The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 395

BY PHILIP IC SCHEUER Life, Hard Times of Cleopatra1 WAITER WANGER: A 40-YEAR RUN ahead with it immediately. So they sent Mamoulian to New York for a discussion and by-passed me because they thought the kind of deal they wanted to make in Italy should have an Italian producer. I knew the deal would never work out so just bided my time. After this six weeks' exploration trip on which I was not present, the whole thing blew up. It was.

then decided that maybe England would be the best place; and Mamoulian and myself I was allowed to go this time went to England. We saw the studio Fox wanted to use and came back with the unhappy report that it was inadequate and the picture shouldn't be made in England. Notwithstanding this, we were ordered to. make it in England with exteriors Jn Italy. By this time the casting had become involved Peter Finch chosen for Caesar and Stephen Boyd for Antony and we proceeded to England.

All this time the script was being rewritten. When we got to England we found conditions much worse than we had anticipated from the standpoint of production. Promises made by Fox's London chief were not forthcoming; we couldn't, for instance, get the stages promised to Buddy Adler and Spyros Skouras, or even draftsmen. So desperate was the situation that on July 15, 1960, 1 wrote a long letter to Bautzer telling him how concerned I was about making the picture in England and thought it should be stopped. I enclosed a chart of weather conditions and said if Elizabeth was allowed to come to England with her bronchial trouble that I feared for the consequences.

There was also a labor shortage and I explained that no British producer, large or small, would think of making a big exterior picture in England at that time." I considered it a most unbusinesslike venture and one that would be far more costly than anticipated due to lack of facilities for this type of picture. The fog and sleet of London were hardly the atmosphere for Mediterranean Alexandria. Our administration, however, overruled me and promised me all the labor I needed and the proper facilities. Not only would they not listen to me; they wouldn't listen to their own staff. The climax came when we were supposed to start the picture and had been shooting a few weeks without Taylor.

Just as we were about to get her on the stages, Mamoulian resigned. The management quickly replaced him with Mankiewicz, another old friend of mine; my last picture, which got Susan Hayward the Oscar, "I Want to was made for Mankiewicz's Figaro Co. I thought Joe was a brilliant choice and I'm certain of it now. Elizabeth Gets Sick Joe was to pick up the pieces and shoot the film in London and write a new script. Sidney Buchman worked with him on the treatment; then Laurence Durrell (who had worked on it with Mamoulian and myself) wa3 called back because J03 was so impressed with some of the scenes he'd read.

Just about this time, March of 1961, Elizabeth, affected, as I had anticipated, by the English climate, fell desperately ill. I was naturally distraught because I had involved her in the picture, and when the news report came that she was "dead" it was the lowest moment of the saga many sleepless nights, with phone calls from all over the world. I've never known anything like the public interest in her condition. Happily, Elizabeth had the will to live and recovered. Then, of course, we all moved back The byline should read, Walter Wanger.

This is the story behind the story of Wanger and "Cleopatra," of which he is the producer, from the very start. I had been hounding him for it during the five days I was in Rome; On the eve of the last night's shooting on the back lot of Cinecitta studio, he unexpectedly sat down beside me in the studio cafe. "Get out your notebook," he said. I blunted two pencils taking it all down. It is a peculiarly personal and peculiarly impersonal document, a transcript of the mind of the movie producer (who had more than once been made to feel like "Cleopatra's" forgotten man) at work.

Wanger: I read a book The Life and Times of Cleopatra," by an Italian called Franzero five years ago. I went to Elizabeth (Taylor) and (Michael) Todd about making it. At that time the idea was to make it for United Artists. But then my company, Walter Wanger Productions, made a deal with Fox. I submitted four properties "Justine," "The Dud Avocado" and "The Fall" by Albert Fox went for the first three.

I started work on then this saga 'Ideal Cleopatra' The picture was to be made in Hollywood originally with Joan Collins. They started to build a lake and the big Alexandria set on the lot. I got in touch with Taylor again she was doing "Suddenly, Last Summer" with Joe Mankiewicz in London and she said she was interested. This changed my whole concept as I thought she would be the ideal Cleopatra as, she is: But the studio didn't want her mentioned other stars and my first fight with Fox was to get Taylor the role. After long and complicated negotiations in which I retained Greg Bautzer as my lawyer these were called off about the 17th.

time- I called Elizabeth to say good-by during negotiations very trying and with much unpleasantness and she had tears in her voice and said she would do Cleopatra. On the phone she agreed to certain terms and made her own deal and this cinched her doing Cleopatra. Had I not called her to say good-by there would never have been any picture. Rouben Mamoulian was signed by the studio to direct the picture. We were old friends; I had done two with him before, "Applause," his first job, and "Queen Christina" with Garbo.

Then came the question of Caesar, and Antony. My first team was always Olivier or Rex Harrison for. Caesar and Richard Burton for Antony. The studio refused to. approve Harrison or Burton and Olivier was not available Then came the many gyrations too long to cover here as to where the picture should be made, as Taylor couldn't make it in America for legal reasons.

About this time the actors' strike came along and Fox thought that by making it an Italian production with an Italian organization they could go to America. The questions now were how.long it would take her to recover and where the picture should be made. By now the sets I said should never have been built in England had been torn down and the film taken was scrapped. Joe started on a complete new approach to the project. Elizabeth's doctor refused to give us a.

date when she would be well enough to work. But she made a speedy recovery and was able to stagger up the aisle and get her Oscar for "Butterfield 8." After several months of recuperation a conference was held between the studio and her doctor, and we were told she would be able to start in September. Joe and his staff went to Italy and made a survey of locations (the decision had been to make exteriors in Italy and interiors at the Hollywood studio). Joe came back to Hollywood and we put on full pressure to try to start on a September date a practically "impossible task when you consider that "Ben-Hur" had a year of preparation with a well-organized staff, while we were 90 days to start. Mankiewicz coulcl easily have used a year writing and preparing on a picture of this In the history of all show business there had never been an enterprise of such size with real ship3 instead of miniatures for sea battles, a real barge 300 ft; long for Cleopatra, a Roman forum as big as the ancient the city of Alexandria on the Mediterranean, I want to, pay tribute to the Fox people we brought from Working so harmoniously with the Italians, they are responsible for our having maithe picture under the condition we did.

We started "Cleopatra" in Rome last Sept. 25 and ran into the worst winter they had had in 10 years. We curtailed our exter ors shot interiors until the spring "Mankiewicz worked like a Trojan writmg and directing and doing the briUitnt work that you will soon see. We are gBing home with a completed "CleopiM" that I am sure will be 21st CenturyfiQx's first picture. I am convinced "ft (11 run 40 years.

Onejdr the biggest thrills of my life, after writ ng five years, was to witness Cleopm3 barge arriving at Tarsus, withj 10O" handmaidens throwing coins and' fWwers to the natives. And al-. though I've seen Duse, Bernhardt, Rejane and all the great actresses in my Jonj career, I've never seen a greatWJmotional performance on stage 1 Iff i lit or screen! than Elizabeth Taylors as ClepMa PAGEANTRY OF CLEOPATRA ENTERING ROME IN SCENE FROM THE MOVIE 0 SLntUH CUIU CALENDAR, AUGUST' 19, 962.