vFKJwWEQ15jDP9EVSDrXQsPlhP3J4V355BdCxaWSVIEJXdSY9spyY6uXKRkCluXWAwQ-4SY5bEewWIRhhHA0H8kcgJzTnZT7PzmAEMF4NVs2s2fNTX9cocIfSnbtSczS6pFZ4F-oKG5l4PP5Q/s575/collage%20carole%20lombard%20clark%20gable%20(2)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCGOmqrjsqWoJEHyeFFPdCvvSqapDZi64SqpK8xpB1vFKJwWEQ15jDP9EVSDrXQsPlhP3J4V355BdCxaWSVIEJXdSY9spyY6uXKRkCluXWAwQ-4SY5bEewWIRhhHA0H8kcgJzTnZT7PzmAEMF4NVs2s2fNTX9cocIfSnbtSczS6pFZ4F-oKG5l4PP5Q/s16000/collage%20carole%20lombard%20clark%20gable%20(2)%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Ranch life with husband Clark Gable (above) and on the set of <i>To Be or Not To Be </i>with co-star Robert Stack and Ernst Lubitsch, the latter Lombard's favourite comedy director whom she had long wanted to work with (below).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMg38dWF4nBiNT-7ZfrOswM1InqMHwIUP_uGHbwtCrGlcJAYrFd9efDHBhTkoY5B2UBiciA8AS_VYXzC_AipzkbPPFu-NIWWEadfNc5BHiHP7lzVvAWhyPOwTZn-nBon0B-dvE1-B4lXIl42MSnb9ZUBdOelTeVk71RKySj7qAE2B2NlFnJ98-7xUATQ/s575/carole%20lombard%20robert%20stack%20ernst%20lubitsch.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMg38dWF4nBiNT-7ZfrOswM1InqMHwIUP_uGHbwtCrGlcJAYrFd9efDHBhTkoY5B2UBiciA8AS_VYXzC_AipzkbPPFu-NIWWEadfNc5BHiHP7lzVvAWhyPOwTZn-nBon0B-dvE1-B4lXIl42MSnb9ZUBdOelTeVk71RKySj7qAE2B2NlFnJ98-7xUATQ/s16000/carole%20lombard%20robert%20stack%20ernst%20lubitsch.jpg" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-55733549110207730022023-03-31T23:26:00.001+02:002023-03-31T23:48:55.645+02:00There is something I would like to straighten out with you ...<p style="text-align: justify;">Olivia de Havilland was still working on <i>Gone with the Wind</i> (1939) when she started filming <i>The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex</i> (1939). She had a minor role in the latter film as the queen's lady-in-waiting, playing third fiddle to Bette Davis and Errol Flynn and being billed below the title. It is said that casting Olivia in such an inferior role was Jack Warner's way of punishing her for doing David Selznick's <i>GWTW</i>. Warner, head of Warner Brothers and Olivia's boss, was at first unwilling to loan her out to Selznick, but Olivia was adamant about playing Melanie. In violation of her contract with Warners, the actress had secretly screentested for <i>GWTW, </i>and next secretly contacted Warner's wife Ann, pleading with her to make Warner change his mind. Persuaded by his wife, Warner eventually agreed to the loan-out but ordered producer Hal Wallis to cast Olivia in a secondary role on her return to Warners.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB9N7AYAjJ5CHNMz0TArlM8YEAgVvWAGTWXAgufHTTeoKsap-W7aZvKedNCwfWnPPl2Ha7Z4I5qAcOpmIT6TkzhfDU6c3uZdvSkAYgWL1fgvEdUiLjDxNuzr1VVYKbv0lklY7lgHHUILiVfogfPlWFryyXSEG4ciRz7pN3h8GNQ-BdEu2M9o1ddTg7A/s575/olivia-de-havilland%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB9N7AYAjJ5CHNMz0TArlM8YEAgVvWAGTWXAgufHTTeoKsap-W7aZvKedNCwfWnPPl2Ha7Z4I5qAcOpmIT6TkzhfDU6c3uZdvSkAYgWL1fgvEdUiLjDxNuzr1VVYKbv0lklY7lgHHUILiVfogfPlWFryyXSEG4ciRz7pN3h8GNQ-BdEu2M9o1ddTg7A/s16000/olivia-de-havilland%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In early May 1939 —while still having to shoot retakes for <i>GWTW</i>— Olivia reported for work at Warners and later recalled that it was "torture for [her], leaving this wonderful atmosphere at Selznick for a very different atmosphere at Warner Brothers". A month later, on 10 June, an incident occurred on the set of <i>Elizabeth and Essex,</i> where Olivia had to do a scene but lost her usual calm in front of the cast and crew. The incident involved Warners' contract director Michael Curtiz, whom Olivia disliked working with (read more <a href="https://starsandletters.blogspot.com/2022/02/remembering-michael-curtiz.html" target="_blank">here</a>). In a memo to production manager T.C. Wright, unit manager Frank Mattison described what had happened:</p><p> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">I had [a] display of temperament late SATURDAY afternoon from Miss DeHAVILLAND; to wit— at 5:15 PM when we started to rehearse a scene between her and Miss FABERES [Nanette Fabray], she informed Mr. Curtiz that she positively was going to stop at 6:00 PM, but Mr. Curtiz told her that unless she stayed and finished the sequence he positively would cut it out of the picture. Miss DeHAVILLAND expressed herself before the company and Mr. Curtiz came right back, with the result that it became necessary for me to dismiss the company at 6:15 without shooting this sequence. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Inasmuch as this sequence of 2 pages was inserted at Miss DeHAVILLAND's request, I believe that we definitely should not shoot it and uphold Mr. Curtiz in the matter. I think this will put Miss DeHAVILLAND in a proper frame of mind so that she will take direction and instruction hereafter. </p></blockquote><blockquote><span style="text-align: justify;">[The scene was later shot and included in the film.]</span></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;">Source: </span><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1260716.Inside_Warner_Bros_" style="color: #994c4c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951)</a> (1985), selected and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;">edited by Rudy Behlmer.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfKCzBfWgfeVhU7vPPOOJe3KfzNS36RyUGiuPoHash2kDX_3gFDEPpGwfKyyrTewng55GhWlJ-JSA88LDLsR7pe2oVR9cLGQkNunh48wlYuO54NhnXjnCXfrEPHp2HQ8B5PUVxEsi8OBp9oQ4e1RUNHMhiHQud5iW7DVuY0x9aQ4VoUt2FOA4o_DCPQ/s626/olivia-de-havilland-in-the-private-lives-of-elizabeth-and-essex-1939.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfKCzBfWgfeVhU7vPPOOJe3KfzNS36RyUGiuPoHash2kDX_3gFDEPpGwfKyyrTewng55GhWlJ-JSA88LDLsR7pe2oVR9cLGQkNunh48wlYuO54NhnXjnCXfrEPHp2HQ8B5PUVxEsi8OBp9oQ4e1RUNHMhiHQud5iW7DVuY0x9aQ4VoUt2FOA4o_DCPQ/s16000/olivia-de-havilland-in-the-private-lives-of-elizabeth-and-essex-1939.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Olivia de Havilland as Penelope Gray in<i> The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCFeSxsKU-8wlDy9LwL3bQJX_9v4SPaJjqOQEkzpG_sG6zSUk0twsYUhdqxqHMSwlwLLiqxmwihJGlJoOYrIjChTXw_h634eXAtlg9WYL3xiDdPreor-PhzozZLV6fvjZNJl4zcDF2GiH66t_hyhzyHuQF-NhrkVULwifPOhRHJMOY_bG6JZLzQZGPA/s575/the%20private%20lives%20of%20elizabeth%20and%20essex.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCFeSxsKU-8wlDy9LwL3bQJX_9v4SPaJjqOQEkzpG_sG6zSUk0twsYUhdqxqHMSwlwLLiqxmwihJGlJoOYrIjChTXw_h634eXAtlg9WYL3xiDdPreor-PhzozZLV6fvjZNJl4zcDF2GiH66t_hyhzyHuQF-NhrkVULwifPOhRHJMOY_bG6JZLzQZGPA/s16000/the%20private%20lives%20of%20elizabeth%20and%20essex.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to defend herself and to explain the situation to her boss Jack Warner, Olivia wrote him the following letter on 18 July 1939. Long afterwards, Olivia said about the incident: "<i>I lost my cool, which was not like me, and which is unforgivable</i>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Incidentally, with "a certain man who means well" Olivia unmistakably refers to Michael Curtiz and the "famous blond actress" is Bette Davis. <i>The Lady & the Knight </i>was one of the film's working titles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">July 18, 1939</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear Mr. Warner —</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is a shame that you are so busy this week that it is impossible to arrange a luncheon engagement. I should have enjoyed the experience so much.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is something I would like to straighten out with you, something that is, I feel very important to both of us. I have not been at all happy about the situation that existed during<i> The Lady & the Knight</i>. I feel that a misunderstanding was created between us that had no business to be there. As you know, when you called me on the phone, full of indignation, I wanted to talk to you in person, rather than discuss so vital a matter through such an unsatisfactory medium, but you were busy or preferred not to do so ....</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first time you called, the conversation concerned my starting date on <i>The Lady & the Knight</i>. As I explained to you, I had, four weeks before, forseen the problems that would arise between the schedules of <i>G.W.T.W. </i>and <i>The Lady & the Knight</i> and had discussed the matter with Mr. Wallis, [co-producer] Mr. [Robert] Lord and Mr. Curtiz and come to a conclusion satisfactory to all of us. My principle in being concerned was simply this: I wanted to do a good job in<i> G.W.T.W</i>. for it was a solemn responsiblity, & I wanted to do my best in <i>The Lady & the Knight</i>, for it is one of your big pictures for the year, & a bad performance on my part could weaken the film perceptibly. As you know it is impossible to perform two decided and different characters at the same time, so our problem was to work out the schedules so that they would not conflict ...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I started my first important day's work on <i>The Lady & the Knight</i>, not having had a vacation since September, I was quite nervous, and as one always is on the first day of a picture, somewhat apprehensive of my first consequential scene. And that scene was a charming, well-written one, & I wanted to do it well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I arrived at the studio at 6:45 A.M., shot a number of reaction shots beginning at 9. The morning passed, the afternoon passed, & finally at 5:30 P.M. with my nose shiny, my makeup worn off, my vitality gone, & my tummy doing nip-ups, we prepared to line up the charming scene. I mentioned that it was nearing six, that everyone was tired, and I hoped that we could shoot the scene another day since it required virtually no set. However, when the lights were arranged, at 6:15, with everything against me technically, I limped on the set prepared to go through with this thing. Unfortunately, to make matters much worse, I found that a certain man who means well wanted to get this charming scene over in a hurry — and then, <i>bang</i>! he said something very tactless, and to my horror I found myself shaking from head to foot with nerves, & unable to open my mouth for fear of crying— which would never do in front of so many people. The man, who meant well, realized he had gone too far, apologized, & dismissed the company assuring me that he could quite well shoot the scene another day for it required no set & could be done in a short time. He had said the same kind of thing a few days before to a famous blond actress who had gone home with the tears streaming down her face.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And someone went to you about all this! I know that if you had been present on that set, and had realized my problem, you would have dismissed the company rather than shoot that scene so late in the day. I know, too, that you understand that an actress, no matter how talented she is, is dependent very seriously upon her appearance & her vitality for the quality of her performance. When those two things leave her, whether it is after five years work or at the end of a day, she has nothing to rely on. And when I make suggestions to anyone at the studio, it is for the good of the whole ...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You have a tremendous business to conduct, one that you have built to astounding success & complexity, & your time is not to be wasted with trivialities. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My very best wishes to you,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Olivia de Havilland<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;">Source: </span><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1260716.Inside_Warner_Bros_" style="color: #994c4c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951)</a> (1985), selected and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d;">edited by Rudy Behlmer.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgPwUpnSRThMXU6Xa4EG4ALD-DN0DVc0VoyOMBqqYvyOdB7BplhmkL4sS0yVgB6y-JP7CKZeIppIEs03_uttZrcRbsgkhjWlJC4eu7JOfkhI9HvhZxlqtJpVApRBGZaHbJ0eIyVFZV8YUhCCeVkcKhaUih2zOZr8P0Fuehm5KPV3mwEjzgm_Y3urzPw/s575/bette%20davis%20olivia%20de%20havilland%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgPwUpnSRThMXU6Xa4EG4ALD-DN0DVc0VoyOMBqqYvyOdB7BplhmkL4sS0yVgB6y-JP7CKZeIppIEs03_uttZrcRbsgkhjWlJC4eu7JOfkhI9HvhZxlqtJpVApRBGZaHbJ0eIyVFZV8YUhCCeVkcKhaUih2zOZr8P0Fuehm5KPV3mwEjzgm_Y3urzPw/s16000/bette%20davis%20olivia%20de%20havilland%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: Olivia de Havilland and the "famous blond actress" in a scene from <i>The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. </i>Below: Olivia and Mike Curtiz on the set of <i>Captain Blood</i> (1935), the first of nine films they did together. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9sZhaGKwQHcOqhF2LHVjBtvqYhgEjaW3dDRR6c1_qvFlAtAGj_euTiaO4DzZjEou9cecJwj3e-R3WpRnHVXA-xQsGt6wj1S2yxz8LRaJIqHw7VQnwRdgEt90Vt54axAEFwlvq_BSOMbQRwoEIbxcj5eEdl88mR3MNdzILIrrK6Vk2BuUWEkQD-X1Qg/s575/olivia%20de%20havilland%20michael%20curtiz%20captain%20blood.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9sZhaGKwQHcOqhF2LHVjBtvqYhgEjaW3dDRR6c1_qvFlAtAGj_euTiaO4DzZjEou9cecJwj3e-R3WpRnHVXA-xQsGt6wj1S2yxz8LRaJIqHw7VQnwRdgEt90Vt54axAEFwlvq_BSOMbQRwoEIbxcj5eEdl88mR3MNdzILIrrK6Vk2BuUWEkQD-X1Qg/s16000/olivia%20de%20havilland%20michael%20curtiz%20captain%20blood.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-5456819023142438532023-03-19T00:24:00.000+01:002023-03-19T00:24:38.455+01:00 If you are convinced, that is quite enough for me<p style="text-align: justify;">Enticed by today's letter, I recently watched David Lean's <i>Summertime </i>(1955), a film I liked much more than anticipated. Based on the play <i>The Time of the Cuckoo</i> by Arthur Laurents, <i>Summertime</i> is the story of a lonely, middle-aged American woman who takes a holiday to Venice, where she falls in love with an Italian antiques dealer. The film was entirely shot on location in Venice during the peak tourist season in the summer of 1954, containing beautiful images of the city (shot in glorious Technicolor).</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGs7abVMyQw102mv1fZXfxtAtIC_HFb0OWkjnpgAURyYT1-t58OYqUhkCBhlRQxo7dcGV3si6adezHtg6nlb8zGFJfyT5Mw5UNgYCk_FzewEr2ysUHKf043Dc5zQ_A46Jb1OfcMm4NfyWa27kCiAi6xbmr3xsLITN1oNSTiNn1eRcab_UyKi39joJFug/s344/summertime-katharine-hepburn%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGs7abVMyQw102mv1fZXfxtAtIC_HFb0OWkjnpgAURyYT1-t58OYqUhkCBhlRQxo7dcGV3si6adezHtg6nlb8zGFJfyT5Mw5UNgYCk_FzewEr2ysUHKf043Dc5zQ_A46Jb1OfcMm4NfyWa27kCiAi6xbmr3xsLITN1oNSTiNn1eRcab_UyKi39joJFug/s320/summertime-katharine-hepburn%20(2).jpg" width="279" /></a></div>The lovely images of Venice aside, the main draw of the film is its leading lady, the inimitable Katharine Hepburn, who gives one of her finest performances as the insecure and vulnerable Jane Hudson. Following the completion of her MGM contract in 1952, Hepburn had spent two years relaxing and travelling before accepting the role in David Lean's film (being free now to choose her own projects). In the letter below to Lean, written on 11 January 1954, Katharine shows her excitement about the film and especially her excitement about working with Lean, of whom she was "a wild fan". Hepburn's sensitive performance eventually earned her an Oscar nomination but she lost to Anna Magnani for<i> The Rose Tattoo. </i></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">While David Lean directed such well-known classics as <i>Brief Encounter</i> (1945), <i>The Bridge on the River Kwai </i>(1957), <i>Lawrence of Arabia</i> (1962) and <i>Doctor Zhivago</i> (1965), of all the films he had made <i>Summertime</i> was his personal favourite. Katharine Hepburn was Lean's favourite actor to work with, and he once said about her: "<i>She’s a joy. </i><i>She’s a wonderful technician and she has I think a great, great gift. On top of that, I happen to like her very much personally. She’s a great human being</i>." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_6V0D77wLi0JNujZNWqAF3UULTPTiWbKb5vnTxQ89gCVlhjcgypfFpy_wTHkRCF0LguoSAViJ7VBwUA-_m8EnYFqTJJdx10PkJr54XucLotUEFFEEsaWqqxaG4UTgmYYR04kxJo_BeCeIHogq2wwkLrIz05gc-XG6sI-n6tW-nxaCQMU4WghnDZ5aw/s575/summertime%20kate%20hepburn%20rossano%20brazzi.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_6V0D77wLi0JNujZNWqAF3UULTPTiWbKb5vnTxQ89gCVlhjcgypfFpy_wTHkRCF0LguoSAViJ7VBwUA-_m8EnYFqTJJdx10PkJr54XucLotUEFFEEsaWqqxaG4UTgmYYR04kxJo_BeCeIHogq2wwkLrIz05gc-XG6sI-n6tW-nxaCQMU4WghnDZ5aw/s16000/summertime%20kate%20hepburn%20rossano%20brazzi.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Above: A scene from <i>Summertime </i>with Katharine Hepburn as Jane Hudson and Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi, the man she falls in love with. Below: Hepburn is dripping wet after doing the scene where she falls into the canal; here she is pictured with director David Lean. Hepburn performed her own stunt and ended up with a chronic eye infection.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoII31mIxh8-811_P6CarPji8f4GGNyETQdYzNZIuwB3RqjQ430zIJuFsVDMLjBGSsZkfDveIWWbEfmMlDzLQYxKbBIfdtL1bQDnGnvps2hZ8o-J8ibffuYlW-GhfcHmI7ALQUHQbwBKWlhGqTN8mK8kbVx1WGXVUHE9KIPh0EGbCzgdx5n38O2hBLDQ/s575/david-lean-katharine-hepburn.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoII31mIxh8-811_P6CarPji8f4GGNyETQdYzNZIuwB3RqjQ430zIJuFsVDMLjBGSsZkfDveIWWbEfmMlDzLQYxKbBIfdtL1bQDnGnvps2hZ8o-J8ibffuYlW-GhfcHmI7ALQUHQbwBKWlhGqTN8mK8kbVx1WGXVUHE9KIPh0EGbCzgdx5n38O2hBLDQ/s16000/david-lean-katharine-hepburn.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZl_SLUcdDBGcbJUjxjmBdvk3sXP_HRucqLGyoYrZW8mVRYT-Mk08mz_AT-Azj_rX3VsUMsayQi7ktCey0oz8--Solfm6UUNbiz2Ec-aWgqwXqlSrq3-BBBU1kDkp6asN1HmssbqDoBHUyi3bnch75bbt0OcXRC6imKOZXJee_Q2LQD8CtjM4rm33nw/s750/befunky_2023-1-0_13-12-5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZl_SLUcdDBGcbJUjxjmBdvk3sXP_HRucqLGyoYrZW8mVRYT-Mk08mz_AT-Azj_rX3VsUMsayQi7ktCey0oz8--Solfm6UUNbiz2Ec-aWgqwXqlSrq3-BBBU1kDkp6asN1HmssbqDoBHUyi3bnch75bbt0OcXRC6imKOZXJee_Q2LQD8CtjM4rm33nw/s16000/befunky_2023-1-0_13-12-5.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGur8GtEuIKgOoJZYiWfSwGyR6JI1uH0os4P9-iutReyEbQ4L0yrk8PoL_GAjiNyGoaiTCmSpP4ASosnfCSzuygs0J2rpZn6vBrVHQNbYdqZSlX9Z0kEHAkt86ADHN_qrDUoVvMjvUikuB28z0EEnWq_J57MRzovgnCPL0rGt9Lscj6lX0PrQffS5Uw/s751/befunky_2023-1-0_13-13-34.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGur8GtEuIKgOoJZYiWfSwGyR6JI1uH0os4P9-iutReyEbQ4L0yrk8PoL_GAjiNyGoaiTCmSpP4ASosnfCSzuygs0J2rpZn6vBrVHQNbYdqZSlX9Z0kEHAkt86ADHN_qrDUoVvMjvUikuB28z0EEnWq_J57MRzovgnCPL0rGt9Lscj6lX0PrQffS5Uw/s16000/befunky_2023-1-0_13-13-34.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/147263381_k-hepburn-als-to-david-lean-re-summertime-casting-if-you-are-convinced-that-is-quite-enough" target="_blank">liveauctioneers</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u><i>Transcript:</i></u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I - 11 - 54</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dear David Lean - </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I finally got your letter a week ago - It all sounds thrilling + I'm certain that it will be wonderful - If you are convinced - that is quite enough for me - I am a wild fan of yours - I think that you are absolutely great - I told your wife [Ann Todd] this once when I went backstage to see her after Seventh Veil - You have never disillusioned me - In fact Sound Barrier was to me the most shattering of all - You are a sensitive intelligent + imaginative creature - + if you are enthusiastic about me - I am thrilled - wasn't mad about the play but certainly see what you intend - + see it all now in a lovely rosy glow - am intoxicated at the prospect - have read since I heard how you felt - I hope it pleases you to hear all these nice things - for it is so lovely to feel them - </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kate Hepburn</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seriously or with all effort at constructive thought - I believe showing what she comes from is very important - + please know that when I talked to [art director Vincent] Korda + [producer Ilya] Lopert - I had only seen the play - + should have kept my mouth shut - I thought I was to see [playwright] Arthur L[aurents]- before he left - Give him our best + you both have my enthusiastic thoughts.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlNd2Y3Eu4ViestVt9hEGkwnrk6U2cGob91cCshcfmu5B9EEOUbRM1cGWaVZdR7ocueoFwPfkD1EIHY-fwaYWVyCGuA_BwemRZ4kBdfmEnpCifslcs4gGYyGsH6NZKZi1EZ1dMoadn71Bjk8AcZ2k6O_XTd1Lp5Ag03i7SvoY-AUqY_SFqGn2ccSbXw/s741/lean%20hepburn.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlNd2Y3Eu4ViestVt9hEGkwnrk6U2cGob91cCshcfmu5B9EEOUbRM1cGWaVZdR7ocueoFwPfkD1EIHY-fwaYWVyCGuA_BwemRZ4kBdfmEnpCifslcs4gGYyGsH6NZKZi1EZ1dMoadn71Bjk8AcZ2k6O_XTd1Lp5Ag03i7SvoY-AUqY_SFqGn2ccSbXw/s16000/lean%20hepburn.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">David Lean and Katharine Hepburn on the set of <i>Summertime. </i>L</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">ike Hepburn, Lean had received an Oscar nomination for <i>Summertime</i> but he lost to Delbert Mann for <i>Marty</i></span>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-43259720649746867842023-03-15T22:41:00.001+01:002024-03-04T20:13:47.384+01:00My dear Elvis<p style="text-align: justify;">On this day —exactly 56 years ago— Joan Crawford wrote the following letter to Elvis Presley. While spending a few days on the MGM lot for the television series <i>The Man from UNCLE </i>(in which she had a guest role), Joan had met with Elvis' manager Colonel Parker while Elvis himself was out of town. In her letter, Joan thanks Elvis for his and Colonel Parker's kindness towards her, including being allowed the use of Elvis' golf cart. Incidentally, knowing they never made a film together, I searched for a connection between Joan and Elvis but found none (perhaps Joan was just a fan?). There was a link, however, between Elvis and Joan's daughter Christina. Christina had a small role in one of Elvis' films, <i>Wild in the Country </i>(1961), and off the set an incident between her and Elvis occurred, which you can read about <a href="https://www.joancrawfordbest.com/p.htm#presley" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPzCVlnxBh4X2RZE7qA64TmFDQ2BO2Eh0brY92H6RFX75qQngEHjhserx-f5brNWYeRHqjQdRfYJzuyWvltlwv0GElQF5YGXiIpSVLG4daL15Pxg2DUIsclpjD9k3LAytwUmfVegS06TJjH36i8UDXzGEl2Oe4B-O78nZsBUAjjWZggkxh38EoLoG0g/s575/joan%20crawford%20elvis%20presley%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPzCVlnxBh4X2RZE7qA64TmFDQ2BO2Eh0brY92H6RFX75qQngEHjhserx-f5brNWYeRHqjQdRfYJzuyWvltlwv0GElQF5YGXiIpSVLG4daL15Pxg2DUIsclpjD9k3LAytwUmfVegS06TJjH36i8UDXzGEl2Oe4B-O78nZsBUAjjWZggkxh38EoLoG0g/s16000/joan%20crawford%20elvis%20presley%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoMH0Wv7yThWGshhXiDI086mXZYcn93sJiZ_aUVo8Pc_XbEGECgvzX33kLDjO7w2caY96k-8oqKq0zK93vRRN1NdqlWHrRC6dzRBcd2yVW8QZDiF158WFtV0AWZzvuXSjCWNHLJtE01zicWeR3N0LxgojJMM-6GEe0Ts2IWtKU3ElTu9Tvu7lkEue9w/s668/67march15elvis%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoMH0Wv7yThWGshhXiDI086mXZYcn93sJiZ_aUVo8Pc_XbEGECgvzX33kLDjO7w2caY96k-8oqKq0zK93vRRN1NdqlWHrRC6dzRBcd2yVW8QZDiF158WFtV0AWZzvuXSjCWNHLJtE01zicWeR3N0LxgojJMM-6GEe0Ts2IWtKU3ElTu9Tvu7lkEue9w/s16000/67march15elvis%20(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.joancrawfordbest.com/letters66to67.htm#March%2015,%201967" target="_blank">The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-66503264476404190162023-03-07T22:42:00.000+01:002023-03-07T22:42:08.758+01:00If you don't win the Academy Award, I'll drown my children<div style="text-align: justify;">In<i> Love Me Or Leave Me </i>(1955) James Cagney played a gangster for the last time in his career. Directed by Charles Vidor, the film is based on the life story of singer Ruth Etting, focusing on her tempestuous relationship with mobster Martin "The Gimp" Snyder, who was her manager and helped her reach stardom. As "The Gimp", Cagney gave a powerful and nuanced performance, one that was praised by many, including fellow actor Dick Powell in the letter below. Cagney's performance garnered him an Oscar nomination, but he eventually lost to Ernest Borgnine for <i>Marty</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJdbwEY7mhRFoyxg_8gekTdn8a8jJzDqcipJAHu3IwQ7Www2RWM-iLja7StHy5VnZ34Bh_3p7LWZeYuYIeSzSazofohAcQJc66D5HYv2DubdnHu0h1Hv7CXkWXbBLSZqfBBxN1uTSdYxVR5yALcWHSJGwqYYbU9BKN5MNI2CjjEodVGXM7Wp7AyzOFA/s575/love%20me%20or%20leave%20me%20cagney%20day.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJdbwEY7mhRFoyxg_8gekTdn8a8jJzDqcipJAHu3IwQ7Www2RWM-iLja7StHy5VnZ34Bh_3p7LWZeYuYIeSzSazofohAcQJc66D5HYv2DubdnHu0h1Hv7CXkWXbBLSZqfBBxN1uTSdYxVR5yALcWHSJGwqYYbU9BKN5MNI2CjjEodVGXM7Wp7AyzOFA/s16000/love%20me%20or%20leave%20me%20cagney%20day.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">James Cagney and Doris Day in a scene from <i>Love Me or Leave Me. </i>W</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">hile Doris shines as Ruth Etting in what was probably the best dramatic performance of her career, she was (shamefully) overlooked by the Academy, not even being nominated.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodIjgnjNBRWtz8XoCs6eBrEHn1wdgNk2CiXXKvD71O1reB-GTgl6dAUKQZ62ANTOm_56Jp8csSXquOR0_kv3CSgoVwxfcTJ5MnUQt1iue6HTzenVePSaSxJCGBAsa8u_mhOYKQdLsRagL/s1600/powell+cagney.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodIjgnjNBRWtz8XoCs6eBrEHn1wdgNk2CiXXKvD71O1reB-GTgl6dAUKQZ62ANTOm_56Jp8csSXquOR0_kv3CSgoVwxfcTJ5MnUQt1iue6HTzenVePSaSxJCGBAsa8u_mhOYKQdLsRagL/s1600/powell+cagney.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/autographs-and-signed-items/a-james-cagney-collection-of-letters-from-famous-friends-1940s-1960s/a/7164-89041.s#" target="_blank">Heritage Auctions</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zEQrrmu0u0-rfdBpxGZogUk0yJdV0TFtMQPYT-yTw6mhodi4by5CgRlIt8bzzeTrKnQbXa7fjDv80Nw7oRIaVF9hjyM0Y-CHlDN9jKIZd0dNziYVxQ8FB_c8u6QvDXPbAgLpCgotTwX9D30bYgdJl5ckUmTooaErbY5XvvCcR7Q5o3NR9A4HYAGGLA/s575/cagney%20allyson%20powell.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zEQrrmu0u0-rfdBpxGZogUk0yJdV0TFtMQPYT-yTw6mhodi4by5CgRlIt8bzzeTrKnQbXa7fjDv80Nw7oRIaVF9hjyM0Y-CHlDN9jKIZd0dNziYVxQ8FB_c8u6QvDXPbAgLpCgotTwX9D30bYgdJl5ckUmTooaErbY5XvvCcR7Q5o3NR9A4HYAGGLA/s16000/cagney%20allyson%20powell.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">James Cagney with Dick Powell and Powell's then-wife June Allyson during the Academy Awards ceremony, Los Angeles, 1950. Cagney and Powell made one film together, <i>Footlight Parade </i>(1933).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542365212689968577.post-41343899200024470982023-03-04T00:22:00.000+01:002023-03-04T00:22:54.368+01:00He is gradually losing his identity ...<p style="text-align: justify;">In the early 1930s, Ann Harding was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. After several Broadway successes, Ann had made her film debut in 1929 with <i>Paris Bound</i>, followed by films such as <i>Holiday</i> (1930), <i>The Animal Kingdom</i> (1932), <i>When Ladies Meet</i> (1933) and <i>Double Harness </i>(1933). In 1926, Ann had married actor Harry Bannister, with whom she'd performed on the stage and subsequently played in two films, <i>Her Private Affair</i> (1929) and <i>The Girl of the Golden West</i> (1930). While Ann became a major star, husband Bannister never made it as an actor. It was Ann's success and Bannister's lack thereof that eventually led to their divorce.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOSCD__cfywTVjJ9WFiHL76ysHtPL4SROT7SVrosZcdH6z7ahJi1JLnmKjt3oDuHkFhl2UIRP6nzD6to7-HsRFLsLSutoYfUnxaGwHBkTq4cQzkgJay3O0Tl9h0Fu_t-GM86YGe4bqTP5WMGjxXv99JIC87C2_D6VX3GiPizXH0CQmj5Zo4wW6kUPiQ/s611/ann%20harding%20harry%20bannister%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOSCD__cfywTVjJ9WFiHL76ysHtPL4SROT7SVrosZcdH6z7ahJi1JLnmKjt3oDuHkFhl2UIRP6nzD6to7-HsRFLsLSutoYfUnxaGwHBkTq4cQzkgJay3O0Tl9h0Fu_t-GM86YGe4bqTP5WMGjxXv99JIC87C2_D6VX3GiPizXH0CQmj5Zo4wW6kUPiQ/s16000/ann%20harding%20harry%20bannister%20(1).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In March 1932 Harding and Bannister, whose marriage was looked upon as one of the happiest in Hollywood, announced their divorce to the press. The couple felt a divorce was the only solution to the "untenable" situation they found themselves in. In the following letter to Brian Bell from the Associated Press, Ann gives her explanation for the divorce, saying how her husband was "gradually losing his identity, becoming a background for [her] activities, and looked upon as "Ann Harding's husband"". Bannister added in a separate statement: "During the five and a half years I have been married to Ann Harding, I have had the love and respect and devotion of the very great and lovely person who is my wife. Therefore, in order to preserve this in its entirety, we find the apparently drastic course of divorce the quickest and best solution to our eventual complete happiness." </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheF7U8XYoWSSvMyOpQJoaN6y2sZN_kEUrLMQB4xb2WxUbFU19NFICcs8ls21cJPnhSpZlyzAPYcBFDHYKE7Hsi6cLJHpz98Z9ke8MYzZgjN3DsLtMbacMp4t1OsMiXkqjF1FdU8SmKMkIRfUncIiPuRLd0_o_UHGjBOKmfBkTYsBJpACbxPvHtn2mtrQ/s813/ann%20harding%20re%20divorce.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheF7U8XYoWSSvMyOpQJoaN6y2sZN_kEUrLMQB4xb2WxUbFU19NFICcs8ls21cJPnhSpZlyzAPYcBFDHYKE7Hsi6cLJHpz98Z9ke8MYzZgjN3DsLtMbacMp4t1OsMiXkqjF1FdU8SmKMkIRfUncIiPuRLd0_o_UHGjBOKmfBkTYsBJpACbxPvHtn2mtrQ/s16000/ann%20harding%20re%20divorce.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/1932-Separation-Letter-Actress-Ann-Harding-Harry-Bannister-Press-Photo/164153376839?pageci=694264bd-eb36-4e3a-bf5a-c069a652ac55&redirect=mobile" target="_blank">Ebay</a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following the divorce, however, the relationship between Ann and Bannister took a turn for the worse. Bannister's career wouldn't take off —despite the couple's initial hopes and expectations— and for years the two would be entangled in a bitter custody battle over their daughter Jane. The divorce also caused Ann to be hounded by the press, which made her stop speaking to the press altogether. (About Ann's unwillingness to talk to journalists, you can read more <a href="https://starsandletters.blogspot.com/2018/06/open-letter-to-ann-harding_23.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFwXN70AK4fltGdKTJKRMAH0fDZAIHEqXQvaSGOtotQhj9AQLgXS9TQ0DvQxXMTOowocoBoGyfcRIIOdho-lyCI1f0pGA_YpG6uY3SyEQFjXc0NCH-dNH_wRsbQJn-5x1b_221fXWWO9OPhci-Nd55s1xUx-6n6xROumJnf9jzI__qicMxwmP8-roOQ/s761/ann%20harding.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFwXN70AK4fltGdKTJKRMAH0fDZAIHEqXQvaSGOtotQhj9AQLgXS9TQ0DvQxXMTOowocoBoGyfcRIIOdho-lyCI1f0pGA_YpG6uY3SyEQFjXc0NCH-dNH_wRsbQJn-5x1b_221fXWWO9OPhci-Nd55s1xUx-6n6xROumJnf9jzI__qicMxwmP8-roOQ/s16000/ann%20harding.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">Above: Ann Harding with Harry Bannister and their daughter Jane. Below: Harding and Bannister in </span><i style="color: #444444;">Her Private Affair.</i><i style="color: #444444;"> </i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wLCSrE0GwzJtgtYfaBBnbVfxFPh15EwUIXkYqZUBIej0AgBrYReSwW_JvQfh4X9Nab-lIJYpjL4uQ8OMgweaK6batTZks4xEctborr2jM_9Zp_1FkIc31ilN4aQIm67cCV6vvyrpsMMGTk-Z5Gjvk8rVzTtrjz8kfbuGc8tEOkxBf6Cb2-6C02cwzw/s575/ann%20harding%20harry%20bannister%20her%20private%20affair.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wLCSrE0GwzJtgtYfaBBnbVfxFPh15EwUIXkYqZUBIej0AgBrYReSwW_JvQfh4X9Nab-lIJYpjL4uQ8OMgweaK6batTZks4xEctborr2jM_9Zp_1FkIc31ilN4aQIm67cCV6vvyrpsMMGTk-Z5Gjvk8rVzTtrjz8kfbuGc8tEOkxBf6Cb2-6C02cwzw/s16000/ann%20harding%20harry%20bannister%20her%20private%20affair.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4