Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I watched "The Young Lions" on TCM last night!

I saw this movie when  it first came out over fifty years ago while I was stationed at Ft. Chaffee.
Parley Baer later told me that he was in France for six weeks making this movie and the cast and crew were shuttled back and forth from a Hotel in downtown Paris to the various locations for filming.
He said there was a young French actress in the cast, returning home after working several years in the States and one morning in the dining room during breakfast, she jumped up excitedly to greet some friends and bumping into a waiter, dumped a container of scalding  hot water into Marlon Brando's lap.
Brando immediately leaped up, jerked down his trousers, grabbed a bottle of seltzer water and started yelling and spraying his crotch through his shorts.....to delight of the numerous hotel guests.
Parley said Dean Martin leaned over and said, "Let's all act like we don't know him!"

He added that one morning they heard horrible screams coming from somewhere upstairs and after a few concerned words the Director calmly said, ".....no doubt Mr. Van Cleef attempting to urinate!


Posted by Buckles at 4/30/2014 01:37:00 PM

3 comments:

John Herriott said...

I saw it as well for about 4 times. Great actors and Brando is at his best. All are great. Parly provged to be a fine actor and like you it was nifce knowing and socializing with him and Ernestine. Fine people.

30 April, 2014 14:56
Paul Gutheil said...

Very glad to see you're back on the road.

Must ask, Brando got the scalding water, but the director refers to Lee Van Cleef having trouble urinating. ?

Did Parley ever write a book, an autobiography? If not, he should have!!

Be well.

30 April, 2014 15:24
Roger Smith said...

Kim Baer relates the same story, told her first hand by her father, about the dining room incident. She has it as a scalding pot of coffee, but Brando was hospitalized with severe burns beneath his zipper. The excited actress credited with the spill was Lilianne Montevecchi, who has the distinction of appearing in both the first films of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin after their 1956 split-up. Martin's was this one, and Lewis's was THE SAD SACK.

Hollywood insiders have agreed that Parley's role as Sgt. Brandt should have been his Oscar role as Best Supporting Actor.

Lee Van Cleef was cast as 1st Sgt. Rickerman, and reports during production varied that his suffering was either from kidney stones or advanced gonorrhea.

When I visited Parley's circus in Temple, Texas, in '75, Mack and Peggy MacDonald guested and had their 3 baby elephants on their picket line as an added attraction. Parley was regaling us with intriguing Hollywood and circus stories, and Mack said, "Parley, this is great. You have to write a book with all this." PAUL is right--he should have. Alas, he never did.

30 April, 2014 21:07

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