Callow Regard for Robert Meltzer.

[Glenn Anders]

The other day, I wrote the following to a member concerning my initial reaction to, and criticism of, Simon Callow's Hello Americans (which I do like far more than The Road to Xanadu), and the member suggested that I pass this part of it along here:

"[In Callow's Hello Americans] I was pleased to see the name
of Robert "Bob" Meltzer, a Mercury writer and
factotum, who stayed with Welles through the
Brazillian ordeal, and appears as "a steward" in
JOURNEY INTO FEAR. I had casually wondered who he was [in the past]. Callow refers to him thirteen times in his book's
first 200 pages, ambiguously suggesting the inevitable
'falling out' with Welles by printing at length some
weird PR copy that Meltzer sent back to RKO from Rio [in regard to the strengths of various players in IT'S ALL TRUE.]
Callow's last reference to Meltzer coincides with a
snide description of Welles' 4-F Draft exam, in which
he records the fact that both Meltzer and Richard
Wilson had donned the uniform and were "directly
[involved] in fighting the [w]ar" (p. 188).

"Fair enough, yet with all Callow's resources, and
his meticulous recording of detail, having denoted a
real fighter against fascism, might he not have noted
(something which accidentally caught my attention
years ago) that Robert Meltzer happened to die on June
6, 1944? Might he not have found someone's reaction
to Meltzer's death, if not that of Welles himself?

"Really difficult stuff, you say.

"I simply was prompted (just now, in fact) to google
the IMDb for the name of 'Robert 'Bob' Meltzer,' and
came up with the following information:

"'Killed in action during the Battle for Brest on 6
June 1944.

"'Was posthumously named and blacklisted during the
U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities
hearings.

"'After World War II, the Writers Guild of America
created the Robert Meltzer Award, originally meant to
honour writers who had been killed in the war. The
award was withdrawn in 1951 when Meltzer was
blacklisted, but was re-established in 1991 'in
recognition of a singular act of courage in defense of
freedom of _expression and the rights of the writer.'

"Now there's a real story!

"No nonsensical Black Dahlia speculation [two pages+ of that], no sexual morsels for Callow's base, but a real subject for
research which would have been at the heart of his
positive thesis for his second volume [that Welles turned many of his prodigeous talents and energies in the years covered to idealized political crusades]. Alas, with my
limited resources, my five minutes of scholarship hits
a cold trail after that. References mentioning
"McCarthyism" or "Black Lists" now are being
vandalized on google by gibberish entries, which I
presume emanate from the Right Wing."

----------------

Since writing the above to my friend, I did find an additional bit of interesting information in Callow about Meltzer. After coming back from Brazil, and before entering the Army, Meltzer produced Welles' Ceiling Unlimited show for Lockheed, for which Arthur Miller was hired to provide some of the scripts.

A particular irony, which Callow would have savored, is that Welles presented "A D-Day Special" for his Orson Welles Almanac, on June 7, 1944. In it, besides the introductions and close (which maddeningly skips in my copy), he plays an intrepid war correspondent who flies in a plane with the first wave of paratroopers, watching them leap into France on the morning of June 6th. All 18 troopers on board jump, except one whose harness becomes snagged. The correspondent (Welles) reports by short wave that the soldier is told, there will be other things for him to do.

Finally, I discovered that there is "A Testimonial to Robert Meltzer" by Welles at the Lily Library (B.5, f. 13). Given the tragic death of the Recife fisherman while filming IT'S ALL TRUE in Rio harbor, where Meltzer was present, I would expect that Meltzer's death would have been a kind of omen to Welles, and fit a pattern, perhaps.

Does anyone else here know anything about Bob Meltzer?

Glenn

[Roger Ryan]

I don't have much to add, Glenn. Only that Meltzer can be identified in "Journey Into Fear" by his moustache. He's mostly used walking through scenes carrying lugguge or setting and removing plates of food in the galley.

Welles scripted a proposed ending to "Journey..." while in Brazil (surprisingly, the film apparently never had an officially scripted closing scene before principal photography was nearly complete) where he suggests shooting a scene in Rio (doubling as Batumi!) showing Col. Haki being interviewed by various Russian and American journalists. Welles notes in his typewritten script that Meltzer can play one of the journalists provided "he agrees to shaving off the moustache". After this, Welles adds "If not...?" suggesting that the moustache was a humorous point of contention.

One curious thing: since Meltzer appears as the steward in scenes shot after Welles left for Brazil, he must have joined Welles later. Incidentally, Richard Wilson is also specifically mentioned in Welles' "Rio" script earmarked for the role of an American journalist named "Catledge".

[Glenn Anders]

Thanks, Roger, for your contribution.

Yes, RKO was being taken over by Charles Koerner, and the Studio not only was destroying THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS but refusing to continue any further filming or retakes on JOURNEY INTO FEAR. That's why the latter picture has such an abrupt, almost perfunctory ending.

Evidently, the Studio then felt that Meltzer might become an ally, and allowed him to join Welles in Rio, while Wilson stayed on in Hollywood to see what he could help salvage from the largely completed projects there.

For a man who invested so much of his private and public passion in making American Democracy work during and after World War II, the death of Meltzer in the first days of the Invasion of Europe must have been to some degree affecting. Meltzer was a member of "The Mercury Family," after all, and though Welles seemed capable of ignoring them at times, the death of one of them in a war that he was chronicling and dramatizing on an almost daily basis likely elicited some response.

Neither Callow nor we have yet come up with it, but a partial answer must be in that box at the Lily Library.

Another Rosebud.

Glenn

[Tony]

Glenn:

Wasn't Ambersons ordered to be recut, etc. by Schaeffer? I thought that it was a fait acompli by the time Koerner took charge; perhaps it had even been released. So Schaeffer is both a hero (Kane) and a villain (Ambersons) in Welles's story.

In addition, I was under the impression that RKO brought Welles back many months after the Brazil trip in order to reshoot the final scene of Journey Into Fear, that is to shoot a different final scene.

Please correct me if I'm wrong with these assumptions!

Tony

[Roger Ryan]

For clarification's sake, the ending to the most widely available version of "Journey Into Fear" (the U.S. one released in February, 1943) is one scripted by Welles in the fall of '42 after his return from Brazil. An earlier (still mutilated) version of the film had been released by R.K.O. briefly in Aug. 1942, then withdrawn as part of a settlement with Welles. R.K.O. allowed him to rework the film through re-editing and by adding a voice-over narration from Joseph Cotten and a new ending showing Haki complimenting Graham on his bravery. The earlier version survived and has popped up on European TV and at festivals like the one in Locarno last year where I first viewed it. In that early version, the film ends with Graham's wife humorously admonishing Graham as he remains perched on the hotel ledge after the film's climax. There is also evidence that an additional ending was shot with Graham and his wife reconciling in their hotel room. Then there's the Welles-scripted ending he thought up in Brazil that was never shot, plus an earlier draft of the ending filmed in Oct. '42 where Graham completes his letter to his wife without Haki making an appearance. Still photos suggest there may have been another ending shot before Welles left for Rio featuring Haki and Josette leaving Batumi by boat together...

Wait a minute...did I begin this post with the words "For clarification's sake"? Yeah, right. To try and steer this back on topic, I understand that Callow simply avoids discussing this mess in his new volume.

[Glenn Anders]

Tony: Because my sources are now scattered or gone, I would rely on Roger's impressions because he has obviously made a close study of the Welles' story in this period. Koerner may not have been officially in charge of RKO when the decisions were made, but he was clearly its future. Koerner was the representative of those "men from the East" who turned up at some of the infamous Pomono-type previews. He intimated to George Schaefer, Rockefeller's man in RKO's bankruptcy, what The New Money wanted. Schaefer, who almost to the end was a defender of Welles' interests, it seems to me, tried to negotiate compromises which would satisfy all sides, and as is so often the case in such matters, he satisfied no one and suffered banishment in the same way Welles did.

Schaefer was, after all, the "Executive (if uncredited) Producer" of CITIZEN KANE, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, and JOURNEY INTO FEAR. Those are the only credits as an executive that he was ever given by the IMDb. When Welles went, Schaefer went.

Roger your clarification has the quality of fresh spring water in the chaotic desert of JOURNEY INTO FEAR.

In the months which passed from the night in February when Welles personally shot the next to last scene of JOURNEY INTO FEAR to the day of its premier a year later, much confusion is evident. To me, Welles' concept for adapting Ambler's novel went back to what was supposedly his favorite story, as presented in the Mercury Theater on the Air Radio Production of G.K. Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday." [As his concept for THE STRANGER derives from his first Mercury Radio play, "Dracula."] Graham is a man drawn into matters he does not understand by people who are not what they pretend to be.

In that vein, how I wish that he had managed the Rio ending, with Meltzer or Wilson, as reporters, asking Colonel Haki, after he has tied up the story for them, who his beautiful companion (Josette -- Dolores del Rio) is. Haki tells them: "A young lady who's been sporting enough at the last moment to join me for dinner."

"Is that the story?" asks the Reporter

"No," Colonel Haki replies, "that's not the the story."

He steps into an elevator with Josette, turns to the audience, and says, "But I sincerely hope it's a good enough end for the story." He smiles before adding, "Good Night, everyone!"

It reminds me of Walter Huston's final address to the audience as Mr. Scratch, in William Dieterle's production of THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER for RKO, released in 1941.

The ending would have given the same kind of playful Campbell Playhouse finish to JOURNEY INTO FEAR, and remembering how Welles intended to end THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, it has an ironic twist.

Callow reproduces the meat of that anecdote, and so he does not entirely avoid JOURNEY INTO FEAR. In fact, he cites the picture nineteen times, and a few of the citations are fairly extensive, but perhaps because JOURNEY INTO FEAR was intended to be "an entertainment," and was directed for the record by Norman Foster, Callow's discussion of it tends to get woven into the larger artistic pathetique of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS.

Robert Meltzer was dead on the beaches of France, a little over a year following the quiet release of JOURNEY INTO FEAR. I wonder if he appreciated what was left of the picture; I presume he saw it.

Glenn

[Tony]

Glenn:
Sorry to be such a stickler, but I'm sure you've read the famous memo from Schaeffer to Welles in Brazil after the previews: "like getting socked in the jaw, again and again" or something to that effect; I believe it was George all on his own who decided to cut Ambersons so it would "play" and I'm willing to bet all the changes were made, and maybe the picture was already released, by the time Koerner took over: I'd hate to see somebody else take the rap for destroying Ambersons: it's poetic, at least to me, that the man who made Kane possible also destroyed Ambersons.


But I'm sure Roger can give us precise info on this issue: Roger??:;):

[Glenn Anders]

Tony: I've read Schaefer's letter, and to me, it expresses the anguish of a man who is torn between an artistic choice he made in hiring Orson Welles, and the terrible reality for him that, as an executive, he has two pictures on his hands, each of which cost roughly a million dollars, and they will not turn a profit for a studio which is in bankruptcy.

The mutilation of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS has many perpetrators. Schaefer no doubt was one of them.

Until Roger shows up, however, here is a passage from "Deep Focus":

"Charles Koerner, head of production in Hollywood, ordered Welles' manager, Jack Moss, to supervise the final cuts. All the important documentary footage on the city's development, which accounted for about two reels, were removed as well as the original ending. When RKO finally had what they felt was a "releasable" form, they released it as the second half of a double bill with a Lupe Velez comedy, Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost . Not surprisingly Ambersons did not make any money."

Earlier the researcher has explained that Welles' renegotiated contract guaranteed him the first preview cut, but RKO the final release cut.

Glenn

[Roger Ryan]

There's no doubt in my mind that Schaefer believed "Ambersons" needed to be released in a more commercial, audience-friendly form; he basically told Welles this in a number of cables. I also think that Schaefer believed a recut version would retain its artistic integrity by putting Robert Wise, Jack Moss and Joseph Cotten in charge of "improving" it. Aside from Bernard Herrmann, Wise, Moss and Cotten were Welles' closest collaborators during this period, so they would be the logical choices to do an overhaul. Schaefer was convinced Welles had talent and a unique vision, but it's fairly obvious in comparing the two that "Ambersons" is a quieter, more solemn picture than "Kane" and minus Welles as an on-camera talent. Schaefer was initially pleased that "Ambersons" was a less controversial choice than "Kane", but he must have realized later that it was also significantly less commercial.

In March or April of '42, I think Schaefer is desperately trying to remake "Ambersons" into a commercial success while trying to appease the ego of his star director and hold onto his job at the same time. This situation only lasts for a few weeks before the balance is tipped by Charles Koerner. Schaefer is fired, the Mercury contingent is ejected from their R.K.O. bungalow and Welles is cut loose in Brazil. It is at this point where the pervailing mood seems to become one of vindictiveness as both "Ambersons" and "Journey Into Fear" are literally dumped into theatres with little concern for marketing. Welles manages to keep part of his "It's All True" project alive (does the idea of keeping Welles out of the country on a shoestring so he can't stir up trouble back at R.K.O. appeal to Koerner?) and will eventually broker a deal where he's given $10,000 and two weeks to rework "Journey...". By the end of 1942, Koerner has ordered the destruction of all the original "Ambersons" footage and has coined that catchy slogan for 1943: "Showmanship...in place of genius".

Had R.K.O.'s financial picture looked better and Schaefer had retained his position, I'd suggest that the same 88 min. version of "Ambersons" would have been released in the summer of '42 but with a stronger marketing push. I also tend to think that the long version of "Ambersons" might have actually been preserved for posterity and that Welles would have made a film like "The Stranger" for R.K.O. in '43 instead of three years later.

[Roger Ryan]

Until Roger shows up, however, here is a passage from "Deep Focus":

"Charles Koerner, head of production in Hollywood, ordered Welles' manager, Jack Moss, to supervise the final cuts. All the important documentary footage on the city's development, which accounted for about two reels, were removed as well as the original ending. When RKO finally had what they felt was a "releasable" form, they released it as the second half of a double bill with a Lupe Velez comedy, Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost . Not surprisingly Ambersons did not make any money."

This quote is misleading. The general form of the recut "Ambersons" was already in place before Koerner appeared on the scene. One might remember that, shortly before he was fired, Schaefer reportedly requested the "kitchen scene" between George, Fanny and Jack be retained at Welles' urging resulting in the final 88 min. cut. The description of missing "documentary footage on the city's development" is also confusing. Certainly, many of the references to the town "darkening into a city" were removed, but these were often contained in complete dramatic scenes (George and Jack arguing in the rainstorm) or lines of dialogue snipped from from existing scenes (the end of the snow ride sequence). The only "documentary"-style footage removed was less than 30 seconds of George's last walk home where Welles gave us a few more glimpses of the rundown buildings he shot in downtown Los Angeles.

[Tony]

I believe that this story that RKO just dumped the picture is a myth: I have seen a ton of advertising over the years for Ambersons, including regular articles, picture stories using stills and (3!) serializations of the whole novel with accompanying stills from the film: it's been my impression they promoted the heck out of the thing, and got a couple of Academy Award nominations for their efforts, including for Moorehead and Best Picture. Not to mention the many variations on posters and lobby cards that we've all seen. They just couldn't turn a profit, though the picture did better than has always been said. I remember reading the ticket grosses for the year, and at one point it was in the top 10 moneymakers for an RKO month, and I believe it made almost a million dollars at the box office.

In addition, i wonder if that tale that their motto, printed on all their stationary for '43, was "Showmanship instead of genius"; I have only heard Welles tell that story, and it's too self-serving for us to take his word on it.

Roger: might you have the actual box-office figures for Ambersons (comparing with RKO's other '42 releases), and have you actually seen the alleged motto?

[Roger Ryan]

Sorry about perpetuating the "Amberson" marketing myth! I don't have the actual grosses on hand (although I do know those detailed figures are in the Lilly Library collection). Ultimately, I tend to believe that "Ambersons" just cost too much to make the kind of profit a smaller studio like R.K.O. needed at this time (especially when "Cat People" turned out to be a huge moneymaker the same year at 1/4 the "Amberson" budget).

Although I can't recall exactly what document I saw it on, the "Showmanship...in place of genius" motto was real. Keep in mind, however, that this slogan was not necessarily used to promote R.K.O. to the public, but was used internally and with R.K.O. shareholders.

[NoFake]

We could always ask them... http://www.rko.com/contact.cfm
RKO

[mteal]

The slogan appears at the end of RKO's 1945 film PAN AMERICA, which used Welles's idea for an Urca Casino pageant in a more sanitized and safely studio-contained way. That ending can be seen at the conclusion of the Welles-related episode (called IT'S ALL TRUE) of the six-part series THE RKO STORY, where it is described as an ironic revenge on Welles. They used to show the series on PBS occasionally. I don't think they do anymore.

[Glenn Anders]

Gang, I think that we've left poor Bob Meltzer floating in the surf, but to add my bit:

According to IMDb, CAT PEOPLE cost $134,000 (well over the $100,000 budgets Charlie Koerner wanted for Lewton's pictures), but it supposedly made $4,000,000 in the USA. Financially, Welles should have thrown in with Val.

Glenn