Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen
There are many legends and rumors surrounding the Oscars.Once you win an Oscar, you don't want a second one, because after you win an Oscar, you don't want to work normally again.
A week after I won the Oscar, Sam Weisbord came to my office.
"Congratulations again. Where are you going to put that statuette?"
"I'm going to keep it low-key. How about putting it on the roof with half a dozen spotlights?"
He laughed, "Spectacular!"
"I'm telling you, Sam, it's not what I expected."
He said without emotion, "I know, I heard your acceptance speech." He sat down and said casually, "By the way, I just went to Benny Sol's office." The person in charge of the signing of GM. "They signed you to a seven-year contract and agreed to everything we asked for."
It's unbelievable. "It's great." Oscar's supernatural power.
"They also finally agreed on the condition that you can take three months off anytime a year."
"Okay." I wish I had some free time to do something else.
I moved into a small farmstead in Westwood with a small bedroom, a small study, a small living room, a small kitchen and two small bathrooms.Outside the house is a garage that is larger than the house itself.Tony Curtis and the beautiful Janet Ray lived just a few doors down the road from me, both incredibly talented actors.They have a car, but nowhere to park it. At a dinner party, Tony said to me: "Our car can only be parked on the road, which is very problematic. I want to ask if I can rent your garage." "No rent," I replied, "but you can use whatever you want." Their car has been in my garage ever since. My house is too small for parties, but I don't realize this, so I often have parties at home.I was lucky enough to find an amazing Filipino chef who doubles as a waiter and cleaner.When I got to work at MGM, I met some interesting guys.Ira Gershwin would come to my house for dinner with his wife, Lee, and Kirk Douglas, Sid Caesar, and Steve Allen would be my guests, along with their wives.The guest list was long and exciting.Jules Stein, the boss of MCA, the most influential talent agency in Hollywood, and his wife Doris have been here many times.There weren't enough chairs in the room and we often sat on the floor, but apparently no one bothered. Robbit Schiffer, the head of Disney's makeup, is one of the funniest people I've ever met.He is British and was a member of the Royal Air Force during World War II.He owns a yacht and has traveled all over the world. In 1946, Schiffer participated in a film starring Rita Hayworth.Harry Cohen had an upcoming film for Rita.Instead, she and Schiffer decided to elope to Mexico.They took a romantic vacation together, but the filming stopped.Harry Cohen was going crazy because he couldn't find them.
Every Saturday afternoon, I have people over for a game of gin rummy.Regular guests included writer-producer Jerry Davis, director Stanley Donen and Bob Schiffer.Elizabeth Taylor, then in her early twenties, would come with Stanley, and every Saturday, while we played cards, she would make lunch for us. Elizabeth was petite and sexy, with incredible violet eyes.At that time, everyone already felt that there was a kind of magic power in her, and she was destined to become a legend in the future.It's hard to believe that every Saturday there is such a beautiful woman making sandwiches in my kitchen. Syd Charlis is a signed actor of MGM, sexy, beautiful and talented.She joined the Ruse Ballet at the age of thirteen and became an excellent dancer.I've dated her a few times.Once, we made an appointment to meet on a Saturday night, and she called to cancel the appointment. I asked her, "Any questions?" She avoided answering: "I'll tell you on Monday." She didn't need to tell, all the newspaper headlines said it: just this weekend, she married pop singer Tony Martin. Seid called. "I guess you've heard." "I heard that, I hope you and Tony are happy together." I tried to forget about Seid by working and getting ready for a new assignment. Kenneth McCain, MGM's head of screenwriting, called me into his office.McCain, a grey-haired man in his mid-fifties with a stern style, ruled the writing department like a feudal lord. He went straight to the point without any formality: "I have a job for you here, "Showboat." It's a good job. "Showboat" is a great musical, the music is great, the script is great, I like it very much.There is one problem though. I said, "Kenneth, I've just adapted two plays and now I want to do something original." He stood up, "You have to do what I tell you to do. You have a contract with the film company, and if I ask you to mop the floor, you have to do it too." I wasn't working on Showboat, and I spent the next two weeks mopping floors.
That year, I planned to take a three-month vacation to travel to Europe.I was very excited. I heard that the cruise ship "Liberty" in France was very good, so I booked the ticket early. I called Natalie, Martin, and Richard and Joan, said goodbye, and flew to New York and boarded the cruise ship. One of the tourists was Charles MacArthur, whom I had met before.He's a brilliant playwright, having worked with Ben Hurt on "Up and Down," "Women of the Rivers and Lakes" and "20th Century Express."He was accompanied by his wife, Helen Hayes, America's greatest actress. Charles met Helen for the first time at a party and fell in love with her at first sight.He handed Helen a bowl of peanuts, saying, "I hope these are diamonds." They were soon married.The following year, on Helen's birthday, Charles handed her a small bowl of diamonds and said, "I hope these are peanuts." Other passengers on the cruise include: Rosalind Russell and producer husband Fred Brison, and well-known party hostess Elsa Maxwell. On the first day of the cruise ship, Charles came to me: "Elsa Maxwell heard that you won an Oscar, and she wanted to invite you to dinner tonight. I told her you don't participate in social activities." "Charles! I'd be more than happy to go to her dinner." He smiled. "You have to put on airs. I told him you'd think about it." In the evening, Elsa Maxwell herself came to me, "Mr. Sheldon, I'm giving a little party tonight, and I hope you'll appreciate it." It was a pleasant dinner, and the guests clearly enjoyed themselves.After dinner, I got up to leave when a waiter stopped me, "I'm sorry, Mr. Shelton, but the meal cost is three dollars." I shook my head. "I'm Elsa Maxwell's guest." "Yes, sir, for three dollars." I lost my temper. Charles kept me calm. I said, "It's nothing in itself, but I don't want to pay for it." Charles laughed. "Sidney, she's good at bringing people together. She never pays for it."
After arriving in London, I stayed at the legendary Savoy Hotel.Although the fighting is over, the effects of the war live on.The supply system is still in effect and everything is in short supply. When the housekeeper came in the morning, I said, "I want grapefruit, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast." He looked distressed, "I'm very sorry, sir, none of the ones you asked for are available. There are only mushrooms and kippers, you can choose either." "Oh." I chose mushrooms. For breakfast the next day, I asked for kippers. I went to a restaurant that night and there was almost nothing to eat on the menu. The next morning, I unexpectedly received a call from Tony Martin: "Don't tell us you're here." "I've never been free." "Come to my show tonight." I don't want to meet this guy who married the woman I like, "I can't...I..." "I'll leave you a ticket at the box office," he said. "Come see me backstage after the show." Then he hung up. I'm not interested in seeing his show.I was going to go straight backstage and tell him the show was great and then leave. I went to see him perform that night, and he was just amazing, the audience just couldn't get enough of him.I went backstage to congratulate him in his dressing room, and Seid was there.Seid gave me a big hug and introduced me to Tony. Tony said, "Come to dinner with us tonight." I shook my head, "Thank you, but I..." "Let's go." I found Tony Martin to be one of the nicest people I've ever met. Dinner at a luxurious private club.I didn't know it before, but private clubs like this in London are not subject to rationing. The waiter said, "We have a very good steak tonight." All three of us ordered steak. The waiter said to me, "Would you like an egg, sir?" That was the first egg I had since arriving in London. I spent every night after that with Syd and Tony, and had a wonderful honeymoon with them. One night Tony said, "We're going to Paris tomorrow morning. Pack up and come with us." I have no opinion. We flew to Paris and everything was wonderful.Tony hired a limousine and took us to the famous sights - the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Napoleon's tomb - and enjoyed a variety of food. One Sunday morning, Tony had arranged for a luxury car to take us to Longchamp to watch the horse race.Unfortunately, all three of us got food poisoning the night before and it was all bad. Tony called, "Me and Sid are both very sad, we can't go to the arena." "Me too, Tony, I think..." "There's a car waiting for you downstairs. Go." "Tony..." "Go ahead. Make a bet for us." I went to Longchamp alone in a daze.There are long queues at the betting window.When it was finally my turn, the man behind the counter said in French, "What's the date?" I don't speak French; I shove some money over, hold up a finger, "horse number one," and touch my nose again.He said something I couldn't understand and pushed the money back. I tried again. "No. 1 horse." I raised a finger again and touched my nose, "Just bet on No. 1 horse." He pushed the money back again.The people in the line behind me were getting impatient.A person came out of the queue and walked towards me. "What's the matter?" he asked in English. "I want to bet the number one horse with the money." The man said something to the bettor in French, then turned his head. He said, "Horse No. 1 is wounded. Choose another horse." I picked the number two horse and staggered to the field with a pile of tickets in my hand. Horse number two won the race and I split the prize money with Tony and Seid. This trip was really unforgettable for me, and I decided to come to Europe every year in the future.
In August of that year, Dole Shari accepted Louis B. Meyer's invitation to resign as president of RKO and take up the post of director of production at MGM.My old boss is now my new boss. I was assigned to write the screenplay for the film Southland, starring Ann Suchun, Jane Powell, Barry Sullivan, Carmen Miranda and Louise Calhern. The director of the film, Jo Pasternak, a Hungarian producer, is a middle-aged man with a severe accent.Before coming to MGM, he made some small films for Universal, which was on the verge of bankruptcy.An actress named Diana Durbin went to Universal after her contract with MGM expired, and Universal arranged for Joe Pasternak to co-produce a film with Diana called "The Lady in Spring". Three Phoenixes". Universal was overjoyed by the result, and the movie sold out at the box office.Overnight, Deanna Durbin became a big star, and Universal was resurrected from the dead.Shortly thereafter, Joe Pastrnak accepted MGM's invitation to become a contract producer. One day, Dole Shari called a meeting of the producers on the set. After everyone sat down in his office, Dole said: "We have encountered a problem. I just bought the play "Tea and Sympathy", which is very popular on Broadway. But the people in the censorship office did not allow us to shoot. There's something about homosexuality in it. We have to do it differently, and I'd like to hear your opinions." Everyone was lost in thought.Then a producer said: "We can change gays into alcoholics." Another said: "You can put him on drugs." "Can be a disabled person." Everyone chattered about a dozen ideas, but none of them were satisfactory. There was silence again, and then Joe Pastrnak spoke. "Easy," he said, "just shoot it as it is, and he's gay." Then he added, smugly, "but at the end of the day, he realized it was just a dream." This concludes the meeting.
One of the extra surprises that "Southern Spring" brought me was meeting Louis Calhern.Calhern started out in theater and later became an accomplished film actor.He was imposing, tall, with a hooked nose and a sonorous voice.He had three short-lived marriages, and this wife is now on his fourth.He's very funny and it's a pleasure to be with him.He just starred in "The Amazing Yankee," based on Judge Wendell Holmes. Every time he came to my house for dinner, he would yell loudly as soon as he entered the door: "Where's the food?" One day, I received a telegram from him, "I heard that Zhu Jing was tricked by someone else, and arranged for us to meet on Saturday night on the 4th. I plan to meet you in the theater after the stage lights go out. Don't expect people to be there. See me with you in public, Calhern."
An agent introduced me to a beautiful young Swedish actress, I'll call her Ingrid, who came to America for an interview with Universal.She was so charming and we fell in love. One Sunday morning a few weeks later, while I was still deep in sleep, the doorbell rang.I looked at the alarm clock next to the bed, it was only four o'clock.The doorbell rang harder.Reluctantly, I got up, put on a nightgown, and went out to open the door.At the door was a stranger with a gun in his hand.He pushed me into the house and followed him himself. My heart was beating wildly. "If you want to rob," I said, "please go ahead and take it." "You son of a bitch! I'm going to kill you." Not robbery. As a screenwriter, I should think to myself in moments like this: This material is really good.But what I thought at the time was: I am going to die. I said, "I don't know you." "You don't know me, but you know my wife," he growled. "You put her to sleep." I think he must have made a mistake.I've never had anything to do with a married lady.I said, "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about. I have no idea who your wife is..." "Ingrid," he said, raising his pistol. "I..." That's right, "Wait a minute! Ingrid never said she was married." "This bitch married me to get a visa to America." "Wait a minute," I said, "I'm hearing this for the first time. She didn't have a ring on her finger, and she never talked about her husband, so of course I had no way of knowing she was married. Sit down." Come on, let's have a good talk." He hesitated for a moment, then sat down.Both of us were sweating profusely. He said: "I don't want to, but I—I love her, and she uses my feelings." "I don't blame you, I know you're upset. Let's have a drink together." I poured each of us a glass of spirits. Five minutes later, he told me his story.He is a screenwriter and met Ingrid in Europe.Now he can't find a job in Hollywood. I said, "You looking for a job? Let me keep an eye out for you. I'll talk to Kenneth McCain at MGM." He was overjoyed, "You will really help me? Thank you so much." Five minutes later, he left with his pistol. I turned off the light and went back to bed, still panting.In the end, I finally fell asleep in a daze, but there was a strong knock on the door. I thought to myself: He is back.He changed his mind and came to kill me. I got out of bed and went to the door and opened it.Here comes Ingrid.She had been beaten so badly that her face was covered in bruises, her eyes were darkened and her lips were still bleeding.I dragged her into the house. She could barely speak, "I gotta tell you..." "You don't need to say, your husband has been here. Lie down on the bed, and I'll call the doctor." I had a hard time waking my doctor up.An hour later, he came to my house and saw Ingrid.She had a broken rib and was badly bruised all over her body. After the doctor left, Ingrid said, "I don't know what to do. I have to audition for Universal early this morning." I shook my head, "Don't go. You can't go there like this. I'll call them to cancel." And I canceled the audition for her. Ingrid left my house that night and was never heard from again.
In 1948, two members of a newly formed production team, Cy Foyle and Amy Martin, came to the company to see me. “We’re planning to do a Broadway remake of the musical called Where’s Charlie?, based on the classic Charlie’s Aunt. We’d like you to write the script. We’ve paid you off Braden Thomas Real Estate Debt. Music by Frank Loesser, Starring Ray Bolger." Frank Loesser wrote some popular songs, but never a Broadway musical.I know "Charlie's Aunt" and love its storyline.In my opinion, this movie should be a big success. "I want to see Frank." Frank Loesser was a vigorous man, in his late forties, brilliant and ambitious.His works include the extremely popular wartime sensation "Praise God, Pass the Ammunition" and some very popular movie episodes, such as "Moon of Manakula", "Slow Boat to China", "The Boy in the Chamber of Secrets", "Kiss the Boys Goodbye". "I've got some great ideas that we can turn into a blockbuster," Frank said. "I think so too." "I can write a script with you." "Great, Frank," I said, "I can compose with you, too." He grinned, "Okay." I went to see Dole Shari and said, "I'm going to take three months off to write a Broadway play." "Which show?" "Where's Charlie?", adapted from "Charlie's Aunt." Dole shook his head, "Broadway is very risky." I smiled, "I know that, I'm someone who has experienced it, Dole." "I think it's better for you not to do this." "Well, I already said yes, and..." "Let me make a deal with you. Do you want to write the script of "Flying Swallow's Golden Spear?" "How to say?" "If you turn down the Broadway musical, I'll arrange for you to write "Flying Swallow and the Golden Gun." "Flying Swallows and Golden Guns" was the most sensational musical on Broadway at that time. It had been staged for three full years, and four troupes were touring. In 1945, Herbert and Dorothy Fields went to Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein and suggested that they make a musical about Anne Oakley.Dorothy Fields wrote the lyrics, and Jeremy Cohen agreed to compose. Cohen suffered a stroke three days after arriving in New York and died a few days later.Rogers and Hammerstein decided to have Irving Berlin compose the score.Later, six songs in this musical were smash hits, including the industry benchmark song "Entertainment First".MGM spent $600,000 to buy the copyright of "Flying Swallow and the Golden Spear", setting a record for the copyright of a musical at that time. Dole asked me, "What do you think?" I thought about it in my mind.I'm well aware of Where's Charlie? is going to be a hit, but I'm excited about the chance to work with Irving Berlin again.Dole's offer is irresistible. I said, "I accept." That afternoon, I called Foyle, Martin, and Frank Loesser and told them of my decision. I said, "I'm sure you will have a great success." The facts are exactly as I said.
I moved into a small farmstead in Westwood with a small bedroom, a small study, a small living room, a small kitchen and two small bathrooms.Outside the house is a garage that is larger than the house itself.Tony Curtis and the beautiful Janet Ray lived just a few doors down the road from me, both incredibly talented actors.They have a car, but nowhere to park it. At a dinner party, Tony said to me: "Our car can only be parked on the road, which is very problematic. I want to ask if I can rent your garage." "No rent," I replied, "but you can use whatever you want." Their car has been in my garage ever since. My house is too small for parties, but I don't realize this, so I often have parties at home.I was lucky enough to find an amazing Filipino chef who doubles as a waiter and cleaner.When I got to work at MGM, I met some interesting guys.Ira Gershwin would come to my house for dinner with his wife, Lee, and Kirk Douglas, Sid Caesar, and Steve Allen would be my guests, along with their wives.The guest list was long and exciting.Jules Stein, the boss of MCA, the most influential talent agency in Hollywood, and his wife Doris have been here many times.There weren't enough chairs in the room and we often sat on the floor, but apparently no one bothered. Robbit Schiffer, the head of Disney's makeup, is one of the funniest people I've ever met.He is British and was a member of the Royal Air Force during World War II.He owns a yacht and has traveled all over the world. In 1946, Schiffer participated in a film starring Rita Hayworth.Harry Cohen had an upcoming film for Rita.Instead, she and Schiffer decided to elope to Mexico.They took a romantic vacation together, but the filming stopped.Harry Cohen was going crazy because he couldn't find them.
Every Saturday afternoon, I have people over for a game of gin rummy.Regular guests included writer-producer Jerry Davis, director Stanley Donen and Bob Schiffer.Elizabeth Taylor, then in her early twenties, would come with Stanley, and every Saturday, while we played cards, she would make lunch for us. Elizabeth was petite and sexy, with incredible violet eyes.At that time, everyone already felt that there was a kind of magic power in her, and she was destined to become a legend in the future.It's hard to believe that every Saturday there is such a beautiful woman making sandwiches in my kitchen. Syd Charlis is a signed actor of MGM, sexy, beautiful and talented.She joined the Ruse Ballet at the age of thirteen and became an excellent dancer.I've dated her a few times.Once, we made an appointment to meet on a Saturday night, and she called to cancel the appointment. I asked her, "Any questions?" She avoided answering: "I'll tell you on Monday." She didn't need to tell, all the newspaper headlines said it: just this weekend, she married pop singer Tony Martin. Seid called. "I guess you've heard." "I heard that, I hope you and Tony are happy together." I tried to forget about Seid by working and getting ready for a new assignment. Kenneth McCain, MGM's head of screenwriting, called me into his office.McCain, a grey-haired man in his mid-fifties with a stern style, ruled the writing department like a feudal lord. He went straight to the point without any formality: "I have a job for you here, "Showboat." It's a good job. "Showboat" is a great musical, the music is great, the script is great, I like it very much.There is one problem though. I said, "Kenneth, I've just adapted two plays and now I want to do something original." He stood up, "You have to do what I tell you to do. You have a contract with the film company, and if I ask you to mop the floor, you have to do it too." I wasn't working on Showboat, and I spent the next two weeks mopping floors.
That year, I planned to take a three-month vacation to travel to Europe.I was very excited. I heard that the cruise ship "Liberty" in France was very good, so I booked the ticket early. I called Natalie, Martin, and Richard and Joan, said goodbye, and flew to New York and boarded the cruise ship. One of the tourists was Charles MacArthur, whom I had met before.He's a brilliant playwright, having worked with Ben Hurt on "Up and Down," "Women of the Rivers and Lakes" and "20th Century Express."He was accompanied by his wife, Helen Hayes, America's greatest actress. Charles met Helen for the first time at a party and fell in love with her at first sight.He handed Helen a bowl of peanuts, saying, "I hope these are diamonds." They were soon married.The following year, on Helen's birthday, Charles handed her a small bowl of diamonds and said, "I hope these are peanuts." Other passengers on the cruise include: Rosalind Russell and producer husband Fred Brison, and well-known party hostess Elsa Maxwell. On the first day of the cruise ship, Charles came to me: "Elsa Maxwell heard that you won an Oscar, and she wanted to invite you to dinner tonight. I told her you don't participate in social activities." "Charles! I'd be more than happy to go to her dinner." He smiled. "You have to put on airs. I told him you'd think about it." In the evening, Elsa Maxwell herself came to me, "Mr. Sheldon, I'm giving a little party tonight, and I hope you'll appreciate it." It was a pleasant dinner, and the guests clearly enjoyed themselves.After dinner, I got up to leave when a waiter stopped me, "I'm sorry, Mr. Shelton, but the meal cost is three dollars." I shook my head. "I'm Elsa Maxwell's guest." "Yes, sir, for three dollars." I lost my temper. Charles kept me calm. I said, "It's nothing in itself, but I don't want to pay for it." Charles laughed. "Sidney, she's good at bringing people together. She never pays for it."
After arriving in London, I stayed at the legendary Savoy Hotel.Although the fighting is over, the effects of the war live on.The supply system is still in effect and everything is in short supply. When the housekeeper came in the morning, I said, "I want grapefruit, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast." He looked distressed, "I'm very sorry, sir, none of the ones you asked for are available. There are only mushrooms and kippers, you can choose either." "Oh." I chose mushrooms. For breakfast the next day, I asked for kippers. I went to a restaurant that night and there was almost nothing to eat on the menu. The next morning, I unexpectedly received a call from Tony Martin: "Don't tell us you're here." "I've never been free." "Come to my show tonight." I don't want to meet this guy who married the woman I like, "I can't...I..." "I'll leave you a ticket at the box office," he said. "Come see me backstage after the show." Then he hung up. I'm not interested in seeing his show.I was going to go straight backstage and tell him the show was great and then leave. I went to see him perform that night, and he was just amazing, the audience just couldn't get enough of him.I went backstage to congratulate him in his dressing room, and Seid was there.Seid gave me a big hug and introduced me to Tony. Tony said, "Come to dinner with us tonight." I shook my head, "Thank you, but I..." "Let's go." I found Tony Martin to be one of the nicest people I've ever met. Dinner at a luxurious private club.I didn't know it before, but private clubs like this in London are not subject to rationing. The waiter said, "We have a very good steak tonight." All three of us ordered steak. The waiter said to me, "Would you like an egg, sir?" That was the first egg I had since arriving in London. I spent every night after that with Syd and Tony, and had a wonderful honeymoon with them. One night Tony said, "We're going to Paris tomorrow morning. Pack up and come with us." I have no opinion. We flew to Paris and everything was wonderful.Tony hired a limousine and took us to the famous sights - the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Napoleon's tomb - and enjoyed a variety of food. One Sunday morning, Tony had arranged for a luxury car to take us to Longchamp to watch the horse race.Unfortunately, all three of us got food poisoning the night before and it was all bad. Tony called, "Me and Sid are both very sad, we can't go to the arena." "Me too, Tony, I think..." "There's a car waiting for you downstairs. Go." "Tony..." "Go ahead. Make a bet for us." I went to Longchamp alone in a daze.There are long queues at the betting window.When it was finally my turn, the man behind the counter said in French, "What's the date?" I don't speak French; I shove some money over, hold up a finger, "horse number one," and touch my nose again.He said something I couldn't understand and pushed the money back. I tried again. "No. 1 horse." I raised a finger again and touched my nose, "Just bet on No. 1 horse." He pushed the money back again.The people in the line behind me were getting impatient.A person came out of the queue and walked towards me. "What's the matter?" he asked in English. "I want to bet the number one horse with the money." The man said something to the bettor in French, then turned his head. He said, "Horse No. 1 is wounded. Choose another horse." I picked the number two horse and staggered to the field with a pile of tickets in my hand. Horse number two won the race and I split the prize money with Tony and Seid. This trip was really unforgettable for me, and I decided to come to Europe every year in the future.
In August of that year, Dole Shari accepted Louis B. Meyer's invitation to resign as president of RKO and take up the post of director of production at MGM.My old boss is now my new boss. I was assigned to write the screenplay for the film Southland, starring Ann Suchun, Jane Powell, Barry Sullivan, Carmen Miranda and Louise Calhern. The director of the film, Jo Pasternak, a Hungarian producer, is a middle-aged man with a severe accent.Before coming to MGM, he made some small films for Universal, which was on the verge of bankruptcy.An actress named Diana Durbin went to Universal after her contract with MGM expired, and Universal arranged for Joe Pasternak to co-produce a film with Diana called "The Lady in Spring". Three Phoenixes". Universal was overjoyed by the result, and the movie sold out at the box office.Overnight, Deanna Durbin became a big star, and Universal was resurrected from the dead.Shortly thereafter, Joe Pastrnak accepted MGM's invitation to become a contract producer. One day, Dole Shari called a meeting of the producers on the set. After everyone sat down in his office, Dole said: "We have encountered a problem. I just bought the play "Tea and Sympathy", which is very popular on Broadway. But the people in the censorship office did not allow us to shoot. There's something about homosexuality in it. We have to do it differently, and I'd like to hear your opinions." Everyone was lost in thought.Then a producer said: "We can change gays into alcoholics." Another said: "You can put him on drugs." "Can be a disabled person." Everyone chattered about a dozen ideas, but none of them were satisfactory. There was silence again, and then Joe Pastrnak spoke. "Easy," he said, "just shoot it as it is, and he's gay." Then he added, smugly, "but at the end of the day, he realized it was just a dream." This concludes the meeting.
One of the extra surprises that "Southern Spring" brought me was meeting Louis Calhern.Calhern started out in theater and later became an accomplished film actor.He was imposing, tall, with a hooked nose and a sonorous voice.He had three short-lived marriages, and this wife is now on his fourth.He's very funny and it's a pleasure to be with him.He just starred in "The Amazing Yankee," based on Judge Wendell Holmes. Every time he came to my house for dinner, he would yell loudly as soon as he entered the door: "Where's the food?" One day, I received a telegram from him, "I heard that Zhu Jing was tricked by someone else, and arranged for us to meet on Saturday night on the 4th. I plan to meet you in the theater after the stage lights go out. Don't expect people to be there. See me with you in public, Calhern."
An agent introduced me to a beautiful young Swedish actress, I'll call her Ingrid, who came to America for an interview with Universal.She was so charming and we fell in love. One Sunday morning a few weeks later, while I was still deep in sleep, the doorbell rang.I looked at the alarm clock next to the bed, it was only four o'clock.The doorbell rang harder.Reluctantly, I got up, put on a nightgown, and went out to open the door.At the door was a stranger with a gun in his hand.He pushed me into the house and followed him himself. My heart was beating wildly. "If you want to rob," I said, "please go ahead and take it." "You son of a bitch! I'm going to kill you." Not robbery. As a screenwriter, I should think to myself in moments like this: This material is really good.But what I thought at the time was: I am going to die. I said, "I don't know you." "You don't know me, but you know my wife," he growled. "You put her to sleep." I think he must have made a mistake.I've never had anything to do with a married lady.I said, "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about. I have no idea who your wife is..." "Ingrid," he said, raising his pistol. "I..." That's right, "Wait a minute! Ingrid never said she was married." "This bitch married me to get a visa to America." "Wait a minute," I said, "I'm hearing this for the first time. She didn't have a ring on her finger, and she never talked about her husband, so of course I had no way of knowing she was married. Sit down." Come on, let's have a good talk." He hesitated for a moment, then sat down.Both of us were sweating profusely. He said: "I don't want to, but I—I love her, and she uses my feelings." "I don't blame you, I know you're upset. Let's have a drink together." I poured each of us a glass of spirits. Five minutes later, he told me his story.He is a screenwriter and met Ingrid in Europe.Now he can't find a job in Hollywood. I said, "You looking for a job? Let me keep an eye out for you. I'll talk to Kenneth McCain at MGM." He was overjoyed, "You will really help me? Thank you so much." Five minutes later, he left with his pistol. I turned off the light and went back to bed, still panting.In the end, I finally fell asleep in a daze, but there was a strong knock on the door. I thought to myself: He is back.He changed his mind and came to kill me. I got out of bed and went to the door and opened it.Here comes Ingrid.She had been beaten so badly that her face was covered in bruises, her eyes were darkened and her lips were still bleeding.I dragged her into the house. She could barely speak, "I gotta tell you..." "You don't need to say, your husband has been here. Lie down on the bed, and I'll call the doctor." I had a hard time waking my doctor up.An hour later, he came to my house and saw Ingrid.She had a broken rib and was badly bruised all over her body. After the doctor left, Ingrid said, "I don't know what to do. I have to audition for Universal early this morning." I shook my head, "Don't go. You can't go there like this. I'll call them to cancel." And I canceled the audition for her. Ingrid left my house that night and was never heard from again.
In 1948, two members of a newly formed production team, Cy Foyle and Amy Martin, came to the company to see me. “We’re planning to do a Broadway remake of the musical called Where’s Charlie?, based on the classic Charlie’s Aunt. We’d like you to write the script. We’ve paid you off Braden Thomas Real Estate Debt. Music by Frank Loesser, Starring Ray Bolger." Frank Loesser wrote some popular songs, but never a Broadway musical.I know "Charlie's Aunt" and love its storyline.In my opinion, this movie should be a big success. "I want to see Frank." Frank Loesser was a vigorous man, in his late forties, brilliant and ambitious.His works include the extremely popular wartime sensation "Praise God, Pass the Ammunition" and some very popular movie episodes, such as "Moon of Manakula", "Slow Boat to China", "The Boy in the Chamber of Secrets", "Kiss the Boys Goodbye". "I've got some great ideas that we can turn into a blockbuster," Frank said. "I think so too." "I can write a script with you." "Great, Frank," I said, "I can compose with you, too." He grinned, "Okay." I went to see Dole Shari and said, "I'm going to take three months off to write a Broadway play." "Which show?" "Where's Charlie?", adapted from "Charlie's Aunt." Dole shook his head, "Broadway is very risky." I smiled, "I know that, I'm someone who has experienced it, Dole." "I think it's better for you not to do this." "Well, I already said yes, and..." "Let me make a deal with you. Do you want to write the script of "Flying Swallow's Golden Spear?" "How to say?" "If you turn down the Broadway musical, I'll arrange for you to write "Flying Swallow and the Golden Gun." "Flying Swallows and Golden Guns" was the most sensational musical on Broadway at that time. It had been staged for three full years, and four troupes were touring. In 1945, Herbert and Dorothy Fields went to Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein and suggested that they make a musical about Anne Oakley.Dorothy Fields wrote the lyrics, and Jeremy Cohen agreed to compose. Cohen suffered a stroke three days after arriving in New York and died a few days later.Rogers and Hammerstein decided to have Irving Berlin compose the score.Later, six songs in this musical were smash hits, including the industry benchmark song "Entertainment First".MGM spent $600,000 to buy the copyright of "Flying Swallow and the Golden Spear", setting a record for the copyright of a musical at that time. Dole asked me, "What do you think?" I thought about it in my mind.I'm well aware of Where's Charlie? is going to be a hit, but I'm excited about the chance to work with Irving Berlin again.Dole's offer is irresistible. I said, "I accept." That afternoon, I called Foyle, Martin, and Frank Loesser and told them of my decision. I said, "I'm sure you will have a great success." The facts are exactly as I said.