My Life with Cleopatra

by Walter Wanger

  Skouras is in town. The main issue in his mind seems to be discovering how much of our losses can be recovered by insurance. Looks like a battle brewing between the insurance companies and Skouras.

  Skouras saw some of the rushes with Peter Finch and Stephen Boyd. He doesn’t think Finch has enough dignity and strength or power to play Caesar. Part of this he blames on Mamoulian and me. He says we don’t seem to be handling the cast with enough authority. “I don’t care for what I’ve seen or what I’ve heard,” Skouras said. Mamoulian, naturally, is very upset.

  We are still shooting around Liz and doing everything we can, building special sets, rushing sets in and tearing them down, in order to get moving. So far we are not ready for Liz anyway; the costumes are not completed and the script is still not right. All the scenes shot up to now are exteriors—nothing in which the actors have any important dialogue. We are just setting the stage for the big scenes.

  OCTOBER 22, 1960

  Big session on insurance at the 20th Century-Fox headquarters in Soho Square.

  The insurance company wants us to close down and recast Elizabeth; Skouras wants to collect the insurance and start over again; Rogell wants to keep going ahead in the hope that Elizabeth will soon be well enough to work.

  The weather is terrible; cold, rainy, and damp.

  OCTOBER 24, 1960

  Another meeting with all the executives at which Ernie Holding, the Fox production executive, estimated that our loss since September 29 has been $121,428 a day. The loss to date: over two million dollars.

  Skouras decided to trim the budget to five million dollars and readjust the shooting schedule from 95 to 75 days. At the same time he announced that I am in charge of making the picture on the new schedule and budget. Every time he comes to Europe he gives someone else complete authority, but the fact is he keeps the power for final decision to himself. Anyway, the new budget and schedule are impossible—we’ve spent almost half the budget already. But Skouras, as usual, won’t listen to facts.

  “Make it,” he said.

  OCTOBER 26, 1960

  Skouras continues his usual routine of “You’re the producer, no alibis, you’re too nice.” He claims I am responsible for the delays because I insisted on having Liz.

  “You’re such a stubborn sonofabitch,” he said. “You’ve ruined us by having that girl in the picture. We’ll never finish the picture with her. I wish to hell we’d done it with Joanne Woodward or Susan Hayward—we’d be making money now.”

  I told Skouras I thought Liz was going to be great. Then I mentioned that I had just talked with Harold Mirisch in Los Angeles, who said he just called off his deal with Liz for Irma La Douce and Two for the Seesaw, so she was free now.

  “I authorize you to sign Liz for two more pictures—at once,” Skouras said without missing a beat!

  Heavy fog makes shooting impossible. We had called five hundred extras, and could hardly find them on the set in the fog.

  OCTOBER 29, 1960

  Liz taken to the London Clinic.

  Talked with the doctors to find out what is really the trouble. One of them told me she has Malta fever—a tenacious bug that’s as hard to shake as it is to diagnose.

  “Convalescence is usually tedious—at least three months,” the doctor said.

  I hope he’s wrong—for Elizabeth’s sake as well as ours.

  NOVEMBER 2, 1960

  London Daily Mirror called me to check on whether we are going to replace Liz. “No Liz, no Cleo,” I said.

  Met with Geddes and Rogell all afternoon. The insurance company wants us to recast the picture with another actress.

  They gave us a list of the actresses they felt could play Cleopatra: Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Rosanna Podesta, Kim Novak, Shirley MacLaine, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. We pointed out that no other actress has sufficient drawing power. We want Liz because our first objective is a great picture, and Liz is essential for that.

  Mamoulian called to complain about Rogell hurrying and harassing him. Rogell called to say Mamoulian didn’t seem concerned enough about our situation. I tried to pacify both of them.

  We are all under great tension. Our problems inevitably end up on the front pages. Meanwhile, Liz is still in the clinic. Dr. Goldman assured me that she will be fine in a few days, but the weather is miserable, which means we can’t shoot any exteriors.

  Mamoulian is unhappy with the script, and Skouras is clamoring to cancel shooting, while the insurance company is still insisting that we find a replacement. To top it all off, the ridiculous Guilaroff situation is not yet near resolution.

  Since I’ve had my heart attacks I learned not to get excited—the only person I hurt is myself. I’ve trained myself to take things in stride, and on this production I anticipated many of our problems: the bad weather, Elizabeth’s illness, our inability to get proper space and people. So I was prepared.

  NOVEMBER 7, 1960

  The doctors were wrong. Liz really had a virus infection. She was dismissed from the clinic this morning.

  Geddes telephoned me, very upset. He just heard Liz had left the hospital and returned to the Dorchester Hotel without the sanction of the insurance company’s doctors. I checked with Dr. Goldman who said Liz was permitted to leave the hospital after consultation with Lord Evans and himself.

  NOVEMBER 8, 1960

  An hour wasted over another ridiculous and undignified detail: the boil Liz had. Rogell forwarded a letter from our indefatigable insurance man, Geddes, who wants a statement from me or Dr. Goldman or anyone else concerning Elizabeth’s “illness,” which he described as a “boil on the buttocks” during the period September 25 to September 29.

  Excerpt from my letter to Geddes:

  On September 26 she again had fittings and at eleven o’clock that night she went to the Dominion Theatre to see rushes of her tests with her husband, Eddie Fisher, and myself. She laughingly said she had a small boil on one buttock, or something of the sort, but in no way did it impair her from standing for fittings. From her behavior it was clear to me that it was not causing her any distress.

  NOVEMBER 9, 1960

  Mamoulian called this morning to say his dinner appointment with Liz was called off because she isn’t feeling well.

  He said he didn’t like the sound of it so I called Liz’s apartment at the Dorchester. A woman’s voice whispered, “Mrs. Fisher will call back later.” Late in the afternoon a reporter from the Daily Mail called to say Liz had been taken to the clinic on a stretcher. I called Eddie at the clinic. He was too upset to talk other than to say Liz is under sedation and Lord Evans, Dr. Goldman, and a neurologist are in attendance.

  A few minutes later the Daily Express called to say Liz has meningitis. I called Dr. Goldman, who said she had a terrible headache but not meningitis. I called the Express back to deny the meningitis rumor.

  Eddie phoned back weeping and frightened. He called Dr. Rex Kennamer in Hollywood who is flying right over. Dr. Goldman called to say Liz is much better. “Probably an infected tooth,” he said.

  NOVEMBER 14, 1960

  The insurance company offered Skouras $1,750,000 and promised to reinsure Elizabeth.

  He wants more. The offer was presented by David Metcalf who was one of the junior partners in the firm that carried our insurance. He is the son of an old friend, Major Metcalf, who was aide-de-camp to the Prince of Wales when I knew him.

  NOVEMBER 17, 1960

  Eddie Fisher says Skouras is going to close down the picture and go on with it later, but told Eddie not to tell me. Sid Rogell said Skouras told him to tell Mamoulian and myself we’d better get ready to go back to Los Angeles, but not to quote him. Tom O’Brien has heard rumors we are going to close down and he wants to know what to tell his labor people.

  NOVEMBER 18, 1960

  There is nothing more we can shoot without Liz. We must come to a stop.

  In the morning Rouben and I met with the Works Committee at the studio to explain why it was nec
essary for us to give the workers notice. They were very understanding.

  In the afternoon we went on the Alexandria set and told the workers from the camera platform through loudspeakers we were shutting down. We said that we planned to resume filming as soon as Elizabeth was well enough.

  NOVEMBER 21, 1960

  Skouras arrived today and told the press that Cleopatra will be completed. He said that Liz is the perfect Cleopatra. “We cannot abandon her just because she has been ill,” he said.

  Skouras told me that when the picture resumes it will still be on the Eady Plan and done between London and Egypt. This seems final.

  NOVEMBER 25, 1960

  Geddes drops a bombshell.

  The insurance people are contending that Elizabeth made a serious omission in her statement to them—thereby invalidating her insurance. They have found that on September 14, Elizabeth received “urgent medical treatment” from a doctor, which she neglected to mention in her medical statement.

  Eddie tells me that this is what happened: Elizabeth was unable to sleep and was having palpitations. She called the hotel doctor, who was not available, so an outside doctor was sent up to examine her.

  This doctor said that Elizabeth had a heart flutter, which he described as tachycardia. She believed it was only her nerves and, never having had a heart condition and not knowing the doctor, she ignored what he said and took the sedation he gave her. She apparently either forgot the incident or discounted it in filling out a long insurance form. The insurance company claims that her answers were inaccurate. That’s their loophole. But Dr. Goldman says her answers were correct.

  DECEMBER 9, 1960

  Received our new starting date: January 3, in London. Liz and Eddie are to return December 23.

  Rogell and DeCuir back from Egypt checking on locations. Their report is good.

  Skouras and Goldstein in their anxiety to get the script finished asked Nunnally Johnson, who was in London, to work on it. Rouben has his own writer, Marc Brandel, who has also been working on the script all along; Rouben was not sold on the idea that Johnson was the right man to succeed Brandel. But this was one of Skouras’ and Goldstein’s impulsive telephone decisions. The studio’s commitment to Johnson is $140,000.

  DECEMBER 28, 1960

  Another wasted day.

  Elizabeth came back to town looking much better and prepared to work. She showed up at the studio early this morning to make herself up and get ready for tests. But it was impossible to go on the stages. The studio failed to turn on the heat last night, and Liz had to wait until the afternoon before the stage was warm enough to make tests.

  NEW YEAR’S EVE

  I asked Liz and Eddie to join me for New Year’s Eve. We went out to dinner with the Mamoulians and my daughter Steffi, who was in town on a holiday. The restaurant was packed with all the theatrical and cafe society set, but it wasn’t too gay.

  Our waiter was so overawed by Elizabeth that he kept making remarks and sneaking a drink or two on the side. It ended up by his spilling coffee all over Liz’s brand new Dior dress, which had just arrived by air from Paris that afternoon. Liz took it very nicely—smiled and said it was an accident. She went home to change. Then we all went to two or three other night clubs where we were joined by Sidney Guilaroff and others.

  The Guilaroff situation at the studio is still the same. The hairdressers say they will walk out if he comes on the set, so he visits Liz at her hotel and fixes her hair for tests in her dressing room.

  JANUARY 3, 1961

  Mamoulian does not seem interested in conferring with Johnson over the script because he still didn’t think he is the right choice.

  The interplay of personalities, while no more complex than it usually is in the business, is holding up our chances of getting the picture before the cameras. Mamoulian is unhappy with Nunnally Johnson’s approach to the script and Nunnally, who is aware of Rouben’s feelings, is unhappy over that. As usual, I am in the middle as arbiter. Liz doesn’t like the Johnson material or the old script. She and Eddie suggested Paddy Chayefsky to do a rewrite, and Eddie is talking about making the film in Hollywood, as he too is fearful of the climate here and Elizabeth’s health.

  JANUARY 4, 1961

  Paddy Chayefsky sent a very interesting letter about his views on the script, but they would require six months for the rewrite. We don’t have the time.

  Almost had the Guilaroff situation settled.

  I made another side deal with the lady hairdressers—a promise of a bonus—after convincing them that Guilaroff was not as arrogant as they believed him to be. Then, as luck would have it, Guilaroff went to see Liz in her dressing room followed by one of the lady hairdressers. Either the wind or Guilaroff slammed the door in her face. The hairdresser said it was Guilaroff. So the hassle is back on full blast.

  We are not starting Monday, as we should, because the script is not satisfactory. Liz has just advised me she has chills and can’t shoot tests tomorrow.

  JANUARY 5, 1961

  Skouras offers the insurance company a deal. He suggests that they pay $3,750,000 in settlement of the present loss, with Fox to pay the underwriters 20 per cent of the profits on Cleopatra up to $2,000,000. Alternately, the company can pay $2,250,000 in settlement of the present loss with no share of the profits. In addition, the company has to agree to renew cast insurance to Elizabeth and the other principals.

  To sweeten the pot he pointed out that if the insurance company accepts either of his offers they will avoid lots of bad publicity and the cost of legal action. If they accept his first offer and Cleopatra is a big box-office success, they will suffer only a relatively small loss.

  JANUARY 6, 1961

  Went to see Liz and Eddie at the Dorchester for a conference.

  They live like royalty with children, dogs, cats, retainers, and supplicants for favor all over the place. Writers and famous people are always dropping in.

  Liz and Eddie are constantly taking on projects, and the phone rings continually, with friends or agents calling in from Hollywood or Switzerland or Rome. The order of the day is—deals. Liz is enthusiastically interested in everything and anything, especially films and the theater. She has enough knowledge about show business to edit Variety with her left hand.

  JANUARY 10, 1961

  Script problems.

  Liz and Peter Finch said the scene they were rehearsing was unplayable. Mamoulian, however, had approved it, even though I am sure he didn’t consider it perfect. But he did want to get on with the picture and thought he would get something out of the scene on the set.

  Liz said she wanted to see me later at the Dorchester for a script conference. She was in bed, not feeling well, when I arrived with Rogell. Liz said she was not happy with the script and insisted we call Skouras from her room. She managed to upset Skouras too.

  Rogell suggested to me later that we move back to Hollywood as we are making no progress here. I wonder now whether the picture will ever be started, let alone finished.

  JANUARY 14, 1961

  A new bombshell—Skouras is considering another producer and director!

  Charles Feldman, my agent, phoned at 11 A.M. to impress on me that everything is my fault! I shouldn’t listen to Liz, Skouras, Mamoulian, or anybody. I should shoot the script I have, then get retakes later.

  He said I am letting Liz run the show, and I must stop that at once. He told me that Skouras wants to change the producer and director on the film and is talking with Mark Robson, who doubles in brass.

  JANUARY 16, 1961

  Disastrous meeting with Rogell, Mamoulian, and myself.

  Mamoulian arrived at Rogell’s office late—it was his wife Azadia’s birthday and he had been at lunch with her. When Rogell criticized him for being late the hostility which had been below the surface burst to the top.

  Rogell blamed Mamoulian for the delays; Mamoulian in turn blamed the executives. I tried to take some of the blame to pacify things but the meeting ended with Mamoulia
n furious and sulking, and Rogell determined to start shooting, hot or cold, on Thursday—Liz willing.

  Mamoulian agreed without enthusiasm.

  JANUARY 17, 1961

  Met with Liz, Eddie, and Mamoulian about the script. Liz said it was terrible. Mamoulian, who had approved the script, ended up by siding with her and letting me take the blame for it.

  JANUARY 18, 1961

  Mamoulian resigns.

  Saw Rouben this morning in Rogell’s office. The meeting ended with Rouben and me having our first row. It started when I accused him of not standing up for the script the night before. He informed me he had cabled Skouras that he wants to resign.

  I told him that he had made a mistake. If he had told me what he was going to do I never would have let him do it. I know the climate—they are considering his removal anyway and are talking to other directors.

  “I didn’t tell you because I knew you would have tried to stop me,” Rouben said angrily. “I had made up my mind.”

  I think he is maneuvering for complete autonomy, but I believe he made a bad tactical error.

  JANUARY 19, 1961

  Skouras accepted Mamoulian’s resignation. No shooting. Mamoulian’s resignation and negotiations with Joe Mankiewicz are in the papers already. They are hinting that the next to resign will be Liz.

  JANUARY 20, 1961

  Rouben held a press conference. Barry Norman of the Daily Mail gave the following account of it:

  WHY I QUIT “CLEO”

  I had a dream, says Director.

  Mr. Rouben Mamoulian chewed the end off a 6-inch cigar last night and tried to explain why he had resigned as director of the £3,000,000 film, CLEOPATRA.

  “It cannot be made the way I want it,” he said at his flat in Eaton Square, S.W.

  “When I began fifteen months ago I had a dream, an artistic conception of the way the film should be. Now a number of things have made me realize the dream cannot become reality.”

  What dashed his dreams? It was not Elizabeth Taylor. It was not Mr. Spyros Skouras, head of 20th Century-Fox.