Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master (Screen Classics)

Home > Other > Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master (Screen Classics) > Page 81
Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master (Screen Classics) Page 81

by Sragow, Michael


  Fleming, Sara Elizabeth “Sally,” 3–4, 166–7, 169, 195; childhood of, 270, 284, 301, 302, 317, 360, 385–8, 392, 445, 492, 495, 497–8; on Lu Fleming, 206, 207, 219, 392, 463; on VF, 302, 385–8, 394, 422, 445, 454, 463

  Fleming, Victor: adventurousness and risk-taking of, 3, 5, 7, 10, 50–1, 92–4, 95, 99–100, 118, 170–5, 179–80, 388–91; amateur aviation of, 3, 33, 93–4, 119, 159–60, 164, 175, 233, 259–60, 270; anticommunist political involvement of, 63, 407–8, 425–30, 434–5; anti-Semitism charged to, 38, 348–9, 433–4; attractiveness to women of, 5, 7, 8–9, 92, 99, 102, 103, 166, 324, 358; autobiography of, 14, 17, 22, 24–6, 32–6, 42, 44, 55–6, 61–4, 70, 174, 180, 488; automobile racing of, 3, 20, 24–9, 33–4, 92, 98, 100, 165; birth of, 4, 5, 15, 55; childhood and adolescence of, 5, 15, 16–23, 24, 503; cinematography of, 4, 5, 11, 34–5, 36–7, 44, 45, 47–8, 51, 52, 57–60, 63–4, 67–74, 75–7, 324; early jobs of, 4, 19–20, 25–8, 30–1; earnings and wealth of, 159, 165, 170, 176, 177, 286, 358; education of, 17, 22–3, 24; fame and success of, 5, 9–10, 23, 102; family background of, 11–23, 92, 503; fatherhood of, 3, 31, 37, 93, 235, 270, 284, 316, 445; first European trip of, 66–73; first marriage and divorce of, 27–8, 29, 31, 61; first professional break of, 11, 29, 32, 40; generosity of, 3, 17–18, 106, 160, 164; girlfriends and lovers of, 3, 17, 31, 32, 47, 61, 81–2, 92, 95–6, 99, 102–4, 105, 111, 114, 116–18, 124–9, 131–2, 135–8, 143, 146, 158, 165, 316, 355; government investigation of, 61–3; death of, 4, 9, 93, 206, 355, 374, 386, 480, 492–3, 498; humor of, 144, 193–4, 301–2; hunting and travel of, 3, 7, 19, 170–4, 179–80, 201, 207, 230–2, 498–9; intelligence and ingenuity of, 7, 8, 40, 58, 62; kidney stones and surgery for, 141, 177, 204, 207, 229, 234, 235, 248; last will of, 497–8; masculinity of, 3, 5, 7, 8, 77, 91, 93, 99–100, 126, 161, 163, 257, 324, 386, 435; melancholy and brooding of, 3, 6, 322, 338–9; military training films of, 4, 57, 58; motorcycling of, 3, 388–91; mythical Indian heritage of, 9, 12, 19, 42, 322, 392; “Old-Time Wild Man” image of, 8–9; physical appearance and stature of, 7, 9, 31, 37, 51, 102, 135, 226, 270–1, 328, 495; pranks and practical jokes of, 5, 22, 26, 50–1, 84, 99, 124, 127, 301–2, 329, 491; second marriage and family life of, 3, 7, 61, 385–9, 444–5; social life of, 3, 99, 117, 118, 143, 386–91, 491–2; speech patterns of, 13, 92; taxi driving of, 26–27; vigor and physicality of, 5, 7, 8, 20, 50–1, 77, 84, 99–100; World War I military service of, 4, 11, 22, 26, 54–74

  Fleming, Victor, director: artistic achievement of, 5, 85, 99, 282, 501–4; child actors and, 39, 40, 214–18, 249–50, 272–3, 301–2, 339, 347–8, 380–1; deft handling of sound by, 151–2, 164, 252; departure from visual orthodoxy by, 52, 78, 80, 101; directorial debut of, 48, 77–81; freshness and modernism of, 5; as “man’s director” vs. “woman’s director,” 7, 104, 272, 320, 358; method and directorial style of, 39, 78–81, 84–5, 133–4, 162, 185–6, 197, 225–6, 229, 247–8, 332–3, 362, 439–40; power and authority of, 3, 8, 176, 228, 302–3, 307, 324, 326, 330, 335; realism and action specialties of, 7–8, 25, 179, 226; relations of actors and collaborators with, 3, 4–8, 146, 224, 225–7, 229, 249–52, 272, 277, 298–9, 301–3; reviews of, 78, 83, 85, 91, 94, 96, 102, 104, 105, 110, 115, 128, 135, 140–1, 163, 195–6, 199, 212–13, 228–9, 253–4, 268, 350, 421, 438; sensitivity and dedication of, 7, 39, 177, 191, 197, 273, 327; sexuality depicted by, 4, 6, 7, 9–10, 180–1, 186–90, 202–03, 364–6, 370–1, 505; shaping of actors’ screen personas by, 4–7, 9, 42, 145–6, 150, 225; technical savvy of, 6, 7–8, 20, 51, 52, 79, 80, 333–4; theory of sex as a fight, 401, 443; work ethic and enterprise of, 18, 87, 99, 175, 195, 337

  Fleming, Victoria Sue, 15, 136, 169, 180, 233; birth of, 219; childhood of, 233, 256, 257, 270, 301, 309, 317, 360, 386–8, 445, 495, 497–8; on Lu Fleming, 192, 193–4, 219, 392, 492; on VF, 209, 256, 284, 340, 359, 360, 386–7, 426, 445, 454, 492

  Fleming, William Richard Lonzo “Lon,” 11–13, 14–17, 23; heart condition and early death of, 5, 12, 16–17, 18, 29, 266

  Floor Below, The, 60

  Flying A film company, 30–2, 34–7

  Flynn, Errol, 43, 107, 142, 353–4

  Flynn, Maurice B., 100

  Foelsch, Richard, 281

  Folsey, George, 411

  Fonda, Henry, 224–8

  Fonda, Peter, 148

  Fontaine, Joan, 498

  Forbes, Mary, 205

  Forbstein, Leo, 392

  Ford, Harry Chapman, 94

  Ford, Henry, 18

  Ford, John, 9, 117, 185, 225, 228, 231, 236–7, 258, 330, 354, 358, 396, 401, 403, 427, 499, 501–2

  Forgotten Village, The, 356–7

  Forman, Tom, 148

  Fort Sill, 56, 57, 64

  Fosdick, Raymond Blaine, 69, 71

  Fowler, Gene, 403

  Fox Film Corporation, 228–9, 235, 241, 285, 336; VF’s years with, 159–66, 224–5

  Francke, Caroline, 199

  Frankenheimer, John, 79

  Franklin, Chester, 379

  Franklin, Dwight, 211

  Franklin, Sidney, 234, 258, 375–6, 379–83

  Frederick, John, 403

  Frederick, Pauline, 182

  Freed, Arthur, 285, 286, 288, 291, 311–12, 313, 443, 444, 501, 503

  Freed, Renée, 443

  Freeman, Earl A., 206

  French Foreign Legion, 119, 162

  Freund, Karl, 411

  Front Page, The (Hecht and MacArthur), 178, 201, 202

  Fuchs, Daniel, 502

  Fung, Willie, 399

  Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Hollywood—with Jack Paar, A, 304–5

  Furthman, Jules, 9, 132, 141, 159, 160, 163, 201, 239, 386, 394

  Fury, 240

  Gable, Clark, 8, 10, 142, 174, 198–9, 237, 240, 271, 272, 354, 436–42, 498, 499–500; background of, 181–3; in Gone With the Wind, 230, 277, 316–21, 324–5, 329–30, 332, 334, 339–43, 345–7, 360, 440, 442, 504–5; as “The King,” 9, 260, 319; lovers and wives of, 182, 324, 351, 354, 404; physical appearance and charisma of, 5, 181, 184, 199; in Red Dust, 6, 181–2, 194, 196, 262, 324, 440, 499, 505; rumored bisexuality of, 237, 320–1; in Test Pilot, 6, 10, 258, 259, 260–8; VF’s influence on screen persona of, 5–7, 9, 194, 225, 324, 329–30, 339–40, 342–3; VF’s relationship with, 40, 317–18, 321, 325, 329, 357, 386–8, 389–91, 494, 495; in The White Sister, 197–99; World War II military service of, 404–5, 436, 441

  Gallagher, John, 286

  Garbo, Greta, 131, 181, 320, 355, 447, 451, 454

  Gardner, Ava, 185, 499–500

  Garey, Enoch, 57

  Garfield, John, 395–9, 403

  Garland, Judy, 8, 319, 388–9; death of, 313; drug addiction of, 301; TV appearances with Jack Paar, 295, 304–5; in Wizard of Oz, 11, 265, 282, 284, 286, 289–91, 295, 300–2, 304–5, 309–13, 320, 325, 503

  Garmes, Lee, 325

  Garnett, Tay, 38, 165–6, 258, 359, 363, 443

  Garrett, Oliver H. P., 322

  Garson, Greer, 301, 436–8, 440–2

  Gaslight, 364

  Gaucho, The, 143

  Gaynor, Janet, 159, 225, 226–7

  Gebbert, Vera, 195

  Geiger, Norman, 272

  Genius of the System, The (Schatz), 503

  Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 138

  George V, King of England, 72

  George Washington, 67–70, 72–3

  Geraghty, Tom J., 47, 82

  Geronimo, 57

  Gerswhin, Ira, 291

  Get Away, Old Man (Saroyan), 405

  Gibbons, Cedric, 369, 429–30

  Gibson, Charles Dana, 36

  Gibson, Hoot, 37, 193

  Gibson, Mel, 100

  Giese, Greg, 348

  Gilbert, Billy, 251–2

  Gilbert, John, 91–2, 182, 184, 186

  Gillespie, A. Arnold, 303

  Girl Crazy, 302

  Gish, Dorothy, 50

  Gish, Lillian, 131, 142, 180, 199

  Glazer, Benjamin, 395–6

  Glory for Me (Kantor), 402<
br />
  Glyn, Elinor, 111

  Godard, Jean-Luc, 75

  Godfather, The, 67, 282

  Going My Way, 241, 434

  Goldberg, Albert, 438

  Goldwyn, Samuel, 142, 178, 385, 394

  Gone With the Wind (film), 174, 241, 257, 264, 286, 310, 316–52, 354–5; Cukor’s work on, 317–21, 328, 330–3, 336, 340, 345, 348, 350; Gable in, 230, 277, 316–21, 324–5, 329–30, 332, 334, 339–43, 345–7, 360, 440, 442, 504–5; portrayal of blacks in, 327, 344–7; Selznick’s production of, 317–27, 333–8, 340–1, 343–5, 348–52, 354–5, 361–2, 377, 378; use of Technicolor in, 326, 328, 334; VF’s direction of, 3, 9, 13, 40, 151, 277, 316, 322–51, 384, 503–6; wide-screen and stereophonic upgrading of, 498

  Gone With the Wind (Mitchell), 318, 322, 323, 328, 343–4

  Good Bad Man, The, 47, 50, 51

  Goodbye, Mr. Chips, 340, 354, 360, 361, 430, 441

  Good Earth, The (Buck), 232, 233

  Good Earth, The (film), 233–5, 258, 274

  Goodrich, John, 120

  Goodykoontz, Dan, 432–3

  Gordon, Mack, 291

  Gorin, Jean-Pierre, 75

  Gosfilmofond, 96

  Gould, Chester, 109

  Grady, Billy, 377, 379, 414

  Graham, Sheilah, 278, 302, 317, 323–4, 357–8

  Gran, Albert, 137

  Grand Illusion, 447

  Granger, Stewart, 238

  Grant, Cary, 43, 266, 421

  Grant, James Edward, 499

  Grapes of Wrath, The, 356, 395

  Grapewin, Charley, 287

  Grass, 58

  Gravet, Fernand, 273, 275, 277, 280

  Grayson, Cary, 69–70, 74

  Grayson, Kathryn, 336–7

  Greason, Al, 140

  Great God Brown, The (O’Neill), 178

  Great Waltz, The, 273–81, 283, 317, 333, 337, 340

  Great Ziegfeld, The, 274, 275

  Green, Abel, 195–6

  Green, Adolph, 209

  Greene, Graham, 85, 106, 107, 218

  Green Hills of Africa (Hemingway), 230

  Green Pastures, The (Connelly), 243

  Greer, Jane, 393

  Gregory, Carl L., 58–9

  Grey, Virginia, 261

  Grey, Zane, 95–8, 105, 109, 123

  Griffith, Andy, 39

  Griffith, D. W., 29, 39–40, 42–3, 48, 63, 64, 102, 143, 505; Fairbanks and, 42–6, 49, 52, 73, 75

  Gross, Edward, 392

  Grossmith, George, 366

  Guffey, Burnett, 97

  Guilaroff, Sydney, 286, 301

  Gulf Screen Guild Theater, 338

  Guy Named Joe, A, 289, 353, 405–23, 505

  GWTW: The Making of “Gone With the Wind” (Lambert), 340–1

  Gwynn, Edith, 487

  Hackett, Albert, 428

  Hagedorn, Hermann, 120–21

  Haines, William, 320–1

  Hale, Clinton B., 31, 272

  Haley, Earl J., 124

  Haley, Jack, 282–3, 287, 294–5, 297–8

  Haley, Jack, Jr., 298

  Haley, Stan, 124

  Half-Breed, The, 47–8, 51, 90

  Hall, Gladys, 251, 335, 343

  Hall, Mordaunt, 128

  Haller, Ernest, 325–6, 344

  Hal Roach Studios, 404, 472, 475, 477

  Halsey, Betty, 221

  Ham and Bud series, 37

  Hamilton, Hale, 161

  Hamilton, Lloyd, 37

  Hamilton, Margaret, 224, 286, 291, 299–300, 303, 311

  Hammerstein, Oscar, II, 273, 274

  Hampton, Hope, 62

  Hanson, Curtis, 224

  Happy Land, 405, 422

  Harburg, Ernie, 292

  Harburg, E. Y. “Yip,” 285, 288, 290, 291, 292, 311–12, 313, 434, 503

  Harding, Warren G., 121

  Hardwicke, Cedric, 409

  Hardwicke, Edward, 409

  Hardy, Oliver, 289

  Harlan, Kenneth, 86–7, 88–9

  Harlow, Jean, 181–2, 183–5, 220–3, 258, 311, 316, 499; in Bombshell, 182–3, 185, 190–2, 200, 201, 203–6, 223, 226, 296, 505; death of, 223

  Harmetz, Aljean, 288, 301, 306, 310, 312, 313, 503

  Harper, Kate, 174, 385

  Harriman, Margaret Case, 47

  Harris, Mildred, 206–7

  Hart, William S., 73, 75

  Harte, Bret, 48, 109

  Hartman, Arletta, 15, 16–17

  Hartman, Clarissa, 14, 16

  Hartman, Clyde, 17, 164, 239, 438

  Hartman, Edna, 17

  Hartman, Edward (cousin), 12, 15–16, 17–21, 132, 170, 309–10, 388, 401; on VF, 50, 164–5, 174–5, 239, 250, 295, 304, 385, 392, 394

  Hartman, Edward “Ed” (uncle) 15, 16, 17–21, 239

  Hartman, Gladys, 239

  Hartman, John, 13

  Hartman, Lewis (Ludwig) Shortley, 13–14, 20, 328–9

  Hartman, Loid, 19–20

  Hartman, Mal, 12, 16, 18

  Hartman, Mary “Mamie” Jordan, 17–22, 239

  Hartman family band, 20

  Harvard University, 41, 42, 110, 177, 427

  Harvey, James, 203, 329

  Harvey Girls, The, 11

  Hasbrouck, Olive, 207

  Hatfield, Hurd, 480

  Hathaway, Henry, 30, 193; directing of, 5, 235–6; on VF, 5, 7, 10, 29, 123–4; as VF’s protegé, 5, 29, 97, 105, 123–4, 127–8, 133, 134, 136, 145, 148

  Hatton, Raymond, 108

  Havens, James, 248

  Haver, Phyllis, 133

  Hawks, David, 386, 389–91

  Hawks, Howard, 9–10, 117, 118–19, 168, 179, 183, 193, 195, 205, 258, 502; character and personality of, 179, 266–7, 392; on VF, 93–4, 103, 170; Only Angels Have Wings and, 265–7 VF’s relationship with, 33, 52, 91–4, 159–60, 169, 199, 230, 233, 257, 267, 385–6, 390–4, 487

  Hawks, Kenneth, 91, 92, 118

  Hawks, Nancy “Slim” Gross, 386, 389, 391–4

  Hawks, William, 92

  Hayakawa, Sessue, 109, 171

  Hayden, Terese, 450–1

  Hayes, Helen, 142, 197–9, 461

  Hayle, Grace, 203

  Haynes, Ernie, 223

  Hays, Will, 121–2

  Hayward, Susan, 362, 363, 488

  Hayworth, Rita, 395

  Head, Edith, 147

  Healy, Ted, 200, 222, 223, 279

  Heard, Falkner, 410

  Hearst, William Randolph, 44

  Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, 240–1

  Hebbard, Sterling, 423

  Hecht, Ben, 178, 193, 194, 198, 322–3, 393, 434, 452

  Held, Tom, 277

  Hell’s Angels, 268

  Hemingway, Ernest, 6, 100, 230, 385, 451, 487

  Henabery, Joseph, 53–4, 75, 109

  Hendrickson, Floyd, 399–400

  Hendry, Whitey, 238, 429, 443–4

  Henry V, 457, 476, 484, 490

  Henshey, Howard, 208

  Hepburn, Audrey, 408, 464

 

‹ Prev