Aidan tucked his script into the back pocket of his jeans before getting out of the car and opening Beth’s door. He removed his sunglasses when they entered the building. They played their costars only routine in front of the elevator operator and exited at the third floor.
As the elevator doors shut behind them, Aidan looked down the corridor. He was pleased to find it vacant. Unable to resist, he snuck in a kiss.
Beth giggled against his lips. “What if someone sees us?”
Aidan kissed her again. The pleasurable moan she released implied she no longer cared if people spotted them. It was with a lingering groan that he eventually backed away and suggested they head into the read-through.
Beth tugged on his arm as he reached for the doorknob. “Can you sit beside me today?”
Her hopeful expression reawakened Aidan’s protective nature. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Absolutely, baby.”
Beth took a deep breath. When she nodded her readiness, Aidan opened the door.
“Look, everyone, it’s the talented stars of the picture.” Kazan motioned to the couple, a witty smirk reaching the corners of his lips. “Thanks for finally gracing us with your presence.”
Aidan scanned the room. It was barely large enough to accommodate a rectangular conference table and about a dozen chairs. They were the last to arrive. The rest of the principle cast sat at the table with their scripts in front of them.
“I’m sorry for our tardiness, Mr. Kazan.” A tremor accompanied Beth’s apology.
Aidan fought valiantly not to pull her into his arms again and assure her everything was all right.
Kazan flashed a grin. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I’m just teasing you. You’re actually right on time.”
Beth nodded a greeting at a young man Aidan didn’t recognize as they walked to the only available seats in the room, which thankfully were situated next to each other.
Aidan helped her remove her coat and pulled out her chair. Kazan gave an amused smile while everyone else looked shocked by the gestures.
“Beth, would you like some water?” Aidan asked, refusing to acknowledge the perplexed stares of their audience.
She gave a meek smile. “Yes, please.”
After hanging up her coat, he walked to the water cooler in the corner of the room. As he retrieved her drink, he felt all eyes still on him but put his duty of taking care of her ahead of their curiosity. He took his seat beside her, set down her cup, and tossed his sunglasses and script onto the table.
Beth took her script out of her purse and set it down beside the water cup, smoothing it out meticulously.
“Now that we’re all here, the first thing we should do is introduce ourselves. I know most of us are acquainted with each other already, but there are some new faces, and we want them to feel welcome.” Kazan cast his eyes to Aidan. “Why don’t you go first? Beth will follow, and we’ll proceed clockwise around the table.”
Aidan slouched in his chair and tapped his foot to an imaginary beat. “My name’s Aidan Evans. Most of you know me from New York and the Actors Studio. I’m playing Joe Oliver.” He lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug. “That’s pretty much it.”
All eyes in the room shifted to Beth. She provided a timid smile.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Elizabeth Sutton, but you can call me Beth if you’d like.” Her cheeks flamed red. “Um… I’m playing Mary Olivier, Aidan’s wife.”
Aidan’s heart stuttered in celebration.
“Oh, goodness! I mean, Joe’s wife.” Beth’s blush deepened with her swift correction. “I would like to add that I’m really looking forward to working with all of you. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kazan again for choosing me to play Mary.” She looked at the director in earnest. “I will try my hardest not to let you down. Hopefully, I’ll learn about Method acting in the process, as well as make new friends.”
Aidan was delighted upon the conclusion of her introduction. Judging from the welcoming smiles across the table, she had won everyone over already.
Kazan leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Well, would ya look at that?” He tossed Aidan a raffish grin. “Now, that’s how this introduction thing is supposed to go. Evans, you could learn a few things from your costar, like how to be pleasant instead of scaring the shit out of everyone all the time.”
Beth’s eyes widened, but those in the room used to Kazan’s informality laughed.
Clive Geary, the actor playing Joe’s boxing coach, followed her introduction. He talked briefly about his Method acting past and how he’d known Kazan personally since the early 1930s when they both started out in the Group Theater.
The only person Aidan didn’t recognize at the table spoke next.
“Uh, hello. My name is Wade Henley and I’m playing Sal—Joe’s best friend in the film. I’ve never worked on a film before. Uh…” He tugged at his shirt collar.
So this was the actor Beth recruited for Kazan from Schwab’s Pharmacy, huh?
If Aidan thought Beth was nervous during her introduction, she had nothing on Wade. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands shook as he rested them on the tabletop. He was also overdressed in a stuffy suit and tie.
Golden Gloves might have been Wade’s first film, but Beth believed in him and Kazan hired him after one audition, which was all Aidan needed to know to give him a chance. At least he looked the part with his dark features. Now all he had to do was act the part.
Wade’s anxiety would have to go if he was going pull off his character successfully. Sal was a cocky young man with a quick wit, born and raised in the toughest and poorest neighborhood in Chicago. Aidan hoped he’d come around once he became more comfortable with his colleagues.
“Like I said, I’m playing Sal.” Wade toyed with his script, which was heavily marked with colored tabs and penciled notes. “I, too, would like to thank Mr. Kazan for this opportunity, and Marie—” He winced. “Sorry, I mean, Beth—for thinking of me for this part. And Mr. Evans, I really admire your work and hope to learn a lot from you on this film.”
Aidan couldn’t tell if Wade was sincere or just trying to butter him up. He flashed his best grin, deciding to play nice to show Beth he was making an effort to welcome her friend.
“Thanks. I’m looking forward to working with you, too. And, uh, call me Aidan.”
Beth looked pleased by his efforts.
Wade looked like he’d won an Academy Award. “Thanks, Aidan!”
“Nice to have you here, kid.” Kazan’s broad grin conveyed his confidence in the actor. “If your audition is any indication of how you’re going to perform in this film, you’re going to be great asset to all of us.”
The introductions continued with Claude Farkas, the twenty-four-year-old actor playing Joe’s opponent in the first and final dramatic bouts of the film, followed by Margaret Lowel, a seasoned Method actress playing Joe and Mary’s landlady.
Kazan introduced himself last and then launched into a speech about the picture. “This script is a damn good one, and you’re all here because I know you’re the best actors for these characters.” He stood from his chair and walked the length of the table, gesturing to no one in particular. “I teach Method acting, but I don’t force it upon people if it’s not something they’re interested in. The bottom line is you do what you have to do to get the job done right. Filming starts Tuesday on lot nine, soundstage six. I want everyone on set at six in the morning. Do not be late.”
Kazan stopped behind Claude. “Today’s script read-through is about getting acquainted with your character in the presence of the other performers. Memorizing your lines does not make you an actor. You gotta bounce things off your cast mates. When you read your lines, I want clear voices backed by emotion and appropriate facial gestures. Pretend you’re on set and the camera is rolling, even though we aren’t physically acting anything out today.
“Now, to effectively play your charact
ers you need to first understand the character of Joe Oliver. This foundation will provide you with what you need to appreciate your relationship with him and what your character brings to the story.
“Golden Gloves is about a young man regaining his dignity, his self-esteem—in a word, regeneration. Joe is a complex, divided character. He has an inner conflict going on all the time, which isn’t resolved until the end of the film. Crucial is the fact that Joe is an orphan. As a kid, he felt homeless, unwanted, and inferior to the rest of mankind. George, his boxing trainer, adopted him in the unofficial sense and brought him to the point where he was famous.
“Fighting was Joe’s move for recognition. It was his bid for a place in the sun against a world from which he had been shut out from birth, his revenge on a society that had rejected him. When he fought, he was someone, not an orphan. George gave this to him.
“Boxing is Joe’s armor. As I’ve discussed with Aidan, Joe seems to swagger and sometimes affects jauntiness, but his eyes betray him. The swagger is a cover. When he’s not being watched or living up to the photos on the fight cards, he’s gentle and withdrawn. That’s why he can never be sure of himself or confirmed in his values—he is divided all the time.
“The great thing about this film is it has an inner story. Joe starts one way. He ends up another. When he was eighteen, he accidently killed his opponent in the ring and quit boxing. The accident, which bestowed upon him insurmountable guilt, convinced him he’s no good. Then he meets Mary, who sees the good in him. Joe’s experiences with women up until he met her were meaningless. He could never entrust himself to them. Never before Mary did he have a chance to be close to a girl and show her his tender side.
“The accident, Joe’s courtship of Mary, and their marriage aren’t covered in the film. We start in the present day, with the memory of the accident engrained in Joe’s mind and crippling his progression to manhood. In our script, we cover this: As a result of the event that caused him to quit boxing, Joe finds that somewhere along the line he lost his dignity and self-esteem. With encouragement from Mary, he reconnects with George and heads out to regain them. And he does it the hard way, by returning to boxing and defeating his demons. That is the personal story of our film. A bum becomes a man. That’s it.
“I want you all to keep what I’ve said in mind this weekend, and throughout filming, as you reflect on your characters, in order to establish the proper emotional core for your character and execute an effective delivery—speech, behavior, mannerisms, etcetera.” Kazan sat down and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, let’s get started. I’ll read all the lines belonging to the extras, since they’re not included in today’s meeting.”
The sound of shuffling paper filled the room as the cast opened their scripts to the first page. Aidan had the beginning lines of the film in the form of a monologue heard over a flashback scene, where Joe recounts accidentally killing his opponent in the ring and quitting boxing.
“I ain’t always been a loser,” Aidan read in character. “I used to be a winner. That was before I killed a guy…”
He presented the rest of his monologue with the proper amount of anguish, swagger, and vulnerability, noting the impressed faces of his colleagues as they gave him their undivided attention. It felt good to be working on a film again. He couldn’t wait until they got on set.
Upon conclusion of Joe’s speech, the film shifted to the present day.
[Scene]
INT. DOWNTOWN CHICAGO STREET — NIGHT
Joe Oliver pops the collar of his jacket to protect his face from the harsh winter wind as he walks briskly with Salvatore Lucci along a downtown Chicago street, en route to the apartment he shares with his wife, Mary Oliver.
“I got this plan that’s guaranteed to make a ton of money, Joe,” Wade said as Sal.
Aidan glanced at Kazan in surprise. Wade was no longer the nervous actor from earlier, but the personification of a confident, street-savvy young man.
Kazan gave Aidan look that said, “I told you so,” and returned his attention to Wade.
“The plan’s foolproof,” Sal continued. “A truck arrives on Mondays in the early morning to drop off goods at old man Barry’s Suit Shop. After the driver opens the back and carries the first bunch of merchandise into the store, leaving the rest out in the open like I’ve seen him do a bunch of times before, we’ll sneak in and grab as much off the truck as we can. Then we run.” His eyes brightened. “Think about the turnover on all those fine silk suits, Joe. Each week we can hit up a different store after identifying their delivery schedule. We’ll be millionaires in no time!”
A frown tugged at Joe’s lips. “Sal, I don’t know. I got a wife to think about. I can’t gamble with our future.”
[Scene]
INT. JOE AND MARY’S APARTMENT LOBBY — NIGHT
Joe and Sal bound up the front steps and enter the walk-up that houses the apartment. The hard edges ease from their faces now that they are out of the cold.
“Like I said, it’s foolproof.” Sal’s reply sounded stubborn and determined. “Just think, Joe, no more sticking it out with that goon boss of yours at the factory. You’ll be self-employed—not to mention well-dressed because we could keep some of the suits for ourselves—and you’ll have so much money you can give your girl whatever she wants.”
Joe looked at Sal uncertainly. “What about your last so-called foolproof plan? You know, the grocer one that went bust on the first day.”
Sal rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. That plan wasn’t the greatest, but this one is much better.” He gestured to Joe with gusto. “Come on, you gotta do something to make some scratch. The factory pays you nothing. What are you going to do when you and Mary have children? How will you support a larger family when you can barely support the two of you now?”
Joe remained silent.
“You don’t want Mary working—that ain’t right.” Sal threw his hands up in frustration. “You don’t even wear wedding rings because you can’t afford ’em. You say you wanna treat her good? Well, just think about the life you could provide for her if you were rich. You wanna give her a good life, don’t ya, Joe?”
Joe straightened his back defensively. “Of course I want that. I just don’t wanna go about it in a dishonest way and get thrown in jail. I had to bail you out after that other plan you came up with failed—the carpet hijinks I refused to be a part of. Remember?”
“I told you, my other plans had flaws. But this one is—”
“Yeah, I know. Foolproof.” Joe gave him a half-smile.
Sal grinned. “Exactly.”
[Scene]
INT. JOE AND MARY’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Joe and Sal put their conversation on hold as they enter the apartment. Mary is setting dinner on the table.
“You’re just in time, you two,” Beth said in character.
Aidan cringed at the nervousness in her greeting.
“Beth.”
Her cheeks flushed upon Kazan’s gentle interruption.
“Please read a bit slower and much louder. Get a feel for your character. Mary is loving, patient, and kind.” Kazan glanced at Aidan. “Use any real life experiences you have with those emotions to effectively translate them to her.”
Beth nodded. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Kazan.”
Aidan shot Kazan a look that warned him to tread lightly.
He merely grinned in response. “Please continue, Beth. I know you’ll do fine.”
Beth delved into her character again. “I made pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes and green beans. I hope it’s to your liking.”
In a voice that gradually gained confidence, she finished the scene, performing even better than she did when rehearsing privately with Aidan. He couldn’t have felt prouder.
The cast made notes in the margins of their scripts as they read, and the group broke for lunch having completed the first half of the screenplay. Aidan was impressed with his costars; working with Wade was e
specially easy, erasing his initial worries over the rookie actor. He hoped things would progress as well once they began filming.
The only real issue he had was there were many emotional scenes in Golden Gloves that he’d purposely skimmed over during his own rehearsals. He wasn’t afraid of going over them in the read-through this afternoon, but when he acted them before the cameras, he worried about experiencing flashbacks like he did during Spike Rollins.
“We’ll return here at one o’clock, but before you all leave, I have a surprise to share.” A sly grin crept upon Kazan’s face. “The entire film was supposed to be shot here at the studio, which was never the ideal situation for me, and for most of you. However, I’m happy to say that Luther just increased our budget, after some persistence on my part, and the street scenes, which we’re filming near the end of our schedule, will now be shot on location in Chicago.”
As excited murmurs erupted throughout the room, Aidan struggled to break through the dread that suffocated him. He lost the battle. It was much too thick, reinforced by too many bad memories and feelings from his past he longed to forget.
Aidan felt Beth’s eyes on him, but he didn’t dare look at her. He thought he was in trouble before in having to deal with the emotional scenes in Golden Gloves, but his situation had just gotten much worse. If there was ever a time he needed a cigarette, it was now.
“Hey, Evans.”
Aidan shifted his turbulent eyes to his director. The constriction of his throat made words impossible.
Kazan cocked his head to the side. “I thought you’d be the happiest person in the cast. I’m sorry I couldn’t move the whole shoot to Chicago, but there wasn’t the money for that.”
Aidan put his acting talent to good use, forcing a grin through his devastation. “I’m happy, Gadg, really. Hell, it’s about time Mertz took this film more seriously.”
Starbright Page 29