Shoot the Rehearsal!
Behind the Scenes with Assistant Director Reggie Callow
By (author) Rudy Behlmer
Not available to order
Publication date:
26 May 2010Length of book:
168 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressISBN-13: 9780810874411
Ridgeway (Reggie) Callow began his film career in the early 1930s and for four decades worked as an assistant director on some of the most memorable films in Hollywood history. In the early 1970s, over a period of several months, film historian Rudy Behlmer conducted interviews with Callow, and the result is this edited version of many hours of relatively informal conversations recorded between the two men.
In these extracts, Callow recounts what it was like to work on such celebrated films as Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Sound of Music, recalling the work of filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hughes, David O. Selznick, Michael Curtiz, John Huston, Carol Reed, Lewis Milestone, and Robert Wise. Callow also provides first-hand knowledge and inside information about stars of the period, including Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Grace Kelly, James Cagney, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Julie Andrews, and others. Callow does not romanticize the glamour of Hollywood or echo carefully nurtured myths of legendary pioneer creative figures but rather recounts the workaday world of film business with revelations about major productions and personalities.
In these extracts, Callow recounts what it was like to work on such celebrated films as Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Sound of Music, recalling the work of filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hughes, David O. Selznick, Michael Curtiz, John Huston, Carol Reed, Lewis Milestone, and Robert Wise. Callow also provides first-hand knowledge and inside information about stars of the period, including Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Grace Kelly, James Cagney, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Julie Andrews, and others. Callow does not romanticize the glamour of Hollywood or echo carefully nurtured myths of legendary pioneer creative figures but rather recounts the workaday world of film business with revelations about major productions and personalities.
He provides a candid insider's view of Hollywood at work…. He sees the biggest stars, directors, and executives at their worst and sometimes at their best. Callow tries not to be rude but he calls 'em as he sees 'em, and tells interesting stories about everyone from excitable director Michael Curtiz to good-sport Grace Kelly…. Rudy Behlmer knows the right questions to ask, and there is a genuine sense of give-and-take in these transcribed talks. My only complaint is that there isn't more.