Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1948)

"The Swede" (Continued from page 48) had his contract and, while everyone knows that the Warner organization is amazingly generous and big hearted and friendly to anyone who makes a request for anything, I was unable to make a deal. Accordingly, I dropped my negotiations for Wayne and began testing other actors. I tested potential Swedes until I thought I was going slightly smorgasbord. If somebody had suggested Garbo, I would have tested her too. It was all pretty discouraging. The starting date of “The Killers” was drawing uncomfortably close, but I’m a guy who hates to take woe for an answer. Somehow, somewhere, I was going to find the right man to play the Swede. Came the day, then, that I was lunching with Marty Jurow, an extremely able young citizen who was at that time an assistant to Hal Wallis. Marty told me of an actor that Hal had just signed; a big brawny bird whom they had brought out from New York. His real name was Burt Lancaster, and they were planning to call him Stuart Chase. I told Marty of my casting problem. Did he think this Lancaster could possibly be my Swede? Marty shrugged, which is almost a direct answer in the film business. “Could be,” was his reaction. And it was on this enthusiastic note that he said he would send Lancaster over to see me the next day. Now, over at Universal-International, we independent producers have individual bungalows around an inner garden. It may not be quite as attractive as it sounds, but it really looks beautiful when you have a hit. I was returning from lunch the following afternoon when I saw a character standing on the steps of Walter Wanger’s bungalow reading a letter. WHEN I say character, that’s precisely what I mean. This guy was big. Really big. His hair was tousled. He needed a shave. No tie. And his suit looked as though it hadn’t been pressed since C. Aubrey Smith wore short pants. But there was something about him — “You Lancaster?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied slowly. “You Hellinger?” Fine way for an actor to talk to a producer! For a second, I thought I was back at Warners. But I didn’t argue. He looked too good. And I thought I’d better get him away from Wanger’s bungalow before Walter got a gander at him. We sat down in my office, and it didn’t take me long to determine that everything about this man — his carriage, his quietness, his diction — was the Swede. If all went well, my search was over. I couldn’t, however, let him know that. Not yet. I settled back in my chair and waited for him to start selling himself. No dice. When I didn’t speak, he just sat and looked at me. So I was compelled to go into action. “Look, Lancaster,” I said, “I don’t know what kind of an actor you are, but physically you’re my man. The role I have in mind for you is the Swede in ‘The Killers’ — and if you make the grade, you’ll be a star overnight. I’m going to give you a copy of the script to read, and I don’t mind telling you in advance that it’s the greatest, the finest, the most suspenseful. . . .” My voice trailed off as I saw him looking at me. “What’s the matter?” I asked. “I read it.” he replied calmly. “My agent had a copy.” That took a lot of the wind out of me. “Oh,” I said meekly. “And how did you like it?” “Fair,” he returned. “My part’s fair, too.” I swallowed hard. “Only,” I muttered, “only fair?” He shrugged. “Well,” he said, “it may be better than I think. Or it may be worse. You see, it’s the first movie script I ever read!” A few days later, after going through the motions of a test, I signed a contract with Burt. And for films beyond “The Killers,” too. For some time to come, he’ll do two pictures a year for Hal Wallis and one for me. Unless, of course, he gets fed up with Hollywood and decides to open a book store in Ethiopia, or something. With Lancaster, anything can happen. 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