Postponing the Oscars

Four times in Oscar history, the awards ceremony was not held as scheduled but postponed to a later date. The first time was in 1938 due to the floods in Los Angeles; the second time in 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King; again in 1981 after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, and finally last year due to the Covid crisis. 

Sammy Davis Jr. and Martin Luther King sharing a laugh in 1965

The 40th Academy Awards ceremony was scheduled for 8 April 1968 but eventually took place two days later. On 4 April Dr. Martin Luther King had been assassinated and many stars wanted to attend his funeral which was held on 9 April. Among the stars were four African-Americans who were to take part in the Oscar ceremony, i.e. Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Sidney Poitier and Diahann Carroll (the first two as performers, the latter two as presenters). The four had informed the Academy that they would not appear at the Oscars if the scheduled date of 8 April was maintained. On The Tonight Show Davis stated: "I certainly think any black man should not appear. I find it morally incongruous to sing Talk To The Animals while the man who could make a better world for my children is lying in state." (Talk To The Animals was the nominated song from Doctor Dolittle which Davis would perform at the ceremony and which eventually won the Oscar for Best Song.) Faced with the possible absence of several of the ceremony's key players, Gregory Peck, then president of the Academy, held an emergency meeting with the Board of Governors who unanimously decided to postpone the Oscars by two days. With the news of the delayed ceremony, Davis, Poitier, Armstrong and Carroll all announced their return to the show. 

Someone who also wanted the Oscars to be postponed was Barbra Streisand, who was also scheduled to be a presenter at the ceremony. This is the telegram Barbra sent to Gregory Peck two days after King's assassination.

Source: oscars.org

Barbra Streisand with Gregory Peck at the 1969 Golden Globes

Audrey, call us!

Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins starred together in Stanley Kramer's On The Beach (1959) and during production of the film they realised they had all been leading men to Audrey Hepburn. Peck was Audrey's romantic lead in Roman Holiday (1953), Astaire in Funny Face (1957) and Perkins in Green Mansions (1959). While filming on location in Australia, the men decided to send Audrey a message ("Dear Audrey. If you need any help call us!") via this fun picture, autographed by the three of them. I'm sure Audrey must have been thrilled to receive this.

Source: Christie's

The Gunfighter and Gregory Peck's moustache

Henry King's The Gunfighter (1950) is a terrific Western about an ageing outlaw who tries to escape his past and comes back to town to see his wife and son. The film, which stars a wonderful Gregory Peck in the title role, was an atypical western for its time as it is, for the most part, devoid of any action and concentrates on the gunfighter's character. Today The Gunfighter is considered one of the finest psychological westerns ever made, a forerunner to classics such as High Noon (1952).

Upon release The Gunfighter received much critical acclaim, but it was not a commercial success making only a slight profit. Often cited as one of the main reasons for the film's mediocre performance at the box-office is Gregory Peck's moustache. Peck's unfamiliar look reportedly kept away audiences, especially female fans who wanted to see their idol clean-shaven, not sport a thick moustache while wearing grungy clothes.

The decision to give Peck a moustache came from director Henry King who aimed to give his film a historically accurate look. In the fall of 1949, King started filming without informing 20th Century-Fox boss Darryl Zanuck (in Europe at the time) or the studio's president Spyros Skouras about the period moustache. Both Zanuck and Skouras hated it when they finally saw the rushes, but by then it was too late to have Peck shave it off and have the production start over. Zanuck said that he would give $25,000 of his own money to get the moustache off Peck. Skouras claimed that the moustache eventually cost the studio a million dollars at the box-office.

A moustached Peck in a publicity shot for The Gunfighter and clean-shaven in Twelve O'Clock High.

On 13 July 1950, a month after the film had been released to the public, Zanuck wrote to producer Nunally Johnson about the film's disappointing box-office results. He mentioned two major complaints people were having about the film, among them Peck's "walrus" moustache. Concluding his memo, Zanuck pondered the unpredictability of the film business, wondering why certain films become box-office hits while others "that belong in the same category do not do fifty percent of the business".

NB! If you haven't seen The Gunfighter, Zanuck's memo contains a MAJOR SPOILER!

July 13, 1950

Mr. Nunally Johnson

20th Century-Fox Productions, Ltd.

Shepperton, Middlesex

England 

Dear Nunnally:

Here is the story to date on The Gunfighter. It did miserable business at the Roxy Theatre in New York where, with the exception of Yellow Sky, no Western has done well in New York. It did ordinary business here in Los Angeles. It has done much better however in most places in the rest of the country.

It will be a profit-making picture, but in spite of its sensational reviews it receives everywhere, and the unstinted praise, we will be lucky if we do seventy or seventy-five percent of the business we did on Yellow Sky. Perhaps, in the outlying districts and western areas it will eventually come up to anticipation. As I said, in any event, it will be a profit-making picture but certainly nothing like we had every right to anticipate.

It is unquestionably a minor classic, but I really believe that it violates so many true Western traditions that it goes over the heads of the type of people who patronize Westerns, and there are not enough of the others to give us the top business we anticipated.

By way of passing, [Fox executive] Al Lichtman showed me a report from the ushers at the Roxy Theatre [in New York City].  As you know, they have more than 100 ushers and floor employees and they are trained to talk to patrons whenever there is a gracious opportunity. What do you think the complaint is on the picture? I will list them separately:

a.) Why do they cast Gregory Peck in this kind of role and then put a walrus moustache on him and hide his face? If they wanted an ugly man, why didn't they take an ugly actor? Why waste Peck? This comment occurred hundreds of times, particularly from women and young girls.

b.) Why didn't they let him live at the finish? After all, he had been reformed. He could have been wounded, if they wanted to shoot him. But he should have been allowed to live.

The only thing I can say is that we live and learn. Sometimes, you wonder why classic pictures like The Snake Pit, Twelve O'Clock High and Pinky* are enormous box-office hits and other pictures that belong in the same category do not do fifty percent of the business. Yellow Sky, in my opinion, is not half the picture The Gunfighter is. Yet it went into a more formula mold and obviously had broader popular appeal. But, on the other hand, there was certainly no formula mold about The Snake Pit and look what it did....

Best always,

Darryl 

*Note: The Snake Pit (1948) and Pinky (1949) are two Fox movies that deal with issues that were controversial at the time, resp. mental illness and racism. The western Yellow Sky (1948) and war film Twelve O'Clock High (1949) are two other films that starred Gregory Peck. 

Source: Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck: The Golden Years At Twentieth Century-Fox (1993); selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer.

Above: Producer/screenwriter Nunnally Johnson (left) and 20th Century-Fox boss Darryl Zanuck (r.) / Below: Millard Mitchell and Gregory Peck in a scene from The Gunfighter --who has the biggest moustache?-- with Helen Westcott in the middle.

This post is my contribution to the Classic Movie Blog Association's Fall Blogathon OUTLAWS. Click here for links to all the other entries.

British censors applaud To Kill A Mockingbird

Robert Mulligan's To Kill a Mockingbird, based on Harper Lee's successful coming-of-age novel, was released on 25 December 1962 and became a big commercial and critical success. The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Gregory Peck), Best Adapted Screenplay (Horton Foote) and Best Art Direction (Bumstead, Golitzen and Emert). On 31 December 1962, the British Board of Film Censors wrote a letter addressed directly to leading man Gregory Peck. To Kill a Mockingbird had been submitted to the Board for approval (for the UK release) and in the letter John Trevelyan (secretary to the Board) told Peck what they thought of it. Not only did they approve the film but they absolutely loved it, as can be read below.

Source: margaret herrick library, academy of motion picture arts and sciences

Transcript:

31st December 1962

Gregory Peck, Esq.,

Universal International,

Universal City,

California, U.S.A.

My dear Greg,

A few days before Christmas we saw "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD". We were all immensely impressed by this beautiful picture and think that it is one of the very best things you have done in your distinguished career. Quite apart from your own performance, which was faultless, we would particularly like to commend the children. Here was an example of real natural children on the screen, and this is quite a rarity. As I told you in a recent letter it set us a problem of category. While the film was basically suitable for the "A" category there were a few things in it which were really "X" material, but we decided that this was justified by the theme of the picture, by its honesty, and by the discretion used in dealing with the potentially troublesome material.

The theme is one which touches our work closely. We feel that it is not only wrong but impossible to shield children completely from the wickedness of the world, and we feel that through seeing something of it they may discover good things as well. The children's excited reaction to the madman who lived nearby, and their eventual discovery that he was a kindly defective, is just the sort of thing that children should learn. Whoever wrote this material, whether the author of the book or the writer of the screen play, really knows a lot about children.

Thank you for sending us such a lovely picture. We all hope that it will be a commercial success.

With good wishes to you all for 1963.

Yours sincerely,

John (signed)

Left photo: the film's little heroes from left to right: Phillip Alford (Jem), Mary Badham (Scout) and John Megna (Dill); right photo: Gregory Peck reading Harper Lee's novel

Invitation for Academy Membership

A week ago, on 2 March, the 86th Academy Awards Ceremony was held in Los Angeles. The organisation behind this annual ceremony is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Today the Academy consists of nearly 6,000 movie professionals, mostly American, 94% white, 77% male, with an average age of 62 (according to a study conducted by the Los Angeles Times in February 2012). Membership is by invitation only.

Gregory Peck was President of the Academy between 1967 and 1970. Other Presidents include Frank Capra, Charles Brackett, George Stevens and Bette Davis (she became President in 1941, but resigned after only two months). On 1 August 1968, Peck wrote a letter to Lois Nettleton (an actress whose work I'm not really familiar with) inviting her to become a member of one of the branches of the Academy, the Actors Branch.

Via: hollywood golden guy

Transcript:

August 1, 1968

Miss Lois Nettleton

340 East 57th Street

New York, New York # 10022

Dear Miss Nettleton:

It gives me great pleasure to advise you that the Board of Governors of the Academy has authorized me to extend you an invitation to become a member of the Actors Branch.

The Academy is an honorary association of artists and craftsmen employed in the film industry, and our purpose is to foster cooperation among the creative leaders of our profession. Membership in our organization is offered to those who have made significant contributions to the arts and sciences of motion pictures.

The nominal dues of $36.00 per year are tax deductible. If you wish additional information, please telephone the Academy membership office, CRestview 5-1146, Ext. 17, or Mrs. Margaret Herrick, Academy Executive Director.

An acceptance card is enclosed for your convenience.

Cordially,

(signed)

Gregory Peck

GP:mm

Encl.

Gregory's proposal to Ava

Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner starred together in three films: The Great Sinner (1949), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and On the Beach (1959).  On 13 April 1956, after having done two pictures together, Gregory wrote a letter to Ava with a proposal for a new film. Earlier that year, Gregory had founded Melville Productions with screenwriter/producer Sy Bartlett, and he wanted Ava (who was a good friend of his) to be part of their first project. 

Ava Gardner fell in love with Spain during filming of The Barefoot Contessa (1954). A year after the film's completion she moved to La Moraleja, the Spanish version of Beverly Hills in northern Madrid. In the letter Ava is wooed by Gregory in suggesting the film will be shot in her beloved Madrid and not Paris. In the end, however, the film was never made. The 1959 On the Beach would be Gregory and Ava's next and final film together.

Via: quirky travel guy

Transcript:

1426 Summitridge Drive 

Beverly Hills, California

Dear Ava:

Enclosed you will find a script called "The Blind Mirror" by Liam O'Brien. Sy Bartlett and I are about to purchase it for our Independent company, Melville Productions, which will be producing one picture a year for a United Artists release starting next year.

I know that you get a lot of scripts along with a lot of promises and a lot of something else which I hear the French call merde thrown your way. So I will keep it simple and hope that this script will interest you without any sales talk from me.

There are just a couple of things that should be said. One is that we are going to make the picture in Madrid. The main reason being that we feel the Paris background has been used a great deal lately and does not provide the right kind of atmosphere and character for this particular story. As you will see, it is a melodrama and a love story. The obvious comparisons would be "Casa Blanca" and "The Maltese Falcon". We hope to make as good a picture as either one of those and feel strongly that for our purposes modern Madrid will provide a fresher, tougher and more intriguing background than Paris. One samll [sic] example of this would be the use of an authentic Madrid night spot, perhaps a Flamenco place instead of the Paris night club described in the script. We will use Spanish players in a number of the roles and focus a great deal of interest throughout on the faces and character of modern Madrid. The painting which is stolen will be one of the great Spanish masterpieces, a Goya or a Velasquez instead of a Van Gogh.

I won't say more about this as I feel sure that if the script interests you at all you will share our feeling that this story can be told to much greater advantage in Madrid.

Now comes the part where I say the the [sic] script needs more work. It does indeed, but that is always the case with any good story at this stage of its development. It has too much plot now and the chase is too frantic. We are going to settle it down and concentrate more on Ginette and Dagan and get them so that they are exactly right. We are going to go through the whole script so that it is to our liking and yours, if you are as taken by its possibilities as we are.

I won't toss any directors names around as we have not yet come to that point, but we will try for the best and he would, of course, have to be acceptable to you. 

We would like to make it next winter, say in December, or if that is not possible, then the following Spring. I really think it is a good thing or I would not be promoting you in this way.

Would you drop me a line or send a telegram when you have given it a read. Meanwhile, be a good little girl......

Miss Ava Gardner

La Moraleja

Al Cobendos

Madrid, Spain

Congrats to Gregory

Well, here's an unusual combination: Gregory Peck and Gene Kelly. To my knowledge, the two men never appeared in a film together, but searching the net I've learnt that they did appear together on the radio. During Hollywood's Golden Age, actors not only played in movies but they also did radio shows. One of those shows was "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players". The show ran from September 1946 until February 1947 and was sponsored by Cresta Blanca Wines. The episodes (26 in total) were 30-minute adaptations of popular movies, performed by some of the greatest stars in Hollywood. The eight performers for the series were: Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine, John Garfield, Paulette Goddard, Gene Kelly and Gregory Peck (guest performers included 19-year old Janet Leigh). The photo of Gregory Peck and Gene Kelly (above) was most likely taken during the series.

In 1962, the film "To Kill a Mockingbird" (directed by Robert Mulligan) was released and the role of Atticus Finch was played to perfection by Gregory Peck. Peck got the Oscar for Best Actor during the 35th Academy Awards Ceremony, held on 8 April 1963. Eleven days later, Gene Kelly wrote the following letter to congratulate Gregory on winning the Oscar. And I can only imagine he's referring to the "Hollywood Players" when he's talking about the "group".

Via: did you see that one?

Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Joan Crawford and Fernando Lamas backstage at the Oscars in 1963