WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Past chats with our guests.
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Sue Sue Applegate
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

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Brian, is this the one Erik might be referring to?
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by Brian McFadden »

I must wonder if you see a significant difference between the Amicus Productions approach to making horror movies and the Republic Pictures approach. I must wonder also if you may be planning on a book concerning Toho, Toei or Shintoho horror movies or perhaps a book contrasting those studios with their Western counterparts.
You have brought something up, Masha, that I found absolutely fascinating. But it wasn't the differences between Amicus and Republic, as much as the similarities. The co-founder of Amicus was a friend of mine, and what he essentially did was to refine cost innovations that Republic made back in the thirties. Republic shot out-of-sequence, so that all the scenes that had to take place on, say an office set, could be shot in a day or two. This saved a tremendous amount of money on re-lighting sets. Republic also relied on extensive story boards for it's films so that it would know ahead of time exactly which actors would be needed where throughout the shoot. This meant that, if an actor was only in the office scenes, he or she would be needed for only a day or two.

Amicus went a step further. Milt Subotsky produced mostly anthology films. He'd set up a situation in a film like Tales from the Crypt, in which you'd have a central character (In Crypt it was Sir Ralph Richardson) introducing the stories of several other characters. Since each story was self contained, it could be shot on a stand-alone basis and he could afford stars like Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Richard Greene, etc. For example, I believe Sir Ralph Richardson was only needed for a day or two.

I've actually been talking with a friend of mine about perhaps doing something on Toho. I've long been fascinated with the way producers would insert American footage to make the films more popular over here.
I interviewed Raymond Burr (who was the American "star" of Godzilla.) All of his scenes were shot over a 24 hour period in a small studio on Vermont Avenue in LA.

Thanks for the super questions.

Brian
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by moira finnie »

Brian, please forgive me, but I have to ask a typical fan flurry of questions:

What was Raymond Burr like? Did you talk to him about his work in film noirs in a series of unforgettable villain parts? I saw an interview with him once in which he said that he once hoped to buy the rights to Godzilla and remake the film emphasizing the ecological and nuclear themes. Was this really feasible for him? Did he talk to you about his ties to Fiji as well?
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

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Great question, Moira! I can't wait to read Brian's response to this one! :-)
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Post by Brian McFadden »

Thanks so much, Christy, for the poster ... nice find. Yes, that is definitely the first of Vera's films, released in 1941. The male lead is James Ellison, billed as "Jimmy" Ellison when he was in the Hopalong Cassidy westerns in the thirties. Vera, meanwhile, isn't listed. She had a very small role in this first film. Don't forget, she only made one more film, Ice-Capades Revue, before she was thrown into The Lady and the Monster to work alongside pros like Erich von Stroheim, Richard Arlen and Sidney Blackmer. It couldn't have been easy!

Love the poster!

Brian
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by Brian McFadden »

What was Raymond Burr like? Did you talk to him about his work in film noirs in a series of unforgettable villain parts? I saw an interview with him once in which he said that he once hoped to buy the rights to Godzilla and remake the film emphasizing the ecological and nuclear themes. Was this really feasible for him? Did he talk to you about his ties to Fiji as well?
Dear Moira,

I will let you in on a secret. I had loads of celebrity interviews under my belt when I met Raymond Burr. But I was then and am now exactly like you, Moira. I admired him from all those great films and I grew up with him as Perry Mason. I wasn't nervous long, though. He put me right at ease.

A funny, true story. He came to meet me in the Daily News Building in New York very early in the morning. The regular studio wasn't available, so I was using a smaller, portable studio that we used for sports events. Think of it as a giant soundproof box in the middle of a room. We walk in and realize we are not alone. An engineer and his girlfriend suddenly stir underneath the console, after apparently sleeping there all night. I, of course, was mortified. On the other hand, Raymond Burr took it all in stride, didn't miss a beat, gave that funny little sideways smile we used to see on Perry Mason, and introduced himself to the young couple!

Yes we did talk about Fiji, mostly about the difficulty of the long trip. Health concerns had made long flights difficult by then. And you're so right about what a great actor he was. He was what the British call a "jobbing" actor. Acting was his job, it's what he enjoyed doing. If sometimes that meant going from the sublime (A Place in the Sun) to the ridiculous (Bride of the Gorilla) in the same year, so be it. I still marvel at his performance in Rear Window. And nobody could put the Noir in Film Noir like Raymond Burr. He stole every scene in Republic's Unmasked.

Yes, I can tell you a bit about Godzilla. They hired him for a "day's" work at a flat fee for the original film. Of course it turned out they worked him for about 24 hours straight ... a very full day. At that point I believe he tried to get a piece of the film, but was unable to do so. The original Japanese version of the film, as I'm sure SSO members are aware, was a serious movie about environmental danger. When I spoke with Mr. Burr, he told me was planning to do a new version of Godzilla. But by the time it came out it was essentially just an updated treatment of the original US version.

Thank you, Moira, for giving me a chance to reminisce about this wonderful man.

Brian
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

I really enjoyed hearing about Raymond Burr!

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Can you tell us a little about actor Gerald Mohr and his Republic experiences since he made three films for the studio, Passkey to Danger, Catman of Paris, and The Invisible Informer?
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by Brian McFadden »

Would you mind giving a little history on Republic? Did they want to be one of the big boys or were they planning on being a niche studio?
Hi Chris,

My apologies ... somehow I missed your question when you first posted it. I'm so glad you asked it because it gives me a chance to talk about someone I interviewed many years ago who was actually present at the inception of Republic. Just last night I was listening to a tape I'd done with a fellow named Lindsley Parsons. Lindsley was at Monogram pictures with Trem Carr when Monogram, Mascot and several other firms were merged to form Republic. He told me Carr was skeptical of the deal from the get-go and retained rights to the Monogram name. Within two years, Carr left. He wanted to make inexpensive pictures that could be sold easily through his distribution arm.

Herbert Yates, on the other hand, always had more ambitious plans. While he was happy to continue making the serials and westerns that formed the core of Mascot's former schedule, he also set his sights on putting out a certain number of bigger budgeted pictures every year. Also, as John Wayne's popularity rose, Republic's non-exclusive arrangement with the star insured that his vehicles would grow in prestige throughout the years. Yates, however, had a penchant for putting Vera Ralston in many of his big budget movies, which worked against the films at the box office. Eventually the stockholders rebelled.

Yates certainly tried for class, as evidenced by the Orson Welles Macbeth, but somehow things rarely worked out. Once in a while, however, there would be a winner like The Quiet Man.
Too bad there weren't more!

Good talking with you Chris,

Brian
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

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Can you tell us a little about actor Gerald Mohr and his Republic experiences since he made three films for the studio, Passkey to Danger, Catman of Paris, and The Invisible Informer?
Isn't Gerald Mohr cool, Christy. He could play bad guys, good guys and anything in the middle. To go from playing a dastardly villain named "Slick Latimer" in the Republic serial Jungle Girl, to upholding the law as a French police inspector in The Catman of Paris, you have to be versatile!

Mohr was popular in radio, and was on the airwaves in the forties in shows like The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe. Lesley Selander directed Catman and Passkey and Phil Ford was at the helm of The Invisible Informer. They were no nonsense directors known for bringing projects in on time and they appreciated pros like Mohr. That's why he became one of the busiest actors on the small screen when TV came along. He even had a show of his own, Foreign Intrigue, shot overseas.

Mohr continued acting right through the late sixties, but died of a heart attack far too young. He was only 54 years old.
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Many thanks for the great posters and picture, Christy!

Brian
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

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Thank you, Brian!
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Post by Rita Hayworth »

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:Image
Brian, is this the one Erik might be referring to?

That's the movie poster that I saw in Vancouver B.C. at the very first time I saw that movie ... Sue Sue! :D
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Post by Rita Hayworth »

Brian McFadden wrote:Welcome to SSO today and I have one interesting question - one of my favorite Republic Films and I have seen it in Vancouver, British Columbia on two occasions - is the film back in 1941 called ICE CAPADES featuring the debut of Vera Hrubá. Can you share any information about her? :)

Thank you for bringing up Vera's debut. Ice-Capades was her first film and Ice-Capades Review was the second. These were the only two films the poor kid had under her belt when Herbert Yates made her the lead in The Lady and the Monster. It must have been very frightening for the young lady.

By the way I'm so glad to be talking with someone who's seen the Ice-Capades, because I must tell you a very famous person was involved with the music. Jule (pronounced Julie) Styne did music for both the films as well as for many other Republic offerings. This is the same Jule Styne who later wrote such film classics as "Three Coins in a Fountain." He then went to Broadway and wrote shows like Funny Girl, which resulted in Barbara Streisand's monster hit, "People." I think I'm one of the few people who ever spoke with Styne about his Republic days.

Ah, but I digress ... far too easy when among friends. Let's get back to Vera. She was by all accounts a lovely person, well liked by the crew because she never used her relationship with Yates to lord it over anybody. Even John Wayne, who grew tired of working with Vera, said she was a nice person. It was just that his pictures with Vera didn't do as well because she wasn't really a box office draw. One of her directors, who liked her very much, said she was pleasant looking, did a decent job, but just didn't have that extra something special that made the public connect with stars.
vera for silverscreenoasis.jpg
Thanks so much for the excellent topic.

Brian
Thank you very much for this information Brian and I do remember her quite well in one of the movies "The Lady and the Monster" that you mention in the previous post. Again, I do appreciate this wonderful information ... and glad you took the time to answer this question of mine. My humble thanks. Erik.
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

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Thank you very much for this information Brian and I do remember her quite well in one of the movies "The Lady and the Monster" that you mention in the previous post. Again, I do appreciate this wonderful information ... and glad you took the time to answer this question of mine. My humble thanks. Erik.
I should be thanking you, Erik. I always look forward to your beautiful pictures of Rita Hayworth!

The Lady and the Monster is quite a well done film overall, but there are a couple of lines I've always wondered about. In preparation for an experiment, von Stroheim turns to Vera and says: "And don't forget the giggly saw." Vera responds with a look of sheer terror and repeats: "The Giggly saw?"

It's a line that would have worked much better years later coming from Cloris Leachman or Madeline Kahn in Young Frakenstein. Surgeons really do use something called a "gigli" saw (note difference in spelling.) But I can't help but suspect that the screenwriters, knowing that both their mad scientist and their leading lady spoke with heavy accepts, did it on purpose to cause a few giggles in the audience!
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

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The lovely Evelyn Ankers often appears as a cultured young woman struggling against villains and monsters...

Brian, can you tell us about Evelyn Ankers and her relationship with Republic and her costars?
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What were some of her virtues as an actress? Her marriage to Richard Denning and her life in Hawaii seem so idyllic. Any comments about her feature roles like The Texan meets Calamity Jane?

Thank you!
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Re: WELCOME TO BRIAN MCFADDEN!

Post by Lzcutter »

Brian,

Thanks so much for joining us this weekend! My husband works at the CBS lot on Radford which is the old Republic lot. Thanks to his job, I've seen various sound stages on the lot and know a bit of the history but not nearly as much as you!

I was wondering if there were any stages in particular that the horror films were shot on and if those stages are still standing?

Thanks!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

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