Selznick, Paramount and The Creek Indian War
This Week
Selznick Memos
Tungee's Gold and a Legend
Writers Notebook: Sherwood Anderson
Memos:
According to Rudy Behlmer, editor of David O. Selznick's Memos, David's first official memo was written to Mr. Harry Rapf on October 15, 1926. The subject was in regards to the film, 'The Armed Cruiser Potemkin.' The memo expressed his enthusiasm for the picture and suggested that MGM executives should look at it with the idea of acquiring the services of the film's director Sergi Eisenstein.
Possibly after one too many memos and an argument Hunt Stromberg, producer of White Shadows in the South Pacific, David Selznick found himself without a job and on the street again.
Following several months of inactivity his phone rang and he was asked to come to B.P. Schulberg's office at Paramount.
Schulberg offered David a job, but with less money, David declined the offer and walked out of the office.
Schulberg thought Selznick was arrogant and figured good riddance.
Several of David's pals director William Wellman, Paul Bern, B.P. Feinman and Bernie Zeidman heard what had happened, they thought Schulberg had made a mistake and told him so.
Schulberg bowed to the pressure and gave David two weeks to prove himself. Following the two week trial Schulberg apparently agreed with Wellman and the others and appointed David Selznick his executive assistant.
During that trial period David had proposed several good picture ideas, and at the same time proved to be a whiz at making up great picture titles. Paramount was giving a hundred dollar bonus for titles that were used and David made out like a bandit.
Those were the years of transition from silent to sound and every studio in Hollywood was racing to get talkies to the market. Giant sound stages were being built all over Hollywood. Paramount had their own sound stage under construction when the unfinished structure caught fire and unfortunately burned to the ground.
Paramount was never at a loss for innovative ideas though and this tragedy was no exception. B.P. Schulberg called a meeting that night to discuss a plan he'd come up with. They would put every sound picture they had on their schedule into production immediately. The only difference was that they would shoot at night. Hire off duty police to control traffic and cut down on street noise, then proceed to make movies.
The plan worked and the old slogan of turning lemons into lemonade was alive and well at Paramount. The tragic fire had actually given them an edge. So if you ever get the chance to see any of those early Paramount films, you might think – what a novel idea.
A memo sent to B.P. Schulberg July 2, 1928 regarding a planned film Dirigible gives us an idea about the importance Selznick placed on special effects, at the time referred to as trick photography. Other memos reflected his thoughts about public previews and editing as a way to shape audience emotions.
One particular subject was constantly on the minds of Paramount executives, and that was story material for the stars they had under contract. In 1929 some of their star players were Richard Arlen, Nancy Carroll, William Powell, Clara Bow, Evelyn Brent, Ruth Chatterton, Gary Cooper, Buddy Rogers and George Bancroft.
There was one picture that got more memo traffic and buzz at meetings than any other and that was 'Paramount on Parade' 1930. David Selznick alone put in several dozen memos.
.Variety's review of the film sums it up very nicely. 'Paramount on Parade' 1930 links together an almost incredible smoothness of achievements from the smallest technical detail to the greatest artistic endeavor. Interspersed through the twenty numbers and eleven songs was the work of thirteen writers...' Writing credit went to Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
To fill out that ensemble you need to go behind the camera and find the eleven directors then view the stars through the lens. The directors were Dorothy Arzrner, Victor Heerman, Ernst Lubitsch, Edward Sutherland, Otto Brower, Edwin H. Knopf, Lothar Mendes, Edmund Goulding, Rowland V. Lee, Victor Schertzinger and Frank Tuttle.
Leading the parade of actors was Maurice Chevalier, Jean Arthur, Gary Cooper, Clara Bow, Jack Oakie, George Bancroft, Clive Brooks, Leon Errol, Stuart Erwin and Kay Francis. (You late night old movie buffs will recognize those stars.)
During his years at Paramount, that lasted from early 1928 to June of 1931, David Selznick was in the middle of the decision making process at the executive level. As B.P. Schulberg's executive assistant he acquired practical experience he could not have purchased any other place at any price. And while he didn't produce a single film during that period he had input at executive planning sessions along with his own memos and suggestions to Schulberg.
Don't get the impression that David Selznick was all work and no play, he went to parties, drank with the best of them and he gambled. At one of those social events he met, fell in love with Irene Mayer. They married on April 29, 1930.
David had worked hard during the year of 1930 and with thoughts of raising a family he believed he deserved a raise in pay. On February 2, 1931 David sent a long memo to his boss B,P. Schulberg citing chapter and verse on the subject of executive pay. He compared his and other executives with directors and line producers and felt there was a wide disparity. He felt that his hours alone were worth more than he was being paid for. He got no answer to his memo, however, on June 15, 1931 he wrote Mr. Schulberg in reply to Schulberg's general memo asking all executives to decide and propose their own salary cut.
David Selznick fired off an answer announcing that he was not about to take a pay cut.
He was asked to resign, which he did in late June 1931.
(To be continued) Next is RKO Hepburn, Barrymore in 'Bill of Divorcement.'
Tungee's Gold: The Legend of Ebo Landing
Tungee Cahill background. Creek Indian War.
Hawkinsville, Georgia
Summer, 1836
Mama Sue Cahill wore a buckskin dress and sat on the front steps. Her raven hair fell loosely to her waist and she softly sang the words of an old hymn. “Amazing.Grace ... 'Tis grace hath brolt me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home ... “
The quiet of the afternoon was broken only by her gentle voice blending with the summer sounds of crickets and the river waters slapping against the boat dock at the bottom of the hill.
The boys watched their mother from the porch swing. Tungee was-twelve and looked like his Scottish father, Davy was two years younger and resembled Mama Sue, a full blood Creek Indian.
Davy whispered. "What is it this time, Tungee?"
"I don't know, but Mama is sure worried."
A bird call came from far up river and that was soon followed by the muffled sounds of hoofbeats. Riders were approaching along the river road at the gallop.
Soon two Creek braves, leading a third horse, came into the clearing and turned toward the house. The warriors sat erect and rode slowly up the hill and stopped in the front yard. The third horse, Papa Cahill's sorrel, halted just behind the others. The sorrel carried a blanket covered body strapped to the saddle. Papa's familiar leather boots hung across the horse's neck at the withers.
Mama Cahill stopped singing and tears coursed down her cheeks and she began to sob. The boys ran to her side and even as Tungee tried to comfort his mother, his emotions spilled into the open. "Damn you, Papa," he wailed, "it's all been a lie."
Mama Sue heard her son's invective, but ignored it for the moment. Papa had to be buried and the sooner the better. She drew a deep breath, scanned the area and quickly pointed to a plot hidden from the river by the scuppernong arbor.
As the braves dug a grave for their comrade they told the family what had happened. Their war party rode out of Hawkinsville expecting to take part in two or three small raids. But by the time they got to West Georgia a full scale war had broken out between the Indians and white settlers.
Their party was ordered to ride south along the Chattahooche River and take part in an attack on a white village below Columbus. Some Alabama Creeks got there early and set fire to the town. The Hawkinsville party rode into the middle of a fire fight and a burning inferno. Smoke was so thick you couldn't see more than a dozen yards. Robert caught a stray bullet that knocked him out of his saddle and he was dead by the time he hit the ground.
The men finished digging the grave and gently lowered Papa Cahill into the clay pit. Mama Sue read from the Bible while a sullen Tungee and tearful Davy stood beside their father's grave. As soon as the final prayer was said, the braves filled in the pit. And by the time they packed the dirt down and scattered a few leaves on top, there was no sign of a burial plot.
(To be Continued
Writers Notebook:
Sherwood Anderson on writing integrity:
Consider for a moment the materials of the prose writer, the teller of tales.
His materials are human lives. To him these figures of his fancy, these people
who live in his fancy should be as real as living people. He should be no more
ready to sell them out than he would sell out his men friends or the woman he
loves. To take the lives of these people and bend or twist them to suit the need
of some cleverly thought out plot to give your readers a false emotion is as
mean and ignoble as to sell out living men or women. For the writer there is no
escape, as there is no real escape for any craftsman… That is the truth.
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels Tungee's Gold, The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
Www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://thehurricanehunter.blogspot.com
Selznick Memos
Tungee's Gold and a Legend
Writers Notebook: Sherwood Anderson
Memos:
According to Rudy Behlmer, editor of David O. Selznick's Memos, David's first official memo was written to Mr. Harry Rapf on October 15, 1926. The subject was in regards to the film, 'The Armed Cruiser Potemkin.' The memo expressed his enthusiasm for the picture and suggested that MGM executives should look at it with the idea of acquiring the services of the film's director Sergi Eisenstein.
Possibly after one too many memos and an argument Hunt Stromberg, producer of White Shadows in the South Pacific, David Selznick found himself without a job and on the street again.
Following several months of inactivity his phone rang and he was asked to come to B.P. Schulberg's office at Paramount.
Schulberg offered David a job, but with less money, David declined the offer and walked out of the office.
Schulberg thought Selznick was arrogant and figured good riddance.
Several of David's pals director William Wellman, Paul Bern, B.P. Feinman and Bernie Zeidman heard what had happened, they thought Schulberg had made a mistake and told him so.
Schulberg bowed to the pressure and gave David two weeks to prove himself. Following the two week trial Schulberg apparently agreed with Wellman and the others and appointed David Selznick his executive assistant.
During that trial period David had proposed several good picture ideas, and at the same time proved to be a whiz at making up great picture titles. Paramount was giving a hundred dollar bonus for titles that were used and David made out like a bandit.
Those were the years of transition from silent to sound and every studio in Hollywood was racing to get talkies to the market. Giant sound stages were being built all over Hollywood. Paramount had their own sound stage under construction when the unfinished structure caught fire and unfortunately burned to the ground.
Paramount was never at a loss for innovative ideas though and this tragedy was no exception. B.P. Schulberg called a meeting that night to discuss a plan he'd come up with. They would put every sound picture they had on their schedule into production immediately. The only difference was that they would shoot at night. Hire off duty police to control traffic and cut down on street noise, then proceed to make movies.
The plan worked and the old slogan of turning lemons into lemonade was alive and well at Paramount. The tragic fire had actually given them an edge. So if you ever get the chance to see any of those early Paramount films, you might think – what a novel idea.
A memo sent to B.P. Schulberg July 2, 1928 regarding a planned film Dirigible gives us an idea about the importance Selznick placed on special effects, at the time referred to as trick photography. Other memos reflected his thoughts about public previews and editing as a way to shape audience emotions.
One particular subject was constantly on the minds of Paramount executives, and that was story material for the stars they had under contract. In 1929 some of their star players were Richard Arlen, Nancy Carroll, William Powell, Clara Bow, Evelyn Brent, Ruth Chatterton, Gary Cooper, Buddy Rogers and George Bancroft.
There was one picture that got more memo traffic and buzz at meetings than any other and that was 'Paramount on Parade' 1930. David Selznick alone put in several dozen memos.
.Variety's review of the film sums it up very nicely. 'Paramount on Parade' 1930 links together an almost incredible smoothness of achievements from the smallest technical detail to the greatest artistic endeavor. Interspersed through the twenty numbers and eleven songs was the work of thirteen writers...' Writing credit went to Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
To fill out that ensemble you need to go behind the camera and find the eleven directors then view the stars through the lens. The directors were Dorothy Arzrner, Victor Heerman, Ernst Lubitsch, Edward Sutherland, Otto Brower, Edwin H. Knopf, Lothar Mendes, Edmund Goulding, Rowland V. Lee, Victor Schertzinger and Frank Tuttle.
Leading the parade of actors was Maurice Chevalier, Jean Arthur, Gary Cooper, Clara Bow, Jack Oakie, George Bancroft, Clive Brooks, Leon Errol, Stuart Erwin and Kay Francis. (You late night old movie buffs will recognize those stars.)
During his years at Paramount, that lasted from early 1928 to June of 1931, David Selznick was in the middle of the decision making process at the executive level. As B.P. Schulberg's executive assistant he acquired practical experience he could not have purchased any other place at any price. And while he didn't produce a single film during that period he had input at executive planning sessions along with his own memos and suggestions to Schulberg.
Don't get the impression that David Selznick was all work and no play, he went to parties, drank with the best of them and he gambled. At one of those social events he met, fell in love with Irene Mayer. They married on April 29, 1930.
David had worked hard during the year of 1930 and with thoughts of raising a family he believed he deserved a raise in pay. On February 2, 1931 David sent a long memo to his boss B,P. Schulberg citing chapter and verse on the subject of executive pay. He compared his and other executives with directors and line producers and felt there was a wide disparity. He felt that his hours alone were worth more than he was being paid for. He got no answer to his memo, however, on June 15, 1931 he wrote Mr. Schulberg in reply to Schulberg's general memo asking all executives to decide and propose their own salary cut.
David Selznick fired off an answer announcing that he was not about to take a pay cut.
He was asked to resign, which he did in late June 1931.
(To be continued) Next is RKO Hepburn, Barrymore in 'Bill of Divorcement.'
Tungee's Gold: The Legend of Ebo Landing
Tungee Cahill background. Creek Indian War.
Hawkinsville, Georgia
Summer, 1836
Mama Sue Cahill wore a buckskin dress and sat on the front steps. Her raven hair fell loosely to her waist and she softly sang the words of an old hymn. “Amazing.Grace ... 'Tis grace hath brolt me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home ... “
The quiet of the afternoon was broken only by her gentle voice blending with the summer sounds of crickets and the river waters slapping against the boat dock at the bottom of the hill.
The boys watched their mother from the porch swing. Tungee was-twelve and looked like his Scottish father, Davy was two years younger and resembled Mama Sue, a full blood Creek Indian.
Davy whispered. "What is it this time, Tungee?"
"I don't know, but Mama is sure worried."
A bird call came from far up river and that was soon followed by the muffled sounds of hoofbeats. Riders were approaching along the river road at the gallop.
Soon two Creek braves, leading a third horse, came into the clearing and turned toward the house. The warriors sat erect and rode slowly up the hill and stopped in the front yard. The third horse, Papa Cahill's sorrel, halted just behind the others. The sorrel carried a blanket covered body strapped to the saddle. Papa's familiar leather boots hung across the horse's neck at the withers.
Mama Cahill stopped singing and tears coursed down her cheeks and she began to sob. The boys ran to her side and even as Tungee tried to comfort his mother, his emotions spilled into the open. "Damn you, Papa," he wailed, "it's all been a lie."
Mama Sue heard her son's invective, but ignored it for the moment. Papa had to be buried and the sooner the better. She drew a deep breath, scanned the area and quickly pointed to a plot hidden from the river by the scuppernong arbor.
As the braves dug a grave for their comrade they told the family what had happened. Their war party rode out of Hawkinsville expecting to take part in two or three small raids. But by the time they got to West Georgia a full scale war had broken out between the Indians and white settlers.
Their party was ordered to ride south along the Chattahooche River and take part in an attack on a white village below Columbus. Some Alabama Creeks got there early and set fire to the town. The Hawkinsville party rode into the middle of a fire fight and a burning inferno. Smoke was so thick you couldn't see more than a dozen yards. Robert caught a stray bullet that knocked him out of his saddle and he was dead by the time he hit the ground.
The men finished digging the grave and gently lowered Papa Cahill into the clay pit. Mama Sue read from the Bible while a sullen Tungee and tearful Davy stood beside their father's grave. As soon as the final prayer was said, the braves filled in the pit. And by the time they packed the dirt down and scattered a few leaves on top, there was no sign of a burial plot.
(To be Continued
Writers Notebook:
Sherwood Anderson on writing integrity:
Consider for a moment the materials of the prose writer, the teller of tales.
His materials are human lives. To him these figures of his fancy, these people
who live in his fancy should be as real as living people. He should be no more
ready to sell them out than he would sell out his men friends or the woman he
loves. To take the lives of these people and bend or twist them to suit the need
of some cleverly thought out plot to give your readers a false emotion is as
mean and ignoble as to sell out living men or women. For the writer there is no
escape, as there is no real escape for any craftsman… That is the truth.
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels Tungee's Gold, The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
Www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://thehurricanehunter.blogspot.com
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I do a variety blog and post every Wednesday. I am an actor, writer and hurricane hunter and my subjects are generally written about those fields. During Hurricane Season I do at least one story every
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