Well, Spring has sprung and I have enjoyed meeting my first bee and butterfly in my garden. I once used to get excited about attending a Royal film premiere in Leicester Square but today give me sitting out in my garden anytime. In fact the last premiere I attended was actually at the Royal Albert Hall for an anniversary James Bond film I can no longer remember. On leaving the event I remember bumping into Roger Moore and an American actor who was a giant with big teeth who had been invited as guests. The giant had been a Bond villain but frankly after Sean Connery left the role I lost interest. I think Madonna sang at the event and Daniel Craig was the star.
Ironically, the Bond films are associated with Pinewood but originally they were destined for the MGM Studios in Borehamwood, only the studio manager hated the director of Dr No so it did not happen. Not a lot of people know that. I wonder who has said that before me?
This time I reflect on the darker side of the film business back in the day, although who knows what still happens behind closed doors. It was called the casting couch and considered acceptable as a way into the business. Even back in the 1920s and 1930s future stars like Joan Crawford and Clark Gable used the method to their advantage. Luckily the head of 20th Century Fox Darryl F Zanuck is long dead, but he used to put time aside most days to ‘audition’ young ladies in a bedroom adjoining his office. In fact most of the studio heads of the ‘golden era’ indulged and by today’s standards they would all now be serving long prison sentences. Even agents exploited people and Tab Hunter told me his agent was famous for ‘bedding’ his male discoveries, which included the likes of Rock Hudson. Tab was gay and had to go along with it otherwise his career as a teenage heartthrob would would be finished.
Elstree Studios was not immune to such happenings. Take the case of young actress Carole Lesley, who dreamed of becoming a star in the…
Source : times
