The Man Behind King Kong and Gone With the Wind

This Week
Selznick Bows Out in Style
John Henry and HC Talk Family
Writers Notebook: Somerset Maugham

David Selznick Part 8
The film Rebecca would ring down the curtain on Selznick International Pictures, ending the run of the most successful independent motion picture company of its time.
There were many reasons for ending production and liquidating the company and here are a few. One was financial – they had accumulated too much income from Gone With the Wind and Rebecca to take ordinary tax write offs that would give them a profit. Another was Selznick's need to take out money in order to finance other films that he had an interest in. The war in Europe and the looming possibility of American becoming involved.
The end of Selznick International didn't take him out of the business. He formed his own company without outside partners as David O. Selznick Productions, Inc. In a sense though he did have partners, they were executives he had worked with for years.
In late 1941 Selznick Productions bought into United Artist with a twenty five percent share.During that period he was also working on two projects Since You Went Away and Spellbound.
Since You Went Away
Directed by John Cromwell produced by David Selznick and screenplay by David Selznick. Cast Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, Shirley Temple, Monte Woolly and Robert Walker.
Variety gives the film a good review. 'Since You Went Away' is a heart warming panorama of human emotions, reflecting the usual wartime frailties...'
The film got a Best Picture nomination from the Academy.
Spellbound
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, produced by David Selznick with a screenplay by Ben Hecht and Angus MacPhail and starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.
Spellbound caused major contention, not the first, between Alfred Hitchcock and David Selznick. Selznick wanted Hitchcock to make a movie based upon Selznick's own positive experience with Psychoanalysis. He even brought in May Romm M.D., who was credited in the film as a technical adviser. Dr. Romm and Hitchcock clashed frequently. There is no doubt that there was conflict and contention on the set of Spellbound, but in the end it was worth it.
The film got good reviews and Daily Variety said, 'The story, employing as it does psychiatry and psychoanalysis in a murder mystery... Gregory Peck, suffering from amnesia, believes that he committed a murder, but has no memory of the locale or circumstances surrounding the crime. Ingrid Bergman as a psychiatrist in love with Peck tries desperately to save him from punishment for the crime she is certain he could not have committed, and doing so risks her career and almost her life....
Salvador Dali designed the dream sequence with all the aids of futurism and surrealism in his sets...
Spellbound won a nomination for Best Picture by the Academy.
Duel in the Sun
Directed by King Vidor, produced by David Selznick, screenplay by David Selznick.
Cast included Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotton, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish and Walter Houston.
The film got favorable reviews and while it didn't win any prestigious awards it scored big at the box office and was one of the highest grossing films ever up to that time.
The Paradine Case
Director Alfred Hitchcock, produced by David Selznick, screenplay by David Selznick.
Cast included Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn and Louis Jourdan. It tells of an English barrister who falls in love with a woman who is accused of murder, and how it affects his relationship with his wife.
This dramatic courtroom drama plot concerns a murder of a blind man by his wife so she can marry her lover. The story, cast and film are applauded by Daily Variety in their review.
Portrait of Jennie
Directed by William Dieterle, screenplay by Paul Osborne and Peter Berneis. Cast included Joseph Cotton, Jennifer Jones, Ethel Barrymore, David Wayne and Lillian Gish. Daily Variety says , 'The story of ethereal romance between two generations is told with style, taste and dignity. William Dieterle has given the story sensitive direction and his guidance contributes considerably toward the top performers from the meticulously cast players. '….Joseph Cotton endows the artist with a top performance, matching the compelling portrait by Jennifer Jones.
Selznick said he stopped making films in 1948 because he was tired. He was a hard driving producer that had been producing for twenty years. Something else, at that time the motion-picture industry was taking a terrible beating from television. Overall it seemed to be a good time to take stock and to study objectively the obviously changing public tastes. Selznick was born into and wedded to the business so he had no intention of staying away from production for too long. He spent most of the 1950s nurturing the career of his second wife, Jennifer Jones. His last film, the big budget production of A Farewell to Arms (1957) starring his wife and Rock Hudson.

In 1954, Selznick ventured into television, producing a two hour extravaganza called Light's Diamond Jubilee, which in true Selznick fashion made TV history by being telecast simultaneously on all four TV networks: CBS, NBC, ABC, and DuMont.
David Selznick was always a great promoter and here is a brief description of the event and what it was all about.
THE legend "Produced by David O. Selznick" will appear for the first time tonight on television, preceded by the title "Diamond Jubilee of Light." A foreword to the show describes it as "a potpourri of dramatics, whimsicality and oratorical flight (with bits of music too) celebrating the birth of the electric bulb; paying tribute to the American individual and his offspring, and including some commentary on a few of the lights that guide them.
Some of the stars that will appear are Judith Anderson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Benchley, Walter Brennan, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Dandridge, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Gobel, Helen Hayes, David Niven and Debbie Reynolds.
And that was the man behind King Kong and Gone With the Wind – a motion picture producer with a touch of genius and a large portion of P.T. Barnham.

Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone
After the celebration. John Henry and his pal H.C. Talk about the past.

“And that puts your father right in the middle.”
“He put himself into that spot, got married much too soon after Mama died. And in my book that’s when he dishonored her name.”
“I guess you have every right to feel that way, John Henry. But just to let you know where I stand I’ll tell you that Major Holliday is a good man. Mama told me how you felt. She said you wouldn’t go to the wedding.”
“Aunt Susie got that right,” John Henry snapped.
“Listen, my friend. I might not have ever said this before, but outside of Mama, your mother and father were the most important people in my life.”
“I appreciate that, HC.”
“I think I can explain my feelings better by telling you about something that happened while we were still in Griffin. Remember my accident on the lime-spreader where I messed up my hand?”
“Yeah and I still blame myself for that.”
“No such thing, the fault was my own, but that’s not what I’m getting at. It has to do with my recollection of what happened when you all came in the carriage and your father picked me up and got back into the seat. I guess I had lost a lot of blood and everything seemed a little foggy to me. But after a long ride in the carriage, I was still cradled in his arms. And I remember we were going up some steps and I thought, where are we going, Papa?”
“You called him Papa?”
“Not out loud, but that’s what I thought at the time and I say that just to let you know how I feel about your father. Major Holliday was a good man that afternoon and I bet he’s still a good man.”
John Henry nodded.
They arrived early at the station and stood on the platform for a while before John Henry began to cough.
“Maybe we ought go inside, seems a little chilly, now the bourbon is wearing off,” HC said.
“No, let’s walk, I’m OK.”
“Now that you’re a dentist, what comes next? Go back to Valdosta and open an office.”
“No. That’d be the last place I’d go. My fi rst choice is Griffin, and if that doesn’t work I might fi nd something in Atlanta.”
“What are you and Mattie are gonna do?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just what I said, are you going to marry the girl or what?”
“I wish I knew. First I have to establish some kind of practice then there’s that nagging reality that we are cousins.”
“Plenty of cousins get married.”
“I know that, HC and Mattie doesn’t seem to mind—not about us and our being cousins, but we both worry about family reactions.”
“I expect you’re right about that, but I’ll bet you two can work it out.” Then HC abruptly changed the subject. “Tell me something, how’s that horse of yours doing?”
“The Gent?” John Henry said as he broke into an open smile.
“That character is a joy, HC. He’s always been healthy and can he run.”
“Do you think he could compete?”
“We’ve had him in some match races, down home. He won every event he started.”
“That sounds good to me. You know when I get tired of sitting at the keyboard, I let go, take the train out to Long Island and spend a day at the races.”
John Henry shook his head at the remark and laughed. “What with all the stalls you mucked out back home, I’d think horses would be the last thing you wanted to see.”
“You may not believe this, but some of the best days of my life were spent down home working around the barns.”
The train chugged in and boarded passengers. John Henry said good-bye to HC and stood on the platform and watched the train ease out of the station and head north.
Get away day.
It happens every year, pack you belongings say good-bye and go out into the real world. The down stairs hall and parlor area at Mrs. Greens boarding house looked like a baggage terminal, bags packed and strewn all over the place. Hacks and drivers parked on the street were waiting for fares.
John Henry and Robert McReynolds had gathered up their luggage and headed for the front door when Arnold Primrose, with a bag in each hand, walked down the wide staircase. John Henry glanced up and they made eye contact.
McReynolds nudged John Henry and suggested he forget what happened last night. Arnie wore an affable smile on his chubby face as he descended the stairs and crossed the room. Then when he got close he suddenly dropped the bags and extended a hand toward John Henry. “Guess I owe you an apology.”
“You guessed right for one time in your life, Primrose.” McReynolds quipped.
A wry grin crossed John Henry face. “I’m listening, Arnie.”
Primrose cleared his throat and with his bad Southern accent said, “Ah should be most honored, Doctor Holliday. I Arnold Primrose, in the most humble manner I can command, wish to apologize for the scene I caused last evening. I apologize to you and I apologize to your friend, Mr. Glover. And now, descending from my soapbox, may I add that I feel somewhat like an ass.”
John Henry widened his grin. “I accept your apology, Mr. Primrose and I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the part about the soapbox and the ass.”

Writers Notebook:
The idea for my writing notebook came from Somerset Maugham. Maugham's notebook was a kind of journal while mine is a collection of conversations and tips that have been passed along by some of our famous writers.
This one is guaranteed to get your attention and might even make you think. Ray Bradbury says, ‘Write from the heart, not from the mind. Go ahead and jump over the cliff – build your parachute on the way down.’

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