Where the Spies Are (MGM) (1965)

NEW SPY ROLE MARKS NIVEN’S GOTH MOVIE It was 30 years ago when David Niven hopefully arrived in Hollywood. And one could hardly say that he came prepared. He had been a lumberjack and a bridge construction worker in Canada before writing a series of articles on foxhunting for a Canadian magazine. The sale of these earned him enough money to travel to New York to seek fame and fortune. But after a period as a laundry messenger and then as a whisky salesman, he finally plucked up enough courage to make the journey to California. “Tt’s difficult to say exactly why I decided to try and make the grade as a film actor,” says Niven. “One reason was that it looked like a chance to earn a lot of money in return for relatively little effort. The second was that the late Elsa Maxwell at one of her famous parties in New York advised me to try it. She said she was sure I’d succeed.” The worldly-wise Miss Maxwell must certainly have had more faith in young Niven’s abilities than did the major Hollywood casting agencies. Looking no further than his blue eyes, pencil-line moustache and erect military bearing, the casting directors summarily listed Niven as “Anglo-Saxon Type No. 2008.” The now experienced Niven understands this summation of his qualities. “After all,” he says, “they didn’t know any more about me than the fact that I looked distinctly English.” But he has not forgotten the experience. Spoke One Word Anglo-Saxon Type No, 2008’s first film experience came in 1935 in a Hopalong Cassidy picture, the title of which escapes him, “I rode into a small western town,” he recalls, “Said ‘Hello’ and was never seen again. In my next film, also a western, I rode out of town and said ‘Goodbye.’ All in all, I appeared in more than 20 westerns before winning a more substantial role in a picture called ‘Dodsworth.’ I don’t know why I made the grade and other actors failed. Perhaps it was because I had the right breaks at the right time.” Since making his film debut, Niven has never looked back. He has starred in some 60 major productions, has written a novel, “Round the Rugged Rocks,’ won an Academy Award for his performance in “Separate Tables” and formed a successful television company, Most recently, Niven co-starred with Francoise Dorleac in Metro-GoldwynMayer’s spy-thriller, “Where the Spies Are,’ and also starred with Sophia Loren and Paul Newman in MGM’s “Lady L.” He will next appear in “Misunderstood,” an Italian-based film. No one knows when the file on No. 2008 closed. What 7s known is that the file on David Niven is now one of the most successful in show business. David Niven plays the most adventure-filled role of his career as Dr. Jason Love, British espionage agent, in MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s spine-chilling thriller, ‘‘Where the Spies Are.”? In this scene, having foiled an assassination attempt, he hides from his pursuers. Beautiful Francoise Dorleac also stars in the suspenseful Panavision and color attraction, filmed on exotic locations in the Middle East. Where the Spies Are Still MGM 85-8 Mat 1-A NOT THE VISITOR HE HAD ANTICIPATED The opening of a door reveals a surprising Francoise Dorleac to secret service agent David Niven, who is prepared for any eventuality. The scene is from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s excitement-filled espionage drama, *‘Where the Spies Are,” filmed in Panavision and color on exotic locations in the Middle East. Still MGM 85-83 Where the Spies Are Mat 2-E MODERN TECHNICAL MARVELS FACILITATE DANGEROUS BUSINESS OF BEING A SPY The scene has been repeated a thousand times. ... Trenchcoat collar turned up, hat brim pulled low over his eyes, a secret agent sidles into a hotel room. From under his coat he produces a microphone, Carefully he conceals the instrument in a bowl of flowers, then tiptoes to his listening post to record the evidence. Dangerous and exciting though this method might have been, the days of the mysterious figure and his complicated mechanisms are numbered. Today’s spies are suave and self-assured. They can be passed by on any street without a second glance. No more the tangle of microphone wires and tapes. No false beard. 1965’s secret agent has at his command all the scope and power of modern electronics, Not since the introduction of that most dangerous of spying accoutrements—the beautiful woman—has there been as important an advance in the hazardous game of espionage as the transistor, and every front-line agent is a trained expert in bugging and debugging procedures, The modern techniques are exemplified in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s exciting spy-comedy, “Where the Spies Are,” in which David Niven, cast as Dr. Jason Love, becomes involved in espionage intrigue in the Middle East. Here is what his “spy kit” contains: (1) A watch which is a minute radio transmitter, the metallic strap acting as an aerial. The radio is pre-tuned and locked on a pre-set waveband. Its range under average conditions is five miles. (2) Two fake pens, one containing a death pill, plus two high-concentrate WATCH THOSE CHINS! David Niven, starring in MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s “Where the Spies Are,” has been happily married to Hjordis Tersmeden of Stockholm, Sweden, since 1948, and the family comprises David, Jamie, Kristina and Fiona Niven. The actor has his own recipe for a happy marriage. “Tdeally,” he states, “A man should be no more than ten years older than his wife. For every year after that, he should double the attention he gives her —but not double his chins!” vitamin tablets, a benzedrine pill and a water-purifying tablet. The other pen contains a truth drug (pentathol) hypodermic and needle and a miniature pistol with a cyanide dart. (3) A cavity ring containing a magnesium flare strong enough to blind an adversary. (4) A minute transistor which fits into a tooth cavity. It is strong enough to drive most electronic instruments off-balance and can also beam an emergency signal. Fiction? Admittedly, since “Where the Spies Are” is based on the bestselling novel by James Leasor, titled “Passport to Oblivion.” But farfetched? Not if the latest American and Russian spying aids are anything to go by. They include not only the above but a hundred-and-one other ingenious marvels to facilitate the dangerous business of being a secret agent. “WHERE SPIES ARE” GIVES FRANCOISE DORLEAC INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION Clad in black silk tights, a black sweater and black knee-length boots, beautiful French actress Francoise Dorleac stood in front of her hotel room mirror and_ snipped _ sizable chunks of silken blonde hair from her fringe with a tiny pair of nail scissors. “I saw ‘rushes’ of myself today,” she explained, “and decided my fringe was too long. So, now I cut it. So.” And another golden curl tumbled, Miss Dorleac, who combines a natural Gallic effervescence with a large acting talent (her work in “The Man From Rio” and Truffaut's “The Silken Skin is highly regarded by cognoscenti) now stars with David Niven in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s adventurethriller, “Where the Spies Are,” based on James Leasor’s best-seller, “Passport to Oblivion.” Val Guest produced and directed the film, which tells the story of an English doctor who becomes involved in an adventurous romp in the Middle East. Finally satisfied with the length of her fringe, Miss Dorleac bounced across the room and sat on the edge of her bed. She took up a pencil and delicately gripped the end in her teeth. “From now on,” she mumbled, “I will keep this pencil in my teeth when I talk because when I saw myself on the screen today, I noticed that I open my mouth too wide when I talk, This will teach me to keep it closed.” Slightly bizarre they may be, but these two examples of the young actress’ concern over what one might consider trivial things go some way to demonstrate her almost fanatical dedication to what she calls “my life, my love, my everything’”—namely, her career. Although Francoise is only twenty-two years old, she approaches her work with a devotion of one twice her age. Fussy About Roles “T think very carefully before I accept a screen role,” she says. “I’ve been offered several which I have turned down. This has nothing whatever to do with money or the actors I would have to work with. I simply refuse to work in a film that I consider has little artistic merit. I think this is very important for a young actress, When I read the script of ‘Where the Spies Are’ in English, I liked it. But when it was translated into French for me, I not only liked it, I thought it was wonder ful.” Her concern extends to every branch of the movie-making business. “Always I have disagreements with make-up men,’ Miss Dorleac_ said. Dr. Jason Love (David Niven) and Parkington (Nigel Davenport), two British secret service agents, subdue a Russian spy in this scene from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s spine-chilling thriller, ‘*Where the Spies Are.’? French beauty Francoise Dorleac also stars in the excitement-filled Panavision and color attraction. Still MGM 85-82 Where the Spies Are Mat 2-D Beautiful French actress Francoise Dorleac plays the mysterious fashion model who becomes involved in both romance and espionage intrigue with David Niven in ‘‘Where the Spies Are.’? The spine-chilling Metro-GoldwynMayer thriller, in Panavision and color, was filmed on exotic locations in the Middle East. Where the Spies Are Still MGM 85-26 Mat 1-B “Most of them want to work on my face as though it were a plain sheet of paper in an artist’s studio. But this is very bad, I tell them that I like to make a deep line across my eyelids. No, they tell me, that is wrong. But usually they see my face for the first time when I come to the studio. I have seen my face every day for twenty-two years, I know it much better.” The dedication with which she approaches her career led the actress to what she terms ‘“‘my first and only major lie.” It happened when she was studying at the Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Art. “I was offered a role in a stage production,” she relates, “and it was too good to miss. So I accepted. But then I learned that when one studies at the Conservatory, one is not permitted to act professionally. So I left the school and joined it again the next day, using a false name—my mother’s maiden name. This enabled me to appear in the play under my real name. I have a feeling they knew about it all the time, but they did nothing.” Miss Dorleac’s whole life is bound up with her work. She neither smokes (“If I smoke my voice will become rough like a man’s, This was good for Lauren Bacall but it may not be good for me”) nor drinks (“When I drink I get large black circles under my eyes’) and tries to be in bed by midnight (“When they call me for makeup at 6:00 in the morning I must be wide awake so that I can have my fight with the make-up people”). Unlike many actresses, she does not yearn to star in any particular role, but she does admit to one ambition. “I want to be like the one and only Garbo. She was the only true artiste, She was fantastique.” Francoise Dorleac may or may not become France’s answer to the great Garbo. But if sincerity, dogged devotion and talent are the criteria, the issue cannot be in doubt. HE DID WHAT HE WAS TOLD 10 DO During location filming of MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s “Where the Spies Are,” starring David Niven and Francoise Dorleac, in Beirut, Lebanon, director Val Guest spotted a bread-seller bent double under a load of the sweet, circular bread called ‘“Kusbez.” Deciding he would add local atmosphere to a scene, the director engaged the bread-seller, named Yussuf, to walk along the street, telling him he should look as though he were on his way to bake a consignment of the bread. But when the moment came for the scene to be filmed, Yussuf had disappeared. He finally turned up minus his bread and explained that he had done as bid, and his bread was now in the oven. Commented Guest: “That’s what you call being taken at your word!”’ 7