[Leica] Re: Retirement

[kididdoc at cox.net (Steve Barbour)]

> Brian,
>
> You have "outed" me. Just how old are you anyway? Paradisio was  
> released in 1960.
>
> I was indeed the author of this little soft porn filmmaking  
> conceit. It had its genesis in the film writer's strike of 1959-60.  
> Hollywood studios were shut down. While the stars and executives  
> didn't suffer, most of the film making trades, paid by the picture,  
> were out of work. Low budget nudie films such as "The Immoral Mr.  
> Teas" were cleaning up as second acts in burlesque houses. A couple  
> of movie studio friends and I, having a lot of time on our hands,  
> felt that we could make a sleazy picture as good as those currently  
> being shown. In Hollywood that was the only game in town.
>
> I sketched out the basic story of a professor with x-ray glasses  
> that would let him see through fabric. The writer/director Henri  
> Haile fleshed it out into a shooting script. Henri Haile was, in  
> fact, Haile Chase, a B film director and a dialog coach for  
> independent studios. Jacques Henrici was Michael Baumhole, a studio  
> publicist. I was the only one naive enough to put my real name on  
> the film. In a couple of days we had an 80 page script, originally  
> titled "Around the World in Eighty Ways." The budget was what we  
> had in our bank accounts. We decided to film in Europe, both to  
> avoid union rates and to get scenery unavailable in California.  
> Besides, it was an opportunity for a great vacation.
>
> Our original choice for the lead actor was Alastaire Sims, but he  
> was unavailable. We settled on Arthur Howard, the younger brother  
> of Leslie Howard and a fortuitous choice. He worked for less money  
> and obviously relished the opportunity for getting a starring role.  
> We filmed all over Europe, hiring local independent camera men,  
> many who had filmed prize winning short subjects. The film making  
> industry was undergoing a technical revolution at the time. Hand  
> held Arriflex cameras could produce image quality as good as studio  
> Bell and Howell equipment. All scenes were filmed on location  
> because we couldn't afford sound stages. Local actors took all the  
> secondary roles. Nudity wasn't a big deal in European films and we  
> had no difficulty getting full exposure. We enjoyed the experience,  
> Arthur enjoyed the experience. And then the writer's strike was  
> over. Real jobs called. We returned to the USA with 10,000 feet of  
> exposed film and no contract for theatrical release.
>
> On our return we sold the largely unedited footage to Jack Harris,  
> a distributor of second bill (and soft porn) films. Harris had the  
> theatrical contacts to get the film shown. He is the one who  
> spliced in the color segments when Professor Sims put on his  
> glasses and added the 3-D effects. The film was released in the US  
> to modest success but made a big hit in Japan. I understand that it  
> became a minor cult favorite during the  80s.
>
> Haile Chase went on to direct a number of unexceptional studio  
> potboilers. Michael Baumhole returned to the publicity department.  
> I took a teaching position at a New York university. We had a fine  
> time making this crummy nudie flick.
>
> And I also learned not to put my real name on scurrilous activities  
> outside my professional field.
>
> Larry Z

what a riot, I love it....


Steve