The Garner Files: A Memoir (36 page)

An antiwar film at a time when we were at war in Vietnam. Brilliant script by Paddy Chayefsky, marvelous direction by Arthur Hiller. And as for Julie, well, I just love her.
Emily
is my favorite film that I’ve ever seen or been involved in, and Charlie Madison is my favorite character, probably because I share his views. (See
pages 83
–92.)

36 Hours
½ (MGM, 1964) BW-115 min. D: George Seaton. Eva Marie Saint, Rod Taylor, Alan Napier.

I play an American intelligence officer who has knowledge of the impending Normandy invasion. The Germans drug me and fool me into believing the invasion has already taken place so they can find out what I know. The movie doesn’t work because there’s no suspense: everybody knew that in real life the D-Day invasion was a success, and that we’d won the war.

I loved working with Eva, a wonderful actress and a sweet lady, and with George Seaton. I remember driving on the freeway one morning to the set, rehearsing my dialogue to myself. By the time I got to the studio I had it all worked out in my mind. It was a tough scene that took all day to shoot. Driving home, I went through the dialogue again and realized I hadn’t done a single line the way I’d intended. George had changed everything and I never knew it.
That’s
a good director.

The Art of Love
(Universal, 1965) C-99 min. D: Norman Jewison. Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer, Angie Dickinson, Carl Reiner, Ethel Merman.

I enjoyed working with Norman again, Dick Van Dyke is as nice as he seems, Carl Reiner is a good actor and a terrific writer, and there are some funny bits. (Mae West was originally cast in the Ethel Merman role, but she couldn’t remember her lines.)

Grand Prix
(MGM, 1966) C-175 min. D: John Frankenheimer. Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Toshirô Mifune, Brian Bedford, Jessica Walter.

In my opinion, still the best picture ever made about auto racing. (See
pages 101
–11.)

A Man Could Get Killed
½ (Universal, 1966) C-99 min. D: Ronald Neame. Cliff Owen, Melina Mercouri, Sandra Dee, Anthony Franciosa.

Disappointing, though I did have fun playing backgammon
on the set with Melina and her husband, Jules Dassin. Didn’t enjoy working with Tony Franciosa, who kept abusing the stunt men. He purposely wasn’t pulling his punches in fight scenes, and he kept doing it despite my warnings to stop . . . so I had to pop him one.

Duel at Diablo
½ (MGM, 1966) C-103 min. D: Ralph Nelson. Sidney Poitier, Bibi Andersson, Dennis Weaver, William Redfield.

I loved working with Sidney and my old pal Dennis Weaver. Everybody did stunts in that picture, even leading lady Bibi Andersson. Sidney had to learn to ride—he didn’t know anything about horses and I think he was a little afraid of them.

Mister Buddwing 0
(MGM, 1966) 100 min. D: Delbert Mann. Jean Simmons, Suzanne Pleshette, Angela Lansbury, Katharine Ross.

I’d summarize the plot, but to this day, I have no clue what it is. Worst picture I ever made. What were they thinking? What was
I
thinking?

Hour of the Gun
(United Artists, 1967) C-100 min. D: John Sturges. Robert Ryan, Jason Robards, Albert Salmi, William Schallert, Michael Tolan, Monte Markham.

My agent called and said Sturges was doing a sequel to
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
and I agreed to do it without seeing the script. I trusted John that much. It’s a different kind of Western than I’d done; my character, Wyatt Earp, is the most steely-eyed of all my roles, and the movie is about Earp’s obsession with revenge.

Great cast: Jason Robards as Doc Holliday, Robert Ryan as Ike Clanton, and a newcomer named Jon Voight as a baby-faced gunslinger.

We filmed on location in Torreón, Mexico, a little farming village that doubled for Tombstone, Arizona. Jason was a terrific actor and a good guy, but he was never on the set when you needed him. Fortunately,
Sturges always knew where to find him, because Torreón had only one bar and one whorehouse. When Jason didn’t show up for an 8:00 a.m. call until late that afternoon, Sturges dressed him down in front of the entire crew. Jason was contrite and his behavior improved after that.

How Sweet It Is!
½
(Warner Bros., 1968) C-99 min. D: Jerry Paris. Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, Terry-Thomas.

Loved
Debbie Reynolds.
Loved
Paul Lynde.
Loved
Terry-Thomas.
Hated
the movie.

The Pink Jungle
½
(Universal, 1968) C-104 min. D: Delbert Mann. George Kennedy, Eva Renzi, Nigel Green.

Hunting diamonds in South America, or something. I made this thing for the money and I’m lucky it didn’t wreck my career.

Support Your Local Sheriff
½ (United Artists, 1969) C-93 min. D: Burt Kennedy. Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern.