The Reward (20th Century Fox) (1965)

‘‘The Reward,’ Tense Story of Greed and Lust, Was Filmed in Death Valley with Top Stars Max von Sydow, Yvette Mimieux, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Gilbert Roland star in “The Reward,” 20th Century-Fox adventure-drama in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope opening at the «ee Theatre. Directed by Serge Bourguignon of “Sundays and Cybele” fame, “The Reward” is the intense study of a manhunt in the desert. Greed, Lust, in “The Reward” Set in the present, the plot centers on $50,000, the sum offered for the capture, dead or alive, of Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who is charged with kidnapping a young boy. Von Sydow, as a down and out adventurer, spots Zimbalist as he seeks refuge with his girl friend, Yvette Mimieux, in the desert. Enlisting the aid of an aristocratic Mexican policeman, Gilbert Roland, Von Sydow sets out to track down the kidnapper and share the reward money. Soon the other pursuers, Emilio Fernandez, Henry Silva and Nino Castelnuovo, learn of the money, and dissension, the heat, and the hardship of the desert begin to undermine and destroy the hunters and the hunted alike. Outdoor scenes, which comprise most of the film, were filmed in Arizona, Death Valley and Nevada. These locations were chosen by Producer Aaron Rosenberg and Bourguignon because of their topographical and climatic similarity to the northern Mexican desert. The cast and crew, numbering 170, worked for five weeks in Death Valley where the temperature soared to at least 125 degrees every day—and there was no shade. Seven thousand, three hundred and seventy gallons of water and fruit juice were consumed during filming, averaging two gallons per person each day. There were 15 cases of heat exhaustion and one scorpion bite, the latter suffered by Gilbert Roland. In addition, the film crew worked on the site of Old Tucson, a replica of the original walled city of Tucson which was built in 1939 for the motion picture “Arizona.” Located 15 miles from modern Tucson, the site was transformed for “The Reward” into a sleepy and povertystricken Mexican village. When the script called for a ghost town, the company moved to the genuine article, the ghost town of Rholite, Nevada, which was born in 1904 immediately following the discovery of gold nearby. It was soon a frontier metropolis, but when the gold petered out, so did the town. In 1906 the population was 10,000. Four years later it was less than 700. Now, two families live there. Despite the discomfort of location filming, the director believes it was ideal for “The Reward,” which calls for extreme heat and stark desert background. As in his awardwinning “Sundays and Cybele,” Bourguignon emphasized action and facial expression rather than dialogue. For this difficult type of performance, he cast Europe’s outstanding actor, Max von Sydow of Sweden, to play the crucial lead role. Von Sydow, the star of numerous European stage productions as well as many of Ingmar Bergman’s film classics, recently completed a starring role in his first American film, “The Greatest Story Every Told.” “The Reward” is his second American film. GILBERT ROLAND co-stars in “The Reward,” a 20th CenturyFox release in CinemaScope and aces otk at Mat 1B Deluxe Color opening the Theatre. Efrem Bimbalist Jr., Yvette Mimieux, Max von Sydow and Emilio Fernandez star in Serge Bourguignon’s “The Reward,” a 20th Century-Fox adventure-drama filmed in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color on location in Death Valley and opening Gilbert Roland is also starred. at thevscs e232 Theatre. Mat 2A Von Sydow Likes Hollywood And Especially Desert Locations Hollywood, which has occasionally been rapped by foreign actors after making pictures there, need not worry about Max von Sydow, star of the 20th Century-Fox release, “The Reward” which opens...... atsther: 25: Theatre. The Swedish star, after completing the CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color adventure-drama, had nothing but praise for the American film industry, as he took off for Stockholm for the starring role in the stage production of Arthur Miller’s “After The Fall.” “T haven’t one complaint,” said von Sydow, who speaks perfect English. “I found working in Hollywood exciting and satisfying, and the locations were wonderful.” His enchantment with locations was surprising, considering that for “The Reward” he spent five weeks in Death Valley during July and August. For his first American picture, “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” he labored for many bitterly cold winter months in northern Arizona and southern Utah. “T love the American deserts,” von Sydow explained. “It might sound strange coming from a Swede, but I preferred the heat of Death Valley to the cold weather we experienced during ‘The Greatest Story’. I soak up sunshine.” Von Sydow said he also enjoyed working with Serge Bourguignon, director of the acclaimed “Sundays and Cybele,” who kept his “Reward” cast in front of the camera for many takes, even when the temperature hovered at 130 degrees. “Bourguignon is a perfectionist,” said von Sydow. “He knew what he wanted and was determined to get it. I admire that quality. George Stevens has it, too — and Ingmar Bergman.” It was through his Bergman pictures, seven of them beginning with “Wild Strawberries” and “Brink of Life” in 1957, that won von Sydow international popularity and critical praise. “People have been asking me what difference there is making films in America and in Sweden,” he said. “There is no difference, basically. Hollywood makes a greater number of big pictures, of course, but that’s all. “People in this business are the same, I think, all over. Everyone wants to be successful at his particular job, whether it is acting, directing, writing or producing. In ‘The Reward’ I worked with an _ internatonal group, and we all meshed together nicely. Serge Bourguignon from France; Emilio Fernandez from Mexico; Nino Castelnuovo from Italy; Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Yvette Mimieux, Gilbert Roland and Henry Silva from America; and myself from Sweden — we got along well together and had respect for each other. “T can only say that I’m coming back to Hollywood to work again, and I’m looking forward to it. I would like to see some more American deserts, too.”’ Max von Sydow is a graduate of Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theater school and spent his thespian internship in Sweden’s numerous municipal theaters before graduating to films. He is married to an actress, Keratin Olin, and has two young sons. Death Valley Is Locale OfNewFilm, ‘Reward’ Back in 1924, people were astonished when German film director Erich Von Stroheim went to Death Valley in midsummer to make his classic picture, “Greed.” Every summer thereafter for over 40 years Death Valley was avoided by motion picture production companies. They journeyed instead to such distant infernos as the Sahara Desert, Libya, India, Borneo, and up the Amazon River. But Death Valley, only 300 miles from Hollywood, was too frightening a place for movie people. It finally took another foreign director, France’s Serge Bourguignon, to follow in the footsteps of Von Stroheim. Brought to America by 20th Century-Fox to direct “The Reward,” a modern drama requiring a desert locale, Bourguignon flabbergasted Hollywood by selecting Death Valley as the filming site. And it came to pass that in the heat of summer, there arrived in Death Valley a movie company of 170, including stars Max von Sydow, Yvette Mimieux, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Gilbert Roland, Emilio Fernandez, Henry Silva and Nino Castelnuovo. They endured temperatures in the 120 degree range, and there were fifteen cases of heat exhaustion. Although everyone was happy when the company returned to Hollywood, many of the performers and technicians said that Death Valley wasn’t so bad. Some said they’d like to return with their wives ... during the winter. “The Reward,” filmed in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color opens .... at the .... Theatre. MAX VON SYDOW Mat 1B Yvette Mimieux Is Lone Female in Adventure-Drama, ‘““The Reward’ Although Yvette Mimieux seemed to appear on the Hollywood scene suddenly out of nowhere and has worked in only nine motion pictures, she is already an establised star. The slender blonde girl with the bewitching face has the most demanding role of her career in Serge Bourguignon’s “The Reward,” 20th Century-Fox release in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color opening .... at the .... Theatre. In the sole female role, she plays a wealthy young American vacationing in Mexico. She rashly offers to help a countryman, played by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., to escape from the police, who have offered a reward for his capture, dead or alive, for murder and kidnapping. Other stars of “The Reward” are Max von Sydow, Gilbert Roland, Henry Silva and Emilio Fernandez. Miss Mimieux is an American citizen born in Los Angeles. Her father, Rene Mimieux, was born in London of French parentage. Her mother, born Carmen Montemayor in Mexico, is of Spanish descent. Although she speaks French and Spanish in addition to her flawless English, Spanish is the language spoken at home. As a student, Yvette was more interested in art than acting, and aspired to be a fashion designer as a stepping stone to serious painting. She began to work after school with a theatrical group known as Theatre Events, and one night, she was seen by the renowned Hollywood director, Vincente Minnelli, who saw her perform in one of the plays. Minnelli became interested and when he left for Oxford, Mississippi to direct “Home From the Hill” with Robert Mitchum, George Preppard and George Hamilton, he remembered the little blonde girl. He asked the studio to have her sent to location for the opening scene of the film in which she would carry on a flirtation with Hamilton at a drugstore soda fountain. The scene was filmed, but later a decision was made to begin the film differently. Instead of scrapping the film, Minnelli sent it back to the studio as a test to be shown to the executive staff. Producer George Pal became interested, and she was signed for the role of Weena in Pal’s version of H. G. Wells’ “Time Machine.” Within two weeks Yvette Mimieux was signed to a long-term contract. Since then she has appeared in such films as “Where the Boys Are,” “Diamond Head,” “Light in the Piazza” and “Toys in the Attic.” For “The Reward,” Yvette had to travel to Death Valley for location work during the murderously hot summer months. There were fifteen cases of heat exhaustion among the production crew, Gilbert Roland was stung by a scorpion, but Yvette survived the ordeal unharmed. FUGITIVES—Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is a wanted criminal, Yvette Mimieux is his girl friend in “The Reward,” a 20th Century-Fox release opening .. . at the Efrem Zimbalist, Theatre. Mat 2B Jr. Survives TV And Graduates to Feature Movies Efrem Zimbalist Jr. has joined an elite little group which includes Steve McQueen, James Garner, Rod Taylor and Dick Van Dyke. These are actors who have survived the so-called over exposure of long weekly television series and have become motion picture stars. Zimbalist put in eight years as the suave, elegant, pipe-smoking private detective on “77 Sunset Strip,” as everybody knows. Although he still enjoys working in television, he wants no more series. “Hight years of my life went into that role,” he said. Efrem’s first picture since “77 Sunset Strip” wound up as a complete change of pace. He portrays a criminal, a sort of ne’er-do-well who flees into the desert wilderness rather than face a murder charge in the 20th Century-Fox drama, “The Reward” opening ...... . at the Theatre. Filmed in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color, the film also stars Max von Sydow, Yvette Mimieux and Gilbert Roland. “T did ‘The Reward’ for several reasons,” said Efrem. “It’s a very unusual story; I wanted to work with director Serge Bourguignon, the brilliant Frenchman who made ‘Sundays and Cybele’; and the role intrigued me, since it was so different from the Sunset Strip detective. “But we really sweated it out on this picture. Imagine five weeks in Death Valley in the summer. It was pretty rough going. Gilbert Roland, you know, was bitten by a scorpion out there, but it wasn’t too serious.” Zimbalist is determined not to settle down in a niche again. “I want to do every possible kind of part,” he said. “I’ll take any good role, lead, character or supporting — just as long as it involves some stretching of the muscles.” After eight years on the same job, it sounded just like a man enjoying some newly found freedom. Actor Gilbert Roland Is Real-Life Hero Actor Gilbert Roland became a real-life hero in Tucson, Arizona, one Sunday, after jumping into the Nogales bull ring and rescuing tiny Canadian matadora Carolyn Hayward, who had been tossed and gored by a raging black bull. Roland, on location in Arizona with 20th Century-Fox’s “The Reward,” dropped 10 feet from his ringside seat, dodged the charging bull, and carried the injured girl to safety. The big crowd gave him a standing ovation. Afterwards Roland explained that his father had been a matador in Mexico, and that although he réspected bulls, he did not fear them. Roland was not so lucky during filming of “The Reward.” While on location in the desert he was bitten by a scorpion, and had to be rushed to a hospital. Fortunately, the wound was not serious. In “The Reward,” Roland costars with Max' von Sydow, Yvette Mimieux, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Directed in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color, “The Reward” opens ....at the Theatre. es! Max von Sydow, Emilio Fernandez and Gilbert Roland struggle for possession of a gun in this scene from Serge Bourguignon’s “The Reward,” a 20th Century-Fox adventure-drama filmed on location in Death Valley and opening .. Theatre. Mat 2C at the Page 9