| MONTGOMERY'S SECRET WEAPON TV Guide November 17, 1956 |
Robert Montgomery Presents cannnot, on the basis of its 60-minute length, be classified as a
spectacular. Yet stars like James Cagney, Constance Bennett and Claudette Colbert, who led
off Montgomery's first three shows this season, are the high-salaried names usually found on
TV only in spectaculars.
Why is Montgomery willing to spend extra money for them, at the same time exposing his
crew to the possibility of traditional temper tantrums from such stars? The answer, in a word:
ratings. Viewers, now conditioned by spectaculars to the biggest name stars, will often tune to
a dramatic show only if it can boast well-known personalities.
Some TV producers regret they ever thought of casting movie stars. Hollywood
personalities, accustomed to having every whim humored while making a movie, often
demand the same treatment in a TV studio. There was the Betty Hutton feud with Producer
Max Liebman during 'Satins and Spurs.' Margaret Sullavan recently walked out on Studio
One. And Noel Coward termed his "Hollywood experience" in making "Blithe Spirit" an
unhappy one.
Montgomery, however, anticipated no such trouble from his stars. "TV is like any other
business," he said. "Most people who are really good are no problem. They neither require
nor demand any special treatment."
Unfortunately, the Montgomery crew says it didn't work out quite that way. Cagney was fine,
even though the show marked his introduction to the jet-speed requirements of TV
production. "Cagney was no problem at all," said one Montgomery associate. "If he had been
a kid trying to make good the first time around, he couldn't have been any easier to work with."
During rehearsals, Cagney seemed less harried than that old TV pro, Montgomery, who
scurried frantically around the studio attending to last-minute production details. "No time for
that now," he said to a photographer who was trying to get pictures of the show. Cagney
merely smiled at the frenzied activity. "Just tell me what to do," he told the photographer.
A Montgomery publicist swore that Miss Bennett had been "extremely cooperative." During
a Montgomery rehearsal of 'Onions in the Stew,' however, Miss Bennett, the play's star, was
seen angrily objecting to the efforts of a studio floor manager to help her find her way from
one set to another. She brushed his hand off her arm, complaining, "Take your hands off me.
I can find my own way." As for Miss Colbert, she steadfastly refused, for reasons of her own to
permit any color pictures to be taken of her during rehearsals. Nor were photographers
permitted near the set during the telecast.
Montgomery claims the show will use name stars "only if we can afford them and if they can
carry their weight." Sitting behind an executive-size desk in his plush penthouse office on New
York's 5th Ave., he wheeled around in his chair to answer the phone. He completed the call
and turned back to his interview without losing his train of thought. "Don't think we hired these
people just for their box-office value," he said. "In each case we thought they were perfectly
suited for the roles we wanted them to play."
Montgomery paused to gaze thoughtfully around his office walls, on which were hung
several pictures of him and a friend, President Eisenhower. "Don't forget that many of these
stars are available for the first time to TV," he added. "Some have shied away from TV.
They've been frightened by it. But they realize now that, although doing a TV show is a tough
job, it can also be rewarding. In many cases, too, film stars have been prohibited contractually
from doing television. Very few of them are still under contract to pictures. That means they
can do anything they want."
Is the new star system to be considered part of Montgomery's running battle for ratings with
the competing Studio One show on CBS? "Not at all," said a Montgomery spokesman for the
NBC show. "We did very well opposite Studio One this summer with our repertory group,
which had no name stars at all."
It's no coincidence that Montgomery's high-priced talent were all Hollywood movie stars at
one time. As star of dozens of Hollywood movies over a 21-year span, Montgomery has the
inside track when it comes to signing such people. Many of them worked in pictures with him;
some are long-time friends. He did not sign Cagney and the Misses Bennett and Colbert
because of their movie backgrounds, he says.
"That had nothing to do with it," he said. "Jimmy and I have been friends for 35 years, even
though we never worked in a picture together. He promised me some time ago that if he ever
did a live TV dramatic show it would be for us. When I first read 'Soldier from the Wars
Returning,' I thought he'd be perfect for it. So I phoned to tell him about it and then took the
script up to his place in Martha's Vineyard for him to read. He liked it immediately. You might
say that it was my hope and his choice to do that show."
It's too early to determine whether Montgomery's emphasis on big-name stars will attract
more viewers to his show. Montgomery himself admits the box-office value of these stars is a
nebulous thing on TV. "It's true that they might attract bigger audiences the first or second
time on TV because of their reputation," he said. "But if they fail, they can fail just as badly as
any actor who is not normally considered 'box-office.'" He paused for emphasis. "After all," he
pointed out, "TV is the most disciplined medium in show business."
spectacular. Yet stars like James Cagney, Constance Bennett and Claudette Colbert, who led
off Montgomery's first three shows this season, are the high-salaried names usually found on
TV only in spectaculars.
Why is Montgomery willing to spend extra money for them, at the same time exposing his
crew to the possibility of traditional temper tantrums from such stars? The answer, in a word:
ratings. Viewers, now conditioned by spectaculars to the biggest name stars, will often tune to
a dramatic show only if it can boast well-known personalities.
Some TV producers regret they ever thought of casting movie stars. Hollywood
personalities, accustomed to having every whim humored while making a movie, often
demand the same treatment in a TV studio. There was the Betty Hutton feud with Producer
Max Liebman during 'Satins and Spurs.' Margaret Sullavan recently walked out on Studio
One. And Noel Coward termed his "Hollywood experience" in making "Blithe Spirit" an
unhappy one.
Montgomery, however, anticipated no such trouble from his stars. "TV is like any other
business," he said. "Most people who are really good are no problem. They neither require
nor demand any special treatment."
Unfortunately, the Montgomery crew says it didn't work out quite that way. Cagney was fine,
even though the show marked his introduction to the jet-speed requirements of TV
production. "Cagney was no problem at all," said one Montgomery associate. "If he had been
a kid trying to make good the first time around, he couldn't have been any easier to work with."
During rehearsals, Cagney seemed less harried than that old TV pro, Montgomery, who
scurried frantically around the studio attending to last-minute production details. "No time for
that now," he said to a photographer who was trying to get pictures of the show. Cagney
merely smiled at the frenzied activity. "Just tell me what to do," he told the photographer.
A Montgomery publicist swore that Miss Bennett had been "extremely cooperative." During
a Montgomery rehearsal of 'Onions in the Stew,' however, Miss Bennett, the play's star, was
seen angrily objecting to the efforts of a studio floor manager to help her find her way from
one set to another. She brushed his hand off her arm, complaining, "Take your hands off me.
I can find my own way." As for Miss Colbert, she steadfastly refused, for reasons of her own to
permit any color pictures to be taken of her during rehearsals. Nor were photographers
permitted near the set during the telecast.
Montgomery claims the show will use name stars "only if we can afford them and if they can
carry their weight." Sitting behind an executive-size desk in his plush penthouse office on New
York's 5th Ave., he wheeled around in his chair to answer the phone. He completed the call
and turned back to his interview without losing his train of thought. "Don't think we hired these
people just for their box-office value," he said. "In each case we thought they were perfectly
suited for the roles we wanted them to play."
Montgomery paused to gaze thoughtfully around his office walls, on which were hung
several pictures of him and a friend, President Eisenhower. "Don't forget that many of these
stars are available for the first time to TV," he added. "Some have shied away from TV.
They've been frightened by it. But they realize now that, although doing a TV show is a tough
job, it can also be rewarding. In many cases, too, film stars have been prohibited contractually
from doing television. Very few of them are still under contract to pictures. That means they
can do anything they want."
Is the new star system to be considered part of Montgomery's running battle for ratings with
the competing Studio One show on CBS? "Not at all," said a Montgomery spokesman for the
NBC show. "We did very well opposite Studio One this summer with our repertory group,
which had no name stars at all."
It's no coincidence that Montgomery's high-priced talent were all Hollywood movie stars at
one time. As star of dozens of Hollywood movies over a 21-year span, Montgomery has the
inside track when it comes to signing such people. Many of them worked in pictures with him;
some are long-time friends. He did not sign Cagney and the Misses Bennett and Colbert
because of their movie backgrounds, he says.
"That had nothing to do with it," he said. "Jimmy and I have been friends for 35 years, even
though we never worked in a picture together. He promised me some time ago that if he ever
did a live TV dramatic show it would be for us. When I first read 'Soldier from the Wars
Returning,' I thought he'd be perfect for it. So I phoned to tell him about it and then took the
script up to his place in Martha's Vineyard for him to read. He liked it immediately. You might
say that it was my hope and his choice to do that show."
It's too early to determine whether Montgomery's emphasis on big-name stars will attract
more viewers to his show. Montgomery himself admits the box-office value of these stars is a
nebulous thing on TV. "It's true that they might attract bigger audiences the first or second
time on TV because of their reputation," he said. "But if they fail, they can fail just as badly as
any actor who is not normally considered 'box-office.'" He paused for emphasis. "After all," he
pointed out, "TV is the most disciplined medium in show business."
| Producer Montgomery, Constance Bennett reminisce about movie-making. On set of 'Onions in the Stew,' she simmered. |
| James Cagney (a Montgomery friend of 35 years' standing) played Army topkick. |
| For Montgomery, Claudette Colbert took the role of woman whose husband strayed. |
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RM Bio
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PHOTOS
Portraits, Candids,
Stills, Family, Covers
ROBERT
MONTGOMERY
PRESENTS
TV Series
BOB'S BEWITCHING
DAUGHTER:
Elizabeth Montgomery
THE SON ALSO RISES:
Robert Montgomery, Jr.
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
Elizabeth Allen &
Martha-Bryan Allen
PRINT THE LEGEND
Vintage Articles
RADIO DAYS
Radio Appearances
BRIGHT LIGHTS
OF BROADWAY
Broadway Appearances
BOB AT HOME
Pictorial of Homes
LEADING LADIES
Co-stars
THE ONES THAT
GOT AWAY
Unrealized Projects
STORE
Purchase
Videos/DVDs, Etc.
WANTED PAGE
Stuff I'm looking for
LINKS
Best of the web
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Leave your message
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site
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