FILM: ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS (1969)

1969 saw TP on the set for another major motion picture, Anne of the Thousand Days.  A lavish costume drama which told the fraught story of Henry VIII's brief engagement and marriage to Anne of Cleves before her execution for treason, it was based on the successful broadway play by Maxwell Anderson which has played at the Schubert Theatre in 1948.

Produced by the legendary Hal B.Wallis, who went all the way back to Hollywood's silent days,  this was a starry production with Richard Burton leading the cast and the young Genevieve Bujold playing the role of the doomed queen.  Also in the cast,  and providing excellent support, were Anthony Quayle as Cardinal Wolseley and John Colicos as Cromwell plus a long list of notable theatre talents from the English stage including Michael Hordern, William Squire and Cyril Luckham.

Despite being that year's choice for the Royal Film Premiere at the Odeon, Leicester Square,  the film was to receive mixed reviews and, ultimately, would fail to make back its production costs.

Reviewing the film for the Daily Telegraph on February 24th 1970, Patrick Gill concluded his review with this succinct appraisal:  "All this is a rather old-fashioned Hollywood costume piece style favoured by the director, Charles Jarrot, against some rather over-decorated Tudor renaissance scenery.   Still, major and minor parts are beautifully played - the cast is studded with our Shakespearean actors".

TP (far right) stepping out in the court of Henry VIII

TP was cast as one of the King's courtiers, Norris, who is ultimately incriminated in Anne's apparent plot.  He worked several weeks on the production and enjoyed a number of location lunches with Richard Burton, though they proved slightly draining affairs as that would be when the star would begin the day's drinking (The star had originally attempted to stay sober for the making of the film, but had become 'bored' as he noted in his diaries and resumed his drinking).  TP recalls that Burton ruled out any close-up work for the afternoon scenes as his eyes would be too bloodshot.

As on Charge of the Light Brigade TP was required to play several scenes on horseback. However, when preparing to mount a horse for one take the animal reared up, high above him.  Although the handlers were able to calm the horse down, TP was shocked and told the director in no uncertain terms, 'I am NOT getting on that horse. No way!'

Hastily, they called for one of the film's stuntman to stand in for TP. It could have been a tricky moment for him as he'd created a delay in the film's shooting, but a short while later he heard a distinctive American accent address him.  "Sir.  That was very wise what you did just then.  I wouldn't have got on that horse.  You did the right thing".  It was the film's producer, Hal Wallis.

TP would work with Burton again the following year on the film Villain. He also made good friends with his fellow cast members including Anthony Quayle, Peter Jeffrey and Dennis Quilley each of whom he would work with on later productions. 

TP in ornate tudor costume as Norris, one of the King's back slapping courtiers

Prinicipal photography for Anne of the Thousand Days took place in the summer of 1969 and TP can be seen here (below),  bearded and relaxing at his Dublin home in a break from filming with his daughter, Sally. These were the busiest of times in TP's career and he's already studying a script for his next casting.

Anne of the Thousand Days Trivia:  

* Richard Burton was daunted to be nominated for his performance for the Academy Award for Best Actor.   All the more so as he didn't consider himself good in the film.  Also nominated that year were Dustin Hoffmann and John Voight for Midnight Cowboy, Peter O'Toole for Goodbye Mr.Chips and the actual winner of the golden statuette, John Wayne for True Grit.

Genevieve Bujold and Anthony Quayle aslo received Oscar nominations.

Burton & Elizabeth Taylor arriving at the 1970 Oscars.

** The costumes and many of the sets for this opulent production received a second life when they were used for Carry On Henry the following year.

Sid James & Kenneth Williams in Carry On Henry
continuing  the serials tradition of aping notable films of the day 

*** Elizabeth Taylor makes an uncredited appearance in the film as she was often on set for shooting.  It's said, so she could keep an eye on Burton whom she feared was getting on rather too well with Genevieve Bujold.

No smoke without fire? Burton with Genevieve Bujold  
sharing a joke on location during a break from filming.

Editor's note:  Every now and then at tpmckenna.com we like to turn the spotlight on an aspect of the theatre or film world that most spectators wouldn't give a second thought to. This time we consider the role of the Stills Photographer.  This is the unit photographer that would have accompanied a film production from location to location and on into the film studio, there to record the key images that would be used by the publicity department when promoting a film, and particularly, the shots that would provide the 'lobby cards'.  Here's just one such example, a key moment in the film caught by the Stills Photographer and suitably captioned to give a notion of the scene's narrative.  In this case Henry VIII being advised that his current wife will not grant him a divorce (and as luck would have it, with TP in the background centre in the background).

An original lobby card for Anne of the Thousand Days

Before the digital era and mass marketing potential cinema goers would pass a movie house and scan the posters and lobby cards displayed in the glass cases outside their 'local'.   These were one of the main hooks fro drawing in the audience.

Most, if they ever gave it any thought at all, would have imagined that these pictures were simply taken from the film's original negative,  however, with a 70mm celluloid reel passing before the camera's lens at 24 frames per second, no one frame would make any sense;  and so that was where the stills man  came in.  A proven professional who could shoot as close in to the original film camera's position, usually during a pre-take rehearsal, and accurately reproduce the featured scene in a high format image,  replicating how it would appear when screened.  A subsidiary role would also be shooting the settings to provide an accurate record for the continuity department.

In the case of Anne of the Thousand Days,  the Stills Photographer was a veteran of the art, Norman Gryspeerdt.

Norman Gryspeerdt at work on location for
Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines

He had caught the photography bug when he won a Box Brownie for racing at his schools sports day.  Later, during the Second World he was assigned to the photographic section on board the aircraft carrier, HMS Implacable, specialising in reconnaissance work.

Following demob, his introduction to the film world came via a fur coat.  It was to be worn by the Rank Organisation's leading lady, Margaret Lockwood, and he was commissioned to the photograph it. Having been sent to the furiers he shot it as worn by a model.  Not being greatly happy with the results, he suggested that the coat would look at its best with Margaret Lockwood actually in it.

Permission was granted for a shoot with the actress and his shots duly impressed, leading to a fifteen years run as a stills man with the J.Arthur Rank organisation based at their studios at Pinewood.  

A Gryspeerdt still from the 1951 the J.Arthur Rank film Valley of Eagles

Reference shot by Gryspeerdt from the J.Arthur Rank film A Night Remember based on the sinking of the Titanic taken in Pinewood's miniature tank where the model shooting took place for the film's reconstructed exterior images. 

Following that, he then joined Universal Pictures as their unit photographer on their British productions up until Anne of the Thousand Days which was to be the last British film Universal would undertake.

During his career, Gryspeerdt (his name is Belgian but he was born in Croydon) photographed a whole galaxy of stars including Brigitte Bardot, Juliette Greco, Dirk Bogarde, Yul Brynner, Stanley Baker and Michael Caine.

photoraphyAttuned to the intentions of the director and his crew. Here's just one such example, a key moment in the film caught by the Stills Photographer and suitably captioned to give a notion of the scene's narrative.  In this case Henry VIII being advised that his current wife will not grant him a divorce (and as luck would have it, with TP in the background centre in the background).

Well, at this stage, and now we know exactly what he does, let's introduce Norman Gryspeerdt, the Stills Photographer for Anne of the Thousand Days. 

Intriguingly, in these hi-technological times, the role of the stills photographer is still very valid.