THE CHINA MAIL, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1961,
STALES
"If yo miss and hit one of yon bonnie submarinos it'll be bang-goodnight Europo."
London Express Bervice.
Brahms, vodka and
bristles
STACKED at the front of the bookshelf in his hotel room were "The Decline and Fall of Hollywood," "The Writor and Psychoanalysis," and "The Life and Times of Cleopatra."
There was vodka in his glass and Brahms, softly, on the record- player. He had bristles on his chin and shadows under his eyes.
"I
dead beat," said
Joseph Mankiewicz.
He was, too. He had slept
MANKIEWICZ—— I'M DEAD BEAT
by JAMES THOMAS
"I see a girl of 10 wilso
unly Ave hours a night for four weeks ... ever since he was will have failed-and failure in askt to salvage that accident a word never yet associated suddenly appeared in those de prune epic "Cleopatra" and with his name. That is make it entertaining chough to Spyros Skouras, boss of 20th who
why cadent, drunken times, a girl
spoke earn £6,000,000.
seven languages. Century-Fox, has sent him to fostered the arts, who had such It ft does not make London to direct the dim. £6,000,000 Joseph Mankiewicz
a big political grasp that both Caesar and Antony proved too small for her ambillons.
Paris Newsletter GUN - RUNNING
Madame's so shy when the
General's about
By SAM WHITE
MADAME RENEE ABRAMI, a bustling widow in her
under the Fourth Republic, remains in many regima's most endurable symbol,
She has certainly worn bet-
fer than maroj of the pre-de Gaulle Prime Ministers whose
things of life by
hostess
ways the
personal
WAS THIS
THE REAL MOTIVE BEHIND
THREE POINTLESS KILLINGS?
....
THE DOMINICI
MURDERS
HAVE always been fascinated by the
social noods she so siciffully misfortune is illustrated by Dominici case — the
catered for.
Now
a significant change that dreadful murder of
has taken place in a modest Left Bank restaurant
with Sir Jack
and Lady
a grandiloquent nome of Drummond and their
·by
Rene MacColl
reached Marseilles,
How
was-Do- How plausblic is 117
kely is it that old Dominici little political was mixed up with Communist
the in pulting the finishing touches to her memoirs of those great days when, as She puts it, "a state secret was Restaurant of the Senators. 11-year-old daughter not a secret until it was Orst fully discussed in my house." Situated about half-way be Elizabeth as
they minic's farm. Times have changed and though General
Gaulle
some custom camped by the road- background. In 1832 the Korean gun-runners? observes the protocol de from both. and its owner is a side in France nearly war
war was In full swing, cold cencies by inviting Madame Madame Gardes.
Palace re- Abrami to Elysee ceptions, relations between her and the de Goille regime
de
tween the Senate and the As- sembly, it draws
Now some kind of fame has
Now for
$
tensions were spreading everywhero in Europe.
The Communists wanted to be activist operA- edy for any
nine years ago. come to this hitherto modest Gaston Dominici, the tins that might be necessary, remain on that strictly formal establishment. It appears that weird old farmer-patri- from organised street rioting to by the tax-collector,
level.
Unsettling
This I gather was the situa- tion not altogether unwelcome to Madame Abranti for, as she
explained to me, "de Gaulle is
Madame Gardes is the mother
"commando"
type
Security
"My predecessor, Mamoulian, pictured Cleopatra as for less
He came from the security sophisticated, for less experl- of hi Own successtuk and enced than I do 3 fur courageous film-making to take more romantic gure than over as director after Rouben do. Mamoullan resigned:
"We have started again on He is not used to epics, He the script because I believe that cannot stand corn. He has if the screen is going to talk t already decided on two shots should say something worth thai WON'T appear in "Cleo- while. His wrong to ignore putra."
quality, even in an epic.
"There will be nobody lying around eating ges Dres on the floor. And there will be no shat of a girl laughing outely while some guy pours purple wine down her besom," he says.
'Cagey'
"No honest person can afford to write down, or direct down, Mankiewicz has spent his to a taste lower than his own. career fighting what he calls People who make pieces for the the ikons of civilisation: crowd are the people whose racial hatred, the American talents coincide with the talents "mom," the pomposities of of the crowd, De Mille was like the medical profession, the that." Insanities of radio advertising.
Risks
Mankiewicz has always aimed at intellectual satisfaction from n-making rather than bring- ing out big-profit block-busi-
ers.
How did such * man ever get involved with Cleopatra?
"Skouras caught me over a big dinner in an expersive re- staurant," he said wryly.
Esteban would have had no trouble convincing him that the Reds had the answer which would enable him to defy the
He takes risks. He put Mar attempted encroachments of ion Brando into "Julius French officialdom and to hang Caesar," chanced him in his on to his jealously guarded first musical "Guys and Dolls." for holdings undisturbed. He surred up the cinema with
"All About Eve" and
"My first reaction was to ask Barefoot Contessa,"
'Why should I pull your film Now he has this epic to direct out of the fire for you?' In 2nd he says: "I am after eple the end, though, I decided to characters who don't talks Ar try . It's a chance to airt epic "cliches.
with disaster.
There is one other thing to bear in mind. And that is the way the French puthorities. treated old Dominici after his trial.
Clearly, they were not happy about the case.
His death sentence, for wild, savage massacre, was com muted to life imprisonment.
Picked up
3
The
"I don't believe in Alling, a "I have to face the risk that Todd-AO screen with thousands it will turn out to be one helt of extras and a handful of or a bore, but I am not 50 stunt men swiping around with nervous about it now. I am too swords in the front. Somebody much of a professional." one day
Mankiewicz Anished ht great screen and put on it just drink, stood up and switched one lovely rose. It will take a off the Brahms. lot of courage to do it instead of panning
he purden.
for a time
going to take this.
round a
Romantic
am tp
"Everybody has been very great cagey about this film," he said. "They've kept buttoned up, and what I
saying now enough
brirez Skouras screaming over from New York. "But that one rose is going dinner
"But hell. when I ale that to knock the audience out of its would be so much to do."
I had notes there seats"
He went off to visit Liz Tay- Mankiewicz cloudedi
himself lor. in smoko from Barking Dog
Well, he was, a crafty, wiiful, And then, lost summer, intensely lund-proud peasant. was pardoned, and released.
And Esteban? He suspected and hated any He disappeared form of authority us represented into the shadows,
whom he raids assumed was after his land.
Now his trail has.
been of nu lens a personage than Col. arch, tough, grizzled, against power plants and other
picked up again. He is in This old man would certainly Marsellles one of the laconic, Was
was strategic objectives, morose,
running So, arms were being moved have been ready to listen to the the famous Bar-eventually brought to in a hurry down to Marseilles, propagandia fed to him by traband arms to the ter-hag, the cheapest. tobacco
& veteran trial for the triple kill with its strongly pro Commun- Esteban,
political rorists in Algeria. ist population in the huge and, organiser of the Spanish war.. Col. Gardes, a veteran of In-ing on his land, down in important dock area. do-China and Algeria, and on the wild mountainous officers in the French Army, is region of the Lower
Gardes who accused In ricades trial.
the only non I ever met who of the most heavily decorated
makes me shy. I want to speak
January Insurrection in Algiers.
Madanie Gardes, while пр
He was found guilty,
to him and yet I get tongue accused of aiding last year's. Alps. tied whenever I try and do so."
For Madame Abrami, who has cracked jokes with Popes and princes, premlers and presidents doubt distressed at her son's all right, and imprison- in confess to shyness before the plight, has also noted some less ed. President of the Republic must distressing aspects of IE Over be for her as unexpected an the faded lettering of "Restaur- experience AS developing an ant des Senateur" hos gone inferiority complex in relations up a bright new neon sign to her butler.
reading, "Restaurant Gardes.”
Another new and unsettling experience for her these - days is that she is no longer cast in the role of political clairvoy- ant. Recently at a lunch she re- marked to an old friend a former Minister, who is now a Minister again. "Do you re- member what interesting con-
BAFFLING
THIS has
Network
Everybody was satisded that ho shot Sir Jack twice in the back, then pumped five bullets Listo Lady Drummond, and chased the child as she was been a bofrying desperately to n for it lavender among the fragrant fling time for me for bushes by the banks of the om loft without any swift-flowing river Durance. versation we used to have when editorial' guidance from you were Minister?" To do hlm
There he caught her
and credit, she commented,
"He those
two loading spokes clubbed her to death. blushed and muttered Home- men of the anti do Goúllo thing about having to be more Left, M. Jean-Jacques the
But why? What was molive? This was Sarvan-Schreibar. and M. the question
that beat Fourth Republic Prime Minis- Claude Bourdet, as to what through and through ters she admired the most. She to make of President Bour trial, at the end of 1954. replied: "Perhaps those who guiba's appeal for took my advice."
support of General de Gaullo's Al- gerian policy.
discreet these days."
I asked whom of the 20-odd
And would anyone take offence at any indiscretions in her book? "Only those. are not mentioned," she said,
The book's title will be Dil
I Dream-It? She did not.
who
For once theso two sages, whose voices ring louder abroad than they do at home, are reduced to silence.
INCIDENTAL INTELLI I can understand their baffle-
his
And it was never satisfactor- ily answered
Now, I believe, it can be. And the answer, is a stowy oven moTE extraordinary tha that of the cruel, dramatic crime itself.
On holiday
On August 5, 1952, there was
a big cache at Dominici's farm
He had been ordered to be
ready to help move the load
into Marseilles that night.
His orders came from Ete ban-the only mame Je 19 known by Communist espion- DAD organiser
Southern France.
day,
Into this set-up came wan dering the luckless Drummonds, who were on
a camping holl-
Haphazardly they set up their tent-only two hours or 50 before the vital operation was due get under way.
For Esteban the sudden development was intolerable. The plan to run the guns could not easily be put off.
Esteban, ordered Dominici to clear the unwelcome strangers out of the way.
Slaughtered
The formidable old man went along to hararagua Sir Jack,
The Englishman explained that
he and his family were tired after a long day's travel
no intention
and had moving.
Dominici reported back to Esteban
80 Dominici
took down
›
following bellies of wine as the foundation for редсе In ordinary is only mildly out of family had been slaughtered.
the way
la
GENCE (for wine scholars): ment at the turn events have Sixty miles to the south-west
The Red leader repeated his I announce that M. Chaban- taken. For years Bourguiba of Lurs, where Dominic lived, order that the Drummonds Delmas, who is Speaker of has been one of their the French Assembly
heroes, is the great Frenchs seaport of must be got out of the way at and and now they have to accept his Marseilles always, oven at the all costs. Mayor of Bordeaux, and who word that something which they best of times, a lively, distur is leaving shortly for a will aid de Gaulle would not do heing place wheres the unexpected carbine and walked back down to Washington, is taking the is, in fact, doing-that is laying the normal and the extra- the road again.
A few minutes later the whole presents to President Ken- Algeria. nedy: Chateau Yquem 1918
And soon after that Roths. and Chatean Mouton
They can hardly be more
the In 1953 Marecilies was the contraband :arins uncompromising child 1947.
than Bour-ond of the line for à Commun- on to a lorry and driven away ist courier network which had over the tasty, moonlit road ta ita rools in. Czechoslovakia."
This is the story told to me Moving along? that Ite, by a reliable, accretly, by night, were rifles, friend of mine who holds
well-informed pistols, and sub-macht important diplomatic post.
And the last stop
The donter he has weg is ta gun-runners, Infore the amp be published soon in Fra
France.
CHANGE: :
gulba who, after all, has played host to the Algerian rebels ever since the war "start- ed. Nor would it look very pretty they came out as the ability of the middle- fast ditch defender of uncon- class French not to ba ditional surrender by France, deflected, from the higher →(London Express Service),
THE
for the
the south-west.
were loaded
con-
-(London Exprcas Service}.
"Slow down, Charlie, we're coming to a built-up
Area!
GARAGE
:Welt, you tók!
-us, to change all. the wheely proved.
ACKEN
*****
"I have nothing for her but a on is, he said, "and the
newa
American
market,
and
explained
Cleopatra.
way
he
sees
that we must be responsible for turning out a great movie."
-London Express Service).
Jimbor
**Excuse met We're just going to pull this place down!**
MARKET
CUIDE