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I Remenber……
In my youth, many years ago,
I met Oliver Reed. Not to talk to, other than the exchange
of a polite good evening, as I remember, but to sit with
and watch the rushes of the film he was making.
“The
Shuttered Room” was one of Ollie’s early films,
also starring Dame Flora Robson and Gig Young. Carol Lynley
was the female interest opposite the young Ollie.
The
film was being shot on location at a water mill near Norwich
in Norfolk, England. Facilities for showing the days `rushes`
were made available at a local cinema, the Regent (now the
ABC, Prince of Wales Road, Norwich) but not until the paying
public had gone home at the end of the evening’s performance.
This arrangement made it a long day for the film’s
stars. Up early to shoot, work all day, and then sit about
all night in their hotel till about 10.45 p.m. to see the
rushes.
It
was not too surprising to find that most evenings one of
the stars would arrive somewhat the worse for drink –
but it was not our Oliver! As I remember it, he was a quiet,
polite young fellow, perhaps still feeling his way in such
august company. No, it was Gig Young who appeared to have
spent the long waiting hours nursing a glass or two.
My
father, Kenneth Smith, was Chief Projectionist at that
cinema and each night he would splice together the day’s
takes and then show them to the cast when they trailed in
last thing at night. He invited me along to keep him company
and I used to slip into the auditorium and sit in the back
row of the stalls with these 4 film stars and listen to
their comments as they saw the results of the day’s
work.
There
were often robust calls for a change of scene if Gig Young
was not on screen. He it was who would call out to `Get
this rubbish off! Where’s the bit with Gig Young in?`
In
response to this exuberant behaviour, young Ollie and Carol
said nothing. I cannot recall Dame Flora’s reaction
but I bet it was a tiny bit cool!
Ah
those were the days, eh? Maybe our Ollie watched Gig and
took notes! Whatever, he certainly learned from his experiences
and went on to become a great star and I bet it was not
long before he could drink Gig or anyone else under the
table too!
Incidentally,
controversy surrounded the ending of the filming. The final
scenes involved the mill burning to the ground and the film
crew actually set fire to it! I think it was a preserved
building or something too!
I
am sure this was a bit of controversy that was not
down to our dear Mr Oliver Reed!
Colin
Smith
JCLANSmith@aol.com |
