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76 COMMUNISM IN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY
Mr. Smith. Do you recall scenes in tliere at tlie night club where everybody was drinking?
Mr. Mayer. They do in Moscow.
Mr. Smith. Do you feel that that represents Russia as it is today?
Mr. Maykk. 1 didn't make it as it is today, I made it when they were our ally in 1943.
Mr. Smith. Do you feel it represents Russia in 1943 as conditions were in Russia ?
Mr. May'er. That is what I understood, that they go to night clubs tliere in Moscow. If only the rest of the Russians had a chance to do the same thing, it would be fine, but they don't. This ])icture was laid ill Moscow.
Mr. Smith. Has Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ever produced an antiCommunist picture?
Mr. Mayer. Yes.
Mr. Smith. Would you tell us the name of it?
Mr. Mayer. Ninotchka. They kidded the life out of communism. It was Ninotchka, with Greta (Grarbo. We had a big deal pending with the Soviets for (50 pictures, I think, and Mr. Scates decided he better show it to these commissars, so he showed it to them, and that was the end of the deal.
Then another one was Comrade X, in which Hedy Lamar was a conductor and Clark Gable was Comrade X. We kidded the pants off of them in that picture, but they were not our allies then.
Mr. Smith. Are you making any anti-Communist pictures at MetroGoldwyn-Mayei at the present time?
Mr. May'er. I think the one we are going to start shooting promptly [laughter] — we have been preparing it for some (> months.
The Chairman. Mr. Mayer, these hearings haven't anything to do with the promptness, have they?
Mr. May'i:r. No, no; it is just out now, called Vespers in Vienna. The script is about ready. The original title was The Red Danube. The Book of the Month Club wanted the other title, and so we agreed with the author that the publisher use the other title "Vespers in Vienna." It takes several months to lick a big book like that, but it is almost ready to start production.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Mayer, are you fainiiiai with tlie picture Tennessee Johnson ?
Mr. Mayer. Yes. sir; we made it.
Mr. Smith. Do you recall at the time you made it, or just before, did you receive any protests from any individuals in the studio against making the picture?
Mr. Mayer. There was quite a lot of confusion about that picture, and I think I yelled as loud as anybody about some scenes which I didn't think were good.
Mr. Smith. Why w^as that ?
yir. Mayer. AVell. because I didn't believe it.
Mr. Smith. Did you receive a protest from any individuals, do you recall?
Mr. Mayer. I don't recall, Mr. Smith. If you will remind me, I will be glad to tell you.
Mr, Smith. That is all the questions at this time.