1956-02-04 — Page 7

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PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VII

SCARLET PIMPERNEL.

KORDA

by

DAVID LEWIN

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1956.

ELEPHANT BOY |

FOUR FEATHERS

LADY HAMILTON

RICHARD IN

in this

As we worked together past month, I saw life. like a film

all his

N the day before he died I Iunched with Sir Alexander Korla and his beautiful wife Alexa in their apartment in Millionaires' Row-Kensington Palace Gardous.

There were just the three of us and Korda's bulldog. Buttons. We chatted through the aftern on, Alex in his white silk monogrammed pyjamas and dressing-gown because he was not feeling well and had stayed in bed until one o'clock when his doctor had left him.

He joined me in a beanly although really he was not supposed to drink end suka. "You know, David, i came into the show business 40 years ago know nothing. Then I benned everything Now know nothing win. That In Alus. SomeUmes I think of rething but then I go to my desk again and know I cannot When you have been on the treadmill as long as I have it goes faster and Juster and it is not possible to step off.

FROM DONAT....

Se tingled with excitement and surprise.

TO DORS

The list of the stars he workedi

to Duos Diver

Leigh to Sirley Eaton (the latest girl he put under contruel). was once a script-writer for him,

VII

Winston Churchil

His films spanned turbulent era in Britain from "The Private Life of Henry through "The Sound Barrier" to his inst, "Richard 111,"

We talked of many things that last afternoon of a home, so elegant with such distinguished paintings Comalerto from Venate, a mude by Degas, a Van Gogh, ami several Renoles They are worth at least £400,000.

We niked about Alexa, the 26-year-old Canadian girl he had married three yes ago, and he was saying "I have never been so happy with mayne as with Ako never knew a real home life I married her and yet 1 think she would like to leave all this and move with me into two furnished rooms

He had been married before to an actress, Maria Farkas, and then later to Merle Oberon whom he spotted in a studio canteen as an unknown extru nameri Queeniu Thompson. He has a grown-up son Peter, who is in J'uris.

On that afternoon we laughed too about Hollywood. He told how once Howard Hughes, the millionaire

invited evcentri,

him for lunch and then insistei on taking a private plane trip for two hours into the desert

to arretaurant there instead of eating at one round the corner.

BIG BEN

WE talked about the illness- Whe and heat trouble for a

year. "They hospital hear Comments fr Wednesday.

Konk

T

be De Horse vi check-up on

ران

150

I was there

a year ngo. Through the night there were enormous Chimes every

Big quarter of an hour from Ben. They kept me awake. Tu think they formed the symbol I took for my company, London Fauns.

In his quarter of a century in British ins Kurdie has made millions, and spent them anct lost them. He had an ustonishe ing flair for staying afloat in film storms that would capsize anyone else.

HIS THREE WIVES

HIS LAST SMILE

THE LAST PICTURE

hlm

Pago

THIS is the Gin

GORDONS

DRY GIN

DISTILLIGK

10:00

川醫

เ

Quality Incomparable

Gordon's

Stands Supreme

Sole Vistributor: DOPWELL & COMPANT LIMITED

and 辑

#pent weeks with Charlie"

remake before he died. Weeks when we of "The Scarlet Pimpernel."

The Third Man" and "Gilbert wiches, and

talked, walked, munched Band-

discussed and Sullivan,"

politics and panting, religion and romance His brain was sharp atid keen. his wit was acute and his intelligence and understand- ing were profound.

All bore the

anmistakable

of Korda - Korda The cavaller and Kordp the master showman.

Korda

dealt J stagger-

Tip was planning 10 make "Macbeth," and The Admir- able Crichton.

He wanted to star! the new year of his new success with o new Alex GATES

comedy

a sums of money--and sur- vived. There were

fresti trtumphs and new losses. Fifteen months ago he was removed from his post British Lio, [J in company specially written by Ludwig backed with Government cost. There was a lus of £2,000,000,

Bemelmans,

CPA

OC6

"Above the weather” services by

as adviser

גון

MARIA FARKAR 1919-30

MERLE OBERON 1830-43

ALEXA MOYGUN 1983+00

That night he invited me 10 dipiner und

talked: we

"Ot course 11 hurts," said Alex. **It hurts like a tooth that has been pulled out.

THE SUN

SIR ALEXANDER

HIS MONEY-AND PHILOSOPHY Korda was wealthy. He put his money in property (a house in Kensington Palace-gardens, a villa in France), in paintings (bis private collection would be worth around £400,000), In his old films. He probably died a millionaire. Yet he said: "I suppose in films the art as Mr. Dulles said of diplomacy- 15 to come the brink of bankruptcy-and stare it in the face."

£0

armother £100,000. The studio He paid the Prudential went on Himing. He would sit hun 10,000 for pictures

الله

Dr

less Corner (Hyde Purk Kurda Mke was called).

us untal four in the morning "ilenry VII" and big epica playing bridge--a game he did mich as "Thief of Bagded." not like with

Prudential

When the war director and then be back

ended there were untapped markets for the the set by 8 a.m.

pictures in Germany and Japan. When the

Henry

Vi Carne the

earned him lusses were £2,000,000 and the

£10,000 a year alone. Pru closed down The stukites. "So I want Kurdu mode

cash offer for spend it-but

sume of his vid ms.

on

Us philosphy of money was simple. He gave a gift of £5 le a sinal nephew

boy's the birthday. With the money be also offered advice. present," he said

you not

waste it,"

10

DENHAM

I

FUT he would also want

B

แ

fo

tu

know about every last anna his films earned in India. He could buy the TV play "Dial M for Murder" for £1,000 and sell it to Hollywood for 4 profit for more than £30,000,

He directed "The Private Life

of Henry VII," starring Charles Laughton, for £50,000 in 1933. It made Laughton a star and Was the first British film ochleve world-wide and acclaim.

to

attention

"It cost £50,000 because that was all the money we bad,"

war

"Not all the losses were

my fault. But they have given me the blame~~~! will take it. 1 Inake no excuses. ་་

At that time-15 months ago --I knew he was closest to giving up "the show business." But he carried on. New finance came from America and Britain it and now even greater

than before; "Richard F "Kid for Two Farthings" "Storm Over the Nile." All box offlee winners.

"I'll tell you.

It comes back to me every time I travel along the Oxford road and look for

in

my

making

Korda the

Studios The sign is no longer the sign that says To Denham Because there was no one else in the realm of films with such there for Denham

dead. a talent and air for "You

Sold. That

of distinction wint

Kreatest ima to know

my failure," greatest failure," said Korda to

gathered 10

him again me

Oliviers

Str one day. pacing up and After the war cane down his office at

Korda

A David Lean slari, "Bonnie Prince Guinness, Katharine Hepburn,

Hyde Park

# new

KORDA Hungarian born, knighted in 1942, is 09. I still And it dikeuj. to write about him

in the past tense. But his com- pany with the Big Ben trude mark is still alive

wiil continue to make "Korda" pic- tures, for his brothers Vincent. the art direclur. and Zoltan, the producer, are coming back London.

10

I remember as I left him on that last day we laughed aguin about Big Ben chiming.

"Why does it strike eleven?" I asked ftim.

And Korda laughed: "Because when we set up the cameras to flm Big Ben it was at that time the sun came out.....

al.

For Korda the sun was Carol Reed

Alec ways about to shine,

(COPYRIGHT)

WILL MISS LINDEN STEP INTO

DAME

OLD feet were

worrying Anya Linden

when I met this rising

MARGOT'S

SHOES?

*Sooner or later the question must be answered-can

young ballerina of the Sadler's Wells Ballet produce another star like Fonteyn?

Sadler's Wells company re- cently. Fur-lined boots were the answer, she thought.

Purely a matter of weather protection. Nothing to do

By TREVOR GEE

den. She has more than an in California, where her America,

and she

Her clothes

are chosen for comfort rather than appearance -plain and simple in line, but preferably in bright colours. "I never bothered much. What's the good of dressing up off-stage as well as on?"

Modern ballets, the admitted, are trickier to dance than the

has clso classical But also, because of

Bald Alexander Kurda. "Maybe with the big chance that outsider's chance of Anding father was working us a re, danced in Portugal, Spoln, Ger- that challenge, more interesting.

part of the trouble afterwards wse that we all had too much money."

The success of "Henry VIII"

and Korda was able to conjure up half a million pounds from the Prudential to build the vast Denham Studios the biggest in Europe "before

wyor.

plotures Korda mado

Catherine the Great" Goes West"

"The Ghost

the

Fire

Over England which brought Olivier and Vivien Lolgh together for the first time. There was "Knight With out Armour," and "Sanders of the River," and "Elephant Boy."

Groat ilms

Colour was pushing faster than people paid to see the pictures, }

comes her way when she takes over the leading role of Swanilda in "Coppelia" at Covent Garden.

Blue-eyed

ns

"Always

I want to translato inusic into

dancing from Beethoven to Jolly-Roll Morton

list when the time comes. her name at the top of the search physicist. When they many end, Holland,

returned to England, Anya Lisbon fascinated her most, was accepted almost im- even though it was there that and lots of others Wells school. mediately for the Sadler's Anya suffered the dancer's

much

together, but I didn't,"

'I'm sure'

nightmare. She lost her petti. It is the primal urge which coats on the stage. Stepping, Erips those whom we talk of as char they ballooned around "born dancers," That is 00 her feet, Anya Anished the dance Essential quality. as one of the others managed to the fair to transform the urge

of that too.

The other la

fling them into the wings. Inte technique. Anya has plenty

"I caught it afterwards from the ballet cnlatress. Now 1 tle an extra knot in the drawstring- to make certain."

A language

"Dancing to me is a language

Rapid progress has mark- ed her out since she emerged from the corps de ballet about three years ago. Solo "Half-way through training," This slim and Itssom 23. dancing released a spring of she recalled, "I thought I was a The Prudential backed the year-old dancer, blue-eyed style and temperament, op. I couldn't control my move

ments. I couldn't even dance in and fair-haired, is strongly anchored to level-headed time. I wanted to give it up al- tipped as a likely successor determination. Her frank, to Fonteyn's crown. Right no-nonsense manner is as now there are almost

a part of her charm as many future prima bal. her childlik face with its

No dicting is necesary to keep a way of expressing things," lerinas at Covent Garden na appealing grin-wide smile.

I asked what had led her to her neat figure. "I cat whatever she said. "Not just a matter of there are runnera in the

porsevere, "Because," she flash. I want," she said, and is really steps put together." "Of course, I have Grand National, But just bitions,"

am- od, "I couldn't bear to think I'd more worried about appearing she

declared. waste my time and my too scraggy than the other way

Did they ob round, Living alone in her North I

True enough, but in my mind but also losses, because Margot Fonteyn has "What dancer hasn't? But parents money,"

wondered whether those costs been made a Dame there is day-dreaming doesn't help. They certainly didn't stand in necessity rather than choice, but kind of training our dancers career? London flat, she cooks from responsible for the inhibited no reason to suppose her re- Neither does being too my way"

she replied. "They occasionally indulges in "some- seem to to getting are aware of tirement is imminent,

cynical. I like dancing for its left me to sort it out for myself thing exolic."

#. You cannot run a ballet whether it was what I wanted.

comparzyko a Hockey teem. Sooner or later, though, own sake, that's all,

Now I'm sure it is.”.

There was

nothing exotic Yet that is what they sometimes the question must be Manchester-born Anya

about her casual, almost school- look like on the stage. answered: Can the Sadler's took to it seriously from the equivalent of her baptismal Ann confessed that she is no needle there? Anga can give us

Anyti is called by the Russian girlish manner of dress. Anya Ar the store of the Some lessons because she spent the first five woman. “I tried knitting a pair answer if she wants, Perhaps it OFTEN The Mon from the Wells Ballet where the age of 12. "No more monoy Korda took most on teamwork-pro- teacher Theodor Kostoff rotter omady, who is the veteran quickly. They turned out like called "The Shadow of a new Pru" came down to say emphasis is first and fore- from famed Hollywood years of infancy with her family of tights once. I used enormous is an canon that one of her most in Leningrad." Quito a globe- noodles to finish them more accessful, roles was in a ballet. dime off from aiming to charm duce another atar like touched off her ambition, of me overseas hours with the fahing", nets and I was thrown Fouteynt the Prudenini would be in for Fonteyn? Watch Miss Lin. The family were then living ballet company. Two were to out of clans for wearing, thanks

นง

'NO MORE'

great

• Krone), Money! out ind÷them,ve and

to her choice of

(COPYRIGH

future

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