I became interested in the Dore Schary era
at MGM when researching my book on Rod Taylor - he signed to the studio in late
1955, towards the end of Schary's regime. Schary's reputation as a studio exec
is mixed to say the least - when people think about him, that is. He doesn't
seem to polarise buffs the way say Leo B Mayer did. He's not regarded as one of
the great moguls. He famously replaced Mayer in 1951 but was given the boot
himself a few years later.
Schary's credits do demand he be taken
seriously as a filmmaker - some okay ones as writer, but very good ones as
producer. He championed some difficult subjects as studio head: Battleground,
They Live By Night, Bad Day at Black Rock. These are movies to be proud of -
and the world is a better place for them being in it.
However when it came to stars, Schary was a
clear second-rater. Maybe a third rater, even. This was particularly noticeable
because of the studio he ran.
Before Schary's arrival, MGM was renowned
for it's stars - it had the biggest, the brightest, etc. They had everything:
crusty old farts (Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore), charismatic tough guys
(Clark Gable), pretty boys (Robert Taylor), novelty acts (Esther Williams),
comediennes (Jean Harlow), plucky teens (Mickey Rooney), boys next door (James
Stewart, Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Robert Young), kids (Freddie Bartholomew,
Margaret O'Brien, Claude Jarman Jnr), old bags (Marie Dressler, Marjorie Main),
wacky girls (Lucille Ball), posh girls (Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr), comics
(Red Skelton, Marx Brothers), sexpots (Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner, Lana
Turner), classy dames (Myrna Loy, Katherine Hepburn), stunning musical talent
(Judy Garland), foreign imports (Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamar, Greer Garson),
Frenchmen (Jean Pierre Aumont), actors who had failed at other studios (Spencer
Tracy, William Powell, Lew Ayres), opera singers (Mario Lanza, Jane Powell,
Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald), even blacks (Lena Horne) and Chinese (Keye
Luke).
Louis B Mayer had a genius for discovering
and managing stars that still isn't fully appreciated today. Absolutely Eddie
Mannix and Howard Strickling played their part too but they at the studio after
Mayer left - and the studio lost its ability to create stars.
Let's look the big MGM stars during
Schary's time at the studio and Schary's involvement in their careers:
* June Allyson - the girl next door star of
musicals, very much a Pasternak/Mayer kind of star, when Schart took over she
was at her peak (The Three Musketeers, Little Women, The Stratton Story) - her
career declined under his watch - Too Young to Kiss, The Girl in White, Remains
to Be Seen (though to be fair they did put her in Battle Circus and Executive
Suite). Maybe this decline would have happened anywhere but it's interesting
that Allyson's career was revitalised in the mid 50s with a series of
"perfect wife" roles outside MGM (The Glenn Miller Story, Strategic
Air Command) that saw her back in the top ten stars. MGM responded by putting
her in The Opposite Sex, a flop musical remake of The Women. I think Allyson was not a typical Schary kind
of star - suited for saccharine roles in musicals and dramas - and he didn't
know how to handle her.
* Pier Angeli - became a star in Teresa and
Schary must have been convinced he found his own Garbo. But he failed to build
on the momentum: The Light Touch, Devil Makes Three, Story of Three Loves, The
Flame and the Flesh.
* Leslie Caron - one of the biggest stars
of Schary's time at the studio, she was a star in An American in Paris and
brought them in in Lili (and later Gigi) but also a lot of money losers (The
Man in a Cloak, Glory Alley, Gaby, The Glass Slipper). A mixed success.
* Cyd Charisse - a Mayer discovery who
never really made a mark outside of musicals, but lasted at the studio a long
time. Schary didn't know what to do with her outside musicals, not really.
* Glenn Ford - already a star at Columbia,
but it was at MGM he really came into his own. His man next door looks and
slightly tormented air suited the Eisenhower era, with it's secretly PTSD men
in suits smoking cigarettes and having domestic dramas. He suited Schary style
movies such as Trial and The Blackboard Jungle and went well in comedies such
as Teahouse of the August Moon. I think Ford's elevation from B to A star owes
something to Schary.
*Clark Gable - the King of Hollywood, he
wasn't handled with particular skill by Schary who seemed uncomfortable with Gable
movies. In fairness, Gable was on the slide - but he was capable of bringing
them in, as Mogambo (and his post MGM movies) showed. Schary should have been
able to handle him better.
* Ava Gardner - a reluctant MGM discovery
(came up via marriage to Mickey Rooney) they actually did well by her with
choices parts such as Showboat, Loan Star and Mogambo. Schary didn't
"get" female stars but he "got" the noir-ish Gardner.
* Stewart Granger - a good MGM star from
1950-56, although he was already a star in Britain before he joined the studio,
and mostly thrived in remakes while there (King Solomon's Mines, Prisoner of
Zenda, Scaramouche). Nonetheless, while Granger whinged a lot about Schary he
whinged about everyone and made a hash of his career post MGM; I think Schary
did okay by Granger.
* Howard Keel - decent musical star who
appeared in several classics of that genre whose career declined with the
musical. Made some classics under Schary (notably Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers). Could he have done more under Mayer? Maybe... maybe not... Keel did
lack a little individuality.
*Gene Kelly - a tremendous talent who
blossomed in the Schary era but it was really in musicals made under Mayer ally
Arthur Freed that he became a legend.
* Grace Kelly - she became a star in the
Schary era, but her great films were made at other studios (especially
Paramount with Hitchcock). Schary tried to take some credit for her success,
and he did sign her up, but he also cast her in her only critical flop, Green
Fire, and her one commercial flop, The Swan. (Every film she starred in outside
the studio was a critical and commercial hit. Every single one.)
*Deborah Kerr - a back up Greer Garson who
eventually came into her own in the 1950s but not really in MGM films. Like
many Schary era MGM stars (eg Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor), she did better
outside MGM.
*Mario Lanza - a triumph of Mayer's star
making abilities... and Schary's lack of them. Lanza was a major talent who was
nurtured carefully by the studio, rewarded them with some minor hits then a
massive one with The Great Caruso. He wound up leaving MGM. I can't imagine
Mayer struggling to handle Lanza, he was so skilled dealing with high
maintenance stars... Schary did struggle.
* Ricardo Montalban - the dancing Latin,
who came in as a support to Esther Williams. He had good roles in some very
Schary-leaning productions: Battleground, Mystery Street, Right Cross... Schary
probably had dreams of turning Montalban into the first big Mexican Hollywood
star. But ultimately it didn't work. Too many dud Schary films. (And to be fair
I don't think Montalban had the individuality to be a great movie star... he
was a TV man.)
* Eleanor Parker - not remembered as a big
name, she was a solid MGM star in the 1950s, even though it was Warners who
established her. She had some good years at Metro under Schary as their kind of
back up Ava Gardner - Scaramouche, Interrupted Melody - but could never move
into the first rank, having some big flops (eg The Painted Veil). Still,
probably deserves to be remembered better and Schary gave her plenty of
chances. She was probably too much of a character actor and not individual
enough to be a great star - as she admitted.
* Walter Pidgeon - gentlemanly actor who
found his niche as a leading man for Greer Garson. By the time Schary came
along his great days were over; he drifted into support roles which I think
would've been inevitable. Schary did give Pidgeon one of his best roles with
Forbidden Planet. I think Schary "got" Pigdeon - he could play
authoritative types.
*Jane Powell - pretty, pert discovery of
Joe Pasternak who spluttered along under Schary then faded as musicals went out
of fashion. Schary didn't do that well by her but it's hard to imagine Mayer at
his peak doing much more.
* Debbie Reynolds - people think of
Reynolds as a bigger star in the early 1950s than she was because of Eddie
Fisher and Singing in the Rain but she played a lot of support roles in
unsuccessful musicals for MGM - Hit the Deck, Athena, The Affairs of Dobie
Gillis, Give a Girl a Break - and the odd successful comedy (The Tender Trap).
It's a tribute to Schary's lack of star making nous that she only really became
a genuine star once she left the studio for Tammy; she returned to MGM once
Schary left and did well for them (eg The Main Game). Schary simply didn't use
her well.
* Elizabeth Taylor - discovered during the
Mayer regime, she flowered in the 1950s... but her big films were at other
studios (eg A Place in the Sun) until the late 1950s, when MGM gave her
something to bite into (Raintree County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof).
* Robert Taylor - handsome lunk who spent
the early part of his career on the arm of leading ladies, but who had a long,
strong career. MGM did well by him when he came back from the war, and although
very much a Mayer type star he did unexpectedly well under Schary, finding an
unexpected niche as the star of swashbucklers (Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe) and more
expectedly Westerns.
* Spencer Tracy - the resuscitation of
Tracy's career at MGM was a triumph of Mayer and Thalberg (they took a well
regarded but not particularly popular star and turned him into a legend).
Schary loved Tracy and did very well by him, unlike most of the legendary MGM
names: Father of the Bride, Bad Day at Black Rock, Adam's Rib, etc. Schary
didn't break new ground with Tracy but their films together are definitely in
Schary's credit column.
*Lana Turner - stunningly pretty, couldn't
act, but was a star... the sort of star Schary simply didn't know how to
handle. The Schary regime is notable for its mishandling of Turner's career
(Diane, The Prodigal) with the exception of The Bad and the Beautiful. There
was still life in her career, too, as proved by her success after leaving Metro
- Peyton Place, Imitation of Life, Portrait in Black... MGM under Schary just
didn't know how to do it, whereas Jerry Wald and Ross Hunter did. Maybe if
Schary had used her in more harder-edged films things could have been
different; he clearly didn't "get" glossy entertainments.
*Michael Wilding - had a four year contract
with the studio while married to Elizabeth Taylor. MGM never really seemed to
know how to use him (miscast in The Glass Slipper) - he may never have found a
home in Hollywood but his career never recovered from the years at MGM.
*Esther Williams - Williams was the story
of star who probably only could have been developed and exploited by Mayer. Her
films were a joke at the time but they were enormously successful - far more
profitable than the classic Freed musicals - and they have held up well, mainly
because they have such integrity. They came under the ambit of Joe Pasternak so
Dore Schary couldn't do too much damage to them... but eventually he did put
her in Jupiter's Darling, her biggest flop, and she left the studio. Williams
later bitched about Schary in her memoirs... though she bitched about everyone.
In fairness even Mayer would've been challenged to extend Williams' career as
she aged and musicals declined in popularity - but he would've done a better
job than Schary.
Most of the above were developed by people
other than Schary. Below is a list of people who came up under his tutelage.
*Richard Anderson - handsome young man who
was around for a long time in support parts but never looked like evolving to a
star. A TV name at best, which is what he became.
*Don Burnett - handsome young actor in the
Richard Anderson mold who never really rose better than his role in the TV
series of North West Passage.
*John Cassevetes - briefly under contract
to MGM in the late 50s; they used him in Edge of the City and Saddle the Wind.
So MGM's ability to spot talent was in... they just didn't always know how to
use the actors they had.
*Vic Damone - handsome guy with a terrific
voice and married to an actor (Pier Angeli) but was curiously lifeless in his
film appearances: Athena, Kismet, Hit the Deck. Another flop Schary star.
*Nancy Davis - whatever you say about her
politics, Nancy was a bland middle of the road actor who got a surprisingly
large amount of lead roles at MGM, almost all of which lost money. Had no
business being a star - a dull support act at best.
*Sandra Descher - MGM child star who
underwhelmed in The Last Time I Saw Paris, The Cobweb, The Prodigal.
*Robert Dix - son of Richard Dix, he was
signed to MGM from 1954-56 and mostly had bit parts plus a decent ish role in
Forbidden Planet. Had an interesting career, making some memorable exploitation
films (for Al Adamson, among others), but a long, long way from a star.
*Jim Drury - handsome young man who MGM
contracted and put in some minor roles eg Diane, The Tender Trap. They let him
go and he had success on TV playing The Virginian. That was about all he did
but it wasn't a bad "spot" from MGM.
*Tania Elg - beautiful, leggy Finnish
dancer, it was her misfortune to be signed as MGM's output of musicals was in
decline. She was given some non musical chances (The 39 Steps, Watusi) but
lacked the individuality which might have given her more of a career.
*John Ericson - handsome man who was
launched to kind-of stardom in Teresa but never seemed to make a big impression
despite several chances at the studio: Rhapsody, The Student Prince, Green
Fire, Bad Day at Black Rock.
*Steve Forrest - handsome man who never
graduated beyond "handsome man" roles at MGM. Later had more success
on TV.
*Anne Francis - pretty but bland leading
lady who actually appeared in a few classic films during her time at the studio
(The Blackboard Jungle, Forbidden Planet, Bad Day at Black Rock) but is hard to
remember.
*Anthony Franciosa - an interesting talent,
he signed towards the end of the Schary regime (This Could be the Night) and
had a good career, but he never made the top rank.
*Ronald Green - contractee whose best known
MGM performance was as The Dauphin in Diane and who had bit parts in The King's
Thief, The Glass Slipper and The Scarlet Coat. Did not go on to have much of a
career.
*Dolores Grey - top notch stage star,
winner of several Tonys, who signed to the studio and made several films for
them - Designing Woman, The Opposite Sex, It's Always Fair Weather, Kismet -
but failed to make too much of an impression. Another example of Schary being
unable to exploit a genuine proven talent.
*Dean Jones - amiable boy next door type in
the Jack Lemmon mode who later found great popularity as a leading man in
several Disney films. He started his film career as a contract player for MGM
with small parts in The Rack, Tea and Sympathy and The Opposite Sex. His career
didn't really get going until he left the studio but I think MGM do get some
points for spotting him.
*Judi Jordan - had small roles in Raintree
County and Ransom! and... that's all I can find on her.
*Anna Kashfi - Indian-American actress best
known for her marriage to Marlon Brando. Was under contract to MGM but I'm not
sure she made any films for them.
*John Kerr - a Broadway sensation in Tea
and Sympathy, Kerr at one stage was so "hot" he turned down The
Spirit of St Louis and Friendly Persuasion. MGM used him for The Cobweb, Tea
and Sympathy and Gaby - the latter two leads. A very underwhelming talent, and
indicative of Schary's failure to spot male stars.
*Janet Lake - un-memorable starlet once
married to Robert Dix. Small roles in films like The Fastest Gun Alive and
These Wilder Years.
*Barbara Lang - blonde sexy Marilyn Monroe
type under contract to MGM who had small parts in films like Hot Summer Nights,
Party Girl and House of Numbers. Had some okay TV appearances.
*Luana Lee - MGM glamour girl who never
moved beyond small parts in films like Raintree County, The Opposite Sex, The
Fastest Gun Alive.
*Jarma Lewis - starlet in the Luana Lee and
Tania Elg mould, and became about as successful despite roles in The Tender
Trap, The Cobweb and Raintree County. She married well though - to a bowling
alley tycoon.
*Dewey Martin- one of those actors who got
chances (The Big Sky, Land of the Pharaohs) but never seemed to become a star.
Made a few MGM films, including Tennessee Champ but failed to become a star.
*Liliane Montevecchi - ballerina who MGM
seemed to have on their books as a back up Leslie Caron, appearing in The Glass
Slipper, Moonfleet and Meet Me in Las Vegas. They failed to turn her into a
star.
*Roger Moore - handsome cardigan model with
a fantastic voice and became a much beloved star via The Saint and James Bond.
His MGM experience was less happy - to be frank he was pretty bad in a series
of films; the studio did give him chances but he blew them (Diana, The King's
Thief, Interrupted Melody).
*Elizabeth Mueller - European star who was
tried by MGM in The Power and the Prize but didn't take off.
*Leslie Nielsen - another bland handsome
face who was highly unimpressive in his MGM films (ef Forbidden Planet) then
settled into TV... and who then had a surprising late in life renaissance as a
comedy actor. Like Roger Moore, a talent that MGM/Schary spotted but did not
use well (though in fairness, was Nielsen a great lost star?).
*Irene Papas - yes, Irene Papas of Guns of
Navarone, Z and Zorba the Greek fame really was under contract to MGM during
the Schary era - appearing in Tribute to a Bad Man. She didn't have her big
success until after she left the studio but Schary and MGM deserve some points
for trying.
*Edmund Purdom - a handsome lunk from
England who was doing bits then launched to overnight fame in The Student
Prince. Schary thought MGM had a new star - especially after Fox borrowed him
for The Egyptian - but returns for The Prodigal, The King's Thief and Athena
proved their eye was out again. In his memoirs Schary makes it seem as though
he turfed Purdom after the latter asked for more money, which may have been
true - but Schary doesn't mention he also cast Purdom in three vehicles, which
all flopped.
*Jeff Richards - Schary era discovery, a
baseball player who became an actor, but he proved to be no Kurt Russell. One
memorable part was in Seven Brides to Seven Brothers. And that was about it.
*Gena Rowlands - a surprisingly far-sighted
signing from MGM, who nabbed her after her stage success in Middle of the
Night. She only made one film - The High Cost of Loving. A great talent that they
didn't know how to use.
*Willard Sage - small time actor, a
character actor type, who was under contract to MGM but never did much more
than bits in films like Gaby and The Tender Trap. Didn't have a spectacular
career once he left the studio either.
*Elaine Stewart - Schary's attempt at
creating a sex bomb. Stewart shone in small roles in The Bad and the Beautiful
and Brigadoon then was promoted in Take the High Ground, A Slight Case of
Larcency and Code Two, without making much of an impact.
*Russ Tamblyn - child actor who turned into
a great dancer and a decent-ish actor with a strong boy next door quality;
Schary had him pegged as a next big thing (maybe he was dreaming of creating
his own Mickey Rooney) and gave him lots of chances. Although Tamblyn had his
moments (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High School Confidential, Tom Thumb)
he never quite broke through. MGM put him in a lot of movies where he looked
plain odd (The Last Hunt, Cimarron). Overall though he was one of Schary's more
successful actors.
*Rod Taylor - a big name in Aussie radio,
was given two good chances by Schary, The Catered Affair and Raintree County.
He didn't particularly shine in either but his later career demonstrated Schary
had some success with talent development. He made a lot of good films for MGM
post Schary: The Time Machine, The VIPs, Young Cassidy.
*Bill Travers - handsome lunk from England
who was signed by MGM off the back of his success in Geordie but failed to
light the public's fire in Bhowani Junction, The Seventh Veil or The Barretts
of Wimpole Street. Another Schary-era dud star.
*Ralph Vitti - young actor who was
contracted to MGM and given small roles in Somebody Up There Likes Me and
Raintree County. Was dropped by the studio, later went to Warners, and had an
okay career as "Michael Dante".
*James Whitmore - a Spencer Tracy lookalike
who seemed to get a lot of the roles Tracy didn't want to do at MGM
(Battleground, The Next Voice You Hear, Because You're Mind). A capable, sturdy
actor, not a star.
In fairness it was a tricky time to create
stars - but let's look at how other studios did during the 1950s...
Universal developed Jeff Chandler, Rock
Hudson, Audie Murphy, Yvonne de Carlo and Tony Curtis. Later there was Sandra
Dee. This is a pretty strong record.
Warner Bros had Paul Newman, Dennis Hopper,
James Dean, James Garner, Troy Donahue, Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood. An
excellent result.
Columbia had John Derek, Aldo Ray, James
Darren, Kim Novak, Judy Holliday, Jack Lemon. Very good.
20th Century Fox had Robert Wagner, Jeffrey
Hunter, Sheree North, Pat Boone and Jayne Mansfield. In the late 1950s Buddy
Adler went on a star building rampage: Stuart Whitman, Gary Crosby, David
Hedison, Jill St John, Fabian.
So MGM didn't just do badly in comparison
to their past they did in comparison to their competitors.
Which is life. But what prompted me to
write this article is that Schary had the gall to write pieces on how to make
stars, such as "Then It's Up to the Public: Dore Schary Tells How to
Create a Film Star" in Los Angeles Times 9 January 1955 p D1.
In actual fact Schary would consistently
misuse the stars he had (Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor), be unable to handle
stars (Mario Lanza), not know what he had under his nose (Roger Moore, Debbie
Reynolds), or promote duds (Edmund Purdom, Jeff Richards, James Whitmore). He
helped kill the careers of Esther Williams and Jane Powell. He did treat some
stars well, such as Walter Pidgeon and Spencer Tracy, and was an early promoter
of people like Rod Taylor. But overall it's a shoddy record.
Executives can be miscast just like actors
and Dore Schary was miscast to run MGM.
