Slow Fade to Black by Jewell Richard B.;

Author:Jewell, Richard B.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of California Press

Last night Tevlin called me and wanted me to do a picture called CASANOVA’S LAST NIGHT with Jean Simmons. I read the script, called him, and told him that I thought it was an excellent vehicle for Sam Katzman at Columbia to do for about $200,000. This, of course, shocked Tevlin because he was under the impression this could be made for around $700,000 in color. . . . Apparently, acting under Mr. Hughes’ instructions, he had called . . . to advise me that Mr. Hughes was prepared to give me Jean Simmons for the picture—that is if I would produce it. My answer to him was as simple as that—why waste money on making a picture which you know is going to be nothing better than AT SWORD’S POINT. The reception of this information was not the most heartening in the world. In fact, as I talked to him I could hear his voice grinding down to a slow, unsteady, unenthusiastic halt. He ended up by saying that—“In other words, you don’t want to make this picture.” My answer to him was a very powerful and strong—Yes. So much for that end of our business.88

When Norman Krasna returned from Europe, he quickly extricated himself from the entire setup. Evidently, friction had been developing between him and Wald for some time and this, combined with the multiple indignities associated with working for Hughes, convinced him to beat a strategic retreat.89 His employment by Wald-Krasna was terminated at the end of April.90

Meanwhile, the indefatigable Jerry Wald soldiered on. Even though he had no more success than before in launching pictures, he wrote Hughes in June, inviting him to open negotiations for a new deal to commence when the Wald-Krasna contract expired at the end of the year.91 It’s quite likely this letter was a bargaining stratagem, since Wald was also spreading the word to the rest of the industry that his services would soon be available if price and conditions were right.

But Jerry Wald also had “Plan C” in mind—a spectacularly ambitious idea that would have rocked Hollywood if he had pulled it off. For the past year, rumors had been circulating that Howard Hughes was fed up with RKO. From time to time Hughes would respond to these rumors in press releases, announcing that he had no intention of selling the studio. On May 21, 1952, for instance, he issued a statement that began: “I am not negotiating, discussing, or considering the sale of my interest in RKO Pictures Corporation to anyone whomsoever.”92

Later in June Jerry Wald received insider information that contradicted Hughes’s statements. Noah Dietrich told Wald that Hughes was ready to get out. This propelled Wald into high gear. Believing he could take over RKO, the brash producer launched a campaign on behalf of his own ascendancy. He began courting powerful individuals who might partner with him and help secure the financing necessary to buy Hughes’s stock. His first phone call went to Louis B. Mayer, the

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