“Quorn Mercury” 14 September, 1950

Director Who Made Lordly Clifton Webb

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LEWIS MILESTONE EXPECTED IN PORT AUGUSTA SOON

Director Lewis Milestone, who is expected in Port Augusta in the near future to make 20^th Century Fox’s new color film, “Kangaroo”, among other achievements, unearthed that princely Clifton Webb and set him on the path to stardom.

When Otto Preminger was casting for “Laura” and getting nowhere with the character of the genius egotist, Milestone recognised the then uncelebrated Webb as the “natural” for the part. Webb was playing “Blithe Spirit” in Los Angeles, and he’d been on MGM’s payroll for two years but had not been used on the screen because “he wasn’t made for movies.

Milestone had an agent sign Webb and take him out to 20^th Century Fox – “and stay there until he was given a part in the film.” All resistance broken down, Webb was eventually given the part, establishing the Cifton Webb character that has meant so much in subsequent box office success.

GENERAL APPEAL AIM

Milestone, a guy with suntan dewlaps, pale blue eyes and an easy friendly manner, was born in Russia in 1895. He started in the movie making business 30 years ago, as a cutter. He has since won two Academy Awards for directing. With an impressive list of films to his credit, Milestone is most famed for “All Quiet on the Western Front” (that and “Two Arabian Knights” are his Oscar films), “The Died At Dawn” and “Of Mice and Men”.

Before his rush assignment to the Australian story he had just finished the Technicolor opus, “Halls of Montezuma”. Milestone wants to make his present film a general audience pleaser, for if it’s a success 20^th Century Fox and other Hollywood outfits will almost certainly come and make more films here he says.

“OVERLANDERS” TOPS

Films that have come out of the little countries have been as unhonoured as prophets at home, he says. The Italians, for example, like cloak and dagger romances, costume, colour, humor – anything but life as it is in Italy. Hence their classics, such as “The Bicycle Thief”, were poorly received at home. Milestone suggests the same may be true of Australian films and the Australian people. He has seen “The Overlanders” and “ Bitter Springs” – very fine films, he says. He found them interesting, fresh, forceful. Indeed, Milestone thinks more highly of these Australian films than a lot of Australians do.

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