adventure-21903

It was reported that Jack Warner was impressed by the smash hit business MGM Where The Boys Are that he commissione this Warner Bros film. What resulted was a smash hit film starring Troy Donahue the biggest star on the WB lot. Co-starring Connie Stevens a huge fan favorite who starred with Troy in two WB hits Delmer Davis duo Parrish and Susan Slade. Ty Hardin who was tV's Bronco was cast. Hardin was the star of WB's Wall of Noise co starring another WB star Dorothy Provine.. Filling out the Palm Springs cast were Bob Conrad star of WB's Hawaiin Eye TV show and Stefanie Powers on loan from her studio Columbia.

Norman Taurog directs in an easy light manner. Carol Cook- a great friend of Lucille Ball- does a nice job as the frantic motel manager where all are staying.

Troy Donahue had clout at WB coming off the romantic Delmer Davis Rome Adventure with Suzanne Pleshette whom he married in a big wedding the cost picked up by Warner Bros. Troy was given the star treatment billed over Claudette Colbert in the lushly romantic Parrish co starring three WB stars Connie Stevens, Diane McBain, Sharon Hugueny, Susan Slade with Ms. Stevens, Rome Adventure with Pleshette and Angie Dickinson, A Distant Trumpet, a Western directed by legendary Raoul Walsh again with Pleshette and McBain and another WB player William Reynolds. Troy had a close friend who was given the stage name Greg Benedict and thru Donahue's pull Benedict was given roles in WB films such as The Great Race and TV shows such as Hank, and had his biggest role in Palm Springs Weekend . Benedict served as Donahue's Best Man at his wedding to Ms. Pleshette. After Donahue left WB Benedict reverted to his given name Owen Orr , Troy Donahue had a star bungalow at WB, and was always first billed top billed but he asked for his release and Warner got furious and is reputed to have blackballed Donahue. His rise and fall would be a subject of a good book.

Watching this film one sees a great group of WB players: Donahue, Stevens, Hardin, and Conrad

TCM Network recently had a Ty Hardin day with Hardin in Merrill's Marauders, Wall of Noise, Palm Springs Weekend, The Cha[man Report, PT 109

I refer to these following movies as "studio pictures" Some of the WB films starring the WB stock company: Parrish (Donahue, Stevens McBain, Hugueny, Hampton Fancher)), Susan Slade (Donahue,Stevens) Claudette English (McBain, Chad Everett, Will Hutchins), Wall of Noise (Hardin, Dorothy Provine) Rome Adventure (Donahue, Pleshette), Fancher), Two on a Guillotine (Stevens), Black Gold (McBain), Palm Springs Weekend, (Donahue, Stevens, Hardin, Conrad) , Yellowstone Kelly (Clint Walker, Edd Byrnes), My Blood Runs Cold (Donahue). House of Women (Shirley Knight) The Couch, (ShirleyKnight),

There is a great group photo of Jack Warner with all the many WB contract players on the WB Lot, google it!

David Selznick formed his own Independent studio with funds from such movie legends as Irving Thalberg and his wife screen star Norma Sheaere and Joh Hay Whitney. Selznick took over the famous Ince Studio and it became Selznick International.

David Selznick became obsessed with Gone With The Wind and had wanted Ronald Colman to play Rhett Butler or possibly Gary Cooper, the public made it known that Clark Gable was its choice and Selznick had to make this film in partnership with MGM down the road fro his own studio. Leslie Howard and Olivia De Havilland (on loan from Warner Bros) were cast.

The big question on who was to play Scarlett O Hara: Norma Shearer a Selznick shareholder was mentioned but a public out cry denied Norma the role. Jean Arthur, Paulette Goddard, Susan Hayward, were among those tested but Vivien Leigh magically appeared on the Selznick backlot and became the legendary Scarlett O Hrara winning the Oscar and becoming 2nd only to the great Garbo as Hollywood's greatest female star. (Note Bette Davis went thru life swearing she could have been Scarlett. Read Memo From David O Selznick where the great Producer turned down David (and Kate Hepburn and Joan Crawford)

Selznick was meticulous in production detail, and fired George Cukor for reasons never totally explained, the oft quoted story was that Gable thought Cukor was throwing the picture to Vivien Leigh. Victor Flemming replaced Cukor.

Gone With The Wind opened to dazzling reviews and today stands as one of the greatest films ever produced. Hattie McDaniel justly won the Best Supporting Actress Award.

Bravo Selznick, Gable, Leigh, McDaniel and all who made this glorious movie.

Lucille Ball ran Desilu and had a great programming chief Herb Solow.

Lucy always wanted Desilu to be a comedy factory but in reality Desilu under her tenure as CEO had the classic espionage series, Mission Impossible and one of the all time great tv shows Star Trek. A Third show Mannix joined the shows and Desilu had 3 hours of great dramatic programming per week along with La Ball's classic show "Here's Lucy. Lucy did have a smash hit Desilu comedy movie Yours Mine and Ours

Desilu had a $600,000 pilot development program - in 1966 dollars-and Lucy used that money for the Mission Impossible hit series and for the pilot of a Wally Cox show " Alfred Of The Amazon" which I saw on Vacation Playhouse many years ag. Vacation Playhouse was a summer replacement for Lucy's show and aired mostly Desilu unsold pilots Desilu show that aired unsuccessful pilots sometimes 2 or 3 times! Some of the failed shows were Frank Merriwell, Hey Teacher and Maggie Brown

Someone should write a book about Ms. Ball as CEO of Desilu. How about a title "Boss Lady"?