Sam Westwood's Hollywood

[markedward]

Is he the namesake of the Norman character from A Star Is Born?

Hey there!

No, actually Norman Taurog was an OTL film director who worked from about 1920-1968. IOTL, he directed 'Live A Little, Love A Little' which is the TTL equivalent to the dud movie Harris keeps bringing up. He is largely forgotten today outside classic film circles, but won an Oscar for Best Director for 'Skippy' (1931).

He would probably be best known now for a series of Martin & Lewis comedies as well as a ton of films for Elvis ('Blue Hawaii') and least one AIP beach picture.

Harris saying it would have been a great gig in 1940 is meant to be in sync with Harris' (as of 1971) unfortunate tendency to take projects on that are either several years behind or several years ahead.

I keep meaning to supply notes or an IMDB link when applicable as with Carrie Snodgress due to my tastes tending to run towards the obscure.

 

[markedward]

Harris is talking about House Of The Seven Gables (1971)

Harris: 'House Of The Seven Gables' was a wannabe A-Picture. When AIP was trying to be classy. I was horribly miscast. Holgrave was usually played by men who were closer to thirty. [1]

That said, it was the one callback I got after 'Timothy' that wasn't a modelling gig. I went to New England, did the shoot and flew back to New York.

Nolan: AIP had a sort of art-house division which is a concept that is only starting to catch on now--

Harris: Yeah. It didn't save them, it was too far ahead of its time, but they did put some interesting stuff out.

Nolan: You made a few B-pictures with Jill Haworth--

Harris: I did, yeah.

Nolan: Michael Armstrong did some interesting work.

Harris: He did. I liked 'The Dark', so I was excited to work with him. And he was a young director, just starting out.

I mean, it wasn't a huge hit, but It got me two really great offers and both of them fell through. The biggest regret of my career is turning down 'Star-Spangled Girl' with Bud Cort and Shelley Duvall. Altman took a mediocre script based on a Neil Simon play and changed it around as a vehicle for Shelley Duvall. I was offered the Keith Carradine role and it made him a star. Unfortunately, I had already been cast in a television pilot in New York and had to decline.

Nolan: What was the pilot?

Harris: Some...I think it was a drama series that never got picked up.

At the same time, I was offered another film, one of the last ones Elizabeth did with Burton. 'Hammersmith Is Out'. Peter Ustinov, who was directing, didn't want me and uh...that went to Beau Bridges.

Sam: He just had bad luck.

Harris: I'm not sure anyone knew what to do with me. I'd get a lead and then wind up doing more television ads or guest spots. And then a walk-on in something followed by more leads. It's an odd trajectory. But there was a silver lining to all this--

[1] In the 1940 adaptation, Dick Foran who played Holgrave was born in 1910. There was also an adaptation for Shirley Temple's Storybook in 1960 featuring Robert Culp as Holgrave. Culp was born in 1930. Both men would have been 30 depending on release, whereas Harris is still in his very early 20's by this point.

 

[markedward]

House Of The Seven Gables (AIP/International Classics, 7/1971)

Directed by Michael Armstrong

Screenplay by Patrick Tilley (Based on The House Of The Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne)

A Samuel Arkoff Production

Cast

Martin Landau as Colonel Pyncheon/ Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon- A jurist and aspiring politician who lives comfortably out of town. Bears a strong resemblance to his ancestor Colonel Pyncheon. Both are revealed to have been ruthless when the Judge shows up via flashback.

Siân Phillips as Hepzibah Pyncheon- The current resident of the house.

Jill Haworth as Phoebe Pynchon/ Alice Pyncheon- A distant relative. The customers at Hepzibah's shop love her and she manages to rouse Clifford from his depressive state. Haworth also portrays Alice whose ghost haunts the House of the Seven Gables. Alice appears via flashback in a story Holgrave tells Phoebe.

Harris Walker as Holgrave/ Matthew Maule- A mysterious attic lodger who is writing a history of the Pyncheon family. Phoebe's love interest. Walker also portrays Matthew Maule, who appears via flashback in a story Holgrave tells Phoebe.

Robert Quarry as Clifford Pyncheon- Brother of Hepzibah. Recently completed a thirty-year sentence for murder. Quarry replaced Vincent Price who left to film 'The Abominable Dr Phibes'

Whit Bissell as Uncle Venner- An elderly man, the only neighbour who is still friendly to the Pyncheon's.

Lee H. Montgomeryas Ned Higgins- A boy who visits Hepzibah's shop periodically for gingerbread cookies.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************


From the Podcast Talking Pictures with Nolan Hendricks and Harris Walker (July 2019)

Harris: This is Harris Walker. Welcome to 'Talking Pictures'. Nolan is away on a book tour so with me in the studio is 'Talking Pictures' favourite Lee Montgomery.

Lee: First off, we're going to discuss my first movie, which was Harris' third theatrical film.

Harris: That's right. From 1971, 'House Of The Seven Gables' for good old AIP. And via Skype, we also have Siân Phillips with us.

Siân: Hello Harris! Hello Lee!

Both: Hello Sian!

Harris: We're both glad to have you here! Or at least via Skype to join the podcast!

Siân: It's a pleasure to be able to chat with you both again!

Harris: So, first off, Lee and I both get asked about it a lot and--I don't even know if we've discussed this publicly--

Lee: Because I also worked with Bette Davis on 'Burnt Offerings', I get asked quite frequently about both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

Harris: As everyone knows, Joan Crawford was originally cast as Hepzibah Pyncheon.

Lee: God, that's quite the mouth full.

Harris: It's like a tongue twister--

All three laugh

Lee: I never could pronounce it as a kid.

Siân: You got better with it after I helped you pronounce it.

Harris: Siân also taught me how to swear in Welsh!

Siân: I did, you naughty man!

Harris: Anyway, I flew to New England and we did a round table reading. I believe it was Lee's first film.

Lee: It was. I was also offered a Disney film called 'Million Dollar Duck' and decided to do 'House Of The Seven Gables' instead. Before that, I had been a child model, I was about nine years old when the film was released.

Anyway, Joan Crawford was nice to me in a grandmotherly sort of way but also made me nervous.

Harris: Joan was polite at the round table reading, but I showed up in a t-shirt and jeans and was probably out of it. Martin Landau was there, he was coming off of 'Mission: Impossible'

Lee: I just remember being excited as a kid because I was sitting at a table with Vincent Price and Martin Landau.

Harris: Vincent Price was also supposed to be in the film by that point.

Harris: Joan Crawford showed up in evening gloves and pearls and a suit. I felt like she thought some of us were unkempt and unprofessional-looking because we weren't all dressed formally.

Siân: You also have to remember, Harris, that Joan Crawford was from another time. She was classic Hollywood.

Harris: It was a weird time, a huge generation gap. Now all of us who were young back then, we're the old people.

Siân: I'm old enough to be your mother, Harris!

Harris laughs

Harris: I'm 69 years old!

Siân: When you get to 86, Harris, then you can start complaining.

Harris: Deal.

Lee: So, uh, what exactly happened? I was just a kid, but I knew there was tension on the set with Joan.

Harris: First day of shooting we exchanged pleasantries and--I liked staying up to watch old movies. I was never a big fan but loved her in 'Rain'. So, I said to her, "I enjoyed your performance as Miss Sadie Thompson in Rain'". And she raised one of her eyebrows. Those things were like...caterpillars--

Lee and Harris both laugh

Lee: They terrified me!

Harris: All she said was "Really?"

Joan Crawford barely spoke to me after that. I never knew why until I read that 'Rain' had been a flop and she was sensitive about it.

Lee: I remember something to do with Pepsi on the set--

Harris: Joan drove Michael Armstrong, the director, crazy because she wanted Pepsi shown in the movie. It was a period piece! They couldn't just have Pepsi bottles on the shop set. I'm pretty sure she wasn't even on the board of directors at Pepsi by that point.

Lee: Years later, when I worked with Bette Davis, she somehow knew about all of that and said to me "You poor, poor child!"

Everyone is heard laughing

Siân: I know Joan was said to have been inclusive regarding gay actors--

Harris: She was best friends with William Haines.

Siân: William Haines led a very interesting life.

Harris: Joan referred to him as 'Billy'. She did mention him briefly as a dear friend during a rare exchange. It wasn't long after that he passed away. Years later Sam got offered a script and he decided to turn it down.

Lee: To play William Haines?

Siân: Wow!

Harris: Yeah. The script was never produced, sadly.

I've been harsh on Joan Crawford, but I did feel bad for her later on. She'd been typecast in all these films like 'Strait-Jacket'. 'House Of The Seven Gables' would have been something slightly better for her. And, as Sian has said she was from another time and still trying to work and stay relevant.

Siân: Which can become very hard as you get older in the acting profession. I wasn't on the set yet and cannot vouch for her behaviour.

Harris: After a couple of weeks, Joan stopped showing up on set. She said she was ill. Which, as you know, she did the same thing with 'Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte'. Arkoff wanted the film done quickly and not over budget. Finally, Joan was let go. In the meantime, Vincent also dropped out because he had been obligated to film 'The Abominable Dr Phibes' in England.

Arkoff still had Martin Landau, he had his 'name' actor.

Lee: Martin was amazingly talented. And that is where Siân comes in!

Siân: He was a very talented man. And he played a double role as did Jill Haworth and of course, Harris.

Harris: Siân joined the cast. There's an Elizabeth Taylor connection there--

Lee: Of course.

Siân: Was it, let's see--Are you talking about 'Under Milk Wood', Harris?

Harris: I am!

Siân: I believe that was one of the last movies she did with Richard Burton. My husband at the time, Peter O'Toole was in that as well.

Harris: Anyway, once Siân joined the cast, things were less contentious. Vincent Price, before he left, had told me she was a great theatre actress and I looked forward to meeting her.

Siân: I adored you, Harris! I knew you had done 'That Cold Day In The Park' with Elizabeth Taylor but wasn't familiar with any of your other roles.

Harris: For which I was grateful!

Siân: I can't exactly recall how I was cast, but I was put on a plane and flown to New England.

Harris: Vincent felt bad about having to drop out, I think. He had played Clifford in the 1940 version and wanted to do it again. And Robert Quarry replaced him, which, they had something of a rivalry. Arkoff liked to pit them against each other. I did another film with both of them later on and it was a bit of a male Bette and Joan situation.

Lee: Both of them were a lot alike, though. Very nice guys.

Harris: Sometimes when people are too much alike there can be problems. And Bob felt bad about it.

Siân: Robert was a very talented actor who sort of wound up doing, you know--

Harris: Schlock?

Siân: Well, I was trying to find a proper word to use--

Lee: Siân just fit in well in a short amount of time.

Harris: It was like the first two weeks had never happened.

Siân: As I said, I adored both of you. Harris, do you remember my personal makeup artist named Eoin O'Rourke who I brought on board with me?

Harris laughs

Siân: I have never told anybody this story. Harris fancied Eoin O'Rourke. This was long before you and Sam Westwood became an item.

Harris: I forgot about Eoin O'Rourke! I acted like a schoolgirl!

Everyone laughs

Siân: Eoin had been fluent only in Gaelic until he attended school. Harris wanted to learn some Welsh from me but also Gaelic because he wanted to try and impress Eoin.

Harris: Guilty as charged. And it was always so awkward.

Everyone laughs

Siân: You were mischevious, but I loved working with you. I enjoyed seeing where it as going to go each day. Jill and I had a wager going on. (laughs)

Harris: Which Jill informed me about after filming.

Lee: I was kept in the dark.

Harris: I never did get anywhere with him!

Siân: I think because you were so young Lee, we sort of sheltered you a bit. Jill, Martin, and Robert are no longer with us, but they were all lovely to work with. It was a Hollywood movie, my second--

Harris: You appeared in 'Goodbye Mr Chips'--

Siân: I did, yes. That was another film Peter stared in.

Harris: Because you were a renowned stage actress, were you concerned about doing a dressed up B-picture?

Siân: No, not at all. I liked the script.

Lee: Harris, Jill and Martin had put me at ease already. Once Siân joined the cast it was even more like a family unit. Martin and Siân were the parents, Jill was the aunt, and Harris was like the cool older brother.

Harris: You worked with both myself and Sam at different stages in your career.

Lee: Yeah, years later when I wanted to transition into more grown-up roles, I played Sam's love interest in 'The Front Runner'

Nolan: Were you comfortable with the material?

Lee: At the time, I wanted to work with Sam Westwood and Paul Newman. It just so happened that I was going to be playing a gay character. Sam put me at ease about the love scenes and wanted to make sure I was ok with the material. Sam and Paul were both really good to make sure I was ok with what we were shooting. You have to remember, Sam was nervous too because he was risking his entire career by making the movie.

Harris: Siân, while you are still here, are there any other fond memories of the production you would like to share?

Siân: I loved the cast and crew. And working with you and Lee--

Harris: I was horribly miscast on that picture--

Siân: You were young for the role, but I thought you were a very good actor and it wasn't your fault.

Harris: I think the only other part for a younger actor was Lee's role and I wasn't gonna be convincing as a nine-year-old boy with a thing for gingerbread cookies--

Everyone laughs

Lee: I had to eat so many of those during takes that I got sick and to this day cannot eat gingerbread cookies--

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

[Time Enough]

This was charming, I can imagine it quite easily. If Talking Pictures was a real podcast I would certainly listen to it. Hopefully Harris gets to work with Price again (also I like the idea of Paul Newman and Sam Westwood becoming partners in filmmaking business). Also I'm glad to learn about various actors I never thought of.

 

[markedward]

This was charming, I can imagine it quite easily. If Talking Pictures was a real podcast I would certainly listen to it. Hopefully, Harris gets to work with Price again (also I like the idea of Paul Newman and Sam Westwood becoming partners in filmmaking business). Also, I'm glad to learn about various actors I never thought of.

Thanks!

Vincent Price will pop up again. There is a horror movie by a fictional Canadian filmmaker named Arthur Ericson* that the two of them both appear in about three years from the current PoD. There is a fictional actress coming up next post but I sort of left a footnote so people aren't storming IMDB after.

*If I come up with a plot, it's usually attributed to 'Edward O'Malley' or 'Arthur Ericson'.

 

[markedward]

Cassette recordings made by Nolan Hendricks during the late 1980s. Tapes continue where they left off with Harris Walker talking about lack of work following House Of The Seven Gables (1971) after subsequent film offers fell through.

Nolan: What was the silver living?

Harris: Huh?

Nolan: You mentioned that there was a silver lining to 'Star-Spangled Girl' and 'Hammersmith Is Out' falling through--

Harris: I have to give you a long-winded story first--

Sam is heard laughing in the background

Sam: Just--just roll with it, Nolan.

Harris: Helen kept finding roles for me. I'd periodically do a pilot or a commercial or a guest role on something. I did some live theatre. Helen's first husband was a unit still photographer. She had me learn from him in case my acting career stalled. The first thing I worked on was a Canadian film called 'Stay Away Joe'. I think it was another leftover Elvis script. Anyway, it was Arthur Ericson's first feature film. He doctored the script to make it more realistic and cast actors who were Native American in the leads. [1]

Sam: Harris did some of his best films with Art. I, on the other hand, made my worst film with him. (laughs)

Nolan: I have never asked you this, but I know Morgana Etsiddy had a bit part in that--

Harris: Yes! She's a lawyer now. She only acted for about six years but was in 'The Legend Of Hell House' with Roddy McDowell--

Nolan: I was going to ask what happened to her. She was in some well-known movies and then just vanished. [2]

Harris: Morgana's happy now. She didn't hate acting, but she was smart and got out and did something better.

After 'Stay Away Joe' I went right to work as a unit still photographer on 'Erring On The Side Of Caution' which, of course, that was the movie Liza and Judy made together with Shaun K. Davis. That was his first film and it got held up for two years when National General went under.

Harris: Sam and I kept in touch, but neither of us knew the other was involved with the project until we got talking.

Sam: I told Harris I was going to be in New York to shoot a small role in a movie. Harris said he was doing unit still photography on a film with Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland but he might be able to pencil me in. And I laughed and said, "That's the movie I'm doing!"

Harris: The silver lining was Sam. basically. If I hadn't taken on until still photography for a while, we may not have reconnected.

Nolan: There's something I want to ask both of you as people who were a certain age in the 1970s.

Sam: Go ahead.

Nolan: Why is there a stigma with Judy? She did a lot of stuff for gay rights causes late in life--

Harris: It was considered, for lack of a better term, "wimpy" to be an out and proud fan of hers. There was all that Castro Clone stuff going on and whatever.

(Harris uses an exaggerated voice)

Harris: You know, MANLY MEN!

Harris continues in his regular voice

Harris: Handlebar moustaches and flannel shirts and all that stuff. It became a cliche later on. You know, Barbra Streisand never took a flogging. People were doing her in drag and...I don't know, I didn't see a difference. It was still campy, there were still show tunes involved--

Harris sings a bar of 'The Way We Were' deliberately off-key. Nolan is heard laughing in the background.

Sam: Don't encourage it, Nolan! You know, Harris can sing when he's not joking around.

Harris: Sam was really close to working with her, you know.

Sam: On 'For Pete's Sake'. There--I'm not sure what happened. Maybe a disagreement with the producers and Barbra's agent Sue Mengers. Sue was always trying to sign me after I did 'The Grifters' and I wasn't interested. Later on, she'd say things behind my back like "Who is that boy trying to kid?"

Harris: For the record, I respect drag as an art form. I knew Sylvester and I know Divine, I directed videos for both of them. But they were both very exciting, unique chameleon-like performers who were doing something different. Sylvester could sing! And Divine is the greatest character performer of all time. They brought a lot to the table.

Sam: I had no issues with Liza or Judy. I'm not a musical buff but Judy was an incredible talent and was very kind to me. I tried to work with her again later on. Twice.

Nolan: You had to back out of 'Towering Inferno', but the other film was 'Devil Child'--

Sam: Which never got completed. There is a whole myth now behind that shoot. People think it was a haunted set.

Harris: If you wanna talk about haunted, 'Winding Stairs'. Now that was a haunted set--

Sam: ''Devil Child' wasn't haunted. It was just a rough production and the film was really creepy which didn't help matters much. Shaun K. Davis tried to get it going again later on and the same thing happened. People will tell you the film is haunted, but Judy was in ill health, Patty Duke was battling some demons, Shaun already had a hard life beforehand. My being outed and blackballed would have happened sooner or later.

Shaun has footage from both versions stashed away someplace. But he has stressed that it will never see the light of day. And you know, I like having a so-called spooky mystery on my resume (laughs)

Nolan: Harris, you told me when I was old enough you'd give me more New York City stories--

Harris: You're still too young (laughs)

But if you don't hear it from me, someone else might tell you. And I don't want that. I used to go to places like Max's Kansas City and sit in a corner table by myself. Occasionally, people would try and talk to me because they recognized me. Or people would try and pick me up.

Harris: I got to know Mary Woronov who also went on to do a ton of films for Roger Corman. We did 'Secrets Of The Damned' together. Mary, like Pat Ast, is cult movie royalty.

Pat Ast

Mary Woronov
​

You know, I get asked about Lou Reed and all the people who were a huge part of that scene. I didn't know those people. I mostly knew other actors. Barry Bostwick and I would run into each other at auditions a lot. Mary hung out at a lot of the clubs. I knew Pat Ast...I liked Pat. She was a Halston model but looked nothing like the other girls. She was a big lady and had an equally big personality. She'd strut her stuff and didn't give a shit. I admired that about her.

But she would also push me out of my comfort zone almost too much. I never fit in at Fire Island and she'd make me go with her because she liked to be seen with a posse of young, good looking, usually gay guys. It wasn't the best place for me to be as I would usually end up either high or drunk. Eventually, she wound up on the West Coast to make movies. I tried to talk Helen into repping her but Herb thought Pat's acting was dreadful. We just grew apart after the mid-'70s. That happens sometimes.

Pat and Mary Woronov both hung around the Warhol crowd and Andy--Andy had this obsession with Sam which I think might be why he threw Sam under the bus later. Sam just didn't get that scene.

Sam: I found it really--pretentious and just like they were trying too hard.

Harris: I had a couple of photography exhibits in New York City. Warhol attended one and just kind of stood around and observed people as he normally did. I overheard him talking smack about my work. And you know, I wanted to backhand him but I didn't because that would have ruined my career. Instead, I made a joke about doing an entire exhibit of pictures of the canned goods aisle at A&P within earshot. Which wasn't smart of me. And you know, he was like, King Shit of New York City, so if he hated something, the other tastemakers would usually flee. For some reason, there were people normally in his posse who stood by my work and by Sam and I. Grace Jones is one. And I drove Mary Woronov nuts, but she was another one because Roger Corman's group of actors were like a family.

Later on, I was up for the male lead in 'Bad' and Warhol didn't want me. Honestly, I thought that script was in poor taste even by my standards--

Anyway, we've gone off-topic. New York City in those days was scary. And I was snorting coke and popping pills. I am terrified of needles, though so I never shot up. Because I lived on the streets as a teenager, I had to learn to defend myself. I used to walk around with a boot knife in case someone tried to attack me. When I first made movies, I eased up on that. After the Polanski murders, I started doing it again and then in New York in the early '70s, I wouldn't leave home without it.

This guy tried to mug me once and I pulled it out and just started cleaning under my fingernails with it. Guy got scared and ran off cuz mine was bigger than his. Knife, I mean.

Sam: You have to realize Harris was a teenage runaway who kept running away as a young adult. Going to New York was running away. That situation would make anyone skittish.

Harris: I really didn't grow up until, well, I nearly drowned. Sam gave me an ultimatum.

[1] 1968 film IOTL. 1972 ITTL. Different cast and script changes as well as a lower budget.

[2] Morgana Juliet Etsiddy is a fictitious Navajo actress from New Mexico. Her career lasted from about 1972-1978 ITTL.

 

[NHobson]

Yeah, Andy Warhol always struck me as having the kind of thin skin that would try and tank a guy's career for making a crack like that.

 

[markedward]

Yeah, Andy Warhol always struck me as having the kind of thin skin that would try and tank a guy's career for making a crack like that.

You know, as a fan of pop art I like some of his more accessible work. That said, after reading a lot of unflattering stuff about Warhol for this piece as well as how he tended to drop people such as Edie Sedgewick like a hot potato, I'm no longer a fan of him as a person. I can picture someone like Harris wanting to fit in with that scene and becoming disillusioned with it rather quickly. Harris also has a beef for reasons which will become clear later on.

 

[Unknown]

@markedward, after reading about how much Andy Warhol was a jerk, I'm surprised only one person shot him...

 

[markedward]

Coming Soon...

 

[markedward]

Diamonds Are Forever (United Artists, 12/1971)

Produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli

Screenplay by Edward O'Malley (Based on Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming)

Music by John Barry ('Diamonds Are Forever' performed by Shirley Bassey)

Directed by Edward O'Malley

Cast

Roger Moore as James Bond 007

Natalie Wood as Tiffany Case

Anthony Franciosa as Seraffimo and Jack Sprang

Yaphet Kotto as Felix Leiter

Valerie Perrine as Plenty O'Toole

Bruce Glover as Mr Wint

Putter Smith as Mr Kidd

Leonard Barr as Shady Tree

Joe Robinson as Peter Franks

Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny

Desmond Llewelyn as Q

Bernard Lee as M

Lola Larson as Bond's Girl

Special appearance from Donald Pleasance as Blofeld

Plot

Pre-title sequence​

A disguised man pursues Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasance), tracking the villain to an underground facility where Blofeld look-alikes are being created through surgery. The man kills a test subject, and later the real Blofeld, by drowning him in a pool of superheated mud. After defeating Blofeld and his henchmen, the man pulls off his disguise, revealing Roger Moore.

A close up of Moore segues into the title sequence​

You get the idea. Sans cat.​

A few days later, Bond, who is with his latest fling, is called in by Moneypenny. M suspects that South African diamonds are being stockpiled to depress prices by dumping, and orders Bond to uncover the smuggling ring. Disguised as Peter Franks, a country house burglar turned diamond smuggler, Bond travels to Amsterdam to meet contact Tiffany Case.

When the real Franks shows up on the way, Bond intercepts and kills him, then switches IDs to make it seem like Franks is Bond. Case and Bond then go to Los Angeles, smuggling the diamonds inside Franks' corpse.

Bond discovers that the diamond smuggling ring is operated by the Spangled Mob, a ruthless American gang run by the brothers Jack and Seraffimo Spang. To earn his fee for carrying the diamonds he is instructed by a gang member, Shady Tree, to bet on a rigged horse race in nearby Saratoga. There Bond meets his friend Felix Leiter, an undercover CIA agent investigating crooked horse racing. Leiter bribes the jockey to ensure the failure of the plot to rig the race and asks Bond to make the pay-off. When he goes to make the payment, he witnesses two thugs, Wint and Kidd, attacking the jockey.

Bond calls Tree, who is employed at the Tiara as a stand-up comic, to enquire further about the payment of his fee. Bond is told to go to the Tiara Hotel in Las Vegas. The Tiara is owned by Seraffimo Spang and operates as the headquarters of the Spangled Mob. Spang also owns an old Western ghost town, named Spectreville, restored to be his own private holiday retreat.

Upon his arrival at the Tiara, Bond discovers that Tree has been killed by Wint and Kidd, who did not know that the diamonds were fake. At the craps table Bond meets the opportunistic Plenty O'Toole, and after gambling, brings her to his room. Gang members ambush them, throwing O'Toole out the window and into the pool. Bond spends the rest of the night with Tiffany Case, instructing her to retrieve the real diamonds at the Circus Circus casino.

Tiffany reneges on her deal to meet back with Bond and instead flees, passing off the diamonds to the next smuggler. However, seeing that O'Toole was killed after being mistaken for her, Tiffany changes her mind. Spang, meanwhile, suspects that Bond may be a 'plant' and has him captured and tortured at Spectreville. With Tiffany's help, he escapes from Spectreville aboard a railway push-car with Seraffimo Spang in pursuit aboard an old Western train. Bond changes the points and re-routes the train onto a dead-end, shooting Spang before the resulting crash.

Assisted by Leiter, Bond and Tiffany go via California to New York, where they board the RMS Queen Elizabeth to travel to London, a relationship developing between them as they go. Wint and Kidd observe their embarkation and follow them on board. They kidnap Tiffany, planning to kill her and throw her overboard. Bond rescues her and kills both gangsters; he makes it look like a murder-suicide.

Tiffany subsequently informs Bond of the details of the pipeline. The story begins in Africa where a dentist bribes miners to smuggle diamonds in their mouths; he extracts the gems during routine appointments. From there, the dentist takes the diamonds to a rendezvous with a German helicopter pilot. Eventually, the diamonds go to Paris and then on to London. There, after telephone instructions from a contact known as ABC, Tiffany meets a person who explains how the diamonds will be smuggled to New York City.

After returning to London with Case, Bond flies to Freetown in Sierra Leone, and then to the next diamond rendezvous. With the collapse of the rest of the pipeline, Jack Spang (who turns out to be ABC) shuts down his diamond-smuggling pipeline by killing those involved. Spang himself is killed when Bond shoots down his helicopter.

The title song kicks back in accompanied by the end credits.​

Production Notes via IMDB

Prior to production, Julian Glover was replaced by Roger Moore. Moore turned down a television project entitled The Persuaders! to play James Bond.

The main villain was meant to be Blofeld. Due to a dispute with Kevin McClory over the rights of the Blofeld character, original novel antagonists the Sprang Brothers were used instead. Blofeld was relegated to a cameo in the pre-title sequence where he is killed by Bond. [1]

Film debut of Valerie Perrine.

Sharon Tate was approached to play Tiffany Case. Instead, Tate appeared in the Mickey Spillane flop The Delta Factor. Wood had taken time off after marrying producer Richard Gregson and having a daughter, Natasha. This was her first film since 1969's Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, and aside from a cameo several months later in the Robert Redford film The Candidate, Diamonds Are Forever is the last film Wood would appear in until a trio of films released during 1974-75: The Great Gatsby, The Towering Inferno, and Fat Chance.

Reviews for Diamonds Are Forever were positive. The film was a success at the box office, providing a much-needed hit for the James Bond franchise.

[1] More info on that here. Honestly, the villain(s) from the novel synopsis just sounded more interesting than what we got IOTL.

 

[markedward]

Also, in regards to the post before this: I usually don't have cable, but was fortunate enough to be someplace that did last Sunday. Not sure if anyone else caught it, but CNN showed a documentary on Halston that actually contained a decent chunk of Pat Ast footage in the first half. There was footage of her singing to Warhol and Warhol looking rather bored/annoyed by the whole thing. Fit in pretty good with what Harris was talking about.

 

[PNWKing]

So what will happen to the movies Star Wars and Superman in this world?

 

[markedward]

So what will happen to the movies Star Wars and Superman in this world?

That is sometime away, but Superman *might* play out as IOTL and Star Wars I have specific plans for. Both films may get mentioned here (Harris has a SW story) but they will probably get more mention in the spin off. I have a bunch of posts gathered for one (not going into detail about said spinoff, it's a surprise). It's been delayed due to finding the time to balance a spin off on top of this.

 

[markedward]

Huge, huge thank you to @Guajolote for the poster! It's been added to the last post.

 

[markedward]

​

Life Magazine Profile on Sam Westwood 11/29 1971 issue

He was discovered by Disney, has worked with Alfred Hitchcock, and even been nominated for an Academy Award. Not bad for a 26-year-old from Tuscon, Arizona who only seven years ago was working as a maintenance man. Life Magazine recently met up with Sam Westwood and took photos of the young star inside his Malibu, California beachfront home.

"I didn't come out here to pursue an acting career" Westwood admits over a cup of coffee at his kitchen table "I came to California for a change of pace"

By all accounts, Sam Westwood's childhood was fairly normal. Born an only child to parents Fred and Sylvia, he grew up in the suburbs of Tuscon, Arizona.

"I wasn't a fantastic student or anything, but I stayed out of trouble and my home life was happy. My parents have always been supportive. I guess you could say I was rather boring" Westwood says with a chuckle.

When asked why he dropped out of college, Westwood tells Life:

"I took journalism for about a semester and then dropped out because I realized writing stories was more interesting to me than being a reporter".

Fred and Sylvia Westwood gave their son a year to figure out what he wanted to do. During that time, Westwood moved to California, taking a series of odd jobs. One of them famously at Disneyland. The rest is history.

Westwood paid his dues while under contract to Disney appearing in the odd television sitcom role and a few early film appearances. As Westwood recalls:

"I don't want to sound ungrateful, but because Disney had a certain image they wanted to maintain, there were restrictions on what roles I could accept which was pretty frustrating"

For Disney, Westwood snagged smaller roles in That Darn Cat as Canoe Henderson, the surfer boy love interest to Haley Mills' character as well as a specially written role in the Dean Jones comedy The Ugly Daschund. Outside Disney, a guest role on the fluffy sitcom Gidget and a played a supporting part in the Frankie and Annette vehicle Fireball 500. Westwood was eventually let go from his contract and on the verge of leaving town, was signed up by one-time actor turned popular talent agent Dick Clayton.

Eventually, Clayton was able to get Westwood a multiple picture deal with Universal. A series of film roles followed beginning with 1967's Alfred Hitchcock helmed Mary Rose, each part gradually becoming bigger. After a string of modest hits (Changes, Eye Of The Cat, Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse), Westwood finally hit star status last year with his Oscar-nominated turn in The Grifters, an adaptation of the novel by Jim Thompson. This was quickly followed up by the Paul Newman directed Never Give An Inch and next months release The Kill-Off, another Thompson adaptation.

In regards to working with Newman, who Westwood describes as an idol of his growing up, Westwood says the iconic actor "Was very much a father figure to me. Just a kind, down to earth guy with a funny side who is also very devoted to his craft. We became good friends and have discussed working together again if the right project comes along".

Westwood also has two films scheduled for release next year; the first is a thriller titled Traffic Jam opposite Jeffrey Hunter, who Sam says has, like Newman, also been something of a father figure to him since they first worked together on the Petula Clark comedy Don't Sleep In The Subway four years ago. The second, Westwood says is a film titled My Brother's Keeper.

About the latter film, Westwood tells Life:

"I play a police detective in that one. There are lots of twists and turns. Those are always the best scripts"

Much to Sam's chagrin, there has been speculation on his personal life, something the actor says is an unfortunate side effect of stardom, but something he says was expected with his increasing success over the past two years.

Although the actor has been spotted with among others, Goldie Hawn and fellow Oscar nominee Carrie Snodgress, Westwood has dodged questions regarding his love life in the past.

"I've just been too focused on my career to bother," Westwood says about relationships.

Although Westwood is somewhat private, he is very personable. He rarely has a group of handlers accompanying him and is refreshingly down to earth for a film star.

"I don't see the point in that stuff" Westwood admits "I hire a housekeeper if I'm away to look after my cat and check in on the place and I'll have a bodyguard on occasion for a public event, but I don't need a big entourage of people following me around. It just seems so...suffocating"

Even his approach to fame has been somewhat humble.

"I bought this house because I wanted to be near the ocean" Westwood, at one point an avid surfer, explains. "I've done the house and the car, but don't feel the need to invest in anything too extravagant. This could be all gone tomorrow and I think it's smart to have a little bit saved up in case"

Despite that statement, one gets the feeling Sam Westwood is no flash in the pan.

 

[markedward]

Just wanted to let you all know that there is a post coming but I am in the middle of a move right now.

 

[markedward]

The Kill-Off (20th Century Fox, 12/1971)

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Screenplay by Jim Thompson (Based on his novel The Kill-Off)

Music by Herbie Hancock

Cast

Geraldine Page as Luane Devore- A hypochondriac who is hated by the residents of the seaside town of Manduwoc for her malicious gossip. After falling down a flight of stairs to her death, numerous townspeople Luane spread rumours about become suspects.

Sam Westwood as Ralph Devore- The much younger husband of Luane. A hard worker, Ralph hoards the money he makes working odd jobs, although Luane keeps control of it. After falling in love with Danny Lee, Ralph struggles to find a way to get his money and to separate from Luane. Ralph is rumoured to be Luane's son as well as her husband, another of Luane's malicious lies.

Michele Lee as Danny Lee- A reluctant prostitute turned singer brought to Manduwoc by Rags McGuire. Danny falls in love with Ralph Devore.

Don Murray as Dr Jim Ashton- The local doctor, he moved to Manduwoc to conceal his relationship with Hattie, an African American woman who is the mother of his son Bobbie.

Diana Sands as Hattie- Dr Ashton's mistress and housekeeper. Hattie fell in love with Ashton from gratitude for his benevolence and his intellectual attention but was cast off when her pregnancy (and refusal to have an abortion) led to his professional disgrace. She lives in fear of Bobbie.

Warren Oates as Pete Pavlov- Local contractor facing bankruptcy because of Manduwoc's decline. Almost universally hated and distrusted, Pavlov is at bottom an honest man whose hateful attitude arose in response to having been swindled by Luane's father.

Karl Malden as Kossmeyer- Luane's lawyer, prone to anger.

Herbie Hancock as Rags McGuire- A famous jazz musician fallen on hard times because of his unwillingness to adapt to popular musical trends. He lives in denial of the death of his two sons, and the disfigurement of his wife, in an auto accident.

Bruce Dern as Henry Clay Williams- Local prosecutor, ambitious but dull-witted. His position is threatened by the rumour that he has an incestuous relationship with his sister.

Rudy Ramos as Bobby Ashton- Bright and outwardly good-natured, Bobbie conceals (to all but his parents and girlfriend) a psychotic character resulting in part from his parents' illegitimate relationship.

Kay Lenz as Myra Pavlov- Pete Pavlov's daughter and Bobbie Ashton's girlfriend, she lacks personality and will power. She lives in fear of her father and allows herself to be abused by Bobbie. She was forced into drug addiction by Bobbie.

Roberts Blossom as Marmaduke "Goofy" Gander- Town drunk and madman, he prowls through the town looking for booze.

Notes from IMDB

Film debut of Kay Lenz

The subject matter was toned down to avoid the dreaded 'X' rating by the MPAA.

Angela Lansbury turned down the role of Luan Devore down to star in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds both turned the part down to star alongside each other in the psycho biddy thriller What's The Matter With Helen?

Sam Westwood was actually not the first choice. Robert Redford previously turned down the part of Ralph.

After the success of The Grifters (1970), two Jim Thompson novels were adapted into films. The Kil-Off, and the Steve McQueen-Ali McGraw vehicle The Getaway (1972). While film rights to The Kill-Off were purchased by 20th Century Fox right after the release of The Grifters, the studio also had the rights to Thompson’s novel The Killer Inside Me. That film had been intended as a vehicle for Marilyn Monroe in the mid-1950s. 20th Century Fox (and Thompson) eventually settled on The Kill-Off instead. Thompson completed the screenplay during 1970, and production began at the start of 1971 with a projected release date for the end of the year.

Petula Clark was initially cast as Danny Lee but dropped out of the project due to fears she had been badly miscast and was replaced with Michele Lee. Dusty Springfield was also considered but reportedly refused to read the script.

Miles Davis was approached before Herbie Hancock was cast as Rags McGuire.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

From the original critical review by Roger Ebert, film critic and screenwriter (Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls):

"As an actor, it can be easier to visit familiar ground rather than explore new territory. Take Sam Westwood, for example. In his latest film, The Kill Off, we see him in in a film scripted by Jim Thompson (The Grifters), playing another sad-sack character. What could be more of the same is anything but.

Now, the film itself, if done wrong could have been a trashy mess. Instead, we get several scene-stealing performances from the cast and a soaring jazz score by Herbie Hancock who also appears in the film as Rags McGuire, a down on his luck jazz musician. Geraldine Page stars as Luan Devore, a particularly nasty character. Luan is a paranoid hypochondriac who keeps to her room while spreading awful rumours about the locals, including her much younger husband Ralph (Sam Westwood). After Luan is found dead, pushed down a flight of stairs, we meet a cast of characters, any of whom could have committed the crime.

Was it Danny Lee (Michele Lee) the prostitute turned lounge singer Ralph has fallen in love with? Dr Jim Ashton (Don Murray) who has fathered a secret son, Bobbie (Rudy Ramos), with Hattie (Diana Sands)? Or perhaps it was Pete Pavlov (Warren Oates) or his daughter Myra (Kay Lenz). Or Rags McGuire, a once-famous jazz musician (Hancock).

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Cassette recordings made by Nolan Hendricks during the late 1980s. Tapes continue where they left off with Harris Walker talking about lack of work following House Of The Seven Gables (1971) after subsequent film offers fell through.

Sam: I was offered 'Straw Dogs', which, uh--Harrison Ford wound up doing instead.

Nolan: Wasn't Dustin Hoffman up for that?

Sam: Yeah, he was. I felt like I was in good company, but also like I didn't deserve any of it. Dustin Hoffman worked really hard on stage for years. I was some kid who was working as a theme park caretaker--

Nolan: You did bit parts too, Sam--

Harris: That's crap, Sam.

Sam: Wait--

Harris: Just let me say this. You worked really hard once you were discovered. I know I can be really self depreciative about my own work but you have natural talent. And you went through a sort of star-making process. You paid your dues. 'The Phyllis Diller Show'? Come on! (laughs)

Nolan: What about the 'Ironside' movie? [1]

Sam: That was maybe my third or fourth film. I had a bit part as a doctor. Anyway, Harris strokes my ego (laughs)

Harris: You don't realize how good you are sometimes. And vice versa. We take turns on this one A LOT. (laughs)

Sam: That's what happens when you are with someone who also happens to be an actor. I'll be giving Harris "the speech", then he gives me "the speech" and...repeat.

Harris: Actors are the neediest damn group of people--

Everyone laughs

Nolan: What is the truth to Debbie Reynolds being sought after to play Luane DeVore?

Sam: Debbie Reynolds was the first choice, believe it or not. And she was divorcing her second husband. I think like Doris Day, she was scared to take on roles that might be too dark.

Harris: Which cracks me the Hell up because she did 'What's The Matter With Helen'--

Sam: I think she just didn't like the character of Luane, to be honest. I shot a test with Shelley Winters, then she went and did 'Helen' as well and eventually I was working with Geraldine Page.

Nolan: Is it ok if I ask about other things you were offered during that time?

Sam: Yeah, of course. Did you ever read any Jacquliene Suzann?

Nolan laughs

Nolan: No. My mom did. My sister who I'm close to loves 'Valley Of The Dolls'--

Sam: I never really got into her stuff, but--

Harris: I didn't need to read 'Valley Of The Dolls', I lived it! (laughs)

Nolan: Martin Milner, from 'Adam-12' was also in 'Valley Of The Dolls' and the 'Ironside' movie--

Sam: Universal were going to film an adaptation of another novel of hers called 'The Love Machine'. There was an actor who got cast in an attempt to change his image [2], and unfortunately, the guy wound up in a motorcycle accident. Universal decided to film it without him and asked me and...I didn't want to do it. So, they recast it with another actor and the guy who had been cast threatened a lawsuit, so the production was shut down and it wasn't made and Universal was in a jam for a bit--

Nolan: I've heard the movies you made for Universal put them through the late '60s financially--

Sam: I just happened to be in some films that made money for Universal during a period where they were also releasing some flops.

Anyway, I'm sorry I keep skirting around the subject of the 'Ironside' movie. Orson Welles starred in that. He was a ...character.

Harris: I did a commercial with him in the 70's and it was like, look, a lot of the old actors I worked with were like walking public service advertisements. I still struggle with drinking on occasion, but aside from a few times, I was always in control on the set, don't ask me how.

Sam: I had a couple of lines with Orson Welles and Martin Milner. Martin Milner played Ed Brown. The only actor in that to cross over to the actual series was Don Mitchell. Orson had been drinking in his trailer and it took what seemed like hours. Martin Milner told me years later that Orson Welles had to go back later and overdub his lines because they couldn't get a decent take. I'm trying to think who else was in that movie--

Nolan: I'm afraid to admit I haven't watched it yet but that I did find a copy to view.

Harris: I thought you've seen every single movie ever made!

Nolan: My video copy is in my backpack and I have a video guide here--

*Muffled sounds as Nolan digs around*

Nolan: Lara Parker played Eve Whitfield and Bobby Troup played the Commissioner.

Sam: Lara Parker...why am I drawing a blank? I had two scenes in that and would likely have met her.

Harris: When I auditioned for 'Dark Shadows', I read with Lara Parker. Later on, she had an arc on 'Take One' during my time on the show. She was playing a fading former movie star who had a rivalry with Angela Fairchild--

Nolan: Cynthia Bostick is fantastic as Angela Fairchild. Lara Parker was in some decent movies too, 'Save The Tiger', and she did an early DeNiro film, 'Hi, Mom!'

Sam: I do remember her now from 'Save The Tiger'--

[1] A valued reader reminded me about an early film of Sam's that hadn't been discussed yet.

[2] Brian Kelly, of Flipper fame.

 

[markedward]

Sorry for the long absence, everyone. The move took longer than expected and I managed to catch a cold right in the middle of it. Starting to get settled in and since I can actually concentrate up here due to lack of noisy neighbours (and get a decent rest unlike at the last place!), I should hopefully be able to update more often. Thanks for your patience!

 

[unclepatrick]

The Kill-Off (20th Century Fox, 12/1971)

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Are we going to see a J Lee Thompson who has a better career then in the OTL?
OTL he ended up doing a bunch of bad action movies with Charles Bronson.
The last watchable film he directed was Conquest of the Planet of the Apes .
After that it a steady decline/

Be nice to see him have a better 70's.