Bette Davis is a joy to work with

One of the (many) Joan Crawford films I have yet to see is What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962), the only film Joan made with Bette Davis. Joan had always wanted to work with Bette and with Baby Jane she got her wish. Contrary to popular belief, the two actresses got along on the set. Admittedly, they didn't exactly become friends, but they were both professionals who were excited about the picture and also understood how important it was for their careers.

It wasn't until Bette received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and Joan didn't that their relationship turned sour. Bette was convinced that Joan didn't want her to win and that she was actively campaigning against her among Academy voters. It didn't help matters when Anne Bancroft won for The Miracle Worker and Joan accepted the Oscar on her behalf. (Joan had contacted the nominees beforehand, saying she would be happy to accept the Oscar for them in case they were unable to attend the ceremony; click here to watch Joan steal the show from Bette by accepting Bancroft's Oscar.) In May 1963, things got worse between the two stars when Bette and director Robert Aldrich attended the Cannes Film Festival without Joan (Bette had told Aldrich she would only attend if Joan wasn't there). Joan later threatened to take legal action against Bette and Aldrich for not being included.

By 1964, things had quieted down somewhat and Aldrich succeeded in hiring both Bette and Joan for Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, the unofficial sequel to Baby Jane. However, not long after filming had started on location in Louisiana, Joan became ill and admitted herself to a hospital. While it was later announced that Joan had pneumonia, she reportedly feigned her illness to get out of the picture. (Apparently, Bette had done her best to make life on the set difficult for Joan and Joan couldn't take it anymore.) Production was eventually suspended on 4 August, after which Aldrich began to look for Joan's replacement. Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Loretta Young and Barbara Stanwyck were all offered the role, but declined. (Vivien Leigh supposedly said: "No, thank you. I can just about stand looking at Joan Crawford's face at six o'clock in the morning, but not Bette Davis.") On 25 August 1964, Joan was finally replaced by Bette's good friend Olivia de Havilland. Joan and Bette would never work together again.

Bette Davis, studio boss Jack Warner, Joan Crawford and director Robert Aldrich pose for the press in July 1962, just days before filming on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane began.

Shown below are four short letters written by Joan Crawford in connection with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte. The first letter was written to Ann Gundersen (a fan?) in which Joan mentions Baby Jane and Bette Davis, calling her co-star "a joy to work with" and "a dear human being, with a divine sense of humor". In the second letter written to a friend called Larry, Joan shares her feelings about Robert Aldrich and Bette Davis following the Cannes Film Festival incident earlier that month. (The first paragraph of that letter deals with Cliff Robertson, Joan's co-star in the 1956 Autumn Leaves.) And the third letter (to Cecil) and fourth letter (to her friend Frances Spingold) were both written in connection with Hush... Hush. 

source

Transcript:

August 25, 1962

Dear Ann, 

Thank you so much for your sweet letter. I am so happy you enjoyed "The Ziegfeld Touch."

Thank you too for all the nice things you had to say about my article in the Good Housekeeping Magazine. I'm so grateful to you.

"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" is going along very well, and Bette Davis is a joy to work with- very professional, completely dedicated to her work; and she and I get to the Studio every morning, a half hour before our calls, just longing to get in front of that camera. She is really a dear human being, with a divine sense of humor.

Bless you.

Joan
(signed)

source

Transcript:

May 31, 1963

My dear Larry,

How wonderful it was to hear from you with such a warm, loving letter. I enjoyed the articles tremendously, and as you see, I am returning them in this envelope.

How beautifully you write, and I am so sad that you have been hurt by Cliff. You know, we were pretty good to him too, giving him "Autumn Leaves". I write him and congratulate him about "PT-109" and his television shows; and when I am in California, I write and ask him if we could see each other, and when he comes to New York, could we see each other- and I never receive a line from him. But that's life. I am sad he doesn't take care of his friends.

About the Bob Aldrich-Bette Davis treatment, well, their bitterness can only hurt them. It couldn't possibly hurt the one whom their bitterness is towards. It can only hurt them because they carry around the bitterness within their hearts, and certainly must reflect in their living and their lives. Hurt? Yes, that I am. Bitter? Never.

Thank you for your friendship and your dear letter. It made me very happy.

I am off to the West Coast in June to make a film, but all my mail is forwarded to me each day. 

Bless you, and keep that beautiful talent of yours. Nourish it and protect it. 

Joan

(signed) 

source

Transcript:

March 24, 1964

Dear Cecil,

Thank you for your nice air letter. Yes, Bette Davis and I are going to make "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" in May, probably right here in Hollywood although we may go on location in Louisiana for a short period. We are having story conferences now, and it sounds very exciting. The book was written by Henry Farrell, who wrote "Baby Jane".

I haven't seen Herb Sterne lately, but do hear from him frequently, by mail.

Bless you. Thank you again for writing.

Joan

(signed)

Above: Script meeting for Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte with Joseph Cotten, Bette Davis, Robert Aldrich and Joan Crawford.

source

Transcript:

August 12, 1964

Frances darling,

I adored your letter of August 6. It was in the newspaper that Loretta Young had been asked to replace me, but she has refused the role, so at the moment there is no replacement. It would be a blessing if they would replace me, as I must take a month's rest after I leave the hospital.

The twins are in Newsport, Rhode Island, at summer school, and they will be there only until the 22nd of this month.

What have you decided to do about the apartment? I know it would have been impossible for you to have moved during this awful heat wave.

My dearest, dearest love to you.

Joan
(signed)


All letters taken from The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia

Joan in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte before she was replaced by Olivia de Havilland

This post is my contribution to the Joan Crawford Blogathon, hosted by In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. Check out all the other entries here.

Do you need a harp player?

On the third day of the 1960 Democratic National Convention, on 13 July 1960, senator John F. Kennedy secured his party's nomination for the U.S. Presidency. The next day he received this congratulatory telegram from Harpo Marx.

Via: wikimedia commons

Transcript:

1960 JUL 14 PM 12 45

SENATOR JOHN F KENNEDY=

SPORTS ARENA LOSA=

FIRST= CONGRATULATIONS. SECOND=DO YOU NEED A HARP PLAYER IN YOUR CABINET. THIRD=MY BEST TO YOUR MA AND PA=

HARPO MARX=...

Don't mess with Olivia de Havilland!

Classic cinema lovers all around the world are paying tribute to the marvellous Olivia de Havilland who has turned 100 today. Wow! My warmest congratulations to this remarkable, elegant lady who will always hold a special place in my cinematic heart. It was after all with Miss de Havilland and Errol Flynn that my love for classic Hollywood cinema began, especially after seeing them together in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Dodge City (1939), films that have remained favourites to this day. It wasn't until much later that I saw films with Olivia without Errol and also began to admire her as a 'solo actress', both as a dramatic actress and a comedienne.

But not only on-screen, also off-screen Miss de Havilland is a lady to be admired. What immediately comes to mind is the lawsuit she filed against her studio Warner Brothers in 1943. Back then actors were given a seven-year contract with a studio, but every time they refused a role and were put on suspension, the period of suspension was added to the contract period. This also happened to Olivia when she wanted to leave Warner Bros. in 1943 after her seven years were up. The studio told her that six months had been added to her contract but Olivia refused to accept this, took Warner Bros. to court— and won! (In the 1930s, Bette Davis also sued Warner Bros. but without success.) The decision of the court became state law and is still known today as the De Havilland Law.

That Olivia goes after the things she feels entitled to is also apparent from the following letter written to her agent Paul Kohner in May 1956. This time it doesn't involve a big Warner Bros. lawsuit but something much more trivial — postage costs. 

Olivia and Pierre Galante

In 1955, Olivia married her second husband Pierre Galante, a French editor for the magazine Paris Match, and moved with him to Paris where she has lived ever since. To have her fan mail forwarded from her Beverly Hills P.O. Box to Paris, Olivia sent a check of $100 to her agent's office to cover the postage costs. When she was told a year later that the $100 had all been spent, Olivia wrote to Kohner stating that the money couldn't be all gone, having carefully calculated the postage costs herself. In the letter shown below, Olivia describes in a very detailed manner how low, according to her, the postage costs actually were and says she believes "a most understandable error" has been made but that she wants $55 back. (I'm sure she didn't need the money, so it must have been a matter of principle.) 

Incidentally, the handwritten comments were added later by (presumably) Miss Heymann, assistant to Paul Kohner, who had agreed to forward the fan mail. Heymann states that Olivia was wrong, that they had already sent numerous packages by the time Olivia's check came. Obviously annoyed with the whole business, Heymann concludes with: "Now I say give her back the whole damn $100 & we cover the postage!"

Transcript:

69 Avenue Georges Mandel

Paris 16 France

May 26, 1956

Dear Paul:

A little over a year ago, I wrote your office requesting that it extend me the courtesy of forwarding to me monthly the fan-mail which accumulates in my Post Office Box number 1100 at the Beverly Hills Post Office. Miss Heymann kindly agreed to do this for me and I sent her, in February of 1955, a check made out to you for $100.00 to defray the costs of mailing.

Paul Kohner

Between February and July, a period of 5 months, I received several packages of such fan-mail forwarded in the manila envelopes used by your office for the mailing of scripts. I do not recall exactly how many such packages there were, but let us say there was a total of 8 in that period. I do not think the number could have been higher as I did not have a release of a picture during or previous to that time.

In July there came 3 packages, then none until October when another 3 arrived. After that, none whatever.

The check for $100.00 was endorsed and cashed in July, and part of the money was used to pay the Post Office Box rental charges for the year, the bill for which fell due at about that time, and the amount of which was $24.00. This left a balance of $76.00.

From this remaining amount, I imagine Miss Heymann deducted the postal charges for, shall we say, 8 packages of fan-mail. I assume that the total of such charges could not have exceeded $14.50, as the 3 envelopes containing the mail sent July 11, which I have kept, show postage amounting to: $1.58, $1.92, and $1.84 respectively, or a total of $5.34. A mean of these 3 figures is $1.78, which multiplies by 8 amounts to $14.24.

The 3 October envelopes show that Miss Heymann sent the mail by a less expensive mail classification, and the envelopes carry the following postage: 26 c, 41 c, and 39 c respectively, or a total of $1.06.

Adding all these figures together, i.e. $24 for P.O. Box rental, $14.50 for postage for the 5 months February-July, $5.34 for the 3 parcels mailed July 11, together with $1.06 postage for the 3 parcels mailed October 11, the total expenditures amount to:

$24

 14.50

 5.34

 1.06

____

$44.90 or $45

Subtracting this sum of my advance of $100.00 would indicate that a balance of $55.00 is coming to me.

I recently asked a former secretary of mine, Mrs. Marjorie Allen, to take over the responsibility of forwarding the mail to me and to obtain from Miss Heymann both my P.O. Box key and whatever funds were remaining from my deposit with her. Miss Heymann told Mrs. Allen that she had kept track of the postage charges at the beginning of the year but not at the end, and was sure that the entire sum had been absorbed and even, perhaps, exceeded, but for me not to bother about the presumably minor difference.

   
I was gratly [sic] surprised that the entire sum had been dispensed, and in double-checking the matter in the manner described to you in the early part of this letter, I have come to the conclusion that in not keeping a record Miss Heymann did not realize how very small the postal charges actually were.  She must be a very busy woman and it is a most understandable error.

However, as you can see, it is clear that your office owes me a minimum balance of $55.00 and I would appreciate your check for this amount.

Pierre joins me in very, very best wishes to you, Lupita, and Susan,

Olivia

(signed)

Handwritten comment (in part):
She is very wrong- by the time the check came we had sent numerous packages & I remember postages of $6, 7, 8 & such on several occasions. Maybe she should look at the envelopes. 

I didn't keep a record and don't know if R. kept one, since in the U.S. postage is not written down, but I told R. to keep track of what we spent for her originally [...] I must admit I didn't keep track myself, later on though maybe I should have- by the way the check went to the Company, not to me personally. I told her secretary I assumed it was about taken up [....] 

Personally I didn't want to use the check at all, which is why we sat on it so long- then I said why not- now I say give her back the whole damn $100 and we cover the postage!


Images of Olivia's letter courtesy of eMoviePoster.com

From top left, clockwise: Olivia in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Gone With the Wind (1939), Dodge City (1939), Hold Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The Dark Mirror (1946), The Snake Pit (1947) and The Heiress (1949). Centre photo: Olivia as beautiful and graceful as ever photographed by Andy Gotts in 2014.

This post is my contribution to the Olivia de Havilland Centenary Blogathon, hosted by Phyllis Loves Classic Movies and In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. Be sure to check out all the other entries here.

Please help me!

Wishing to become a serious actress, Marilyn Monroe began to study 'method acting' at the Actors Studio in 1955 under the guidance of Lee Strasberg. Because of her shyness Marilyn was also privately tutored by Strasberg at his home, and she also got lessons from Strasberg's wife Paula (a former actress) who became her personal acting coach and confidante. The Strasbergs soon became like a family to Marilyn and were very important to her during the rest of her life and career. (When Marilyn died in 1962, she left the bulk of her fortune to them.)

Marilyn and Paula Strasberg

It was at the recommendation of Lee Strasberg that Marilyn underwent psychoanalysis to deal with her severe depressions. Her first psychoanalyst was Dr. Marianne Kris at whose suggestion Marilyn admitted herself to the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Hospital in New York on 7 February 1961. There she was placed on a ward with severely mentally ill people and was put in a padded cell which was a most harrowing experience to her. (Dr. Kris later admitted that the choice of hospital had been a mistake.) Fortunately, with the help of ex-husband Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn was able to leave the hospital after a few days and was moved to the Columbia University Presbyterian Medical Center where she recuperated. 

Shown below is a letter from Marilyn to Lee and Paula Strasberg, written in February 1961 while she stayed at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Hospital. Crying out for help to get her out of this horrible nightmare, this is what Marilyn wrote:

Source: cursum perficio

Transcript:

Dear Lee and Paula,

Dr. Kris has had me put into the New York Hospital- pshichiatric [sic] division under the care of two idiot  doctors- they both should not be my doctors . 

You haven't heard from me because I'm locked up with all these poor nutty people. I'm sure to end up a nut if I stay in this nightmare- please help me Lee, this is the last place I should be - maybe if you called Dr. Kris and assured her of my sensitivity and that I must get back to class so I'll be better prepared for 'rain'.

Lee, I try to remember what you said once in class "that art goes far beyond science"

And the science memories around here I'd like to forget- like screening women etc.

Please help me- if Dr. Kris assures you I am all right- you can assure her I am not. I do not belong here!

I love you both

Marilyn

P.S. forgive the spelling- and there's nothing to write on here. I'm on the dangerous floor its like a cell. Can you imagine- cement blocks. they put me in here because they lied to me about calling my doctor and Joe and they had the bathroom door locked so I broke the glass and outside of that I haven't done anything that is uncooperative.


Note
Rain (referenced in Marilyn's letter) is a short story by William Somerset Maugham which was going to be adapted for television, starring Marilyn as the prostitute Sadie Thompson. The project never happened, as NBC wouldn't hire Lee Strasberg whom Marilyn insisted on having as her director. 

Marilyn flanked by Lee and Paula Strasberg (above); the Strasbergs attending Marilyn's funeral on 8 August 1962 (below).

The art of faking letters

The practice of faking letters and documents has existed ever since men started putting pen to paper. While the earliest forgery dates back to the 8th Century and was about gaining political power, now the forger's aim usually is profit. I only recently read about Lee Israel who was a master literary forger in the 1990s. A biographer and editor, Israel had a hard time finding work in the early 1990s and for more than a year, while broke and addicted to alcohol, she made a living manufacturing and selling numerous letters that she said had been written by famous (dead) people. Israel meticulously researched her subjects, bought several period typewriters and stole vintage paper from the library to make her letters appear authentic. (Two of Noël Coward's letters that she forged even ended up in The Letters of Noël Coward, published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2007.) Later Israel even stole original letters from libraries which she would replace with her forgeries, and the originals she then sold. In June 1993, after having been arrested by the FBI, Israel pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months house arrest and five years probation. Israel's memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger was published in 2008.

The only names of Hollywood actors I found in connection with Israel are Humphrey Bogart and Louise Brooks. Of Bogart Israel did a one-off letter, but Brooks was a subject she used more often. The following Brooks letter is one of Israel's forgeries.

source: vice

Here are three more letters which are not by Israel but which I believe are fake as well. 

Allegedly written by Barbara Stanwyck, the first letter has Barbara call Vivien Leigh a "whore". Seeing that Barbara was such a professional and was even shocked by Joan Crawford's language in this letter, I believe she would never have called Vivien that. But more importantly (as others have pointed out before me), the letter seems to have been written on a computer instead of a typewriter. (Incidentally, I saw the letter being offered on several auction sites, so someone did try to sell it as an authentic Barbara Stanwyck letter.)

via: via margutta 51

The second letter is a letter Bette Davis allegedly wrote to Joan Crawford on the occasion of her birthday and was reportedly found in Bette's desk drawer. I have serious doubts about the stationery used here, it's very unlike the type of stationery I've seen of Bette. And would she really have written this to Joan, calling her "sluttiest MGM star" and "most psychotic" (not to mention the rest of the letter)? But then again, Bette was reported to have said some nasty things about Joan, like when Joan died: "You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good... Joan Crawford is dead. Good." Ouch. 

At any rate, I very much doubt this letter is authentic. Makes for fun reading, though.

via: the frisky

And then there's the following note. It was supposedly written by Marlene Dietrich to Elizabeth Taylor, two women who also hated each other. I don't believe this note is genuine either. It looks like someone was trying hard to copy Marlene's handwriting. (For comparison, see this letter where Marlene writes both in small letters and capitals.) As for the content —even though she hated Elizabeth, would Marlene really have written this?

via: opera queen

During a visit to the set of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), Marlene Dietrich reportedly said to Elizabeth Taylor: “Darling, everyone is so fantastic! You have a lot of guts to perform with real actors."

Loaning out Thomas Mitchell

During Hollywood's Golden Age, it was very common for a studio to loan out a contract player to another studio. Actors usually didn't have a say in the matter as they were virtually owned by the studios. In 1939, Thomas Mitchell was under contract to Columbia Pictures when he was loaned out to other studios for several pictures. While Mitchell did make a few gems for Columbia that year (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Only Angels Have Wings), his loan-outs were equally impressive. There was The Hunchback of Notre Dame for RKO Radio Pictures, Stagecoach for independent producer Walter Wanger and Gone with the Wind for Selznick International Pictures.

For Gone with the Wind producer David O. Selznick had to borrow several of his key players. Not only was Mitchell borrowed from Columbia, but Clark Gable came from MGM and Olivia de Havilland from Warner Brothers. (Vivien Leigh was one of Selznick's own contract players.) And of course, each loan-out required a contract. Shown below is part of the agreement between Selznick and Columbia regarding the loan-out of Thomas Mitchell. Interesting to note is that Mitchell would be simultaneously working on GWTW and a Columbia picture entitled Plane No.4 which he had already started to work on (Plane No.4 was the working title for Only Angels Have Wings). Furthermore, it is noteworthy that for his role as Gerald O'Hara in GWTW Mitchell was to earn "on per diem basis at daily rate of 1/6th of $1500.00 per week", which makes $250 per day. 

Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, in bottom photo shown with film daughter Vivien Leigh.

Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions

Transcript:

Dated; January 26, 1939

Between: SELZNICK INTERNATIONAL PICTURES, INC. (Selznick)

and COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION (Columbia)

Re: THOMAS MITCHELL (Artist)

Subject: 

Selznick and Columbia agree that Artist, who is presently portraying a role for Columbia in "PLANE NO.4", will be permitted to render his services for Selznick in portrayal of role of "Gerald" in Selznick's photoplay "GONE WITH THE WIND" during the remainder of his present term with Columbia, and on January 27th and 28th particularly. Artist's services may be used by Selznick on such other days as required by Selznick and not required by Columbia.

Compensation: 

Selznick to pay Artist on per diem basis at daily rate of 1/6th of $1500.00 per week. 

Artist has agreed that, except where he renders services for both Selznick and Columbia on the same day, he shall not be entitled to compensation from Columbia on days he is entitled to compensation from Selznick.

Columbia will pay Artist's compensation for days he does not render services for either Columbia or Selznick during remainder of Artist's term for Columbia.

Further services:

It is expected that Selznick will use services of Artist for role of "Gerald" at later date after he shall have completed his services for Columbia. 

By Daniel O'Shea

Secretary [to Selznick]

Thomas Mitchell and Jean Arthur in Only Angels Have Wings, one of the two films Mitchell made for his own studio Columbia in 1939.

James Stewart's favourite role

I imagine all actors have a favourite role, whether a role they enjoyed playing most or a role they found most challenging or a role they simply have the fondest memories of. In this short, undated note written to a guy named Larry (a fan?), James Stewart tells us what his favourite role was and also mentions his great admiration for director Frank Capra with whom he had worked three times (i.e. You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) and It's A Wonderful Life (1946)).

Source: Christie's

Transcript:

Dear Larry ——

Thank you for kind letter,

I think my favorite role is George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life". 

I think the main reason for this is that it was the first picture I was in after being in the war for 4 1/2 years and also I will always have great admiration for Frank Capra.

Sincerely

James Stewart

The 1941 Ziegfeld Girl was Stewart's final film before he joined the US army. Stewart became a bomber pilot in 1943 and received several awards during his military service (right photo: Stewart receives the French Croix de Guerre in 1944). For further reading on Stewart's military service, click here.

On the set of It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra (above), and Stewart as George Bailey in one of his emotional moments (below).

You were a happy and prevalent topic of conversation

Hollywood has always supported American soldiers overseas, both by entertaining them (through the USO tours) and by visiting the wounded in hospitals. During the Korean War, one of Hollywood's celebrities to visit wounded soldiers was Cary Grant, who travelled to Japan with his then-wife Betsy Drake in January 1953. It was during one of Grant's hospital visits that a soldier named Charles Richards asked the actor to deliver a gift to Marilyn Monroe of whom he was a fan. (Grant and Marilyn had worked together on Howard Hawks' comedy Monkey Business the previous year.) Grant obliged by having the soldier's gift shipped home and afterwards sent it to Marilyn. Grant's letter that accompanied the gift is shown below, and in it he also offered his assistance to Marilyn as she was planning to make a tour of Japan and Korea; Marilyn's now legendary USO tour took place in February 1954.

Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe in 1952 (above), and Grant and his wife Betsy Drake visiting a hospital ward in Tokyo, Japan in early 1953 (below).

Via: bidsquare

Transcript:

Tuesday the 5th

Dear Marilyn:

This rather odd box, which seems to be a musical trinket box, was handed to Betsy and me by a young wounded soldier whom we met in a Tokyo hospital. He was eager, because you are his particular favorite (as you are, also, with all the other men), to send you some kind of token and, since this souvenir was all he had at hand, asked Betty and me to deliver it to you. We've been back from Japan over a month now but, as most of the things we accumulated in the Orient did not arrive until last week, this is my first opportunity to get this to you. The young man's name is

C'Pl. Charles L. Richards

and his address:

RA 17240737 Ward 22c
APO 1052
Tokyo Army Hospital Annex
c/o P.M. San Francisco
California

If you could send him an 8x10 photograph with the words "to Charles Richards with appreciation and every good wish, Marilyn Monroe" I am quite sure he would feel not only amply repaid but would be extremely happy.

If, as I read, you are contemplating making a tour of Japan and Korea perhaps I could be of help to you. Betsy and I, not being entertainers and therefore hesitant about appearing with a show, found that a tour of the hospitals throughout Japan was, because of the opportunity to personally reach and chat at the bedside of each wounded man, even more rewarding and helpful than our appearance on a stage might have been. Captain Walter A. Bouillet, in whose care you will probably be placed in Tokyo, is extremely efficient and conscientious in all matters concerned with either a hospital or an entertainment tour --- and, by the time we left, had become a close and dear friend for whose help and understanding we shall always be grateful. Do let me know if there is any information you need or if there is any way you think I can facilitate matters if you are planning to go. Knowing the great joy and pleasure you will bring all the men, whether wounded or not, I shall be happy to be of assistance. In practically every ward that Betsy and I visited you were, I am delighted to tell you, a happy and prevalent topic of conversation. "Monkey Business" had just been shown over there and my principal claim to fame, and their interest, seemed to be in the fact that I had made a picture with you; it helped our conversation at each bedside immeasurably. Do give my regards to Joe Di Maggio, Marilyn. Every fond wish to you,

Cary G.
(signed)

:My home telephone number is CR 50970

Joe Di Maggio, Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant on the set of "Monkey Business" in 1952 (above); Marilyn during her USO tour in Korea in February 1954 (below).

I can't do anything about the script

When producer David O. Selznick bought the film rights to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind in July 1936, he knew that transforming the book into a workable screenplay would be a helluva job. It was estimated that filming the entire 1,037-page novel would make a picture of about 168 hours long, so drastic cuts were necessary to get it down to a manageable size (without damaging the novel's key elements). To write the screenplay, Selznick first hired Jane Murfin with whom he had worked before on a few films, but he quickly fired her when he heard that Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist/screenwriter Sidney Howard was also available. 

So Howard was hired, and in February 1937 he submitted his first draft which was far too long with a running time of about six hours. Several editing sessions with Selznick followed, but Howard failed to deliver a script with an acceptable length. Consequently, more than a dozen other writers were brought in by Selznick to work on Howard's script, including Ben Hecht and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Selznick himself also worked on it). Their joint efforts resulted in a final screenplay that was close to Howard's original version (but apparently much shorter). In the end, Howard received sole screen credit for the screenplay and was also the only writer to be honoured with the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. (The Oscar was posthumous as 48-year-old Howard died tragically in a tractor accident at his farm in August 1939, before GWTW was released.)

From the very start, David Selznick wanted to involve GWTW's author Margaret Mitchell in the filmmaking process. He asked her repeatedly to work on the screenplay, but Mitchell refused and wanted nothing to do with it. She wanted nothing to do with the casting either or any other aspect of the production. Mitchell was, however, quite happy to meet with George Cukor (GWTW's first director), Sidney Howard or anyone else from Selznick's company, and she offered her assistance in bringing the filmmakers into contact with people who might be useful. (Atlanta historian Wilbur Kurtz and Mitchell's friend Susan Myrick were both hired by Selznick as technical advisers at Mitchell's suggestion.)

In the fall of 1936, plans were made for George Cukor, Sidney Howard and Katharine Brown (assistant to David Selznick) to visit Atlanta. To make sure that Howard knew about her attitude towards the film, Mitchell wrote to Katharine Brown on 17 November: "I hope you told Mr. Howard that I am not doing anything about the adaptation for I don't want him to come down here with a false impression". Brown wired back that Howard knew, so naturally Mitchell was quite upset when she received a letter from Howard asking her to help him with possible additional dialogue and to read his script. On 21 November 1936, Mitchell answered Howard's letter, saying there must have been a misunderstanding, that she wanted nothing to do with the script or the film. Mitchell listed several reasons for her refusal to cooperate, one of her biggest concerns being the people from Atlanta who would never forgive her if they didn't like the film and she had in some way been part of it ("You didn't write the book and you do not live here in Atlanta and if they do not like something then you will be excused").

Mitchell's letter to Howard is shown below and is one of the more than 300 letters written by Mitchell collected in The Scarlett Letters: The Making of the Film Gone With The Wind (edited by John Wiley, Jr.; October 2014).

Incidentally, Mitchell and Howard wrote several letters to each other but in the end they never met.

Mr. Sidney Howard

Tyringham, Massachusetts

Atlanta, Georgia

November 21, 1936

My dear Mr. Howard:

I was so pleased to have your letter and am happy to know that you are coming South. You were very kind to write me so many nice things about "Gone With the Wind" and I especially appreciated your remarks about the negro dialect which was just about the toughest job in the book. 

But my pleasure at your coming is somewhat dimmed by the fear that there has been a misunderstanding about my part in the production of "Gone With the Wind". I hasten to write to you for I would not have you come South under a misapprehension.

When I sold the book to the Selznick Company, I made it very plain that I would have nothing whatsoever to do with the picture, nothing about additional dialogue, nothing about advising on backgrounds, costumes, continuity. They offered me money to go to Hollywood to write additional dialogue, etc.  and I refused. I sold the book on that understanding. Not more than a week ago, I wrote Miss Katharine Brown of the Selznick Company and asked her if you were familiar with my attitude and she wired me that you were.

But now your letter arrives and I realize that they have not told you and I am very distressed about it. I still have no intentions of doing anything about additional dialogue or even looking at the script. There are many reasons for this and I will try to list them as briefly as possible.

In the first place it would do no good for me to look over the script- any more than looking over a Sanscrit grammar. I know just as much about Sanscrit as I do about writing for the movies. A script would mean nothing to me and it would take me weeks or months to figure it all out.

In the second place, I haven't the time. I never dreamed writing a book meant losing all privacy, leisure and chance to rest. Since July 1, I've averaged an engagement every forty minutes from nine in the morning till long after midnight. And, between these engagements, I've had to handle an enormous mail and try to see my family.

The third reason is this. I know it sounds like a silly one but it is an important one to me. If I even so much as looked over the script, without even passing judgment on it, and there was some small item in the finished production that incensed or annoyed the people of this section, then I'd get the blame for it. Southerners have been wonderful to my book and I am grateful indeed that they like it and are interested in the forthcoming picture. Not for worlds or for money would I put myself in the position where, if there was something they didn't like in the picture, they could say, "Well, you worked on the script. Why did you let this, that and the other get by?" I would never live it down and I could never explain that I really had nothing to do with the script. It won't matter to them if there is something in the movie they don't like that you may be responsible for. You didn't write the book and you do not live here in Atlanta and if they do not like something then you will be excused.

From the minute the news of the movie sale broke, I have been deviled by the press and the public for statements about who I wanted in the picture, who I wanted to do the adaptation, where I wanted it filmed. I have never opened my mouth on any of these subjects for it occurred to me that such statements would be the greatest presumption on my part as Mr. Selznick and you are most competent people and know how to produce good pictures. Moreover, having said I'd have nothing to do in any way with the production, I've published it in Ascalon and told it in Gath that I have no connection with the film of "Gone With the Wind." To be frank, I do not care who they put in it or where they film it. To be quite frank, I have all confidence in you and Mr. Cukor and Mr. Selznick so why should I rush about issuing statements to the press on matters that are none of my business?

I did tell Miss Brown that I would be only too happy to do this for her--that if she, or Mr. Cukor or you, came South I would do all I could in making contacts for you for finding new talent, for rounding up research workers and local historians who know what really went on down here in those days. I said I'd take her from Dalton to Milledgeville, showing her old entrenchments, old houses and introducing her to people in each town along the way to help her. That's going to be a tough assignment in itself. But I can't do anything about the script or about additional negro dialogue. I just can't. I'm too nearly crazy now with the load I'm carrying to even consider it, even should I want to do it.

I know this foregoing doesn't sound hospitable nor obliging! But I had to write it for I realized that the Selznick Company had not explained the situation to you and I was very upset at the thought of you coming all the way down here in the belief that I was going to be of any assistance on the picture beyond making contacts. 

May I tell you now, how sincerely happy I was when I heard that you were going to do the adaptation? I did so want the book to fall into good hands and was so pleased when it did!

Speaking of Civil War Monuments- you should see our Southern ones. I believe they were put out by the same company that put out the Northern ones. They are twice as ugly and three times as duck-legged!*


Note
*The last paragraph regarding Civil War Monuments is Mitchell's reaction to Howard's news that he had bought a farm in a village with a Civil War Monument.

At the premiere of GWTW with Margaret Mitchell (far left) and husband John Marsh, seated next to Clark Gable and wife Carole Lombard.


This post is part of  CMBA's Spring Blogathon "Words! Words! Words!" Click here for a list of all the wonderful entries.