A Preview Brains Trust

A Preview Brains Trust

In 1955, Wynford Vaughn Thomas met various celebrities for a convivial evening called “The Preview Brains Trust” for a feature in a magazine . Present were English stars Kenneth More, Anne Crawford, Kay Kendal and Rex Harrison, one American, Larry Parks, and lastly a “Continental sophisticate”, Hildegarde Neff. It took place in a luxurious private suite at the Dorchester.  Here's a short snippet from a transcription of the event.

Question Master (with a look at Mr. More who was telling yet another of his extremely funny, but scarcely printable stories) : Now to get down to serious things. Our first question this evening is : What was your first film role and how did you feel when you first saw yourself on the screen ?

Rex, how about you starting off for us ?

Rex Harrison : My earliest film was Men Are Not Gods, one of the first batch of Alex Korda’s London Films productions at Denham Studios. Miriam Hopkins and Gertrude Lawrence were starring, and I had a small part as a newspaper reporter—~about four days’ work, as I remember. There was an absolute galaxy of stars at Denham at that time. Henry Fonda, Annabella, Edward G. Robinson and Marlene Dietrich were all making films there.

Eric Warman (to the rescue): And how did you feel when you first saw yourself?

Rex Harrison : Quite simply—loathing!
(Cries of incredulity from the others.)

Question Master : But surely the feeling hasn't persisted?

Rex Harrison (firmly): Yes, it has. I hated seeing rushes of myself then—and I hate seeing them now. (Closing his eyes at a prospect you or I would gladly pay one and ninepence to witness any day of the week.)

Question Master: What about you, Anne? What was your first film role?

Anne Crawford (with engaging promptness) : A film called Prison Without Bars. There were three thousand women in it—and l was one of the three thousand.

Kenneth More: Darling, you're one in a million.

Anne Crawford : . . . or I thought I was one of the three thousand. Along I went to see the rushes. all keyed up—and found that every scene in which I had appeared had been cut.

Question Master : Then what?

Anne Crawford : I walked round the block and was horribly sick - either from disappointment, or relief!

Eric Warman : That’s a sad story. Still, you’ve made up for it since.
(Short pause for assembled stars to brood on their early struggles.)

Question Master : Larry, you look as though you've remembered.

Larry Parks: My first film, believe it or not, was a Biblical short about St. John the Baptist. So unimportant that it wasn't even recognised by the Screen Actors’ Guild, and it has to be pretty crummy for that to happen. I remember we were working at a place called Chatsworth and it was nasty and cold. I got the princely sum of three dollars a day. John the Baptist, higher up the scale, got fifteen dollars. But the really big money was earned by the camel. He (or was it she ?) got fifty.

Question Master (with astonishing lack of tact) : How did you like yourself? Or should we be putting that question to the camel ?

Larry Parks: Well, I’ll tell you. My problem is that I never see myself. I’m busily looking for a good-looking guy of six foot four inches, a cross between John Wayne and Gregory Peck. Some- how or other, I always miss the five-foot-ten-and-a-half guy that's me!

(The ladies at this point hastened to assure Mr. Parks that he has absolutely nothing to worry about.)

Kenneth More (hastily putting his spoke in) I remember my first film part. It was in School for Secrets, written by that one and only genius of the profession whom I solemnly salute, Peter Ustinov. (Here Mr. More raised his glass and emptied it.) My agent, a nice little man, said, “ Kenneth, here's your big chance—a part just made for you—this is the break we've been waiting for. Go ahead, boy! " (Dramatic pause.) I worked at Denham. Two days—seven pounds. I was the Bomb Aimer. During the whole scene my face was completely covered by an oxygen mask. And my dialogue was equally scintillating. I had to keep repeating " Bombs Away " at appropriate intervals. So—unless my ears were recognised—l don’t think I made any lasting impression on the public.

Question Master : Your turn, Kay.

Kay Kendall (dolefully) : My first film role was a terrible flop. It was in London Town and I was fired the night after it came out. I was miserable and mad—a very unhappy girl.

Kenneth More : Well, everything has its compensations. Eric, this is excellent brandy.

Question Master : Miss Nefi, when Kay talked of being “ fired ” it seemed to ring a bell in your memory.

Hildegarde Neff : A bell? I heard nothing.

Eric Warman : Just ignore him. i

Question Master: Miss Neff will, I hope, do nothing of the kind. Now, Miss Nefi, what do you remember about your first role ?

Hildegarde Neff : Oh, I loved it. It would have been a great success. But I never saw it.

Eric Warman : Really ?

Hildegarde Neff : No-one did. The negative was destroyed during a raid on Berlin. Everything to do with the film was lost in the fire.

Rex Harrison : I bet it was one of Kenneth’s “ Bombs Away! ” that did it!