is, of course, exceedingly difficult. I suppose the reason it is difficult reveals all the basic fallacies in judging anybody or anything by a test. A play is not one scene. A performance is in a sense a parabola, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and one section of the arc cannot indicate the whole arc. So, in the final analysis I suppose one has to fall back on that awful word called “quality.” And when it comes to quality, I sincerely believe that Angeli does not have it. I don’t believe it is humanly possible to make somebody something they’re not. I don’t think you can act “purity,” at least the kind of purity and innocence that Rima possesses. Leslie Caron 61 has it, and she may be a far worse actress than Angeli. I also have grave misgivings about the way Angeli moves. It would seem to me that a real balletic background is an essential. When Rima moves through the woods it should be poetry. Audrey Hepburn 62 moves that way, and again, so does Caron.
As for Purdom, I just simply couldn’t tell. Seeing only one scene, it is hard to know what light and shade, ferocity and aggressiveness, deep feeling and joy he is capable of. If you and Vincente think he has all that potential, I suppose that would clinch it. My basic negative feeling about him, however, was I didn’t feel any “burn” inside him. I didn’t feel his sex putting her on the spot. I didn’t feel any real animal in him. But that, perhaps, could be directed.
One thing I did find out very positively from the test is about the script. I could see more than ever how cut to the bone it must be. Within the next ten days I will send you a copy of the script with my suggested cuts. Incidentally, I would appreciate it if you would ask Mildred to send me an additional copy right away so that I have one here.
Pygmalion
is progressing smoothly, and much faster than I expected. About forty percent of the score is completed, and the book is completely broken down into a clear-cut story line, with all the new characters included. However, even though the writing will be completed in the next couple of months, we decided not to go into rehearsal until August. We’ve been doing a lot of preliminary work on casting, and I don’t think it’s going to be as difficult as we anticipated.All in all it’s wonderful fun, in fact the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time.
Is there a shooting schedule yet on
Huck Finn
? I am hoping and praying that whatever additional work is needed I will be able to do before the middle of May. I’m trying assiduously to avoid any more of doing two things at once. Please let me know as soon as you have decided.
Give my love to Renee, 63 Oscar 64 and Ira. 65 I miss you.
Devotedly,
Alan
Aside from the comments on the screen test, several things in this letter are arresting. In particular, there is a wonderful sense of Lerner’s joy at working with Loewe (“the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time”), so much so that previous struggles with adapting Shaw’s play into a musical no longer seemed to be getting in the way; it is surprising that “about forty percent of the score” had been written in only a couple of months of the old team getting back together. The other interesting aspect of the letter is the mention of a habit that had impeded Lerner’s recent progress (and which would also cause problems at other points in his career): “doing two things at once.” By sweeping aside his Hollywood work, Lerner was able to craft what would become unquestionably his most important work,
My Fair Lady
. It wasn’t entirely his decision, however.
Huckleberry Finn
was written and in rehearsal when Gene Kelly decided to withdraw and move to Europe to commence work on a dance film for MGM,
Invitation to the Dance
, which was a pet project of his. 66 As a result of losing the star, and the growing problems with financing
As for Purdom, I just simply couldn’t tell. Seeing only one scene, it is hard to know what light and shade, ferocity and aggressiveness, deep feeling and joy he is capable of. If you and Vincente think he has all that potential, I suppose that would clinch it. My basic negative feeling about him, however, was I didn’t feel any “burn” inside him. I didn’t feel his sex putting her on the spot. I didn’t feel any real animal in him. But that, perhaps, could be directed.
One thing I did find out very positively from the test is about the script. I could see more than ever how cut to the bone it must be. Within the next ten days I will send you a copy of the script with my suggested cuts. Incidentally, I would appreciate it if you would ask Mildred to send me an additional copy right away so that I have one here.
Pygmalion
is progressing smoothly, and much faster than I expected. About forty percent of the score is completed, and the book is completely broken down into a clear-cut story line, with all the new characters included. However, even though the writing will be completed in the next couple of months, we decided not to go into rehearsal until August. We’ve been doing a lot of preliminary work on casting, and I don’t think it’s going to be as difficult as we anticipated.All in all it’s wonderful fun, in fact the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time.
Is there a shooting schedule yet on
Huck Finn
? I am hoping and praying that whatever additional work is needed I will be able to do before the middle of May. I’m trying assiduously to avoid any more of doing two things at once. Please let me know as soon as you have decided.
Give my love to Renee, 63 Oscar 64 and Ira. 65 I miss you.
Devotedly,
Alan
Aside from the comments on the screen test, several things in this letter are arresting. In particular, there is a wonderful sense of Lerner’s joy at working with Loewe (“the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time”), so much so that previous struggles with adapting Shaw’s play into a musical no longer seemed to be getting in the way; it is surprising that “about forty percent of the score” had been written in only a couple of months of the old team getting back together. The other interesting aspect of the letter is the mention of a habit that had impeded Lerner’s recent progress (and which would also cause problems at other points in his career): “doing two things at once.” By sweeping aside his Hollywood work, Lerner was able to craft what would become unquestionably his most important work,
My Fair Lady
. It wasn’t entirely his decision, however.
Huckleberry Finn
was written and in rehearsal when Gene Kelly decided to withdraw and move to Europe to commence work on a dance film for MGM,
Invitation to the Dance
, which was a pet project of his. 66 As a result of losing the star, and the growing problems with financing
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