cones» | = held the upper hand! rs JACQUES = COUSTEAU “25 USMY Ly i champion es FUR CT Behind the scenes of the ultimate war film aaa UN L@ LLCO) ata) a eenIssue 53 Grace Kelly’ final film saw her transition from Hollywood royalty toa realife princess. Was Cary On really sexist? We look backat the Seventies comedies toseeif women had the upper hand, ‘The Great Escape: Behind the scenes ofthe ultimate warfilm, How the multi-talented Danny Kaye used his fame to help others. Movie mogul Harry Cohn wasn't afraid to exploit hispower. lam your free Frank Sinatra CD. David Tomlinson: from English gent to Disney star, Remembering the pioneering work of explorer Jacques Cousteau. Patrica Neal and Gary Goopersloveaffairwas doomed to fail. Book your front row seat... Yours next on sale Sept 22 RIECa se ad ticeMello again... ll, Did You Eval? Iwas fascinated to twitter.com/retroyours 29 ; oo. errr a one tshopat Bb? ee eer Lau Yonstero eta. CL At nudons Tv text Sea ae Pte eg tec QO How did teen idotP ‘iter Cog Monde oda Ph inaoeeteste fn Pabel ee ae Sinatra signature tune? inate eee Seen 67 Your Reet obsessions — arsine ey, Sener seven films youcan watch again | sas and again, — Nagel Nee ating Hanger a0 av ep re ations 2 tttywoodstongest Son nthe png surviving marriages. at My 74 (Reitman Ot T4 tow steven spelberg got Hneneaserhanebeetramicctrnadenld hisstartin filmmaking. ‘Ser arn eco an Pde nk di cee 83 cutoutandkee = OD Cutoutandkeep ourfree —_suscernns vam cult fim poster, Barbarella SOUS Otho tewreec Yours ste tar : ai aaa coetrpey te en es ial ee a ea entered ssrtomtacormamneara nen aes enaeiannicana tates meee imeem tana Se ‘ep stntorayn pela oa senaay ea s Qrezit Sanna gat arg canoe Cine iraieotee Reeser etree air incre ane on avai er eg Set RETRO 3...1N & pool Sunset Boulevard (1950) Pack a towel and biki ee CEL] us 5 Coe ae eae eee pool scenes cinema has to offer. .. ati apeee nt cory amantin eeretr neers one ed to build the pool, used again in Rebel Without a Cause (1953). It's a Wonderful Life (1946 When George Bailey ames Stewart) takes Mary (Donna Reed) to the high-school dance the last thing they expected was to be plunged een neuen are ‘Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) SSSA EN ‘musicals’ featuring underwater ballet sequences. This biopic of ey Ce eee eo eae ces RETRO says: Esther nearly broke her back diving off the Soft tower during the Busby Berkeley fountain sequence. She damaged three See ee ens vertebrae and was ina body cast for seven months. Par eaten) gymnasium floor is real and stil in usei ‘The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) goes undercover to catch The Dee ad en ee eT and keeps tampering with his brakes, he twice ends up crashing his See ee Fe eee eke eet ea a ee ee ee eee ee near Laie ea cet Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has returned from college andis killing time in his parents’ pool. Director Mike Nichols later said all the images Ce eo COL eee ie ete ee oe eer scuba gear, complete with harpoon and flippers and proceeds to sit Gon . Pete erty) between houses, taking a dip in everyone's Pee Ee et ee ey the film Lancaster had afear of water. Ca ea eee Pee rer eereeeeen en ei Giese Phi kent The Great Gatsby (1974) DE ee Reread (Robert Redford). Expect music, flappers, champagne and excess. No one is surprised when Ce ene eee ets RETRO says: The male party goers were recruited Pano et eet ans ores eatersa he dreamy nuptials at the heart of MGM's lavish 1956 music: High Society, must have meant slightly more to ts star, Grace Kelly, than many realised, The film tells the tale of Rhode Island socialite, Tracy Lord (Kelly), whois in the last stages of preparing ‘towed the snobbish George Kittredge (John Lund). Against the backdrop of their opulent Newport estate and grounds, Tracy's last few days of singledom are interrupted by the arrival of reporter, Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie Celeste Holm), who are there to document the way the other halfllves for their gossip rag, Spy Magazine. Adding to this unwelcome invasion is Tracy's former husband, CK. Dexter-Haven Bing Crosby), who is making one last play for ‘Tracy’s heart with the help of his jazz-playing friends (Louis Armstrong and His Band). A remake of 1940 smash- hit The Philadelphia Story, the tale was given an all-new appeal courteny of Cole Porter, who supplied a score containing severalnumbers | that have since gone onto become standards in thelr own right including Who Wants to | beaMilionaire?, TrueLove,and | Youire Sensational When Grace Kelly had signed ontodo the im, she was arguably the biggest female star inHollywood. Arossa career spanningameretiveyears she | hadappearedinjustten films, | won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Git 1954), and had established herself | faa fashion icon and aepirational 5 es Hats NW GRACE KELLY | FRANK Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, who had three children, Prince Albert and Princesses Caroline and Stephanie. PETE Rainier followed her back to her family, before sweeping | her to New York, where on ee | “He's enormously sweet | and kind,” Kelly said atthe | time. “He's very shy but he's | also very strong. He wants a } close and loving family, just as ecm neces Lolo SINATEA person. And I love him.” 3» Soule) CELESTE HOUALJORNLUNDRainier purchased a10.47-carat ‘emerald-cut diamond engagement ring mounted in platinum from Cartier’s in New York and, on January 5,1956, the announcement ‘was made to the world that Grace Kelly was soon to transition from. Hollywood royalty to genuine royalty. MGM's publicity department were the first to capitalise on the announcement. They first declared that the entirety of Kelly’s stunning ‘wardrobe from her upcoming, production, High Society, would be hers to keep, along with a cash bonus and, asa special gift to their star, famed MGM designer Helen Rose was being commissioned to design and create a wedding dress for the ages. The resulting creation has since gone down in history as perhaps the most famous garment ever made, But despite such a happy event in her near future, the upcoming marriage to Rainier was also somewhat bittersweet to movie fans, As the wife of a head of state, Kelly was to assume the responsibilities expected of her, both to the government and to the citizens of Monaco. By marrying Rainier, Kelly was essentially saying goodbye to the acting career that had brought her such happiness and success. Top to bottom: Grace Kelly shows her mother the engagement ring given to het by Prince Rainier. Rainier charmed Grace's father John 8. Kelly and mother Margaret. The engaged couple atthe Kelly home.rer) Corea Sareea) meets ea at pears Cerone” Pore Perens eee eri) But before she was to embark upon this dazzling new chapter in life, there was the matter of High Society. Upon the announcement of their engagement, the public's fascination with the pair had ‘become frenzied. Media hounds followed them wherever they went, reporting on even the smallest incidents. MGM was delighted. Almost by accident, they had secured the services of the most famous woman in the world for her cinematic swansong, and they knew ‘that no matter how the filmitself turned out, they had a smash hit on their hands. Kelly's preparation for therole, in which she was to sing for the first. time ina film, were nothing short of hectic. Along with consultations about wardrobe and make-up, she also attended vocal training lessons, sat for interviews, began French lessons, met with Helen Rose for design meetings, sat with artists, musicians, chefs and hair stylists to talk about the wedding, and spent long hours with consular representatives from Monaco to discuss palace protocols. When we see Tracy Lord at the outset of High Society, flying from room to room and agitatedly ‘worrying about her wedding to Kittredge, itis easy to imagine that at least some of the visible stressis genuine, ‘The making of the film represented a passing of the torch in Kelly's life. MGM's extravagant production was almost a proving ground for the kind of life that she was about to experience. Bing Crosby as her romantic lead had notjust romanced her briefly in real life, but had also played an instrumental part in adding tothe drama of The Country Girl the film that had earned her the highest honour in Hollywood. For Sinatra'sCover star part, the film offered him the opportunity to perform alongside his childhood hero, Crosby. After production began, it was noted that the two stars did not actually have asong together in the film, and so the Well, Did You Evah! number was hastily imported from Porter's, 1939 show, DuBarry Was a Lady, and re-adapted to give the two men anow legendary duet, Rainier, who accompanied Kelly throughout the filming, must have been somewhat proud to see his prospective bride wearing his very own Cartier engagement ring for tthe film. In fact, the famed trinket is given its own dazzling close-up at one point. Even the story itself acted as a mirror image of Kelly's situation — the press intrusion and hunger for even the smallest details of her life, the loneliness that extravagance can bring, the wedding itself. But perhaps the fondest element of High Society was the capturing of Kelly's own joy at being in love. It was one of my most enjoyable experiences,” she said later. “Lwas in love, Iwas engaged, Iwas singing a song called True Love ~ it was wonderful... We had such fun making that picture, Maybe because I was about to leave Hollywood, [felt relaxed and could just let the character have her way. had been firm friends since her first appearance for him in 1954's Dial M For Murder. ‘Since her marriage to Prince Rainier, Hitchcock had publicly mourned the fact that Kelly was no longer available to star in his films, especially since he'd found the perfect property -the196Inovel, Marnie, by Winston Graham. ‘Onawhim Hitchcock had sent to Grace Kelly a very brief note lamenting the fact that he could not 0 OCTANE race Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock § _ = ~— Cee ey Cen Eee acne! This wistful joy, the feeling of being in love with being in love, is never more evident than in her big musical moment. Tracy and Haven, shown in the afterglow of their marriage in flashback, lie upon the deck of their yacht, the True Love, and softly sing Cole Porter's classic to one another. Kelly insisted upon singing herself, refusing to consider the idea of being dubbed. Itwasa wise move. While her voice isnot as powerful or as controlled as Crosby's it feels utterly genuine and heartfelt. Kelly's is the voice of true happiness. The song would go on to become million-seller, with, both Kelly and Crosby receiving, platinum records ~ the only timea platinum record was ever given to sitting royalty, as Grace Kelly had married by the time it was awarded. Despite many comparing the finished film in unfavourable cast her in the lead role. Two years later Grace plucked up the courage to broach the subject with her husband and was surprised to discover he was to the idea. ‘Word was sent to Hitchcock's office that Her Serene Highness would indeed be returning to Hollywood to play Marnie. The production was scheduled for the ‘summer of 1962 (when Hitchcock had finished on The Birds, 1963) and Grace's fee was $1 million, plus a percentage of the films profits.termsto the 1940 original upon which it was based, High Society was a guaranteed smash hit. It became MGM's highest grossing film of 1956, and the eighth highest grossing film in North America, sweeping back almost $6 million from box offices. “Miss Kelly impresses as the femme lead with pleasantly comedienne overtones. This isperhaps her most relaxed performance,” wrote Variety magazine of the picture. SATLING TOA NEW LIFE Production wrapped on March 83,1956, and Kelly remained in Hollywood to fulfil her professional duty as the previous year's Oscar winner. Tradition held that the Best Actress winner should always present the Best Actor award the following year and, on March 21, she did so, handing the golden statuette to Emest Borgnine for his performance in Marty (1955). ‘The following day she left the town that had made her name and headed east towards New York and beyond to begin her new life. “My real life began with my marriage,” she said later. ‘Sometimes, looking back after so many years, think I really hated Hollywood without knowing it Thad lots of acquaintances there, and people I enjoyed working Hitchcock was elated but post- production on The Birds was dragging on and, reluctantly, he agreed to postpone Marnie. He ‘wroteto the Rainier household, suggesting the film could be shot the following year, during their next annual American vacation. The response came in the form of a short statement which madeit clear that Princess Grace was withdrawing, fromthe film altogether. Despite the fact that the film's, ‘postponement had been of hisown with and learned a lot from. But Tfound a great deal of fear among people in Hollywood ~ fear of not succeeding, and fear of succeeding but then losing the success... And. Ididntt want to have to go along with all those illusions about youth when Iwas older’ Whileit is tempting to muse upon what could have been when it comes to the film career of Grace Kelly, itis also important toconsider that across an extraordinarily brief career, spanning just five years and Il movies, her star shone brighter than almost anyone's. Even her name today conjures images of elegance, beauty, sophistication and talent. High Society is perhaps the most fitting screen farewell to a true Hollywood princess ~ an extravagant, colourful, musical farewell that showed off her timeless skills as an actress, and acted almost as a preview of her subsequent life as princess in love. “The day we left New York, our ship was surrounded in fog,” she said, looking back upon the period. “And that's the way Ifelt ~ asf ‘were sailing off into the unknown. looked out into the fog, wondering, "What is going to happen to me? ‘What will this new life be like”. What sort of world was waiting for ‘me onthe other side of that fog?" doing, the news that she would nolonger consider starringin the project wounded Hitchcock deeply. ‘The real reasons for the ‘withdrawal were political rather ‘than personal. Rainier was under pressure from Charles De Gaulle of France to negotiate anew treaty orface economiclosses as well asits French-held water supply, electrical and telephone services. Princess Grace remained at her husband's side, putting to.an end her plans toreturn to the movies. GEORGE SEWELL Born: August 51, 1924, London, England Died: April 2, 2007, London, England Debut: The Conorete Jungle (1960) Screen credits: 109 Best known for: Colonel Alec Freeman in UFO (1970-71) ‘Where else have I seen him? He was cast in several cockney comedies such as Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) and played Field Marshal Haig in Oh ‘What a Lovely War on stage that year. He excelled in gritty social dramas such as This Sporting Life (1963) and tough erime films such as Get Carter (1971). His move to TV included a spell ‘as Det Insp Brogan in Z Cars (1966-67), DCI Alan Craven in Special Branch (1975-74) and as ‘Smiley's minder Mendel in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).News & views ‘This year is the 60th anniversary of the TV series The Saint, which first aired on October 4, 1962, How about doing a feature on the show that starred Roger Moore as Simon ‘Templar? Terry Christie, Sunderland Arare replica of You've got LETTERS+OPINIONS+DILEMMAS Tee ee Eee By PHONE: 01733 468000 CATCH IT NOW Iwas surprised to see in your article ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (issue ablack attaché case used by Sean Connery’s 007 in From Russia With Love sold at auction earlier this year for £20,000. One of only 100 models produced, the 51) that no mention was given tothe famous scene at the end of Now, Voyager (1942), where Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes and hands one to Bette Davis as she says, “Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. Norman Bell, London case mirrors the precise measurements and contents of the original prop used in the 1963 movie. 2 Laurence Olivier married 26-year-old Gone ‘With The Wind actress Vivien Leigh ina ceremony in Santa Barbara, California.™ Although Wagon Train was one of the longest running western. series, it was beaten by Bonanza (430 episodes), Death Valley Days (452) and the daddy of them all Gunsmoke (635). One bit of trivia missing from your Wagon Train feature (issue 51): in the episode directed by John Ford called The Colter Craven Story (1960) if you blink you'll miss General Sherman credited to Michael Morris - but do readers know who he was? Harry Willcox, by email m= Thave a fun question for my fellow Retro readers. If you could bring back one TV show from the past what would it be and in the reboot who ‘would you cast in the main roles? fa love to see that cosy show Mrs. Thursday resurrected. The original had Kathleen Harrison as Alice, but iffcould doaremake, Iwould cast Gillian Wright (Jean Slater from Eastenders) and, as her financial advisor, Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter or Brendan Coyle. Sid Gardner, by email a Ivery much enjoyed your recent special on Hitchcock. Would you consider doing another featuring Alan Ladd in the future? M. Stanton, Edgeware Retro says: We do have more specials planned for later this year and next. We'll certainly let readers know when they are available. Power versus Rathbone y WHATEVER HAPPENED TO.. lease can yourind out what happened tosinger John Leyton? My favourite song of his was Wild Wind, Celia Richards, Nottingham Esser-bor John studied drama atthe ‘Actors Workshop. To supplement his income he worked asa nightclub singer. Hisbig break came in 1960 playing Ginger in the TV series Bigaes, then the following year when, playing the part ‘of Johnny St. Cyrin the TV series Harpers. West ne, he performed the song Johnny eS = Remember Me. ANo recor followed ese two were always prompting John to puthis acting career dlsely matched when onold to pursue music Hisfllow-up ‘they fought on screen single Wild Wind peaked at No.2 but he and ou online poll feltmoreathome sanactor. wasno different. Partin The Great Ecape(1963) and Theswordsmen were Von Ryans Expres1965 followed and pany for parry in the lead in TV show Jericho (1967). ‘our search for the John’s most recent appearance ultimate fencer, was sir Edward Leisin the biopic but Basil Rathbone Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008), an just outweighed interesting piece of synchronicity asitasJoe Meek who ielpedhim getthe No.1hitRetrosoys:stherea thatlaunched his career. _ little-known star you'd like usto find out more about? Witetoaskusto find out what happened to yourfavouites. Es 437 young men applied to be part of the world’s first manufactured boy band, The Monkees. Three were chosen to join Brit Davy Jones. > redNews & views You've got PIM Ree Vu Tama relative of Florence Desmond and ‘would love to know more about her career. ‘Sharron Elkington, London Retro says: Florence was an actor, comedian and impersonator. She appear in several films including No Limit (1935) and Keep Your Seats, Please! (1936) with George Formby. In 1952 she appeared in a play called Apples of Eve. This plot involved amurder at a mental home and the ‘audience had to choose the criminal from arrolt call of suspects, all played by Florence. anna Dutnwasforatine the highest ald woman interes butheriewes enema with that of another young ingénue, Judy Garland, Decades later Jady remembered aen eras Deana wh ed Beata | er bcton yond 25, asbeen lag trgtien. VASSAR | ean dein, uy aon andthe Gen geo! sae meet" | Hollywood, author Melanie Gall tells how a 13-year-old girl PeinsceA | vated toworoidefome es the fi teenope peta y " reg eras (pala ogee ies foutemraete by Biche eT Vctteces Sasemeare as Seca ‘theillgotten gains ofthe local minal sangs. Gang ead Pealy'Gates (Peter Slr) finds staking severely {at nity he blames rival cook ‘Nervous'OToole (Berard bins), butwhenit emergesthat they are both bein scammed they forman ney alliance with Scrtland Yard Police Inspector ‘Nosey Parker (Lonel Jefties). In Edwardian England, 13-year-old cadet Ronnie Winslow s expelled ‘roma Naval academy overapetty theft, and is parents aise apolitical {uroreby demanding atrial. Starting Robert Donat, Cedi Hardwicke, Basil Radford, Margaret Leighton and Kathleen Harrison.SCREEN CHIC onvig 7 re J Peat eens MOVIE STYLE Serene a paired with ruby-encrusted slippers. Judy Garland ‘Adrian ‘When Cee eo cl is transformed andwe see herin aga Ce’ | deliberately low-key toemphasiseher Perio cece) ee Sees fod The dress, along with ll the Ce ee acad Pee eee nay (known simply as Adrian). Before settling on the design, which eee ee Cee ee ear) version and a blue one with puffed Pee ee ts eer ear Per re ier ac) ee ues Garland put in some hard work Seance itor id Pee meen Se cae | ed ees Cree cu cd Ce need i ry oy {ob was to get in eary inthe morning Ty See en Naty B 4 Se oes “National Museum i Rites Saeed Seca i eee ee ny ee fest ee er (4 paictheywere > > Sciisisitt it epee eee h ec 2 De eee eee Ce ae y + Pee eee bea 0 Pur. i ~*~ . thought to be lost, was discovered at EF RS [ees6 Cult TV 'n H.G. Wells’ classic 1897 novel abrilliant scientist is driven tomadnessand crime after making himself irreversibly invisible. The first film version, James Whale’s largely faithful 1933 adaptation, starred Claude Rains and was.a huge success. However, in ITC's 1958 TV series the villain ‘was reworked asa hero who finds himself working as an agent for British intelligence. Fast forward to 1975 and American producer Harve Bennett relocated the invisible British scientist-turned-agent concept tothe US. Still one of the good ‘guys, this new version ~ played by David McCallum ~ now works fora Pentagon-funded research ‘company. In addition, a brilliant plastic surgeon friend provides the hero with a realistic prosthetic face mask and contact lenses allowing him to appear to be visible. While this new conceit allowed the high-profile, former The Man from UNCLE, star some proper screen time, it also, ironically had disastrous consequences for the show in both practical and commercial terms. Contributing writer Steven E. de Souza recalled: "Alas, that version got quickly cancelled, because they ‘wrote themselves into a corner where, as with the Thirties movie, to work invisibly hed have to take off his sunglasses, hat and scarf and strip naked, but then as the story demanded he interact with people visibly, he'd have to either retrieve all that gear, or more often, steal clothing froma wash line or laundromat. It was very clunky.” ‘The Invisible Man was cancelled after one season but the network liked the concept enough to commission Bennett to create a pilot for a simpler ~ and crucially ~ cheaper version. Enter, laid-back all-American secret agent Sam Casey, played by former Alias Smith and Jones star|| Ben Murphy. Sam works for secret government research group, Intersect (International Security Techniques) alongside brilliant physicist Dr Abby Lawrence (Katherine Crawford) and their boss Leonard Driscoll (Richard Dysart in the pilot, William Sylvester in the series). Inthe feature-length pilot Code Name: Minus One, Intersect joins forces with a salvage company to retrieve acrashed Russian satellite from the ocean. Unknown to Driscoll and his team the other company has been infiltrated by enemy collaborators who intend to blow up the satellite — and agent Sam Casey, assigned as the last diver to check the recovery equipment has been declared collateral damage. Sam is caught in the explosion but unexpectedly survives, although the resulting radiation has turned him invisible. Abby discovers that hisDNA hasbeen altered, now generating a ‘field of invisibility’ that engulfs his body and any close object, including (conveniently) his clothes, but realises she must act fast, or her friend will die, She soon develops aDNA stabiliser that renders Sam visible ~ first asacumbersome arm-brace and then in miniature as an atomic-powered digital watch. She explains to Sam that he will remain visible while the watch is working itcan switch itoff and be invisible, but must not exceed. 1S minutes of invisibility per day or he will disappear for good. Meanwhile, upon. learning that Sam survived the explosion, the villains attempt to infiltrate Intersect > wrN Cult TV KNOW? Gen rcucnaement ce ee Secs aye eee nee a embroiled in boxing corruption Te SSS Stimetorracng foeccseeioe ae alight, fast-paced feel and doesn't APS AOaROOnRnE SEE HAT eanET Seen continuity and plausibility. The it, twas no good... the gimmicks closing credits clearly state thatit were not good. It wasn'ta good isbasedon HG, Wells'book,but _ series." However, Gemini Man was Gemini Man bearsno resemblance _ well enough received when the to the original story beyond the ‘complete series aired in the UK protagonist's special ability. tolead to official merchandise ‘While considerably cheaper than including a hard-cover annual. its direct predecessor, it was, like Although Ben Murphy's most allsci-fiTVstil quitecostlyand famous role remains Kid Curry this, along with poor ratingsledto _in Alias Smith and Jones (1971: cancellation after only five episodes 1973) Gemini Man was his first had aired. Star Ben Murphy'sown —_andonly solo star billing. The poor scathing conclusion was:"Let'sface reception of Gemini Man was a blow to Murphy's career, but he has continued to work asa character actor for decades with guest appearances in shows including Murder She Wrote, Fantasy Island and The Twilight Zone. In1981a bizarre, incoherent Gemini Man TV movie was released. The film combined two original episodes, Smithereens and Buffalo Bill Rides Again with some material from the pilot and additional footage of, ‘computers from a 1970 picture, Colossus: The Forbin Project. ‘The choice of episodes seems to have been largely inspired by the fact that both otherwise unrelated stories guest star singer Jim Stafford as friendly trucker Buffalo Bill - but strangely ignores other obvious continuity issues: Katherine Crawford's Abby isa major player in ‘Smithereens but does not appear in the second selection at all, while Ls William Sylvester's Driscoll was clean shaven in the earlier episode Le a OMRRRIMNE but had later grown a prominent moustache which he appears to Latha deal spontaneously sprout halfway through the movie. The film also ignores the fact that Driscoll is played by a different actor in the pilot film. 8SUBSCRIBE TO YOURS RETRO FOR JUST £3.80 A MONT Beirne ey CALL 01858 438884 and quote FIAA VISIT www.greatmagazines.co.uk/yoursretro Subscribe to Yours Retro for just £3.80 a month* pe IKON VM ACR (ties Cle wd POO eiconee eke m eee Wee eB L tt VAi Raene O'Sullivan as Tarzan and Jane (ef). Coen ener She was the convent- educated girl who caused public outrage by shedding her clothes to live in sin with an ape man; her daughter was the delicate beauty dogged by tragedy and controversy. JD Savage explores Maureen O'Sullivan and «| Farrow’ ‘srelationshi personal and professional ‘aureen O'Sullivan, vwasbornin 191 in the small Irish town ‘of Boyle in County Roscommon. She was educated in London convent school, where her best friend was Vivien Leigh, and discovered in a Dublin coffee shop, aged 18, by director Frank Borzage. Signed to 20th Century Fox for £3 week, she headed to Hollywood with a six-month contract in the days when the talkies were new. She was still there, aged 21, when she landed the role of Jane toJohnny Weissmuller's Tarzan. She's first (literally) swept off her feet by the monosyllabic ‘muscleman in Tarzan the Ape ‘Man (1932). They spend the night alone in his treetop home ~ except for Tarzan’s pet chimp Cheetah, who'd outlive both stars and hated O'Sullivan, spitting at her during their shared scenes. The feeling ‘was mutual. Beset by aches and pains and bitten by apes, sheid never been ‘more miserable — but stayed on for five more Tarzan films, Atleast the duo never got close to areal jungle: their safari habitat was on MGM's Hollywood backlot. By the second outing, she'd ‘swapped her civilian clothes for scanty, leather, thigh-revealing ‘two-piece, prompting a public furore. Thousands of women wrote letters of complaint. But the most troubled Tarzan movie was the third, Tarzan Escapes (1936). ‘According to Hollywood lore, gruesome scenes of Tarzan fighting giant vampire bats shocked viewers ‘ata public screening. The studio ordered much of the movie to be reshot, delaying its release fora year. Screenwriter and director ‘John Farrow was among those brought in to salvage it. He and O'Sullivan had first met and dated. in 1931; this time, they fell in love and married. O'Sullivan hada parallel, ape-free career playing well-bred English Jadiesin films including David Copperfield (1935) and Pride and. Prejudice (1940). She was also the romantic lead in 1937's Marx Brothers comedy classic A Day at the Races. In1942 she retired fora time to raise her growing brood of children, the third of which, born in 1945, was Mia Farrow. Farrow described her asa terrific imaginative rather than conventional mother. She proved limitless source of fantastic stories about banshees, fairies and stones with uncanny powers — but played little part in child-rearing’s more practical aspects. The children lived in a separate part of the house and alwayshad a couple of nannies attending to them. Farrow’s charmed Hollywood childhood ended aged nine when, struck by polio, she was taken from her parents toa hospital's isolation unit. She recovered, but bigger blows followed. Older brother Michael, one of six siblings, was killed, aged 19, in aplane crash in 1958 and her heavy- drinking, philandering father died suddenly in January 1963. >= nConnections Ona movie set visit when, she was three years old, John Wayne picked Mia up and sat her on a tall chai. He promptly forgot about her, leaving her unable to ‘get down while needing the tollet. The experience didn't ut her off the business, however. She wanted formal drama training, but her father forbadeit, having “never meta happy actress’. ‘After his death, his lonely widow threw herself into ‘work. When Farrow visited her in New York, O'Sullivan ‘was starring ina Broadway smash, Never Too Late. She was enthralled by her mother's toast-of-the-town lifestyle of restaurants, parties and star-packed dressing rooms, She wanted in and landed the role of Cecily ina production of The Importance of Being Earnest that opened during, anewspaper strike. There ‘were no print reviews, but Vivien Leigh attended and ‘enthused far and wide about Farrow's talent. This reached Fox, who signed her for the TV series Peyton Place, which saw Farrow roller-skating between sound stages and amassing invaluable acting-for- ‘camera experience Her breakout movie was 1968 horror Rosemary's Baby, playing anervy newlywed convinced that her husband and neighbours have sinister plans for her unborn child, Now a dream movie career was on offer, but Farrow retreated to the Himalayas with sister Prudence, initially seeking peace instead. The calm of meditation sessions with swami, the Maharishi, was shattered when The Beatles arrived, along with inevitable press photographers. Her sibling inspired their classic song Dear Prudence, John Lennon later said 2 UN iW the 20-year-old had gone “berserk”, locking herself in her hut. The song entices her to“come out to. play”. Meanwhile, Mia accused the Maharishi of hitting on her, causing both siblings and The Beatles to leave in disgust, and inspiring another Beatles track, Sexy Sadie (originally titled Maharishi). Future movie roles for Mia included playing opposite Robert Redford in 1974's The Great Gatsby and joining the star-studded cast of Death on the Nile (1978). ‘Shed been married ~ first to Frank Sinatra (he was 50, she was 21), then Andre Previn ~ and divorced twice when she started dating ‘Woody Allen in 1980. She became the director's muse, acting in 13 of his. films, beginning with A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy in 1982, For his dark romantic comedy, Hannah and her Sisters (1986), Maureen 0'Sulivan {and John Farrow's ‘growing family (Ve, Maureen with Mia Farrow (below and Allen cast O'Sullivan to play the mother of Mia's title character. He shot the movie in the actual Central Park apartment the mother and daughter shared, (His own, apartment faced theirs; heand Mia would chat while flapping towels over their balconies) He cast O'Sullivan as Farrow's mother again in 1987's September. But after wrapping, he reshot the film replacing her and other actors, upsetting the veteran star. Farrow and Allen broke up scandalously in 1992 after Allen romanced their 21-year-old, adopted daughter. O'Sullivan publicly supported Farrow, calling Allen a desperate and evil man. She died, aged 87, in 1998. Meanwhile, Farrow declared that rearing children was now her life's ‘work. By 1995, she had 14, a blend. of biological (three from Previn, one from Allen) and adopted ~ but adopted son Moses recently blogged that it was a deeply dysfunctional and abusive household. Controversy seemed to stalk this, Hollywood family like a hungry predator in Tarzan's jungle,Front row he 14th of Republic's 66 serials, Daredevils ofthe Red Circle was, for me, very much ike The Green Archer and King of the Rocket Men, but without the titular characters. It was released in June 1939, a year before Archer and a decade before Rocket Men, but when I first saw it in 1970 I felt as though I been served warmed-up leftovers. The main setting, the mansion of multimillionaire Horace Granville, ‘was almost as spooky as Garr Castle (in Archen with its secret passages and underground bunkers. There ‘was also a mysterious, cloaked figure leaving secret messages, and an evil mastermind who planned his nefarious activities ~ abduction, murder and sabotage ~ ina sealed-off room. Asin Rocket Men, the villains turned every modern development - cars, radios, electricity - into a weapon, and there was an array of labs and factories to blow up, But this is to do Daredevils an Injustice. Forit was one of the few Republic serials that was not based on ‘a novel, comic-strip or radio series and its plot inspired other serials rather than copied them. It was also one of the most expensive, with a budget lf $126,855 — and it showed. The sets ‘were convincing, the outdoor locations authentic, the special effects first-rate, and the fight scenes, of which there were plenty, were well executed with skilful acrobatics by actors who had ‘once been stuntmen, The first chapter, The Monstrous Plot, took almost 28 minutes to set up the story, which had a convicted felon Hatty CCrowel escape from Folsom Prison to pursue a vendetta against Granville and the DA, whose testimony had put him away. Crowel was played by the sinisterlooking Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials) Playing Granville was British actor Miles Mander, adept at unctuous and pper-crust characters. Crowel locks Granville in an underground cell and, using a convincing mask, eC Ua Impersonates him and destroys his business empire. This includes an amusement park, where we first meet the Daredevils Gene (Charles Quigley), Tiny (Herman ix) and Bert (David Sharpe). They are performing a high-diving stunt ‘when Crowel’s henchmen set the park ablaze, leading to the death of Gene's little brother Sammy. Seeking revenge, they offer their services to Grarwille ~ lunaware he is an imposter. The next 11 chapters follow Crowel’s attempts to keep his secret, kill the Daredevils, and destroy everything Granville owns. rowel seems to have easily bribed ‘many of Granville employees to turn against him, so I felt little sympathy for ‘the empire-builder. But when Crowel tries to bump off the Daredevils'loyal Border Collie Tuffie, and puts the life of Grarwille’s lovely granddaughter Blanche (under-utilised Carole Landis) inpperl, we are happy to let the action carry us along and for Crowel to be unmasked. | hada shrewd idea who the mysterious messenger was and who would do the unmasking ~ but waiting to see i was right was part of the fun.bikini top was connected toa fishing line to yank it offat the right moment. Author Caroline Frost re-examines the iconic comedy franchise to explain why the series was never sexist, whatever its critics may say — and why we need these films more than ever! 24 RETROnd fling and in, and fling and in, and fl. Doiiiiiinng. That ‘moment in 1969's Carry On Camping ‘when Barbara Windsor enthusiastically joined inan outdoor PE session only tolose her upstairs underwear and see it fly through the air to land on Kenneth Williams’ horrified face, is surely one of the most memorable in British comedy film history. It’s hard to know who was the most shocked — Barbara herself, the indignant but protective Miss Haggard played by Hattie Jacques or the shrieking Doctor Soaper played by Williams. Or, of course, the generation of British men for whom it afforded an early glimpse of big-screen nudity, albeit only as much as the disapproving British film censor would allow at the time. While the scene will always raise a fond smile among that now older generation of chaps and a chuckle among the wider audience, it will also serve | as strong evidence for many. modern-day critics that the Carry | On franchise asa whole offered nothing more than a catalogue of saucy romps, with their female stars only there to be objectified onscreen by their male counterparts, and exploited off screen by their male producers. ‘Onthe eve of our first Covid lockdown two years ago, Twas commissioned to write a book | about the films to mark the 30th anniversary of the series! final outing in 1992's CarryOn 7 Columbus. By way of research, 9 Ispent those first strange {| months of 2020 bunkered down with only the box set of 31 films for company, very ready to take offence at any casual racism, p>exploitation and, especially, sexism. that I spotted along the way. Except that's not what I spotted, Ofcourse, bearing in mind the era in which the films were made and the simple family-friendly plots they followed, their female characters, like their menfolk, were often comedy stereotypes, ranging from beautiful but dim with clothes liable tofly off, to terrifying matriarchs armed with an invisible rolling pin. During the early days of the series in the Fifties, with scripts inspired by male-dominated institutions such as the Army and the Police Force, female characters were nevertheless given the chance to shine in the Carry Onsina way ‘you didn't always see elsewhere, ‘And as early as 1960's Carry On Constable, Hattie Jacques’ wry Sergeant Laura Moon could have been speaking forallot of us when she wondered aloud, “Strange, don't ‘you think, that the only efficient rookieisa woman?" By the Sixties, society was changing, women were no longer prepared to stay at home and cook their husbands’ dinners, and new writer Talbot Rothwell embraced this evolution from his very first scripts. Carry On Jack (1964) saw lead actress Juliet Mills disguise herself asa midshipman tojump 2% ee Ponce euonrien Peeters are tay rons Picomney cero Pernt On Jack; Barbara rien Dale in Carry On ronnie meer on board and rescue her lost love, while Carry On Cabby (1963) was surprisingly feminist in its outlook. ‘We saw Pegay Jacques) fed up with waiting for her cab driver partner Charlie (Sid James) to come home; instead, she set up her own rival cab firm where her girls used their brains and their smiles to steal his customers away. Lookaat the talents of the leading ladies of the series — Hattie, Barbara and Joan Sims ~ all fine actresses with huge amounts of theatre and screen experience to their names, and delight and pride in the range of characters they got to play; from romance-filled yearning young ladies to sassy older women full of sportand smiles. Joan's favourite film Carry On Up the Khyber (1968) saw her Lady Ruff-Diamond all too happy to betray the Empire fora turn with the Khasi, and nobody ever got the better of Hattie, particularly when she had a daffodil inher hand for the most successful film of the whole series Carry On Nurse (1959). While later, Windsor’s ‘Nurse Sandra May caused a storm in Carry On Doctor (1967) admiring that “lovely looking pear" ~ not the object of the joke as so many mis-remember it, but actually making it herself. Itmust be said that the spoof titles among the series’ golden age of the mid-Sixties — from Spying and Cleo (both 1964) to Screaming (1966) and Cowboy (1965) ~ saw thefemale roles reduced because the genres they were sending up were in themselves male-dominated, Even here, though, Carry On found space forthem to express themselves far ‘more than the original films did, ‘Barbara always remembered her complicated dance for Carry On Henry (1971) as her finest moment, while Joan relished her chance to play Wild West saloon diva Belle in Carry On Cowboy. The actress remembered, “Iwas living out a lot of fantasies.” ‘The later films revealed even, ‘more strength in their womenfolk, In1970s Carry On Up the Jungle, the all-female Lubby-Dubby tribe from the Lost World of Aphrodisia quite literally saved the skins of those ‘men around them, led by Leda, played by a dazzling Valerie Leon. Valerie is one of the series’ female stars quick to reject any notion that, the females of Carry On, either on. or off screen, were ever mistreated. Exploited? Never, she told me. Valerie, who appeared in six Carry On films as well asbeing a Bond girl, revealed she remembered nothing but equality in the way cast and crew were treated, She said, “Iwas treated very well. Isawno difference in my experience.” ‘And theactress stil laughs today atthe story of how she forgot her purse at a petrol station one day onthe way tothe studios. “The next day all the newspapers were full of it, ‘Vals big bust up at the garage: Tenjoyed the whole thing enormously. It changed my life.” Sally Geeson, who appeared in ‘two of the later titles Girls (1973) and Abroad (1972), also described being on set as “an atmosphere of total respect and equality”, while Barbara famously held her ‘own even with the series’ chief executive, tireless producer Peter Rogers. On theset of Camping, she was overhead accusing him of having “hisarse in the marmalade” of the comfort of his Rolls-Royce, while she and other cast members wiped the mud down from their cold bodies in the decidedly unglamorous Pinewood Studios car park. Barbara later received a surprise gift of a Fortnum & Mason hamper full of marmalade - no sender'snameattached. Inan interview in the late- Nineties, Windsor was equally dismissive about the idea of the films’ female characters ever being taken advantage of. “The ladies in Carry On would always push the men away,” she said. “They never actually got there! They {the films} ‘were very moral actually.” LADIES SAVE THE DAY Inthe popular hospital titles, the central theme running through all the different storylines was that the nurses are paida lot less than, and often patronised by, their male colleagues who invariably end up tying themselves up in their stethoscopes while the nurses get on with running the wards, all under Matron‘s all-seeing eye. Just as we saw in Carry On Cabby, the hospital's female characters ‘were often left to save the day after the antics of their harmless but hapless menfolk threatened to ‘cause chaos. ‘There are hardworking nurses ‘even now who believe that Barbara ‘Windsor, giggling and flirting inher tiny nurse's uniform, did their profession no favours, but Idontt believe this really stands up toscrutiny. Despite her conspiratorial iggle whenever agentleman of ¢ " any age tipped her the wink,In focus no male character ever succeeded. in forcing her todo anything she didn't want to, Her character in Carry On Again Doctor (1968), ‘model Goldie Locks, informed an infatuated young Doctor Nookey (Jim Dale) that she didn't want him working to support her. Similarly in Carry On Girls, when a chap offered to fix the beauty pageant forher, she was having none of it, rewving off instead on her own, tiny motorbike. As early as 1959, in Carry (On Teacher, Hattie Jacques told us, “Mischief is a form of self-expression.” In that light, let's take a more informed look from the perspective of 2022 at that bra-pinging scene in Carry (On Camping, Although her tiny form and sweet face always made her seem younger, Barbara was in fact 31 by the time she filmed her famous exercise scene, and well in on the joke, something the audience at the time would have realised. On sereen, the ever-protective Hattie ‘Jacques was only a few short, steps away and swift to cover her up, while her admirers Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw could only spectate from the confines of their Zipped-up tent. In fact, the only person experiencing any real horror ‘was, of course, poor Doctor Soaper. errs re) Peer ren ecards Matron is having none of it oer rea Ce oe ea? Barbara Windsor recounted afterwards the battles between the producers and the British Film Censor. Ultimately, even the censor realised the harmlessness of the piece, reflecting, “Idon't think Miss Windsor's right boobis going to corrupt the nation.” Watching all the films again in 2022, itis clear that, much like her underwear on that cold, muddy campsite, neither Barbara nor her fellow female Carry On stars can be easily pinned down. COED ars Matron) Five examples of when ladies triumph in the world of Carry On... CARRY ON NURSE (1958) The series'first hospital title, Carry On "Nurse shows how lowly-pald,patronised nurses run the wards, support snooty male seniors and tolerate iascible patients. However, they ae protected by Hattie Jacques inher first tum as Matron, and she turns blind eye when they took sweet revenge onone troublesome fellow... with daffodil. CARRY ON CABBY (1963) Hattie is never better than inher ole of Peggy Sid's devoted partner whois also anaspiring entrepreneur who launches her own rival ab firm, where her girls tse their witsas well as their wiles to lure customers away. CARRY ON FOLLOW THAT CAMEL (1967) Although Phil Sivers' treatment of Joan ‘Sims inthis mid-series ttle sess than gallant, she gets her wm back, while Angela Douglas fares better as Lady ane Ponsonby, brushing off the attentions cof would-be suitorson herlong solitary journey to find her lost love. Angela Taughed ater Carry On characters’ frequent faux innocence, “Anything smutty that got sald around me would jst runoff” ‘CARRY ON UP THE JUNGLE (1970) Valerie Leon brings Bond girl levels of glamour toher role of Leda, chief ofthe all female Lubby-Dubby tribe from the Last World of Aphrodisia, charged with saving the lives of the quivering menfolk around them, Valerie sald of the fim, “liked havinga part where I could bein charge’ CARRY ON GIRLS (1973) This later title about a seaside beauty pageant full to bursting with strong female characters, from Joan’shotel landlady to June Whitfield protest leader and Patsy Rowland, the Mayors picked-on wife turned campaigner. When Barbara's admirer Sid offers to fix the contest for her, shes having none oft." win this on my ‘own or won't doit Bravo. ene Rare ony Cot ttt nr eoctr) to the Bottom of Britain’ Favourite Comedy Films, published by Pe esa teary Oe eee Sed Ceca ema error Pee one Reet tal purchasing through the Pen & Sword website: Soe asAc ose the poorest material. Today Iconsider my salary as damages sed Puerco kr ets 4 complete lack of qu:Scandal veracentury since the height of his fame, Harry Houdiniis still regarded. as the world’s greatest escapologist. Put him in a pair of handcuffs or a straitjacket and he'd be free in minutes. He got so good he had to keep adding new challenges: he'd be handcuffed and ina straitjacket, but also suspended high above a city street, or locked in a milk churn, or trapped in a large wooden box that was then tossed into a raging river. Every time, Houdini got out -it might have taken him more thana few minutes for those complicated escapes, but escape he did. Hungarian-born Houdini was famous as a magician and escape artist in the first two decades of the 20th century. In the years after the Great War, he took on a second career as a ghostbuster’, debunking fake spiritualists across America ‘The death tollof the war and the Spanish flu created an opening for frauds who claimed to put those still living in touch with the dead. Spiritualism was big business, but Houdini set out to take down the fakers, expose the frauds, and use his magic trick techniques to reveal their illusions, Houdini did not work alone. Brooklyn-born Rose Mackenbery headed up Houdini's team of ‘ghostbusters’ Mackenberg had been alegal secretary who once believed in spiritualism. Caught up in acaseerry involving investment losses where | etahasehorhaad psychic had been an advise aL) Mackenbergcontacted Houdini ga who was making a name for himself PeWEIA RIE inhis campaign against fake Pern ane mediums. Houdiniwastaken with [Rag Mackenberg, impressed by her logic | AUpaaDaaaa and quick wit. Houdini hired her to head uphispsychicinvestisation aaa unit his own secret service’. Among the team members were Houdini's niece Julia Sawyer anda showgitl ‘named Alberta Chapman, as well as Weird Tales pulp writer Clifford M.Eddy, Jr. and fellow escape artist Robert H.Gysel Mackenberg and the team would ariveina city ahead of Houdinis tour dates, and infiltrate the local spiritualist operation, gathering evidence of fraudulent activities involving spirit voices, table tipping and mind reading Often, Mackenberg's first stop was local department store to piek up suitable clothing. The undercover detective was a master of disguise, adopting such personasas‘rural. 3Scandal schoolmarm, ‘small town matron’, or smartly garbed widow’ to gain the psychic’s trust. Mackenberg would pretend tobe grieving for a child ora husband and contacta self: proclaimed medium to arrange aséance. Often, she would hide her identity using false names like France Raud’ (an in-joke, ‘FRaud), When Houdini arrived, he'd co-ordinate the theatrical coup-de-grace, exposing the fakers during his stage performances. Debunking fake psychics could be dangerous. Houdini carried a derringer pistol and recommended Mackenberg do the same~ she respectfully declined. During her two years working ‘with Houdini, Mackenberg encountered more than 300 psychics and mediums and ‘obtained so many ordinations from fake spiritualist churches that Houdini's team nicknamed her ‘the Rev’ One case involved the manipulative medium Charles Gunsolas. In Indianapolis Mackenberg pretended to be a bereaved mother. She approached Gunsolas who introduced his ‘80-year-old spirit guide’ and his‘spirit wife’ Ella. For $25 Gunsolas promised he could reach the afterlife and check up on her (non-existent) baby. Mackenberg wrote detailed reports of each encounter with spiritualists for Houdini. When he reached Indianapolis, he sent free tickets tothe show to Gunsolas, then presented Mackenberg's evidence and denounced him from the stage. Gunsolas fled the theatre to the sound of the audience's jeers. In 1926, the same year Houdini died, aged just 52, Mackenberg, then 34, testified alongside the magician before Congress as lawmakers contemplated outlawing fortune telling. She was the star witness, dubbed ‘Houdini's 3 Mysterious Girl Detective’ by the press. She shared her tales of fake mediums, fraudulent psychics, and other dodgy spiritualists, According to Mackenberg, the hearings (dubbed ‘uproarious’ by the Washington Post) were “filled with near riots, a welter of conflicting testimony, shouted objections, muttered oaths, [and] copious tears”. She doubted the Jaw would pass, as she explained several Congressmen and Senators, were among the clients of the fake fortune tellers. Mackenberg claimed that “table-tipping séances were being held in the White House with President Coolidge and his family". Mackenberg was correct ~ the bill failed to pass, but she'd been given astage to spread the message about the world of fake fortune tellers. After Houdini’ untimely death, Rose Mackenberg continued as his personally appointed ‘ghostbuster’, ending her investigative talents to police departments, insurance ‘companies, newspapers, and others tb shows how fake mediums can use bells in séances (above) Bess fll to make Pare tme teers ta pairenntreeetarseeerestcotr across the US. She toured, lecturing, on how to spot a fraud. ‘The media dubbed Mackenberg ‘the spooky spy’.in 1932, it ‘was estimated that 30 million Americans were duped every year by hoax séances, numerological scams, and fortune-telling fakers, ata cost of $125 million. By 1945, Mackenberg was working with ‘The Chicago Tribune to expose that city’s spiritualist underworld. Following the Second World, ‘War, there was anew boom in. spiritualism, so Mackenberg was kept busy busting fakes, lamenting that “no number of exposures seem to shake the faith of believers’ Before his death, Houdini shared secret code words with close friends (including his wife, Bess) and trusted colleagues that he would use to verify it was really him if he was able to ‘reach out'from beyond the grave. Almost 20 years after the great escapologist failed to escape death, ‘Mackenberg reported that "his message has not come through’. Mackenberg died in 1968, aged 75, having lived most of her life in the same Manhattan apartment. Shed madea point of always havingher rooms well-lit, saying she was tired of spending her life in the dark, outing phantoms and fakers.“In 30 years of searching,” said Mackenberg, “ve never found solid evidence.Hello Dolly! (1969) is one of Hollywood's most lavish and costly musicals. Matchmaker Dolly Levi (TTC Re Un Eset ERTL SOT eeu gle OU A eE CU CCST TAT | a ike T baa ad ” polly hol Eo LeaET r bo Pao oc BS : ~ ) 4 , oad yt Pe ee ers . bitterly throughout filming tothe extent \ DL er Loe ty 4 script demanded. He is famously quoted as telling Barbra that she, “had no more talent Por Cee) (Crawford visited a racetrack and saw ahorse named Hello Dolly. Crawford placed abet ‘and the horse won. Annoyed, Matthau barely spoke to Crawford forthe rst ofthe shoot.SO rane re Cee aed directors, several hundred make-up artists Se ee ‘watering stations and five fist aid stations. oto eer ete’ ‘musical ever produced atthe time. Despite being the fourth-highest grossing film (of 1969 (earning $33.2 million), the film’s Parent ere aay Poy ener ites { This was Louis Armstrong's final film. 1 Hewasonly on set for half day, and 1 filmed al his shotsin one take. “The Disney Pixar film WALL-E one eee oe) Peery cs es - Ree yy ote eo uae i 40Ibs and cost $8,000. The 2ft train she's seen Serre ng = ‘removed after she and other dancers tripped on recurs Michael Crawford auditioned for the role of Cornelius Hackl for director ae eee Gone Kelly, but was pesca pyar hc amontageseque his idol that he kept these ‘messing up the dance (0369 The mate steps. However, Kelly lass windows in the confirmed he'd got background ofthe Scr pan Sind iene Harmonia Gardens we're looking for is Seay an attractive idiot. risitefaea Sole My wife thinks you're ofthe S$ Poseidon attractive, and I think in The Poseidon you're an idiot!” Advenate(1972). 5Behind the music Acrooner who could have been a serious OTTUTTTTR ee NISL though much-loved [J Clarkand Adeler dance bandand _[M the popular press regarding him crooner Al Bowily i toured Africa, India and the Dutch [if as, “Bing Crosby's most dangerous died tragically in 1941 [iM Fast Indies rival". He was mobbed by female at the age of only 42, Eventually making hisway to [J autograph hunters, and constantly itfeelsas though he has never [| Germany, Al appeared on several [J in demand for engagements in leftus. Thesongshe recorded iM instrumental recordings, but it London, for tours of Britain, the on shellac — almost 1,000 of ‘was not until 1927 thathe featured J Continent and Australia, and them—havebeentransferred [J asa vocalist. His renditions of for studio recordings. Between tovvinyl, cassette and CD, Irving Berlin's Blue Skies and Jo [J 1931 and 1933 he even appeared covered by artistes the world [| Trentand Peter DeRose’s Muddy [J (briefly) in six films. In 1984 he over, played regularly on radio, MJ Water, recorded in Berlin,earned J became the first popular singer to and featured in movies and TV_[ him an invitation from London to [ff be given solo airtime on BBC radio, series, while YouTube is awash [join Fred Elizalde’s orchestra at the fl performing his future hit The Very with uploads from his millions [J Savoy Hotel. Thought of You of fans. He was also the first tobe Ironically although he RECORDING STAR invited to workin the USA, where sounded as English asany of his [fj From July 1928 onwards, Al he got tomeet his idol, Bing Crosby contemporaries,he wasborn fl divided histime between touring [J - whom in 1936 he overtookiin on January’, 1898in Lourenco [| with small combos, singing vocal _ J the popularity polls. But that Marques, Portuguese East Africa ij refrains for Britain's foremost Novemberhe suddenly decided to (now Maputo, Mozambique), dance bands — regularly broadcast [if return to England, claiming he was toaLebanese mother anda over BBC radio — and making bona fll homesick It has been suggested, Greek father who eventually fide studio recordings that were ff however, that he fell foulof the settled in Johannesburg. Their [J released.as76rpmsingleson all ff mobither through gambling English-soundingsurnameis J themajor record labels debts or because he posed athreat acorruption of theGreckname [J] Butit’sforhis association tocertain home-grown crooners "Pauli or Pavlos. Along with ‘with Ray Noble ~ in-house Onhis return to the UK, he his ten siblings, hehad good musical director for HMV—from fl found that Sam Browne was music teachers atschooland fj November 1930 up to late 1936 that [J now the nation’s favourite male became ‘music mad, Later, Alisbest remembered. Among vocalist. In March 1937, with his working asabarber,he learned if their earliest recordings were younger brother Michael, a pianist toplay thebanjo, ukulele, jazz. fl Goodnight, Sweetheart and Love and arranger, he began fronting guitarand concertina, and sang [fis the Sweetest Thing, which have [J his own swingband, the Radio tohis customers. At the age deservedly become classics City Rhythm Makers, Shortly of 23 ‘the singing barber’ was Asavocalstylist Alwas streets fl afterwards, however, Alwas invited tojoin the prestigious [J ahead of his contemporaries, with [J diagnosed with polyps on his vocal 36 RETROcords, the removal of which would require an expensive operation in America, Although the surgery was successful, his voice thereafter was deeper and had less range. ‘Nevertheless, he was soon back to recording and broadcasting, as well as touring Billy Butlin's holiday ‘camps. But Al had been eclipsed by Joe Loss’ singer, Chick Henderson, and further hints of his waning popularity came when his name ‘was misspelt in newspaper reports and his recordings were shelved, In 1939 his voice started to fail again and over the next year would be reduced to a whisper. Worse still he advent of warled to the big dance bands breaking up as ‘members left to join the military. ‘Toearn his daily bread, Al formed aduet with fellow-Greek Jimmy Mesene. As The Radio Stars with ‘Two Guitars, they toured the length and breadth of the country entertaining the troops. His last recordings, with Jim Mesene on April 2, 1941, were presciently entitled When That Man is Dead and Gone and Nicky the Greek (Has Gone) ‘One of his best-loved songs, Goodnight, Sweetheart, ‘was featured in 1967 in the cult StarTrek episode, Ur oe ed version using an unknown studio singer and tweaked ere erty CC et tr] eos eo Bing Crosby (above) in the mid-Thirties. The night of April 16 saw one of the biggest air-raids of the Blitz —but, instead of taking shelter, Alstayed inhis flat in Duke Street, just off Piccadilly, where he was killed by abomb blast. Althe Greek may indeed have gone, but as Melody Maker reported ints tribute eight days later, destiny in the world was to charm people with his voice". Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, he is still doing that today. ‘While touring Africa, India andthe Far East, bandleader Cree eer eed ecmee eer cnr) Pe ee ee tet) a knuckleduster in his suitcase and in Calcutta broke the enon ortshopwithus! ¢y ints recommends www.yours.co.uk/shopping ‘SHOPPING Princess Diana Limited Edition Collectables Products Sferebleserve v Delvery straight to your door Yours customer ‘are helpline v Reputable &trustworthy The ife and Times of Princess Diana Commemorating 25 yearssince the passing ofthe People'sPrncess, this Royalty collectable features intricate gold fil flower design around a portraitof Lady Di Single Postmarked ‘at lthorp, Northampton 31.08.2022 where she was aid torest. : ®@ Princess Diana 1961-1997 ONLY £10.95 rt) PLUS Fab EDITION La OF 250 yoda Tos Dimcomeentetee PORSA Diana Charles Signed Christmas Card | £1,995 lf — ay ADD P+P £7,50(UK) £9.95 (WORLDWIDE) PER ORDER| £ — - Tole $ [Pleas send together to save postage My details Te ntl __ surname Adress rs fe | : Front a i Royalty Christmas Card genuinely hand signed from Princess Diana & Prince Charles image in card may Pasteode malades Payment Mlendoses crossed cheque fof mae payable to nteret Stamps Group Li wit ourrarie aaesand ofr cade DIANAZS on ‘hebackotyourchequel ordebitmy: or ‘wai qe differ dependingon the year: 1983 87 & 88 avalabe) ion ee ites Lt 1) | How to order... Signoture By phone: lqorecne By POSt: send the coupon (left to: ‘gph iegnea tecalpt C pwithste d i See Crane ou top entat'n weet weyers. yao ‘hts harem tren ca carb sien one so coo fat (emer etn 01303 278137 "| Secretion Online: www.buckinghamcovers.com/diana25 Ses thugs aseonep eZee deWe all remember the excitement and anticipation of peeling back the film to reveal CC OM ue R CU TRU CUCU CROC Ey In 1977 the Polaroid 8X-70 cost 859.95 and in that year alone more than six million Polaroid cameras were sold worldwide ‘Land was inspired to create the instant camera and self developing film when on holiday with his three-year-old daughter in 1944. She asked why she couldn't see the photo he'd taken and within a day he'd worked out how to create both the film and the camera,National treasure ‘tis telling that, despite her stage work largely outpacing her screen roles, the presence of Wendy Hiller is keenly felt in cinema to this day ‘Nomatter what the role, and whom she appeared against, Hiller commanded attention with her unconventional beauty, inner strength, and intelligent intensity. Hiller was born on August, 15, 1912 in Bramhall, Cheshire, toa prosperous cotton-cloth manufacturer, Frank Watkin Hiller, and his wife, Marie. Upon leaving ‘school, Hiller joined the Manchester Repertory Theatre, workingasa stage manager, scenery painter and supporting player, before being given her chance in the starring role of Sally Hardcastle in the company's production of Love on the Dole, ‘The story, one of hope and heartbreak among the poverty- stricken working class, had caught the imagination of the public. Between 1934 and 1935, Hiller toured the country with the production and, by the time it arrived on the London stage, and subsequently Broadway, New York, sheld become a star. 40 RETRO Wendy Hiller first found fame in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, but her insistence on playing only interesting characters has left us with but a handful of screen appearances Hiller captivated the attention of playwright, George Bernard Shaw, ‘who recognised her spiritednes and insisted that she be cast as. the lead in a string of his most celebrated hits, such as Saint Joan, Major Barbara and Pygmalion. She described him as “a most approachable and understanding person who talked to mea good deat’. Certainly, their working relationship benefited Hiller's ascent tostage royalty in ways she couldn't have possibly imagined. “He's a wonderful actor,” she said. “He used to act out all the parts, and he always put us to shame. He's also cruel mimic. Once he gave mea demonstration of my walk; he said Iwalked like a schoolmistress ‘The most memorable of the Shaw roles, and the one that perhaps best caught the public's imagination, ‘was Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, ‘smash success that was swiftly transferred to the screen under the direction of Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, Shaw would only agree to the adaptation taking place if certain creative conditions were met, including his personal choice of leading lady ~ Wendy Hiller. Iewas an astute choles Pygmalion (1938) not only proved highly successful at box offices, frocna sags wucces to sromn eta HerperformanceasElaDoalitle fesutedinberbeingnominaed | gl forthe Academy AwardforBest fe fActrese Withawchenaccoladsto hername, the industry nay well haveexpectedilertomakethe move tollywood and capitalise ito Burshewasarmoreinterestedin ceetinymemonbiecharacers, il preferring quay over quantity She vastly favoured film roles: that wore"ather special and have stare” and only fle herself dene twaceed utente were “undull And so fewas that deciles to oin the Salvation Ary, opposite Rex Harrison, Tr 1948 she was unforgettable asJoan.theheadstrong heroineof Powelland Pressburgers Know ‘Where Im Going Hier isindeiteas the girl who has always chosen ‘common sense over affairs of the heart, electing to marry an older, wealthy industrialist to achieve security and position. (On the way to her wedding in the Scottish Isles, she is waylaid, and. falls in love with the local laird, jeopardising her entire life plan. ‘Across the next 13 years, she appeared on screen only four times, but retained respect enough tobe cast in 1968's Separate Tables, directed by Delbert Mann, and featuring anall-star cast including David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster and Rita Hayworth, On Oscar night, April 6, 1959, David Niven was crowned Best Actor for his performance, and Wendy Hiller ‘won Best Supporting Actress. ‘Throughout her vast acting career, she stuck largely to the stage, playing in everything from Ibsen to Shakespeare, and excelling in her craft with each subsequent appearance, On Broadway she appeared ‘opposite Basil Rathbone in The Heiress, an adaptation of Henry James’ Washington Square, in ‘which she played his dominated daughter. Rathbone praised her professionalism and skill. remarking, “She shuts everything else out in a most absolute way.” Remarkably, Wendy Filler appeared on cinema screens a ‘mere 15 times during her 60-year- Jong acting career, and yet due to her inimitably spirited presence, beguiling voice, earthy, strong beauty and resolute strength of character, she remains one ofthe ‘most recognisable actresses of her generation. ‘When she departed in 2003 aged 90, she left behind a remarkable legacy, an unforgettable collection of of performances that proved the valuecof her craft. na world where many choose the lucrative path, that quantity provides, Wendy er \ Hiller stands asa beacon of what plays Pat the hotel manager whois comes from pursuing quality at % eS Eereoeree materia eae tiLait!) Behind the scenes * | 4 PO ROL CURR Ey " Pe CM CUT a Cte recs BIOL (oy y more than ten years to bring The ROO Ste CRUEL a C Smurthwaite digs around... & > , oy "4 Tgif ‘After the real escape had been uncovered, the Germans Poot ene ere They included 4,000 bed boards, 90 bunk beds, 635 Dem ee er mel) eer ee Las he story of the mass break-out of allied POWs from Stalag Luft II, the top-security Nazi prison camp that prided itself on being escape- proof, first came to the director's attention in the early Fifties following the publication of Paul Brickhill's book, The Great Escape. While former Spittire pilot Brickhill did not take part in the tunnelling - he suffered from claustrophobia ~ he had the key role of organising the look-outs to warn of approaching German guards. Initially reluctant to sell the film rights, Brickhill was eventually won over by Sturges passion for the project and his book formed the basis of the screenplay, Sturges was under contract toMGM in the Fifties and Louis B. ‘Mayer was less impressed by the director's, tenacity and passion, He thought the story ‘was too complicated and too expensive, there were no women and no happy ending, ‘The absence of a happy ending prompted Mayer's outspoken partner Sam Goldwyn to remark, “What the hell kind of escape is this? Nobody gets away” Fast forward to 1960 when Sturges had a massive hit with The Magnificent Seven, an all-star western re-make of the 1954 Japanese film, Seven Samurai, It was made under the ‘wing of United Artists who showed alot more interest in The Great Escape than MGM and gave Sturges the go-ahead with a$3.8m budget. ‘The screenplay is credited toWR. Burnett, a reputable screenwriter, and the screenwriter-turned-novelist James Clavell, who had himself been a POW during the Second World War. As often happens with big, star-studded films, there were numerous drafts and many other writers brought in during the shoot, not to KSB mention scenes that were BAN! improvised by the actors. Because of the sheer scale I ROEM of the real escape project, ee EA involving hundreds of allied p> %Behind the scenes POWs, it was necessary to simplify the cast of characters to make the story linear and comprehensible, and to give screen time to the stars of the movie. You don't sign up Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and Richard Attenborough and expect them to blend into the background. Although many of the key characters from the original story were accurately represented, others were fictionalised. THE NEED FOR SPEED Even so, some ofthe stars were less than happy with their screen time, notably Steve McQueen, who saw The Great Escape (1963) as his ‘opportunity to capitalise on the success of The Magnificent Seven. Believing his character, Captain Virgil Hilts, aka ‘The Cooler King, didnt have enough to do, he walked off the st in protest, saying he wanted Sturges to reshoot his scenes. Sturges refused. Inhis memoir, The Garner Files, James Garner picks up the story: “The next day Sturgescalled me in and said, ‘Jim, McQueen's out and ‘you're the star ofthe picture. didn't see how it could possibly work, and neither did Jimmy (ames) Coburn, so the two of us sat down with Steve and asked him what the problem ‘was. He said, dont like the part Tmnot the hero. And the stuff they have me doing is corny.” Gamer tried to explain thatina bigensemble cast “there are alot of heroes’. Garner and Coburn finally persuaded him to retum to the set, and Sturges promised him more screen time ~ and more opportunity toshow off his motorcycling skillsin the scene where he reconnoitres the countryside, pursued by an equally daredevil German guard. Of course, there never was a motorcycle chase, but few admirers of the film would deny that the decision toallow the charismatic McQueen to indulge his love of speed on two wheels was a bad one. When you think of The Great Escape, you think ofthat scene, among others, even though the 44 RETRO bit where he leaps across the barbed wire border fence was performed by his stunt double, Bud Atkins, The editing of the sequence, switching from star tostuntman back to star, was. so seamless that Ferris Webster was nominated for an Oscar for his editing skills, Areplica of Stalag Luft I was constructed ina pine forest in Bavaria, and interiors were filmed at Bavaria Studios, Geiselgasteig, near Munich. One of the key figures of the escape, Canadian airman Wally Floody, was hired as a technical adviser and helped design and reconstruct the three escape tunnels — Tom, Dick and Harry. It was 1962, the year of student riots in Munich, which James Garner witnessed at firsthand. So dismayed was he by the level of police violence towards the protesters that he spoke out about it in an interview, comparing it to “what it must have been like under the Nazis in the Thirties’ Not surprisingly the authorities took offence, threatening to deport Garner unless he apologised. Reluctantly he did, but mainly for the sake of the film's continuation, Steve McQueen also fell foul of the German authorities, mostly because of his thirst for speed, When he wasnt filming, he would ride the stunt motorcycle festooned with swastikas ~ all over ‘Munich ‘just toannoy the Germans’, according to Garner, He also wrote off a Mercedes Gullwing by driving it into some pine trees. The police finally set up aroadblock to catch him. They put him in ail for afew hours and took away his driver's licence. ‘James Garner admitted to alove~ hate relationship with McQueen. He writes: “Someone once asked me if ‘Steve was trouble. Steve was trouble if you invited him for breakfast. Like Brando, he could bea pain in the assoa seen eer ce Peer ean Cea charge of dispersal pr erorteny rete coe on set. Steve wasn't abad guy. think he was just insecure. Deep down he was just wild kid” ‘There were other personality clashes during filming, more often than not the result of star egos colliding. It is hard to imagine David McCallum harbouring kindly thoughts towards Charles Bronson after he began an affair with ‘McCallum's wife of ten years, Jill Ireland. Nor was Donald Pleasence the biggest McQueen fan. Asked inaninterview with Michael Aspel years later about McQueen, Pleasence replied, “Inever got on with him. He wasnt an easy person. However, Pleasence, who played the master forger Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe, who goes blind, got on famously with Garneras Flight Lieutenant Bob Hendley, who continues to assist Blythe in the escape despite his handicap. Two of their best scenes together were left on the cutting room floor because, as with alll movies, Sturges shot ‘way more footage than he needed. Pleasence and Garner remained friends into old age. Neither man tooka shine to tough-guy Bronson. In his memoir Garner called hima “bitter and belligerent SOB who used and abused people”. They nearly came toblows over a poker game but stopped short of fisticuffs. One leading member of the cast. who got on with everybody was Richard Attenborough, playing ‘Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett, mastermind of the escape project, The video game The Great Escape is based onthe Cee a eer also levels featuring some of the characters first Cee ee eu based on the widely admired 33-year-old South African pilot Roger Bushell, who already had a reputation asa master escaper even before hearrived at Stalag Luft I. Jonathan Vance, author of The ‘True Story ofthe Great Escape, called Bushell “extremely intelligent, determined and immensely capable’, a description that could well have been applied to Attenborough himself, who went on to become an Oscar- winning director in his own right. Surprisingly, Attenborough was not the first choice for Bartlett. That was Richard Harris who dropped out of the running after demanding changes to the soreenplay. ‘Butin the affable and conciliatory Attenborough, John Sturges found at least one ally among the cast, and no doubt the actor, yet to make his directorial debut, learned a lot from observing a great director at work. Despite accusations of ‘Americanising the story ~ there ‘were no American airmen in the actual escape - John Sturges remained unapologetic about the film, safe in the knowledge that it was one of the biggest hits of post- war cinema, Asa director, James Garner called him “tough when he needed to be but always fair” Sturges never considered The Great Escape a war film. He said, “its true that the characters were all prisoners of war but for meit was astory of courage and gallantry. ‘These men were ordinary, decent people with wives, families, careers and due to this burning need to escape they became tunnel diggers, forgers, blackmailers, thieves, whatever it took, and I thought that was astory worth telling” For Garner, the film “introduced younger generation to the Second World War and got people to look up the real story. I's one of the few pictures Im in that rll watch on television, even though itis almost three hourslong” 3 6Behind the scenes llied airmen captured during the Second World War were incarcerated in prison camps runby the Luftwaffe, Germany's elite flying corps. For the most part, the camps honoured the Geneva Convention which decreed prisoners of war should be treated decently. In 1942 the Luftwaffe built Stalag Luft IIIto hold those prisoners who had already made escape attempts elsewhere. It ‘was intended to be totally secure ‘and escape-proof. There were armed guardsin towers, armed guards constantly parading the ‘compound on foot, microphones buried at intervals around the perimeter fence topickup sounds of activity, and double barbed wire spirals atop 9ft high fences. But if you put 10,000 resourceful escape artists in one ‘camp, youcan be sure some of nicknamed Tom, Dick and Harry, ‘them will find a way through. tobe dug 30ft underground No sooner had Squadron and 300ft long, so they reached Leader Roger Bushell arrived beyond the perimeter fence and atthe camp than he began ‘came out in the sheltered pine planning what was known as ‘woods beyond the camp. Each X Organisation (Bushell’s code tunnel had a disguised trap name was Big), and what was door for access in one of the tobecomeevenbetterknownas accommodation huts. Two of the ‘The Great Escape. tunnels were discovered early on Bushelt's plan was to break by the guards and blown up. But ‘out 250 fellow prisoners through _the third, Harry, remained. one of three tunnels, ‘More than 600 prisoners were involved with X Organisation insome capacity, either as tunnellers, tool makers, document forgers, costume makers or look- ‘outs, Warning signals to indicate the approach of German guards included ear-scratching, coughing fits and shoelace-tying. ‘The sandy soil was easy to dig through, but the tunnellers were constantly at risk of being, buried alive. The tunnels hadto be shored up by wooden boards taken from prisoners’ bunk beds, As work progressed, an underground ‘railway was installed enabling sand tobe moved more efficiently from tunnel face to entrance; lighting circuit was added, using stolen electrical wire; and anaircon system pumped air into the tunnel, by means of a device ‘made from kit bags, coat hangers, ‘millccans and ping pong bats. ‘Whenit cameto the vexed question of selecting escapees, priority was given toGerman ‘speakers, those who'd worked hardest on creating the tunnels, and the prisoners with the greatest track record for escaping. Seventy-sixmen crawled to freedom onthe night of March 24, 1944, and the early hoursof the following day, despite the exit from ‘tunnel Harry having fallen short of ‘the pine wood. The seventy-seventh ‘man was spotted by a German guard ‘emerging from the exit hole. Of the 76 who got away, only three escaped recapture - two NorwegianTOP 5 by ERR TY po bo _. Bre ea MYRNA LOY FILMS 7 make, and brought in | ioe a ESPRE Oogo esto sur Pemneiee ers SUC aagsT i eve C meat Root Tithe Bost Years of Our Lives GeeeneeD Nau elec (4946) $808.7m, Bese tebe passe eng SCORE NOES BCR Ou eS ; > inrtmiri eee tetenty Speen Perro eee NTT ttt TEE ce enr Ty ‘$877.5m PCR es CBr of his life, rr 5 SO ea nace Dickes, had a No.1 record in eer nny Remember Me, two years before pee eae co pilots and a Duteh pilot. When news of the break-out reached the German high command, Hitler was so incensed that he ordered the random execution of 50 recaptured escapees by the Gestapo. After the war, the RAF launched SARs} EDP MBC ILIA were brought to trial of whom 13. were hanged. It was described as Mee | the worst atrocity against unarmed be RAAT Le) jailed sicmenaf the war, PV MEO SLE Perpovapertied oe eraRETRO EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY hen Princess Margaret and her then husband Antony Armstrong Jones travelled to the US in 1965 they lived up to the reputation as party people. The couple dined with the Presider socialised with the rich and famous. In California they visited the set of Alfred Hitchcock’ thriller Torn Curtain (1966), where Margaret met rand the star, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. /ood at a star-studded «J half of Hollywood. S damned Elizabeth Taylor's diamond sment ring as vulgar ed Judy Garland by asking er to perform, and upset Grace Kelly, whom told, "didn't look like a movie star worthwhile things. It would be impossible to say enjoyed (or what impres we hope we can come back again soon: Unfortunately for her the £30,000 (now equivalent to £350,000) cost o the public purse, alon otess regarding partying to excess, meant the British diplomats actively ced to prevent the Princess fromStar story COT EET ous many talents of everyone's Pre ee eed there was more to Danny Perera aca ne day, when growing upin Brooklyn, New Yorkin the Twenties, young David Kaminsky noticed his father, Jacob, was busy sketching away on a notepad. Jacob Kaminsky already worked asa tailor but had ambitions tobe adesigner, Later, David asked what had become of his sketches. “Oh, they weren't any good,” his father admitted. ‘David, a man can't do everything in this world, but he can do one job well, [found out I'm not a good designer, but [am a good tailor.” Much as he respected his father, David, who would grow to be the film star Danny Kaye, would spend much of his life thoroughly rejecting this well-meant advice. For in addition to becoming a celebrated, world famous, all-round entertainer, singer, dancer and actor, he would go on to excelina surprising array of different fields. He was the Renaissance man of post-war Hollywood, The Secret Life «Danny Kaye THE COURT JESTER By the time, Danny Kaye entered middle-age during the Fifties, he had already achieved far more than most people do in their entire lives. Inaddition to having starred in most of the hit films he is now best remembered for, such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and White Christmas (1954), he was a hugely successful radio star and recording, artist. His version of the song Ugly Duckling is still famous today. ‘Not everything in his life was perfect. Like many very talented people he could be difficult to work with and often suffered with black periods of depression. He was also talented in so many different ways thathe could be difficult to pin down. Was he a comedian who acted, an actor who sang or a singer ‘who danced? Whoever he was, most people agreed that, whether live or not, he was hugely entertaining, Acelebrated series of performances atthe London Palladium in 1948 won him the lifelong affection of. many British fans among them Winston Churchill and the Royal family, particularly the youngabrupt halt when Danny was con Fe cc aa Pe Cus panier ener LIU she ue iaStar story Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret. Inmany ways, his role in life was summed up by the title of another of his films, The Court Jester (1955). FLYING HIGH But Danny still yearned to achieve ‘more. One day on speaking to the choreographer, Michael Kidd, Danny was fascinated to discover that hs friend had learned how to fly aplane. He eagerly quizzed Kidd about all aspects ofthe process. Danny had never been a success at school and, like Kidd, was not even especially good at driving a car. But, from that point on, Danny Kaye vowed to become a pilot himself. Nor was this a passing whim. Danny subsequently devoted years of his life to flying. He was soon licensed to fly jets as wellas every commercial plane then in existence. Itwasa considerable achievement. Followinga pre-war tour of China and Japan early in his showbusiness career, Danny Kaye developeda lifelong love of both cooking and eating Asian food. Once again, he ‘turned what might to many people have just been a casual hobby intoa spectacular success, having his own custom-made Chinese restaurant including. kitchen and dining area installed in the rear of his house. ‘According to some critics, he was considered the greatest Asian food chef outside Asia at the time. Sport was yet another area where he proved exceptional, reportedly becoming one of the best ping pong, players in his state. He was also a good golfer and an accomplished baseball player with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport. Sport was, just one area of life into which Danny Kaye was also able to develop his successful business career alongside his partner, Lester Smith, Kaye and ‘Smith were part owners of the Seattle Mariners baseball team for many years. He and Smith also ‘owned a recording studio and video production company alongside other lucrative business assets. Before entei Se SR Cee Serer roy Peer ee eo ‘company he worked for losing $40,000 (the equivalent Geers een Sei ete Perrine ike eres Intime, Danny Kaye achieved yet another career distinction: he performed regularly asa conductor for some of the world's greatest and most renowned orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic. Here, admittedly, the lines between this and Danny showbusiness career became blurred. There was often a flamboyant, deliberately comedic edge to Kaye's conducting which some people, particularly professional conductors, did not always appreciate. Kaye would pretend to try to swat flies during his performances or lose his grip on his baton entirely. He nevertheless showed considerable skill particularly as he could not read music. By the Eighties, itistthoughthe had raised more than $5 million for charity through such performances. ‘As the Fifties moved into q] the Sixties, Danny Kaye was more often to be seen on TVthanon the cinema screen. He had nevertheless ‘embarked on the most important work of his life. After along conversation with Maurice Pate, the first director of the United ‘Nations Children’s Fund who Kaye had met by chance during along and troubled plane journey, it was decided that Danny Kaye should be the first ever UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to the world’s children, DEDICATED TO KIDS Kaye took his new responsibilities very seriously travelling to far-flung, corners of the world to attempt tobring joy to children who were often living in great poverty or ‘who had lived through terrible experiences. "He related to children with achild’s lack of inhibition,” his daughter Dena remembered. Kaye occasionally deployed his pilot skills: he once flew a Learjet to 65 cities in five days on a mission to help UNICEF. The whole experience undeniably moved Kaye profoundly, changing his perspective on the world. "When a kid finds out you're trying to amuse him, he'll meet you atleast half-way.” Among other accolades, he ‘was awarded the French Legion of Honour and the Presidential ‘Medal of Freedom for his work. twas the crowning achievement inthe long and extremely varied career of Hollywood's greatest ever Renaissance man.MOMENT IN TIME September 10, 1973 ig Biba opened in much larger Pee erent) Street, London. Designer Barbara Hulanicki and her husband ce ea eee geod pu ret) Perera) of clothes and accessories. Seer teens) Dee featured one of Barbara's dresses for just £3 and orders flooded into the mail-order business. The Pere eR et) Hulanicki’ vision to sell affordable but distinctive clothes. Biba quickly became the most hip place in London and was often ee Ree Sac La eee Secon eet at) Pee ec Perea ones wallpaper and stationery ~ the designs of which Barbara Hulanicki had approved. Aiea See ad Peer eet Pa eae ore ents Following the launch, however, erie errs oer etsy Pron en ee] Preto tnt) the homewares. Sadly, Biba's Oued ee eee oes Did you know? At its peak one million shoppers flocked to Biba each week. By eee Rec OL gs eng ote eee cece cs) Dra LT MMe S ae tor Mauhouse and he wasn't too keen on the Pees arly Seventies was getting few offers for the kind of roles that made him famous. Still, hehad little interest in the grind of regular ‘TV workand show creator Leonard Stern had to sell the McMillan and Wife concept to him asa one- shot movie — and keep upping his wage. When NBC announced that Hudson would join its line-up in the autumn of 1971, people took notice — although initially sporting shaggy hair and a big moustache, ry 7] he complained the shooting schedule turned him into a ‘robot. ‘The 90-minute mysteries were part of The NBC Mystery Movie cycle. They initially aired on Wednesday nights, later moving toacompetitive Sunday night slot, rotating with episodes of Columbo and McCloud. MeMillan & Wife differed from those loner-led vehicles in that its plots revolved around teamwork and relationships, often focusing on he hardly resembled his clean-cut the duo's friends, relations and ‘matinee idol image of yore. colleagues. Regularsinclided McMillan’s bumbling aide Sgt Enright Glohn Schuck) and ‘The breezy husband and wife sarcastic maid Mildred, played by whodunnits of the Thin Man ECOMMERCE roadway star Nancy Walker. The movies, abouta witty, modern, PATA IESE foo:-and-a-half taller Hudson sleuthing couple, inspired Stern to create the campy series for Universal TV. He just had to find the perfect ‘wife. ‘Susan Saint James had been under contract to Universal for nearly seven years, appearing in movies and TV shows while claiming to be on ‘slave wages at $1,500. week (over $10,000 in fj today’s money), She returned. James later said Hudson brought from filming an unsuccessful joy and love to the set, treating pilot in December 1970 tofind everyone as peers. Privately, themoviescriptandaninvitation _buthe fitted convincinglyintothe _he was unhappy, thinking the from Stern tojoinhimand Hudson —_role of supportive, understanding, _ scripts corny and the characters ‘towered over her during their back-and-forth banter. ‘Things could get weird, though. Inthe episode Terror Times Two, the mob abducts Mae and replaces him witha surgically altered lookalike. But it was mostly standard TV fare, its success down to the appeal of its stars and their chemistry. Saint forlunch.IfHudson likedher, shed older husband, Famous for his cigarette-paper-thin, land the role —butit semeda romantic comedies with Doris ‘The sixth season saw dramatic long shot. One Universalexecutive Day, thepairingseemedanideal _ changes, with Saint James described Saint Jamesas, going __opportunity for him to shine. leaving, her character killed off in through life with her hair flying Hudson enjoyed making the aplane crash, Walker was absent, andhermouthnot toofarbehind,” two-hourpilot movie Once Upona _too, and Schuckhad a reduced whileHudson hadareputationas Dead Man somuchthatheagreed _role:both had sitcoms to star in. Hollywood's shyestman.Indeed,no tostayonforaseries. Thedeciding ‘The showwasretitled soonerhad he ordered ahamburger factor wasthat they’dbe monthly McMillan, with the commissioner andicecreamforlunchthanshe 90-minuteshows;hedidn't want to movingiinto anew apartment lectured himabouthisunhealthy get into weekly production. ‘with anew maid and a string of food choices before tuckingintoher _Heclaimed switching to TV girlfriends, enjoying swinging nuts and soybeans. Yet the opposites wasnt such a bigchange.He was _bachelorhood like he'd forgotten clicked, and James was in. back at Universal, next door to Sally had ever existed. McMillan 45-year-old Hudson wasnearly the bungalow he had for Pillow minus Wife only stumbled on for 20 years her senior, but Stern ‘Talkin 1959 and Lover Come Back six episodes before Hudson quit. had intended the couple tobe {n1961, The only professional He looked back on the show more ofdifferentgenerationsandfelt difference, he said, was shooting _ favourably in later years, though, Hudson didn't look too old, anyway. ascriptin tendaysratherthanten when he realised how much it Inreal life, the star was secretly gay, weeks. Butafter theseriesended, meant to its fans. Dee oS pilot movie were Hudson's own Los Angeles 5seee Soe eT OY =e Columbia Studios boss Harry Cohn was the most feared of the Hollywood moguls... and is and abusive to the women who worked for him, discovers Jeff | ‘the most nee oer ere ae ery ns orn in 1891 into a working- class Jewish family in ‘New York, Harry Cohn established a film studio in 1919, alongside his brother Jack, and a colleague named Joe Brandt. Initially, lacking funds, the ‘poverty row’ studio focused on what Cohn called “those lousy little B-pictures’, cheap films that were a guaranteed source of income. Cohn then used the profits from these films to make a handful of prestige films each year, getting big stars on loan from other studios. ‘This plan worked and, by the end of the Thirties, Columbia was regarded as a major studio. But there wasa darkside to Columbia's success. ‘King, ‘Cohn’ was a tyrant anda bully. He installed microphones and loudspeakers on every sound stage, and would bellow abuse from his office ifhe heard something he felt was unacceptable. Actors, directors and technicians who Re es ee annoyed him would be summoned. to his office and berated for hours. ‘There was abig difference, however, between the way Cohn treated men under his command, and how he treated women... ‘This was the era of the so-called casting couch. Hedy Lamarr described it thus: “The ladder of success in Hollywood is usually apress agent, actor, director, producer, leading man; and you are astar if you sleep with each of them in that order” Cohn, however, was the most insistent in his pursuit of sexin exchange for work. Those who acquiesced found themselves under contract ~ a poisoned chalice, since Columbia, like many studios during the era, would control every aspect their personal lives, deciding where they could go and who they could be seen with. ‘Some established stars were big enough to refuse his advances, and stillland roles due to their box- office clout: Katharine Hepburn > ae eES RETRO 57se Behind the lens and Joan Crawford, for example, told Cohn where he could stick his casting couch, For those with less power, or those under restricted contracts, refusing Cohn’s advances could end a career, and many women simply did what he expected. He would install his favourite starlets ina dressing room connected to his office by a secret door and visit themat will the embarrassed Cohn once opened this door on a furious Bette Davis! Another notorious story involved Cohn, frustrated that his first wife couldn't give him a son, offering an attractive bit-player $175,000 tohavea child with him. She refused — buther acting career was over. He even offered actresses as ‘payment to male talent he wished to attract, telling one screenwriter he would guard the door while he had his way. Cohn's most prolonged bullying was directed at one of his biggest stars, After signing her in 1937, Cohn transformed a strugaling Spanish- American actress named Margarita Cansino into flame-haired superstar called Rita Hayworth, with hit films including Cover Girl (1944) and Gilda (1946). In return, Cohn expected control over her life, but the headstrong Hayworth not only refused to sleep with Cohn, she also refused to do as she was told, In September 1943, she shocked Hollywood by, without any prior announcement, marrying actor- director Orson Welles during herlunch break. Cohn was incandescent with rage, but could not fire Hayworth as she was such a big earner. He retaliated by forcing her to leave her husband's variety show, assigning her unsuitable projects, then suspending and fining her when she refused to comply. Unbowed, Hayworth, following her divorce from Welles, quit Hollywood entirely to marry the Prince Aly Khan in 1949. When that marriage ended in 1953, the humbled actress had to return to Cohn, as she was under contract. The tyrant responded by telling the press that she was past it, and publicly grooming, ‘younger actresses as the ‘new Rita Hayworth’. Hayworth would later say Cohn “was very possessive of me asa person... So, Ifought him... You ‘want to know what I think of Harry Cohn? He was a monster.” By 1957, Cohn had replaced Rita Hayworth with Kim Novakas the studio's biggest star, but she too steadfastly refused his advances. This raised his ire, but things came toahead when, in 1957, there were LCE UN Enea eee aed ono ence ce eee exes THE FRIENDS OF KING COHN Corres respect, such as The Three Stooges. Ce es RS eC Cc te Ree aT Pee eed Eee or ore Deen UCSC Coa well with Cohn, even feeling that his Cet ao sadness and insecurity. Pe rT Cee ee aed BCU anne TO IR td Pe ren R cd ‘even acquiescing to Ford’ ban on PeeteColumbia was orginally called CBC after the founders’ initials, butts name was changed afte rivals mocked them as corned beef Bec mee 11948, ooking fora replacement forthe wayward ita Hayworth, Cohn signed 2-year old model and budding acres Marin Monroe. After sving Mari her frst, starring olen Ladies ofthe Chorus (1948), ohn ivited her foratrp on hisyact, Monroe, who once admite, “tye slept with producers. tbe aliarif sid did’ intnsely Aislted Cohn, and told him she would only go iis wife was in attendance eo She was promptly dropped from her contract. A furious Cohn attempted to ruin her career, but Monroe unfazed, auld soon become of Holywood’ biggeststar. in 1953, shewas one ofthe first to callout the casting couch culture of alipwoed, nan arid entitled Wolves Have Known, decrying sinister men who wanted something for nothing itwasan ‘open secret that Cohn was one of these wolves, r ee ec rs among the stars who attended Harty’ funeral rumoursofanaffairwithSammy about the degrading outfits she was, Davis Jr. Cohn wasfurious, notjust expected to wearin the film The seeingthisasa betrayal, butalso Heat's On (1943). Cohn had to relent fearing the loss in earnings ~ in due to Scott's contract, but vowed segregated America, interracial she would never work in Hollywood ‘marriage was illegal in 23 states. He again. The following year, she left paid mobsterstodeliveramessage town for New York due to the lack of, toDavisJr.—eitherhemarrieda _filmroles. Scott had the last laugh blackwoman within 48hours,or though, when, in 1950, she became they would breakhislegsandput __thefirstblack Americantohosta _“‘Itproves what Harry always said. out his remaining eye (the other was _ television series. Give the public what they want, and glass, the result of a caraccidend), ‘Then one day, in February 1958, _theylicome out for it” (ronically, Frightened andwithlittle option, Cohn’sreigncametoanendwhen Cohn had alwaysbeen full of DavisJr.paidanex-girlfriendto __hedied fromaheartattackatthe _ praise for Skelton). Over the years marry him for a brief period, ‘age of 66, Hs funeral, a packed- since, the silence about Cohn's Thiswasnottheonly example _ out, star-studdedaffairheldona _behaviour was gradually broken, of Cohn's racism. Hazel Scott, a Columbia soundstage, prompted _ in anoutpouring that served as popular black musician, actress and one of Hollywood's most famous precursor of the #MeTooand civilrights campaigner, complained quips from comedian Red Skelton: _#TimesUp movements. RETRO 59Lai) Behind the music OSE ULC RO) SURG Rr CRU EE ADOC aU Ceg eo} Pe RU COU OR Ue OR GU CULE TIERS IEC e CL HE DAD AT HIS WAY... aul Anka was just 16 when he hit No.l with, Diana, one of the biggest songs of 1957 and an evergreen oldie until this day, Over the following couple of years, he scored further hits with You Are My Destiny, Lonely Boy and Put Your Head ‘Shoulder, becoming o} successful singers to come out of Canada, L meaiied Foralllhis fame, Anka could ly have ended up asjust another of the good-looking ‘teen swept off the scene when and The Rolling ‘came along. and Tom Jones’ highest-charting American si e's Lady. And in 1969, he wrote one of the best-known lyrics of alltime, Peon oe) Pen enone Mrmr totam Frank Sinatra's My Way.‘The story of My Way! February 1967 in the skire ‘of Meggve, in the French alps. ngwriter Jacques Revaux was holidaying in the Hotel Canada when he remembered that he was supposed to write four songs for producer Norbert Sada. He knocked them out ina ‘morning, including one called For You. The song was rejected by several performers including Michel Sardou. Later that year, Revaux met with pop idol Claude Francois who had built a career ‘rench language versions of hits such as Made to Love by the Everly Brothers, retitled Belles! Belles! Bel ‘THE RAT PACK Frangois had turned down For ‘You, but reworked it with Revaux Comme d'habitude, which translates to As Usual, Inspired by Francois’ recent breakup with singer France Gall, itbecamea melancholy ballad about a couple whose differing routines mean they seldom share any time together. ‘The melody was so haunting song's publisher asked an English lyric to it. Bowie later admitted penning some “really terrible” words and the re demo, Evena ‘was rejected. ‘Anika, however, was in France when he heard dhabitude on the radio. He flew to Paris and bought t adaptation rights for $1 although the original composers would continue to share the royalti By then, Anka was playing the sntclub cireuit where he had fallen into Frank Sinatra's orbit as a junior member of the Rat Pack. “Ioved him and adored him, like all of us did,” said Anka. | edaitetintsiensdesttnalia es