Reeling Through Hollywood by Dan Bessie

Author:Dan Bessie [Bessie, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781611870756
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
Published: 2011-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Anyone spotting Alvah Bessie and aware of his politics (nobody ever recognizes him), would have chuckled at the in-joke. (Production note: Severo Perez, a fine filmmaker in his own right, produced many of the slides used in these presentations, shot or acquired photos and film footage needed for the picture, and did much of the graphics research for Executive Action.)

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In that same presentation Oswald’s correspondence is flashed on screen, letters indicating his unstable past. “Eddie,” I tell my boss before the slides are prepared, “we can’t use actual copies of Oswald’s handwriting without paying big fees.”

“Fine,” replies Eddie, “you write the letters.”

So, using photographic transcripts, I re-create Oswald’s letters. In one shot, Oswald writes to the Soviet embassy, requesting a visa to the USSR. Since the writing has to match the other letters, my hand gets to star. Another seven seconds of fame (after my tiny stint in Salt of the Earth). Is that my old high school drama teacher I hear applauding?

The Bel Air mansion filming complete, we’re off to another mansion, in Pasadena, doubling as the exterior of Foster’s estate. There, the conspiracy continues—within earshot of a black servant who appears now and then with coffee and hors d’oeuvres. This seems terribly incongruous, but nobody (including me) says a word.

Incongruity upon incongruity. As we’re filming Executive Action the Watergate trials are taking place. Inside our Winnebago, anyone with a free moment is glued to the radio, while outside we are spinning a tale about a massive government cover up.

Next, rehearsal for the killing. The script specifies two assassination teams, A and B; one will get the assignment. Early on in filming, Lancaster has a scene in a Mexican restaurant. There, he goes over plans with Jeff Morrow (The Robe, 1953), playing the chief of team A. Next day, Burt calls Eddie to say he is “uncomfortable” with Morrow’s performance. Too much of a nice guy, not convincing as a killer.

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