1960-09-10 — Page 13

says: 'It's tough Canadian Pacific's

for my wife

WE

VE were sitting out on the white-trellised terrace of Peter Finch's Chelsea house, sipping champagne-peach cocktails by candlelight. A pleasant pastime especially as Mr Finch's champagne-peach cocktails are every bit as potent as the ones they serve at Harry's Bar in Venice. (And four of those, as any gondolier will tell you, are guaranteed to make even a Venetian blind.)

Mr Finch, of course, can afford to indulge such mildly sybaritic tastes, for he has now moved into a very big-money bracket indeed.

He has always been a spien- tld actor, Mr Finch. But now, in the inexplicable way of show business, his career is suddenly rocketing.

The Nun's Story began it. Then came his huge success as Oscar Wilde. Now he is finish- ing No Love for Johnnie, and next month he plays

in Miss Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra:

turns into a business man, some subile chemistry gets to work on him and suddenly he's not the actor he was,

-*"The motivation,"

said the

director crisply, 'is your fat salery.""

the

Mr Finch chuckled to himself and finish the last and 1 champagne.

"I know I' never be ↑ Financial Times actor, must any I'm glad

DRINK NOTE: In the ideal "On the other hand, of course, champagne-peuch cocktail, for and being my kind of actor is pretty peaches should be skinned

mush and i feel ground to a fine Caesar hard on one's family.

of corry for my wife Yo. I cun mixed with half a buttie' nover dissociate myself from champagne the mixdure being my parts, you see,

can't served iced. Or it can be served awlich off when I leave the in a novel way. A pench

Is studio.

skinned, soaked in champagne and then frozen--so that a ne layer of ice forms round it.

"I hadn't actually decided on Caesar," "Finch sald, "when Liz Taylor catted MK: from New York.

Go on; Finchiedo it,' she said.

Very happy

-"'I will,' I said, if I like the script,'

she,

Liz said a rude word, 1of course you must do it,' insisted. And get the cham- pagne ready, mate,”

Mr Finch chuckled to himself.

always brought Oscar Wilde home with me. For tunately, Yo rather enjoyed having him around the house. But she doesn't think much of this M.P. I'm playing-Johnnic Byrne.

He's a dull, pompous fellow, and that's exactly how I came home. I'm not sure how it'll be when I play Cher-I expect I'M insist on dining out in "I'm 43," he said, and I'll but I do low Yo is be playing Caesar in his fifties, looking forward to living with That makes me very happy. For it's over." I'm determined to jump the age barrier-before I have lo.

In

Peter Finch for a while

Reminder

when

He got up and wo picked up our drinks and went inside into the warmth of the house.

"I'm ani Delor." Finch said.

Reason why

In the play The Grass Greener a man rings up

and West End hotel

is

A

Frank Sinatra calling i says?

"It's the only way to get any service out of hotel switch- boards," he explains to a friend. In the im version, just com- name has been pleted, the changed to Rock Hudson.

Now why should this be? Because Universal Pictures will release the Alm.

And Rock Hudson is under contract to them. Frank Sinatra is not.

Shrunk

now nev

"I don't want to be like some of those ageing Hollywood stars, dyeing their hair and masking their double chins und still try ing to play romantic leads.

with that. "The bell

"I'm paid to entertam people,

bas Marlon Brando

his No Love for

overlong Johnnie, I look and I try not to forget it. If edited positively haggard some of the I ever do I remember the story Western, One-Eyed Jacks, down Líme. But Tan pompous, about the producer who was to 2hrs. 20 mins. boring Labou back-bencher, directing a very Method actor It took thres months work, and that's how I would look on the stage. He told him what and his associates now say occasionally.

he wanted him to do and the there's enough film left over to "You know, Botors like me actor hesitated.

Yeah owo a great deal to Humphrey but what's the motivation?" " Bogart. He made it possible for ---

a

the uglies to come into

their

own. For а actor it's ♫ blessing not to be born looking like Robert Taylor. Because if you are, you spend far too much time worrying about losing your looks,"

'Not for me'

He sipped his champagne, looking up at the darkening sky, Far above us a giant plone, lights blinking, was beginning the long let-down lowards London Airport.

"London's getting too noisy," Finch said, "I may go and live abroad for a while. Italy', perhaps. But not Switzerland. That tax-dodging business would depress me,

"All those actors reading the and clining That's

No Minister in the 1930s Financial Times served his country or his party with their accountants.

When an actor better than Lestie Hore-Belisha.not for me.

Yet in January 1940 he was,

Premier suddently sent for by the

and summarily told brass-hats published their war that he was due for demotion to

memoirs. the Board of Trade. Hore- General de Guingand is bcst Belisha preferred to resign.

known as Monty's Chief of Staff, but in the phoney war he was Hore-Bellsha's military assist- ant, at the same time as Gen-

puty Director of Military Opera-

lons.

Never staged

comebackeral Sir John Kennedy was De-

downfall

One day this bird of brilliant Both have described exactly plunge was preeping himself what happened and their in the warm sunshine of success. versions coincide. Next day he plummeted hood- long into the sea of obscurity- and sank without trace,

Plotted his

He is deeply convinced that flamboyant Parliamentary slyle

Hore-Bellsha survived his foll the mere presence of an out of Gerald Nabarro. He started for 15 years, bui, apart from sider to resented by the great his political career in 1023 us feeling appearance in Mr Chur-

Govern families which still exert their Liberal member for Devonport, chill's 1945 Caretaker veto over promotions inside the but his chance cume when the ment, he failed to stage a come- Tory Party.

National Government was formed. For this reason he is not pre- pared to ring the bell at the By the age of 41 he had be- servants' entrance and scrk in come Minister of Transport - ascent by the back stufru, and immortallsed through the has decided that the organisa- "Belisha beacon." tion of well-publicised demon- strations on the front lawn offers a better prospect of suc ---ceas,

back.

Rather

shamefacedly. they agree that Hore-Bellsha was a first-rate Minister, who WOB In the last, sad years he ousted by the CLÒS., General assuaged his mistrated ambi- Ironside, and the British Com- tions by ever more freqeunt mander in France, Feld-

LWO Gori, visits to an Angilean monastery Marshal

senior near Lelcester,

officers who owed their promo- tion to Hore-Bellsha and in whom he confided implicitly,

Together these two affloors and gentlemen: ploited the downfall of their Minister.

Apparently they felt that, But, instead of writing the although a go-getter and a Jew full blography of this minor but might have boen necessary to

How I envy Mr Minney, who In 1037, in the heyday of has been given access to al appeasement, he was promoted Hore-Bellsha's private papers, by Neville Chamberlain to

the including an ample correspond- War Office, and soon made ence and a daily diary. Scarcely a week passes when Anthony Eden look like a faded he · nannul bo' seen leading bis jeune premter. zebels, and brandishing Lis maustache.

And the looks forward con- dently to the day when the

Premior his successor-will

Warned of

re

fascinating actor on the political carry out the peace-time

form of Cào Army the

stage, he has merely given us a record of his term at the War

diaries, notes and letters.

breakthrough Omee, based on Hore-Helisha's made his

20

man

WW.S Kovor

of berlia

had aroused mon saltless

DecoMary removal now; that war had begLITA.

When I had inished ronding decide to end the nuisance. by Against the opposition of ali

Tory opening the front

His book is an "inside story," this book. I alcod door and elderly brass-hats, this plump,

who accepting in into the Cabinet ambitious Jew set to work to But it reveals very little we did ex-Minister why on his own terms,

modernise the British Army and not know from other Bources, had served his country so well, Which of these Tary outsiders made himself, in the process, except the extraordinary fact and who find beams, to shamo Is right? Some light is thrown the best War Minister since the that Hore-Belisha was either fully nonbind,"

blithely unaware of the enemica given another chance, on the question by a careful Great Lord Haldano,

It was Hore-Belisha, who, in he made or unwilling to confide Without a shadow reading of this book.*

Hore was a Jew, with some 1030, by threat of resignation, his innermost forebodings to his on the reply came. "He lover. on the accros diary.

really belongod end, ha mado of Diarnold's charm and all his forced conscription ambition who, in his heyday, timorous Neville Chamberlain, I suspect that, despite the the mistake of thiiding himself It wan lore-Belisha wlio," in appearance he gave of abuillent indispensable. Ana romult, combined the administrailve

thils outsider who he fell he found he drive and publicity techniques the feat winter at the phones self-conadence, of Ernest Maaples, with the war, went to Tragico and blew realised he was an outelder but hadn't a friend. I think that.

the gaffe by tacticssly, pointing did not want to admit it to him, explains it? out "the appalling gap in the 'self French defences where.

*THE PRIVATE PAPERS OF

<HORE – BELISHA, R.

1 Minney. Cöllina. 30%--

the

view-Me

It does, dood. From their What wore the exact causes different points of mot Line coded, and warn of Here-Bellshe's downfall? If Naberro and Mr Marples should doing against the danger of ever there was a mystery about boli take nota, jajka

them, it was resolved when two

London Exprem Serolos),

German 'break-through;

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