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There
have been some great Christmas movies
through the years (A CHRISTMAS CAROL,
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and A CHRISTMAS
STORY jump to mind) but one of the best
is Anthony Harvey's 1968 THE LION IN WINTER,
the Twelfth Century historical drama based
on James Goldman's Broadway play. Peter
O'Toole excels as King Henry II, who lets
his wife Eleanor of Acquitaine (Kate the
Great Hepburn in an Oscar-wining role)
out of the dungeon to share a dysfunctional
family Christmas with conniving sons Anthony
Hopkins (in his screen debut), Nigel Terry,
Nigel Stock, John Castle and a pre-Bond
Timothy Dalton. Screenwriter-playwright
Goldman and composer John Barry won Oscars
for their work in a picture that only
gets better with time.
Director
Anthony Harvey had been one of the industry's
top film editors, cutting I'M ALRIGHT
JACK and THE L-SHAPED ROOM (both 1959),
Kubrick's LOLITA (1961) and DR. STRANGELOVE
(1964), and THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE
COLD (1965), among others, before directing
an independent version of Leroi Jones'
NYC subway drama DUTCHMAN (1966).
JOHN
GALLAGHER: How did you get involved with
Stanley Kubrick?
ANTHONY
HARVEY: Kubrick came to England around
the time I was editing THE L-SHAPED ROOM.
I had seen PATHS OF GLORY (1957) several
times and was deeply affected by it. I
wrote to Stanley and asked him if he would
consider me as an editor. He invited me
to see him and I had at least four or
five interviews. He gave me the MI-5 treatment
– “What kind of hours do you work?
What time do you go to bed? Are you married?
Do you go on holidays?” He wanted somebody
who was going to be there seven days a
week, twenty-two hours a day, and indeed
I did work very long hours for him. But,
my God, what a great experience! He's
a fascinating, funny, brilliant, eccentric
fellow. I wouldn't have missed working
with him for the world.
JG:
LOLITA was the first film you cut for
him.
AH:
Kubrick said something at the time that
I found to be very good advice. When an
actor is giving an extraordinary performance
you don't always need to make it a conventional
cutaway to see somebody else reacting.
An audience imagines that reaction for
themselves. I think to not cut is the
one golden rule of editing. Cut only when
an actor flubs a line or something goes
wrong technically. There was a wonderful
documentary, THE UNKNOWN CHAPLIN (1987),
made by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill,
and it showed how Chaplin would rehearse
endlessly so he wouldn't have to cut.
This is particularly true in comedy.
JG:
On DR. STRANGELOVE, did the script change
much from pre-production to post-production?
AH:
It was a brilliant script, but it was
that curious thing that happens when you
put a film together from a wonderful blueprint
of a script. I remember when we saw the
first cut. As with all first cuts, you
want to slit your throat, and everyone
runs off in different directions looking
for a knife. The first cut didn't work.
It was completely reassembled. The balance
from one scene to another is such a delicate
thing that sometimes it can't really be
put on paper.
JG:
How did you come to direct your first
feature DUTCHMAN?
AH:
In many ways, Kubrick encouraged me to
become a film director. Stanley said to
me, “You know, Tony, you've become quite
impossible. You've become the Peter Sellers
of the cutting room. You'd better get
out and direct before you drive me mad.”
Later, in New York, I saw a remarkable
play by Leroi Jones at the Cherry Lane
Theatre called DUTCHMAN. I had dinner
with Leroi Jones and he gave me an option
on it. I returned to London and my colleagues
thought, “Is Tony absolutely insane? Doing
a film about a murder on a New York subway.”
The film ran less than an hour, but to
my real astonishment, I ended up with
John Barry writing the score, Gerry Turpin
lighting it, Shirley Knight and Al Freeman,
Jr., acting in it. Credit must be given
the producer Gene Persson, who raised
the money in hundred dollar lots. I was
cutting THE WHISPERERS at the time and
(director) Bryan Forbes said, “Go off
for a week and direct the film.” I'd cut
THE WHISPERERS during the day and rehearse
DUTCHMAN at night. We shot the film in
one night at Twickenham Studios. We were
not allowed to shoot in New York's subway
system because Mayor Lindsay said we were
encouraging violence in the subways, as
if there wasn't enough already!
JG:
After the intimate, low-budget DUTCHMAN,
you were hired to direct THE LION IN WINTER.
AH:
Peter O'Toole saw DUTCHMAN and asked me
to do a thriller which didn't materialize.
A few months later he was set to do a
filmed called THE SKI BUM, which again
didn't materialize. There was financing
available to do THE LION IN WINTER, from
the James Goldman play, and Peter flew
to Hollywood to see Katharine Hepburn.
They went down to a West Hollywood theatre
to see DUTCHMAN at three in the morning.
Hepburn said, “I don't understand what
this movie has to do with THE LION IN
WINTER, but if you trust him, let's go
ahead.” It was timing and luck, being
in the right place at the right time.
You can be the most talented character
and never make it because of timing. There
are so many extraordinary people in this
industry who've never had a career because
of luck and bad timing.
JG:
THE LION IN WINTER is one of the few historical
films that so completely capture the feeling
of period.
AH:
The script had so much humor, charm, and
energy. I wanted to get the feel of the
Twelfth Century, that terrible feeling
of cold, dirt, and isolation. People lived
very uncomfortably during that period
of time, and there was a great deal of
misery. They would light a fire in these
enormous rooms but they never felt really
warm. I didn't want the picture to look
like a typical Hollywood historical epic,
but a dark and realistic vision of what
it must have been like to live in the
Twelfth Century. I showed Douglas Slocombe,
a brilliant cameraman (he went on to shoot
all three INDIANA JONES films), a Breughel
painting to illustrate what I wanted the
film to look like. We filmed on location
in Ireland, France, and Wales in real
castles with a fantastic cast of actors
– O'Toole, Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins,
Nigel Terry, John Castle, Timothy Dalton,
Jane Merrow. It was one of those rare
times when everything worked. There was
an infectious quality of giving. Some
films become agony, but on THE LION IN
WINTER it was great from day one.
JG:
How was your experience directing Katharine
Hepburn for the first time? (note: Tony
went on to direct Hepburn in THE GLASS
MENAGERIE, GRACE QUIGLEY, and THIS MUST
BE LOVE, and remained very close with
her until her death in 2003.)
AH:
I'd seen Hepburn films all my life and
I was somewhat worried about working with
such a legend, but she had the capacity
to make everyone feel comfortable, including
the younger actors. We had a two-week
rehearsal period, which broke down those
barriers and we became a family.
JG:
Did you vary your approach to directing
experienced actors like O'Toole and Hepburn
with the newer performers?
AH:
Not really. Each actor needs enormous
love, affection and encouragement, and
the greater the actor, the more they need
you to be dead honest, I know this myself
from my early days as an actor. They need
you to trust them so that they can trust
themselves. I think it's an infectious
thing. I found, rather to my astonishment,
that Hepburn likes to challenge you and
test you the first week or two.
JG:
What kinds of tests?
AH:
Interpretation of a scene. For instance,
in the mirror sequence she wanted to play
it strong, while I felt she should play
it more vulnerably. I shot around the
scene because I didn't think it was going
to work Kate's way. I said, “I don't bloody
well agree with you so I'm going to stick
to this.” We were both very stubborn.
Finally Kate did it the way I thought
it should be played and it was then that
we started to be friends. I think many
actors test you out, and you better be
damn good and have the right answers.
Great actors need strong directors. Hepburn
has such power on the screen. When she's
dead simple, it's devastating. As a matter
of fact, actors' instincts are usually
quite extraordinary.
JG:
With your background in editing, how did
you work with the editor of THE LION IN
WINTER, John Bloom?
AH:
It was very much teamwork. John did a
fine job. I'd never worked with him before,
but I cut THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE
COLD in the next room to where he was
cutting GEORGY GIRL (1966). While cutting
THE LION IN WINTER, I wouldn't look over
his shoulder. I don't believe in that.
I'd come in and say, “This is brilliant”
or “This is lousy.” You can't suffocate
people, whether they're editors, actors
or cameramen, but somehow you try to guide
them to what you're after.
JG:
What qualities do you think are important
in film directing?
AH:
Your energy and concentration. Also, trust
is very infectious, and people will work
terribly hard and very long hours in the
best way if you believe in them. It's
good when you can work with the same glorious
crew again and again. When I've made films
in England I've worked with sound mixer
Simon Kaye and cinematographers Douglas
Slocombe and Geoffrey Unsworth. In America,
it's been soundman Bill Daly and cameraman
Larry Pizer. I've worked with editors
John Bloom and Jerry Greenberg (and Robert
Reitano), and on the last few pictures
I've worked with the same assistant director,
the outrageous and unique Mike Haley.
Once they know you, and they know the
insanities and madness that film directors
sometimes have, they can say with great
humor, “Oh, there's Tony again. It doesn't
matter, he'll be alright tomorrow!” With
a crew you know, you can have a sense
of humor and laugh at yourself. It's important
to have that trust. When you're on location
away from home, it's remarkable to have
a team of people who want to give you
the best they can, who all want to make
a terrific movie. I feel close to technicians
because that's how I started my career.
It's very important to think of them as
your family, and that feeling spreads
to the actors.
(The
above interview is excerpted from the
book Film Directors on Directing
by John Gallagher, Praeger Publishers).
HOWARD
HUGHES : In conjunction with the release
of Martin Scorsese's NBR-acclaimed Howard
Hughes biopic THE AVIATOR, Turner Classic
Movies presents a Hughes tribute this
month. Film buffs have cause to rejoice
on the evening of December 15 th , when
TCM broadcasts three incredibly rare Hughes
silent productions, unseen since their
initial releases nearly 80 years ago.
First up at 8 PM EST is TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS
(1927), a World War One action comedy
inspired by Raoul Walsh's smash hit WHAT
PRICE GLORY? (1926). Director Lewis Milestone
made his mark with this movie (winning
the only Oscar for Best Comedy Direction),
guiding William Boyd) eight years before
his first HOPALONG CASSIDY), Louis Wolheim
(three years before Milestone's ALL QUIET
ON THE WESTERN FRONT), and 21-year-old
Mary Asyor (15 years before THE MALTESE
FALCON.
THE
RACKET (1928) follows at 8 PM, another
Lewis Milestone picture, this one a key
early gangster picture, and apparently
the first to deal with crooked cops. Twenties
matinee idol Thomas Meighan plays the
crime buster, with Louis Wolheim as racketeer
Nick Scarsi. Meighan returns at 10:30
in THE MATING CALL (1928), a drama scripted
by Herman J. Mankiewicz (CITIZEN KANE)
having something to do with the Ku Klux
Klan.
Hughes
deposited the films along with other memorabilia
from his movie career at the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas, and for decades,
these pictures remained inaccessible.
DVD distributor Flicker Alley's Jeffrey
Masino initiated the digital restoration
of these important works of the late silent
cinema (hugely successful in their day).
TCM's
Hughes tribute continues on December 15
th with his better known HELL'S ANGELS
and Milestone's THE FRONT PAGE, on December
16 th with several of his RKO productions,
including THE OUTLAW (1943) and HIS KIND
OF WOMAN (1951) both starring Jane Russell,
and on the 17 th with the original TCM
documentary HOWARD HUGHES: HIS WOMEN AND
HIS MOVIES.
UNIVERSITY
OF WISCONSIN PRESS: Under its various
imprints, UW Press ( www.wisc.edu.wisconsinpress
) has published three compelling new
film books. Walking Shadows by
John Evangelist Walsh covers the Orson
Welles/W.R.Hearst/ CITIZEN KANE controversy
– and what new material, you might
well ask, does it have to offer about
one of the most written about films in
history? Walsh focuses on the Hearst aspect
(most previous books have concentrated
on Welles) and offers intriguing indications
that the media mogul manipulated that
year's Academy Awards to the detriment
of KANE, and also destroyed the career
of KANE co-star Dorothy Comingore.
The
1922 murder of silent film director William
Desmond Taylor has long been one of Hollywood's
great unsolved murders. Was he killed
by love-smitten teen idol Mary Miles Minter,
her manipulative mother Charlotte Shelby,
a passing vagrant, an ex-male lover? The
late great director King Vidor spent a
good deal of his golden years investigating
the possibilities. Sidney Kirkpatrick
utilized his research in his best selling
1986 A Cast of Killers , but now
veteran scribe Charles Higham has written
the definitive book on the case –
Murder in Hollywood: Solving a Silent
Screen Mystery. And solve it he does in
this terrific non-fiction detective story
… at least he presents the best evidence
that Taylor was murdered by---
Sorry,
you'll have to read the book, and you
won't be sorry. It's a great read.
December
18 th marks the centennial of the birth
of George Stevens, one of the greatest
filmmakers who ever lived. The ever-diligent
TCM celebrates with five of his films
on December 21, and University of Wisconsin
Press has just released a long overdue
critical biography, Giant: George Stevens,
a Life on Film by Marilyn Ann Moss. Stevens
began his career as a cinematographer
at the Hal Roach Studios, where he shot
many silent Laurel and Hardy shorts before
directing two-reel comedies himself. Few
directors have such a diverse filmography,
with outstanding achievements in so many
different genres – the Katharine
Hepburn small-town drama ALICE ADAMS (1935),
the quintessential Astaire-Rogers musical
SWING TIME (1936), the rousing imperialist
adventure GUNGA DIN (1941), the ultimate
tearjerker PENNY SERENADE (1941), and
the romantic comedies WOMAN OF THE YEAR
(1942), which first paired Tracy and Hepburn,
and THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943).
Stevens
served in World War Two shooting documentaries
for the War Department on the front lines
of Europe, but it was his experiences
liberating the Dachau concentration camp
that changed him forever (among the TCM
films being screened is George Stevens
Jr,'s documentary FROM D-DAY TO BERLIN,
incorporating his father's color footage
from the war).
Back
in Hollywood, Stevens dedicated himself
to some of the greatest depictions of
Americana ever committed to celluloid
– I REMEMBER MAMA (!948), A PLACE
IN THE SUN (1951), SHANE (1953) and GIANT
(1956). He followed with DIARY OF ANNE
FRANK (1959), THE GREATEST STORY EVER
TOLD (1965) and his final film, THE ONLY
GAME IN TOWN (1969). Unbelievably, with
a body of work like this, there has never
been a full-blown biography of George
Stevens, until now.
Moss
has done a sensational job with Giant
. She has accessed the extensive files
in the George Stevens Collection at the
Academy Library, so her primary research
is impeccable. She gives us both production
histories and critical analysis of the
films, and also does an estimable job
of capturing Stevens' rather cryptic character.
Along with Robert Birchard's volume on
Cecil B. DeMille, this is the best director
bio of 2004.
-- JOHN GALLAGHER
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