Twenty-One

Using Yakima Canutt’s name was magic. Brian Hutton saw me at his MGM office the next morning. My laryngitis hadn’t been helped by the night before so I just smiled and pointed to my throat, croaked, laid my favourite photograph on his desk and wrote ‘HEIDI’ all over the picture. He got the drift and five minutes later I was outside with his London telephone number in my pocket and a promise that he’d talk to me when I arrived in London, where he was casting. I told myself it meant nothing. He probably said the same to anyone who bearded him in his den but to my delight a few weeks later when ‘I rang his London number he remembered me instantly. I didn’t know how to ease into the subject so I blurted out what I had to say. ‘I’ve finished Ironside. Shall I come and see you about Heidi now?’ I made it sound as if I would be passing through London anyway. He told me that he was always pleased to see a pretty girl.

On the plane to London I bumped into Stephen Boyd whom I’d known superficially as a successful actor in Madrid. By the time we got to Heathrow Stephen and I were getting on like a house on fire. I told him about my forthcoming audition and he wished me luck. He was going to do Shalako in Almeria with Brigitte Bardot and Sean Connery, and said there was still one part uncast that would be perfect for me. He offered to introduce me to Euan Lloyd, the producer, but I’d already decided to go for Brian’s film, Where Eagles Dare. Before we parted at Heathrow we arranged to have lunch the following day.

In the morning I telephoned the Winkast Production office and asked for Brian. His secretary told me that I’d just missed him, he’d gone to Austria to look at locations. I laid it on thick: Brian had told me to come for the part of Heidi – I had flown all the way from LA where I had been filming – that sort of thing. She sounded bored rather than impressed but she took my number and promised to get him to ring me as soon as he returned. I hoped it would be soon. I had booked in at the Hilton around the corner from Tilney Street where the production office was and it was expensive.

The first interview for the part of Heidi took place in Brian’s office with just him and Elliott Kastner, the producer. Brian was certainly impressed but the producer was non-committal. I guessed he had people lined up for the job and resented me butting in. Brian told me they had to see a few others before coming to a decision but I was definitely on a call-back. Financially, this was the worst scenario. If he had told me I didn’t have a chance I could have tried to get the part in Shalako, although Euan Lloyd was talking to Honor Blackman’s agent by then. The call-back promise left me in limbo. Fortunately, I didn’t know that there were 300 hopefuls up for the part and Hutton intended to look at every one of them. Then there were all the other parts to cast and locations to fix.

Days turned into weeks and my meagre coffers were badly depleted. I thought of doing a moonlight flit but there was no obligingly sloping driveway or nearby State-line to offer a way out. I told Stephen Boyd of my plight and he instantly offered to lend me whatever I wanted but I didn’t want to feel obligated. I gave myself until the end of the week, when I would have to throw myself on the mercy of the Hilton manager and see if he could sort out how I was going to cope with my bill.

On Saturday Stephen rang and invited me to join him at a party at the Pair of Shoes, a club next to the Hilton. It meant a good meal, at the least, so I agreed. Stephen wanted to play poker. In the plane I had been a trace colourful with the description of my game with John Wayne and Ralph Meeker, so he asked me if I wanted to sit in. Before I could think it through, my mouth said ‘yes’. What the hell, I rationalised after hearing what I had said. I’m finished on Monday whatever happens.

Predictably, my meagre pile disappeared at a rate that meant there wasn’t going to be a second hand. I felt such a fool. I was saved by the boss of the casino, who invited Stephen and me to have a drink with him. He took us to a little area he kept for entertaining his personal guests and we had some champagne. I didn’t really enjoy it. I had so little money left that I realised I would hardly be able to feed myself over the weekend, let alone settle the hotel bill. Our host asked me if I had tried craps. When I said I hadn’t he led me down to a table, gave me £50 of credit and left me to do my damnedest. I asked Stephen what I should do. He said shoot the craps, so I did. And won £800. A fortune in 1967. I was so excited that I wanted to continue. It seemed to me that if I could pick up £800 with a few throws of the dice a fortune could be mine without breaking into a sweat. Stephen was adamant. He forced me to watch as some of the high-rollers lost fortunes. It made me realise how incredibly lucky I had been. I thanked the casino proprietor and went back to the Hilton, where I immediately paid my bill. I was much too excited to go to bed so we checked in at the 007 Disco and twisted the night away.

The next morning the telephone rang at nine o’clock. I could hardly unglue my eyes. This was partly due to the fact that I hadn’t come in until nearly four-thirty and partly because I’d been lazy and not taken off my mascara. Mascara in the Sixties was applied by the trowel. The call was from Brian’s office at MGM. Could I get round there for a screen test that afternoon? I was fully awake in seconds. I showered, went downstairs to the beauty salon and ordered the full treatment. If I didn’t get the job it wouldn’t be for lack of effort.

I had no idea what I was going to do for the test but neither had Brian. He asked me just to talk to him on camera. To calm myself down I did a bit of personality stuff first, which was naff as hell but it relaxed me. It obviously worked because I landed the part and when I did the movie Brian wanted me to do the lines exactly as I’d done them for the screen test. I’ve still got a copy of it. Very sobering. But Brian must have liked it.

I didn’t want to fall into debt again and I was missing Steffka desperately so Brian told me to go home to Spain while problems with the Home Office and Equity were sorted out. Back in Madrid I was tense with worry. One moment I thought everything was all right and the next I would be in despair. To try and buck myself up one day I went to the beauty salon below the apartment for a shampoo and facial. I had my head in the basin when Steffka rushed in and shouted excitedly that the production office was on the line and they wanted to know if I could go to London immediately. The hairdresser was still standing with the rinser in her hand when I was half-way up the stairs to my apartment.