Zebra in the Kitchen (MGM) (1965)

JOYCE MEADOWS BEAUTY AND BEASTS ... Lovely Joyce Meadows adds glamour to the fun of ‘*Zebra in the Kitchen,’ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s adventurecomedy in color, telling the story of a boy who lets all of the animals out of his city’s zoo. Jay North, Martin Milner and Andy Devine star in the new Ivan Tors production. Zebra in the Kitchen Still 5312-52 Mat 1-D Producer’s Film Reveals An Uncanny Premonition If Ivan Tors ever wanted to give up his job as a television and motion picture producer, he might well become a fortune-teller. Within days after he dramatized an underwater escape from Alcatraz for his “Sea Hunt” teleseries, an actual underwater escape from the famed prison took place. More recently, Tors filmed MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s “Zebra in the Kitchen,” telling the story of a boy (Jay North) who lets all the animals out of his city’s zoo. Even before the first scene was completed, he learned that twelve animals had made their escape from the San Francisco Zoo! HOW DO YOU MAKE A MOVIE STAR OUT OF A MOUNTAIN LION? The animal headliner in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s comedy, “Zebra in the Kitchen,” is not a zebra but a mountain lion. Sunshine, a sinewy yet gentle puma, co-stars with Jay North, Martin Milner and Andy Devine in the story of a boy who lets all the animals out of his city’s zoo because he doesn’t want his pet lion locked up. The puma and some one-hundred animals (including a zebra) appearing in the film are owned by producer Ivan Tors and trainer Ralph Helfer, who operate “Africa, U.S.A.,” a 130-acre ranch for wild animals near Los Angeles. Jay North, who became famous as television’s ‘“‘Dennis the Menace,” pretrained with Sunshine and worked closely with her in the picture’s scenes under Helfer’s supervision. “The puma is one of the most difficult animals to train,’ Helfer states, “They are more independent than most of the cat family, yet they often show themselves to be more affectionate if they put their mind to it.” Helfer says that making films with children and animals is particularly difficult in Hollywood. “We have an ironic situation,” he points out. “On one side is the welfare worker who is reluctant to permit the children to go near the animals for fear they will be hurt. On the other side, we have the Humane Association representatives on the set each day, who don’t want the animals to go near the children lest the animals get hurt. Eventually we work it out but it takes reassurance and tact.” Helfer explained that through his method of “affection training’”—applying affection rather than fear or rewards in the training of an animal— film-makers have been able to eliminate the use of doubles, process plates and split-screen techniques. “Actors can work closely with our animals in complete safety,” he says. “Asa result, ‘Africa, U.S.A.’ now supplies Hollywood with 90 per cent of all motion picture animals.” Ranch Is Unique He adds that all his animals—lions, tigers, etc. eat out of the hands of their trainers, His ranch is the only place in the world where this has been accomplished. “Sunshine, like all our cats, eats about twenty pounds of meat per day,” he says, “with vitamins and bone meal mixed in. The 150 animals at our ranch eat more than a ton of meat every six days. On the seventh day they fast, as do most animals in captivity throughout the world, This is to get them to exercise, to pace and give a thought to ITINERANT MARTIN MILNER TRAVELS GAMUT FROM “ROUTE 66” TO ROUTE 6 From “Route 66” to Route 6 doesn’t sound like progress, but for Martin Milner it represents the happiest turn in his career, For four years every episode of the Milner-Maharis TV series was filmed in a different city. Marty traveled 400,000 miles, drove from coast to coast four times and made twenty round trips by plane. “Tn all this time,” he says, “I was unable to provide a permanent home for my wife and family because I refused to be away from them, When the ‘Route 66’ series began, we had one child and lived in a station wagon, When it ended, we had four children and lived in a bus !” Last year, no one was happier to bring this nomadic existence to an end than Milner. “When I finished the series, I came IT HAPPENS IN “ZEBRA IN THE KITCHEN” BICYCLIST ... A bear does some free-wheeling on Main Street in one of the hilarious scenes from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s ‘“*Zebra in the Kitchen.” Jay North, Martin Milner and Andy Devine star inthe new Ivan Tors color production, telling the story of a boy who lets all the animals out of his city’s zoo. Still 5312-11 Zebra in the Kitchen Mat 2-B home to stay. Judy and I bought a house with a huge backyard in Van Nuys, California, and now I’m busy building a playground for the children.” However, Milner is realistic about what he gained from the series. “Those four years on TV did more to make a name for me in Hollywood than all the 46 motion pictures I’d done previously,” he declares. Oddly enough, his first film assignment after the series put him right back on the road—on Route 6, to be exact. He stars with Jay North and Andy Devine in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s comedywith-animals, “Zebra in the Kitchen,” which was filmed on location at producer-director Ivan Tors’ animal ranch in Soledad Canyon, 45 miles from Los Angeles. “Every day I made the trek from Van Nuys on Route 6 to the wild life preserve, but at least I had the satisfaction of knowing that I wasn’t taking my home along with me,” says Milner. “T play a zoo keeper who has to calm an hysterical town and round up the zoo’s animals after a boy (Jay North) has set them all free, But these animals don’t want to menace anyone. Instead, they get into a series of comedy situations.” Milner’s role called for him to work with such animals as mountain lions, tigers, bears, zebras and chimps, “The secret to safety in an animal film,” he cautions, “is to do exactly what the trainer tells you. You must never lose your respect for the animals because, no matter how tame they may appear, they are unpredictable.” CREDITS An Ivan Tors Production. Directed by Ivan Tors. Screen Play by Art Arthur. From a story by Elgin Ciampi. Music by Warren Barker. Song: “Zebra in the Kitchen’’— Words and Music by Hal Hopper. Sung by The Standells. Director of Photography: Lamar Boren. In Metrocolor. Art Direction: George W. Davis and Addison Hehr. Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Jack Mills. Recording Supervisor: Franklin Milton. Assistant to the Producer: Norman Siegel. Film Editor: Warren Adams. Assistant Director: Eddie Saeta. Make-Up Supervision: William Tuttle. Associate Producers: Ralph Helfer and Harry Redmond, Jr. Presented by MetroGoldwyn-Mayer. The trained animals used in this photoplay were supplied by ‘Africa U.S.A." where their next meal is coming from.” Helfer feels strongly that wild animals should not be kept as house pets even though he and his wife, Toni, share their living room with a 580pound lion named Zamba. “Wild animals are like children,” he says. “They need love and affection but will become spoiled unless they are also taught respect. At ‘Africa, U.S.A.,’ it takes a full-time staff of 22 to keep our animals happy.” Helfer hopes that one day, he and producer Ivan Tors will be able to convert the ranch into a Disneyland-type adventureland populated by wild animals, “We would not only permit the public to see and photograph the animals closeup, but we would show how an actor can do a difficult and realistic fight scene with a lion and never even get scratched.” Does Helfer have any complaints about Hollywood film crews and their work with animals? Only one. “Many actors do thirty ‘takes’ or tries before they perform their roles correctly, yet some directors expect an animal to perform properly on the first try. If an animal has to make two attempts at his assignment, these directors become irritated because they think the animals are improperly trained and wasting time. If producers and directors would only treat animals like humans, everything would be all right.” CAST ChristGarlyle <2. -ee se. ee, Jay North Dr. Del Hartwood...............-...--Martin Milner Branch Hawksbill ...................--Andy Devine lsobel| Moon:=2.. see a Joyce Meadows Adam Carlyle Nt epee be ime i es Jim Davis Anne: Carlyle... 00 Sa Dorothy Green WilmasGorlyle:s222 2. Karen Green Councilman Pew...........--...-----Vaughn Taylor Sergeant Freebee-.............----.--John Milford Councilman Lawrence.........-.-----..-Tris Coffin Chietof Police.2.-20 eS Merritt Bohn SG Henithiec. tenth eee eee Robert Clarke MPo Richardson. .-22-2 ee Percy Helton LIT yi Tepe rete Neier ee a Jimmy Stiles Kookies:h assis oe ae Dal Jenkins REDS coset ee eee Gordon Wescourt Greenie 3 i6s ee te etree Gary Judis Preston Heston..............--.--..--Robert Lowery Newscasten 2s ee Wayne Thomas Nearsighted Man -..........----Doodles Weaver dUdG ere ee Jon Lormer Man in Man-Hole-.........-....-------Vince Barnett Mano inwiuG spe es eee Phil Arnold IT HAPPENS IN “ZEBRA IN THE KITCHEN” UNINVITED .. . Jimmy Cross and Joan Granville are horrified when a mountain lion who likes corn on the cob joins them for lunch in one of the hilarious scenes of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s *“*Zebra in the Kitchen.” Jay North, Martin Milner and Andy Devine star in the new Ivan Tors color production, telling the story of a boy who lets all the animals out of his city’s zoo. Still 5312-23 E Zebra in the Kitchen Mat 2-C ANDY LETS GRASS GROW UNDER HIS FEET Although some people might think he looks like one, Andy Devine is definitely not a rolling stone. Whenever this happiest of Hollywood actors finds something he likes, he stays with it. Andy recently completed two different roles for producer Ivan Tors and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He stars in the new comedy-with-animals, “Zebra in the Kitchen” and played a semi-regular role in the popular “Flipper” television series at the same time. If the history of his 40-year career is any indicator, Devine will let a good deal of grass grow under his feet before he moves on to something else. Take, for instance, his first job in show business. He started as an extra for Universal Studios in 1926 and remained with the company for 21 years. Studio records indicate he played “sidekick” roles in more than 300 westerns. . On radio, he stayed with the Jack Benny Show for five years (1935-40) and was also heard on the equally popular “Lum and Abner,” ‘Fitch Band Wagon” and “Melody Round Up” for several seasons. When television began to blossom, Devine took his side-kick image right along. He co-starred as Jingles in the “Wild Bill Hickok” series, which ran for seven years with the same sponsor. Happy as he was with the role, it didn’t take Andy long to settle into another phase of his career when the show folded. This time it was on the stage as Captain Andy in “Show Boat.” He’s only played the role 400 times thus far. When the curtain fell after his first stage performance in Winnipeg, Canada, Andy hushed the wildly applauding audience and said, ‘““You’ve made me very happy, getting me off a horse and onto this stage after 38 years.” He added, ‘““Made the horse happy, too.” 7