Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography by Richard Stirling

Author:Richard Stirling [Stirling, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts
ISBN: 0312380259
Google: T7OMyXUE7wQC
Amazon: B003ZDOPJ6
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2008-03-18T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE RHINESTONE FOLLIES

‘Jesus, it was embarrassing’

– Twentieth Century Fox executive, 1968

ONE OF the more specious fables about Julie Andrews is that everything she made after The Sound of Music turned to ashes. Nothing could be further from the truth. On 21 December 1966, the Motion Picture Herald announced her as the top star of the year, toppling another British export, Sean Connery, from his omnipotence as 007. Torn Curtain was breaking all records for Universal Studios. And Hawaii would become the highest grossing film of the season, even though the bulk of its $15.6 million take was devoured by its excessive budget – making 1967 the third year running that Julie Andrews had starred in the film that sold the most tickets at the box office.

Of her first five films, the only one not to achieve a record of some sort contained, ironically, her strongest performance. But The Americanization of Emily had more than paid its way, and – given that the public was interested in Julie plain and simple – was now about to be re-released, as Emily, plain and simple.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Italy, someone had woken up to the fact that the world’s biggest star could be heard singing, free of royalties, on the soundtrack of the 1952 dubbed version of The Singing Princess. The production company had no trouble in finding a distributor, Trans-National Films, to issue it in America, where it opened in November 1967 with the tagline, ‘It’s joy . . . it’s magic . . . it’s Julie Andrews!’ Before that, however, came Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hollywood’s last original film musical of the decade – and, for Julie, yet another blockbuster from the start.

In New York, it opened at the Criterion Theatre on 22 March 1967, following what Bosley Crowther in the New York Times called ‘a big, bang-up benefit premiere for all the swingers who could make the scene the night before’. Crowther’s review betrayed his pleasure in old-fashioned star vehicles, of which Millie was one of a dying breed, calling it ‘a joyously syncopated frolic’. Julie was ‘absolutely darling – deliciously spirited and dry’. Beatrice Lillie was ‘jimdandy’ as the white slave racketeer. Carol Channing had the edge, he thought. ‘But why try to make comparisons? All three are wonderful fun.’ On the debit side, he found that ‘the whole thing’s too long. If they’ll just cut out some of those needless things . . . it’ll be a joy all the way.’

The star herself, who attended the Hollywood opening on 13 April, privately agreed. The road show era – propagated to win back to the cinema as many defectors to the television screen as possible – was now at its height. But whereas separate performances, reserved seats and inflated prices had suited the Broadway-to-Hollywood The Sound of Music, the more whimsical Thoroughly Modern Millie threatened to outstay its welcome.

George Roy Hill also felt strongly about the issue, but he and Julie were unable to persuade Universal to wield the scissors.

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