Francis My Love

In her 1990 autobiography Ava: My Story, 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. 

Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, who was Ava's third and final husband (Artie Shaw and Mickey Rooney being husband number one and two).

In April 1952, five months into their marriage, Ava wrote Sinatra the following note. At the time Ava was filming The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles while Sinatra was in New York. 

Source: Lot-tissimo

Transcript:

Francis my love —

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 

Ava

Send this minor masterpiece whizzing through the film exchanges of America

In December 1948, production wrapped on Irving Cummings' It's Only Money, a RKO comedy starring Jane Russell, Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra. The film was not released right away, despite positive preview screenings and a fair amount of publicity in the film magazines. RKO boss Howard Hughes decided to put the film on the shelf, where it subsequently sat for three years. (Why Hughes chose not to release it remains unclear; it has been said that his intense dislike of Frank Sinatra —the men had a shared interest in Ava Gardner— may have been a motive.)

Someone who didn't like the picture being shelved was Groucho Marx. After performing with his brothers for decades, Groucho was working on his solo career and therefore eager to have It's Only Money released. In January 1951, two years after filming had ended, Groucho wrote to Howard Hughes and asked him to finally get "this minor masterpiece" off the shelf and into film theatres. It's not clear if Groucho's letter had anything to do with it but eleven months later the film was released. Hughes had given the picture a different title, though, i.e. Double Dynamite, apparently a reference to Russell's breasts. Due to Hughes' resentment towards Sinatra, Sinatra received third billing and his face didn't even appear on the film poster.

Double Dynamite was released in December 1951, receiving negative reviews and bad box-office results. Years later, Groucho said that with the film "[his] acting career almost went down the drain" while co-star Jane Russell dryly commented: "He [Sinatra] was playing a dumb little guy and I was playing a dumber little girl and it was a stupid picture, but we sang in it." (To watch and listen to the songs, click here for It's Only Money, sung by Sinatra and Groucho, and here for Kisses and Tears by Sinatra and Russell.)

In January 1951, Groucho wrote the following letter to Howard Hughes, perhaps later wishing he had never sent it.

January 23, 1951

Dear Mr. Hughes:

Between retooling for the war effort and dueling with Wald and Krasna, I presume you are a fairly busy man. However, I wonder if you could spare a few moments to release a picture that was made some years ago involving Jane Russell, Frank Sinatra and your correspondent. The name of the picture, if memory serves, is "It's Only Money". I never did see it but I have been told that at its various previews it was received with considerable enthusiasm.

I am not a young man any more, Mr. Hughes, and before I shuffle off this mortal coil if you could see your way clear to pry open your strong box and send this minor masterpiece whizzing through the film exchanges of America, you would not only have earned my undying gratitude but that of the United Nations, the popcorn dealers of America and three RKO stockholders who at the moment are trying to escape from the Mellon bank of Pittsburgh.

Sincerely,

Groucho Marx 

Source: The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx (1967) 

God Bless, Charlie Brown

Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow met in 1964 when he was 49 years old and she 19. Sinatra immediately fell for Farrow and later reportedly said: "I was hers, instantly. I loved that hair, man. I think the hair's what got me." (Farrow would later cut her hair and while it was said she had done it to spite Sinatra, in her book What Falls Away: A Memoir (1997) she denied this and said that Sinatra loved her pixie cut the minute he saw it.)

The couple got married on 19 July 1966, each wanting different things out of married life. Sinatra wanted Farrow to give up acting and be a housewife while she wanted to be an actress, refusing to give up her career for him. In 1967, Farrow accepted the leading role in Rosemary's Baby (1968), Roman Polanski's horror film, which would ultimately lead to the couple's divorce. Since production of the film got delayed by several weeks, Farrow wasn't available to co-star with her husband in his next film The Detective (1968) which she had agreed to do with him. Sinatra demanded that she drop Rosemary's Baby but she refused and insisted on finishing it. A furious Sinatra then served her with the divorce papers on the set of Rosemary's Baby in November 1967. Unable to overcome their differences —according to Farrow the age difference was the main reason for their breakup— the two eventually divorced in August 1968.

After their divorce, Sinatra stayed friends with Farrow, like he had with his other ex-wives Nancy Barbato and Ava Gardner. (He married Barbara Marx in 1976, his last wife until his death in 1998.) Farrow said in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2013 that they "never really split up", calling Sinatra the love of her life and saying that her son Ronan (thought to be Woody Allen's son) was "possibly" Sinatra's. Several people close to Sinatra have denied the implication made by Farrow, including Sinatra's daughter Tina (stating her father had a vasectomy in 1968) and Sinatra's close friend Tony Oppedisano who addresses the subject in his recently published book Sinatra and Me: In the Wee Small Hours.

At any rate, until his death Sinatra remained close to Farrow, at times writing her letters which showed his continuous affection for her. A few of these letters can be seen below, the latter two written after the divorce. The first note (on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines stationery) was penned by Sinatra in July 1966 from London, just before he married Farrow later that month in Las Vegas.

Incidentally, Sinatra used to call Farrow "Angel Face" and she nicknamed him "Charlie Brown".

Source: Gotta have rock and roll

Transcript:

Angel Face —

The moment I discovered you I became a tower of contentment and happiness, and Christopher Columbus became a bum. 

I adore you

Francis

alias 

Charles Brown

love to Samantha

[sketch]

(on envelope) ONE GUESS!

Source: Gotta have rock and roll

Transcript:

Wednesday

May 1st [1974?]

Good morning darling,

It's very early here, and I'm on my way to Washington to meet with the vice-president for a couple of days. Will be back in N.Y. Friday.

I'm fairly well these days except for being terribly lonely. I miss you a great deal. Please look after yourself and stay well.

I love you I love you

C.B.

P.S. The snapshot is to make you smile. [snapshot of a cute little dog]

Source: Vanity Fair

Ava Gardner's letter from the set of "Mogambo"

Ava Gardner once said that John Ford's Mogambo (1953) was as close to a pinnacle as anything she had ever done. The film, for which she received her only Oscar nomination, was not an easy shoot, though. During production in Africa, cast and crew had to deal with the Mau Mau uprising, the excruciating heat and heavy rainfall, and wild animals that formed a constant threat of danger. And besides all that, Ava also had to face the most personal crisis of her life.

A year earlier, Ava had married Frank Sinatra who had accompanied her to the shoot in Africa. The couple was having marital problems and on the set they were constantly fighting. After Sinatra went back to Hollywood to do a screentest for From Here to Eternity (1953), Ava discovered she was pregnant. With Sinatra in Hollywood, she decided to have an abortion in London, keeping her husband out of the loop and telling the press she was receiving medical treatment for a tropical infection. Ava said in her autobiography Ava: My Story (1990) that she wasn't ready to have a child, unable to offer it a stable home life. Mogambo cinematographer Robert Surtees claimed, however, that she had the abortion because she couldn't stand the thought of having Sinatra's baby. It was Surtees' wife who had gone to London with Ava and to whom Ava had said: "I hated Frankie so much. I wanted that baby to go unborn." (After Mogambo had wrapped, Ava said in her book that she got pregnant a second time and had a second abortion, this time with Sinatra being in the know.) 

On 29 October 1953, after a very tumultuous marriage, Ava and Frank formally announced their separation. While Ava filed for divorce in June 1954, the divorce wouldn't be finalised until 1957. The two would remain good friends until Ava's death in 1990, at age 67.

Above: November 1952, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra at London Airport on the first leg of their journey to Nairobi, Kenya. Below: (left to right) Donald Sinden, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable, Denis O'Dea, Ava Gardner and Eric Pohlmann on the set of Mogambo. While circumstances during production were difficult, Ava said that everyone in the cast got along famously. She and Grace Kelly even became lifelong friends.

In January 1953, from the set of Mogambo, Ava wrote the following letter to her sister Myra. Ava came from a North Carolina family, the youngest of seven children, and was very close to her siblings. In the letter, she talks about having been "sick" in London; about Africa getting "more unbearable every day"; about Sinatra leaving her again for months (he got the Maggio part in From Here to Eternity and had gone back to Hollywood); and about the presents he gave her, for their first anniversary, her birthday (on 24 December she had turned 30) and Christmas. 

Incidentally, Sinatra was broke at the time so he had to borrow money to pay for Ava's presents. For the diamond anniversary ring Ava had to advance the money herself (to Robert Surtees she had said: "You know what that son of a bitch did? I got the bill for the ring!"). Still, Sinatra did make sure everybody on the set had a wonderful Christmas. He secretly went to Nairobi to get a tree and decorations and also arranged for an African choir to sing French Christmas carols.

Transcript:

Jan. 1953

Myra dear -

I just got your very first letter today- It was sent to me in London (from Africa) while I was sick + just got back to Africa today. But anyway I got your others + incidentally I sure do enjoy them 'cause this place gets more unbearable every day + any word from home is like a breath of fresh air. Frank just left a few days ago + now I'm really lonesome- This time he is going to be gone for four months or more -

Looks like we'll never be together long enough to really find out if we can live together or not-

Honey, if I didn't tell you in my last letter- I got all your cards at Xmas + birthday time + tell Jean [Myra's daughter] I got hers too + I do hope she's a little happier- She deserves it- to sacrifice so much- I never did receive the [illegible] but maybe they will catch up with me like the letter did- Mail is not too reliable in this part of the world- thank you anyway honey-

We're hoping to get out of here in another week or ten days- I'm going back by the jet plane as far as Rome where I'll spent a couple of days having fun + eating some good food- then back to London

My address in London will be

4 Abbey Lodge

Honour Gate

Regents Park

London N.W.

I never did tell you about my anniversary present. It was a beautiful diamond ring- I can't draw very well but it looked something like this [sketch] - That's a side view - It is dome shaped + is filled with little round diamonds- And for my birthday he brought me another diamond ring like this [sketch] - A marquis diamond with three baguettes on each side + for Xmas a beautiful mink stole - We really had a wonderful Xmas- as you can imagine even tho' it was in the middle of Africa-

Sweetie, I must stop + get ready to leave on the plane - we're going to our last location and I sure am glad it's the last- it's another safari where we live in tents right out in the open with all the lions + hippos + everything-

We were in one safari for 8 weeks - that's where we spent the holidays - Take care of yourself + give my love to Beatrice + the kids

love + kisses

Ava 

Source: Leading Lights Autographs

Ava Gardner with her sisters Myra and Inez (above) and Beatrice "Bappy" (below)

Grace Kelly's letter from the set of "Mogambo"

In November 1952, location shooting started on John Ford's Mogambo (1953). Cast and crew members flew to Africa, where in the ensuing months scenes were filmed in Tanganyika, Uganda, Belgian Congo and Kenya. The shoot was not without problems, though. With the Mau Mau Uprising taking place in Kenya, MGM had hired armed guards to protect the cast and crew in case of an attack. For extra security everyone was given a weapon, so they could also defend themselves. Apart from the tense situation with the Mau Mau, production was plagued by rain and mud and bad quality roads. As a result, three of the crew members were killed in road accidents, among them assistant director John Hancock.

There were also things happening on a more personal level. Leading lady Ava Gardner had learned that she was pregnant —at the time her marriage to Frank Sinatra was on shaky ground— and took a break from filming to return to London, reportedly to receive medical treatment for a tropical illness but in reality she had an abortion. The film's male lead Clark Gable got sick some time later, having developed a gum infection and briefly left Africa to see his own dentist in Los Angeles. And there was also a romance going on behind the scenes between Grace Kelly (Mogambo's second female lead) and Gable, which ended shortly after production had moved from Africa to the MGM studios in London. 

So it was a turbulent production, yet ultimately with positive results. Mogambo became a huge commercial hit and received generally good reviews. Both Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly were nominated for Oscars (resp. for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress), and Grace also won a Golden Globe.

Above: Grace Kelly knitting on the set of Mogambo while co-star Clark Gable looks on. After the shooting had moved from Africa to London, Grace's mother flew to London and started chaperoning the couple; the affair ended not long thereafter. Below: Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner on the set in Africa; the women became good friends and remained friends until Grace's untimely death in 1982.

Grace Kelly and her friend Prudy Wise

While in Africa on location, Grace Kelly wrote several letters to Prudence Wise, her close friend and personal secretary. Here is one of those letters, written just before Christmas in December 1952. 

Source: icollector.com

Transcript:

Dear Prudy, 

Ava just arrived in camp and with her came your letter- I’m sorry I haven’t written very much - but mother told me she was sending you that letter so I didn’t want to send more of the same news- The other letter I wrote - I sent to Florida - I hope your mother will forward it - Oh God! I just this very minute thought - How dumb can I be? I sent the other letter to Mallory St. - Anyway all I said in it was to tell John when you want to come back to the apt. after Christmas - 

This is the first day off we’ve had in a long time. It’s about 4 o'clock and Gable and I are sitting in front of my tent sipping warm beer - It’s a disgrace how fat I’m getting - The food is so starchy and I am always so hungry - Haven’t heard from Phillippe - but then of course I haven’t written -

Excuse the horrible writing but am leaning on my knees and the wind is blowing - 

Ava just came into my tent and she + Clark are running a scene they are going shoot tomorrow - so it’s hard to concentrate. There really isn’t too much news we’ve been working hard- It’s hot as can be during the day - I miss New York so much this time of year - I imagine the stores are so beautiful - Please give my love to everybody and apologize to them all for my not writing - My baby giraffe - the one named after me - arrives in camp tomorrow she is so sweet - I’ll send pictures as soon as I get them - 

Clark + I went shooting the other day - shot game for the natives and a guinea hen - we ate for dinner - It was simply delicious - 

Later - 

It is now 7:30 am waiting for Gable to have his bath and pick me up for dinner - he got rather high cocktailing with old Ava next door - about 6 o'clock we all went out in the wagon with Bunny Allen - a divine looking guy - who is the white-hunter in charge of the camp - We went to see the lion down the road - a lioness + her two grown sons - they were just beautiful - we were able to get quite close to them - They put out game every few days for them to feed - in order to tame them a bit - I took pictures with the movie camera - so I hope they turn out - but it was rather dark - 

Got a letter from Sherman today as well as old John Foreman - Was in the sun a lot today and my poor nose is like a red light - 

Am sitting by a kerosene lamp as I write this being eaten by mosquitos. The hippos are starting their series of evening grunts + Gable should be along any minute so I will sign off - 

with love - 

Gracie

Above: Frank Sinatra had accompanied his wife Ava Gardner to the set of Mogambo in Africa, the two photographed here at Nairobi airport with Grace Kelly. Sinatra was in between acting jobs and during production flew back to Hollywood to do a screen test for the role of Maggio in From Here To Eternity (1953), eventually landing the role and winning the Oscar. Below: The Christmas holidays took place during the Mogambo shoot and thanks to Sinatra the cast and crew could still enjoy Christmas. In the photo Ava Gardner is seen with some of the Christmas decorations Sinatra had brought back from Nairobi. (Watch Grace Kelly in this lovely clip tell the story of how Sinatra had saved their Christmas.)

Judy Garland's love letter to Frank Sinatra

Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra were not only lifelong friends but they were also romantically involved - twice. The first time was in 1949 after Garland had been fired from the film Annie Get Your Gun (she was replaced by Betty Hutton) and was next admitted to a hospital suffering a nervous breakdown. Following her recovery, Garland (still married to director Vincente Minnelli) went on a secret, romantic rendezvous with Sinatra in the Hamptons. The second time was in 1955 when Garland was separated from her third husband, producer and tour manager Sidney Luft. She briefly resumed her romance with Sinatra, who at the time was also separated from his then-wife Ava Gardner.

Garland remained close friends with Sinatra until her untimely death in 1969. She was $4 million in debt when she died and it was Sinatra who reportedly paid for her funeral. 

The following (undated) letter from Judy Garland to Frank Sinatra was presumably written in 1949, after their romantic rendezvous in the Hamptons.

Source: icollector.com

Transcript:

Darling: 

My sudden departure is a complete surprise to me. And I’m deeply dissapointed [sic] to have to miss our Monday & Tuesday date. However its [sic] imperative that [I] reach Boston by Sunday. I shall be at the Ritz-Carlton either under Mrs. Vicente Minnelli or in care of Carlton Alsop. 

You said today that you’d been neglegent [sic]. But darling—that’s so unimportant compared to the great amount of happiness you’ve given me. I shant [sic] forget the hours weve [sic] spent together—ever! 

I’ll let you know how everything goes on this trip. In the meantime—

Take good care of yourself—be happy and have lots of fun and laughs. 

And for Gods [sic] sake—keep those wheels in your lil ole head down to the minimum. 

Drop me a line if you can because it will cheer me up a great deal. 

I hope to talk to you tommorow [sic] —but I wanted to write this in case we miss connections. Even if we do reach one another—I’ll send it anyway. Its [sic] getting late—so I’m gonna wash up, get my money, etc. 

Goodbye my darling—I hope we see each other soon. Please dont [sic] forget about me. Think about me because I shall be thinking of you.

Always

Judy

I'm not insane about Brando for this

When offered the lead role of dockworker Terry Malloy in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), Marlon Brando initially rejected it. Brando, who had worked with Kazan before on A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Viva Zapata! (1952), didn't want to work with Kazan again due to the director's damaging testimony before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. In April 1952, Kazan had been a "friendly" witness for HUAC, naming names of eight colleagues who were former Communists and thereby ruining their careers. Kazan was heavily criticised for his actions and it is generally believed that On the Waterfront was his way of justifying them (read more here).

Following Brando's rejection, Frank Sinatra (who had just made From Here to Eternity) was approached to play Terry Malloy in September 1953. Sinatra was eager to play the role and made a verbal agreement with producer Sam Spiegel. Elia Kazan, however, had doubts about Sinatra due to his limited availability. Then Brando decided to play the part after all and Kazan went with his first choice, also because casting Brando meant having a bigger budget and more shooting time. Sinatra was extremely upset about not getting the part, and Spiegel then offered him the role of Father Barry which in fact had already been promised to Karl Malden. When Kazan refused to let Malden go in favour of Sinatra, Sinatra sued Spiegel for $500,000 damages. (The matter was later settled out of court.) 

The three letters for this post (or rather, excerpts from letters) were written by Elia Kazan in connection with the casting of Terry Malloy. The first letter is addressed to Budd Schulberg (the film's screenwriter who also named names before HUAC), showing that Kazan wasn't too enthusiastic about Brando at first; Kazan also talks about another alternative to Brando, an actor named Paul Newman who had just made his Broadway debut in Picnic. (Newman did a screentest with Joanne Woodward in the role of Edie, the role that later went to Eva Marie Saint.) In the second letter, written to Marlon Brando, Kazan tried to persuade Brando to take the role, even though he still considered Brando "not right for this part"; noteworthy is that Kazan admits that the script shows parallels with his HUAC experience. And the final letter is addressed to Abe Lastfogel, Frank Sinatra's agent, in which Kazan explains his choosing Brando over Sinatra.

In late July 1953, Elia Kazan wrote Budd Schulberg the following:

I'm not insane about Brando for this. In fact in my opinion he is quite wrong. But he's a fine actor and if he's really excited about it and will work like a beginner trying to get a start, he can be fine. [....] At any rate he arrives in town Sunday the second of August and leaves on the fifth, and it is imperative repeat imperative that he read the script and give us his yes or no. He cannot take the script to Europe with him. Our time is running short and we cannot wait for his majesty to get comfy in Paris and send us an answer when he feels it... If we don't get Brando, and I think it most likely we won't, I'm for Paul Newman. This boy will definitely be a film star. I have absolutely no doubt. He's just as good looking as Brando and his masculinity which is strong is also more actual. He's not as good an actor as Brando yet, and probably will never be. But he's a darn good actor with plenty of power, plenty of insides, plenty of sex. He and Malden are working on two scenes to show to Sam and yourself. I'm for him without seeing more.

Budd Schulberg (l.) and Elia Kazan won Oscars for Best Screenplay and Best Director. On the Waterfront won a total of 8 Oscars, including Best Picture (Sam Spiegel), Best Actor (Marlon Brando) and Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint). 

Also in late July 1953, Kazan wrote to Marlon Brando:

I cant pretend that its easy or simple to write you. Ultimately, in our little world, everyone hears everything. I will always feel most warmly and devotedly for you, but this does not blot out the things unsaid between us. I will for the time leave them unsaid. I will write you here professionally, and you can behave as you wish from whatever criteria you wish to act from. That's your business and even your problem. I'm sending you the script of a movie in a state of preparation. I'm very very hopeful of the script. I've worked very hard on it, and I'm going to do a lot more work on it. But you're a sensitive person and you will realize its not finished, you will sense its intention and the hope involved in it. Its yet not realized, though its a great deal closer than what you read before. Its meant very seriously. It is taken from living people, though distilled and compacted. The problem which it mirrors still exists and the moral problem it treats - the social responsibility of a citizen as it comes into conflict with his personal allegiances- is one of the oldest and most universal of all problems a man can face. My own point of view towards this problem and Budd's too, is clearly set forth. But the script is more of an involvment in the problem than an exhortation of any kind.  Make no mistake about it, there is a parallel inference to be drawn to the Inquiries into Communist Activities. This parallelism is not the main value of the script. This is the story of a human in torment, and in danger. The first thing I would do if you did become interested would be to take you over [to] HOBOKEN and introduce you to Tony Mike DeVincenzo who went thru exactly what our TERRY goes thru. This is a confrontation which would put flesh and blood on the issue on which our script is built. I've spent three evenings with him and its like being in the presence of a denizen of Dante's Purgatorio. And finally with him and with the whole waterfront of New York Harbor, the issue is not decided, and will probably be in the process of being decided as we shoot the picture.

I dont want to say more about the picture's theme. Just one word about the part. By the common measure which producers and directors use for casting, you are not right for this part. But you weren't right for the Williams Play either and you weren't right for Zapata. This boy is a former fighter, half pure, half hoodlum. He is a boy who has lost his sense of inner dignity or self-worth. At the beginning of our story he doesn't know when he lost it or how. He only discovers that he is behaving like a hoodlum and he has been a contributor to a murder. Slowly thru the unfolding of the incidents of the story and thru his relationship with a girl he discovers the shameful estate to which he has sunken. The body of the story has to do with his effort to find his own dignity and self esteem once more. He's a boy who suffers at the slightest introspection or self examination. He goes thru hell. Finally he acts to make himself respect himself, first putting his life in danger and secondly even going out to meet a violent end, so that he will re-establish himself in the sight of his own inner eye. With this "inside", there is a jaunty exterior which is the pathetic remnant of a career where he was once the white haired boy of the neighborhood, and etc.  There's much more to say, but you can go on from here, if you care to. I think its a giant of a part and a tremendous challenge. 

 [this letter was a draft letter and possibly never sent]

And on 2 November 1953, Kazan wrote to Abe Lastfogel:

Obviously from my point of view the decision to go ahead with Frank was a severe compromise. Not on artistic grounds. I was quite happy that way. Frank would have been fine in the part. Brando was my first choice, but since I could not have him and had completely abandoned hope of having him, Frank was a happy choice for me.... The alternate to Frank was an unknown boy in the cast of PICNIC. His release was a dubious matter. [.....] Then, after Frank was all set, Brando walked in one day, to my complete surprise, and said he wanted to go ahead. I wanted him. Not just Sam. I wanted him. Not that I was unhappy with Frank. But with Brando there would be no time pressure. My guess is that this picture will take 42 days, even possibly a few more. We now have a decent budget.... I dont like to get hurt and I hate to hurt any one. Nor do I feel that the thing was handled well by Sam. Sam says that's the only way he could have done it. I'm not all sure it was. I'm, on the other hand, not sure it wasn't. One thing sure: the change was necessary. We had done something desperate in accepting Frank with 27 days, desperate and foolish. Its terrible and regrettable that Frank had to be hurt. But couldn't the hurt be partially assuaged by having Frank announce that he withdrew because the schedule did not permit. And couldn't another part of his hurt be softened by my writing him and assuring him that the basis of the change WITH ME was time. I had gotten myself in a foolish and desperate (But by me, necessary) spot, and I had to get out of it when I saw a way out. I'm not callous to Frank's feelings. But say this much for us: when we went into it with Frank we went in on complete good faith. In fact our demands were craven. We begged him to give us a few more days. He was unable to, so I got us three more on the phone with Lew. We did not ask him to give up the Fox musical or anything like that. We were beggars. And we begged. But too much work and pain and time from Budd and myself are riding on this thing-- to do anything else than what we allowed Sam to do. I wish Sam had done it differently but Abe I want you to know I'm glad right now that we have Marlon. And make no mistake about that. 

Excerpts taken from The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan, edited by Albert J. Devlin with Marlene J. Devlin; published in 2014 by Alfred A. Knopf.

Casting Oklahoma!

On 21 September 1953, Oscar Hammerstein II wrote a letter to director Fred Zinnemann, expressing his concern over the slow casting process of Oklahoma!. Zinnemann had been hired to direct the film adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein's successful Broadway show, and Hammerstein —he and Rogers were the film's (uncredited) executive producers— was eager to get the ball rolling. Interested to know how things stood with Paul Newman who was considered for the role of the male protagonist Curly, Hammerstein wrote: "I spoke to Dick Rogers on the 'phone yesterday and I was disappointed to hear that so little had been done since I left, he had no report on the young man in whom we were so interested (was his name Newman?) I hope you, Dick and Arthur will follow this up right away." [read the full letter here]. 

Shortly after receiving Hammerstein's letter, Zinnemann held two days of auditions with Paul Newman and several other actors. One of them was James Dean who, like Newman, was trying to land his first film role as cowboy Curly (admittedly, Dean had appeared in films before but these roles were uncredited). Also tested were Joanne Woodward for the female lead role of Laurey, Rod Steiger for the role of Jud, and a few others. On 30 September 1953, Zinnemann reported back to Hammerstein, informing him about the recently held screen tests. Zinnemann's letter is shown below and is especially noteworthy for his remarks on Newman and Dean. 

James Dean, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Rod Steiger all auditioned for roles in "Oklahoma!", but only the latter was eventually cast.

Oscar Hammerstein II (left) and Fred Zinnemann on the set of "Oklahoma!".

Images letter via: Playbill Vault

Original source: Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Transcript:

September
30th
1953

Dear Oscar:

We had two full days of tests- Monday and Tuesday. I think that this is as good a time as any to report on my impressions. Arthur and I will not see the rushes until tomorrow, but I feel confident that seeing the rushes will not influence my present reactions. Also, tomorrow will be a very mixed-up day because I will be leaving for the coast and I am afraid that it would be impossible for me to write at that time.

Of the people tested, I was very much impressed with Eli Wallach, Rod Steiger, Joanne Woodward and James Dean (Curly). Wallach, I thought, was exceedingly original and yet he maintained the traditional feeling of "Oklahoma!". He was quite far away from any conventional acting and he got a great many laughs from the crew. I believe he could do extremely well as the Peddler, and I think it will be very difficult to improve on him.

Joanne has a lovely quality. It may be that she is a bit too wistful for the part, and perhaps she doesn't have quite the kind of radiance and vitality required for Laury. However, I was amazed at her ability to play the part believably- as though she were a very young and naive teenager.

Paul Newman is a handsome boy but quite stiff, to my disappointment. He lacks experience and would need a great deal of work. Still, in the long run he may be the right boy for us. He certainly has a most winning personality although I wish he had a little more cockiness and bravado. We were unable to shoot his love scene with Laury because we ran out of time and the kids had to get back to the show. They were not sufficiently up on it anyhow, and the scene would have been quite mediocre and would not have done them justice.

Rod Steiger, I feel, could make an excellent Jud. He has a real grasp of the character. He managed to make Jud an understandable human being. I believe he sets a standard of performance which will not be easy to improve upon.

Barbara Cook and Betty Garde both did quite well. Barbara Cook came off much better than I expected. Betty Garde is OK but does not have that extra quality of warmth and love which Marie Dressler could have given the part. Somehow I feel that we must find that kind of woman to play Aunt Eller. At any rate, we should test quite a few more Ado Annies, Aunt Ellers, Will Parkers and Laurys, not to mention Curlys.

We tested James Dean as Curly with Rufus Smith playing Jud. Dean seems to me to be an extraordinarily brilliant talent. I am not sure that he has the necessary romantic quality. Just the same I shot his scenes with great detail because I felt that with an actor of his calibre a standard of performance would be set up which would later on become very helpful as a reference and comparison. Also, in this scene I tried to work out a film approach to the characterizations of Jud and Curly. I would be very much interested to know what you think of the three characterizations as demonstrated by Wallach, Dean and Steiger after you have seen the rushes.

Before leaving I will see a number of actors Johnny has rounded up for Arthur and me. I understand that Johnny is not too sanguine about any of them, but on the other hand, he has not had a chance to work with them because of the tremendous demands on his time which Arthur and I have made.

I will be in California Friday night (October 2nd). I expect to return east around the 10th, on my way to the Caribbean. I will let you know the details just as soon as I know them.

Very best regards,

Ever,

Fred Zinnemann

FZ/bw

Mr. Oscar Hammerstein II
The Berkeley Hotel,
London, England



Notes

-The role of Curly finally went to Gordon MacRae in March 1954. Just before MacRae was chosen, Frank Sinatra was considered a serious contender. On 12 March, Zinneman wrote to producer Arthur Hornblow Jr.: "Oscar shares my feeling that Sinatra would be the ideal casting. He would like to bend every effort to see that we can get him". I'm not sure what happened with Sinatra, but by the end of the month it was MacRae who got the part. Zinnemann himself initially wasn't too happy with MacRae, as he wrote to casting director Barbara Wolferman on 24 March: "In regard to MacRae, you and I are in the minority and actually I am sure that he will do well and that the material will carry him along. It would have been wonderful to get an electric performance from somebody but I am afraid it is just not in the cards and at this late date we will just have to buckle down and do the best we can." [Zinnemann's full letter can be read here] 

-Despite Eli Wallach's impressive screen test, he did not get the part of Ali the Peddler; it was Eddie Albert who was eventually cast. The roles of Ado Annie and Aunt Eller, which Barbara Cook and Betty Garde auditioned for, respectively went to Gloria Grahame and Charlotte Greenwood. Rod Steiger did get the role of Jud, and it was 20-year-old Shirley Jones who was finally cast as Laurey.

I think that Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones were good choices for the roles of Curly and Laurey. And nobody could have sung those songs better!