There is Nothing like a Dame A novel by Bronwen Welsh Copyright© 2017, 2018 & 2019 Bronwen Welsh A sequel to 'The Might-Have-Been Girl' and 'All the World's a Stage'

Chapter 55   Pinewood

When we landed at Heathrow, I said a temporary goodbye – more an 'au revoir', to the cast and crew and then took the Underground to London and the train to York. It was wonderful to be back with Reggie again. I had cut out the article from 'L'Arena' newspaper in Verona, reporting my visit to 'The Juliet Club' and featuring the photo of me sitting at the table surrounded by the 'secretaries'.

“I can't read Italian; what does it say?” asked Reggie.

“Well, it's quite flattering and I think it says as follows:

'Miss Harriet Stow, the famous Shakespeare actress from Britain, starring in a new film of 'Romeo and Giulietta' filmed here in Verona, visits 'Il Club de Giulietta' dressed as their patron to thank the secretaries who reply to letters asking for advice in matters of the heart from all over the world. Miss Stow was very impressed and pleased with the efforts of the secretaries and wished them well in their important work.'”

“That's great,” said Reggie. “It will be the first foreign language review in your scrapbooks.”

“I was on the television too as a news item and interviewed in Italian. I wish you could have seen it. I hope I said the right words though.”

I never expected to see that television appearance again but I was in for a surprise; a few days into my week off, a small package arrived from the ISC in Stratford. Inside was a package addressed to 'Miss Giulietta Stow, Imperial Shakespeare Company, Stratford England'. They had my name slightly wrong but that was alright, it reached me. When I opened it, there was a DVD and a note.

'Dear Signora Stow, I am pleased to send you a copy of your interview on Verona television which I hope you enjoy. Sincerely, Marco Mastroianni, Producer'

Reggie and I sat down to watch it that evening. It ran for less than one minute but he was very impressed.

“Your Italian sounds very good even though I don't understand it, and you are even using hand gestures as Italians do.”

I laughed. “I don't know what it is but there's something about speaking Italian that makes you want to gesticulate all the time.”

I wondered how it came to be sent to me and suspected that Billy 'Bitzer' might have had something to do with it. Perhaps being a cameraman he had some connection or influence at the television station. When I next saw him, this turned out to be true.

During the week I visited Emma and her family and gave her the cutting to add to my scrapbooks. I also showed her the DVD and she too was quite impressed with my Italian!

“I'm not sure I want a fluent Italian speaker to see it,” I said. “I might be making all sorts of silly mistakes that they were too kind to point out.”

Now I was back in England I telephoned Dale and Frances to let them know my movements. I suppose I was overly optimistic, but I was hoping that they would tell me that the crisis was over and they were back together. Alas, there was no mention of this from either of them, so I told them about my time in Italy and the shooting which was about to continue in England. I felt so sad when I finished to conversations; they were both such nice people and it was awful to sense the sadness in their voices. Francis, in particular, said she was so looking forward to seeing me 'up there on the big screen'.

A few days later, I took the train to London to continue filming at Pinewood Studios. I had rented a serviced apartment in London, not too far from Pinewood, to stay in while filming for the next three or four weeks. Filming means early starts, and Stratford was too far away to commute to London.

Pinewood Studios are world-famous. Built in 1935 on the Heatherden Hall estate by the partnership of J. Arthur Rank and Charles Boot, it has been expanded over the years, and now has eighteen sound stages including a huge underwater tank which has featured in some of the James Bond films shot there. Other famous modern films that have been shot there include the 'Doctor in the House' series, 'Carry On' films, Genevieve, Superman, and Superman II and III, Batman films, and so on – the list is enormous.

At the time when I first went there, it was not so big, but it still resembled a mini-city. I presented myself at the main gate at eight o'clock the first morning with my I.D. and was directed to a conference room. When I said that this was my first time at Pinewood, one of the staff kindly gave me a plan of the whole site and showed me where to go. I knew that all the cast would be meeting for orientation and showing around the soundstage.

I was one of the first there but everyone gradually arrived and at eight-thirty, Cecil appeared and the orientation began. We were led to the soundstage where we would be filming. I had never been in one before and was impressed with its size, which resembled an aircraft hanger. Various sets had already been built; at one end was the wall of the Capulet's house with the balcony. It looked remarkably like 'Juliet's house' in Verona and had in fact been based on it. In front of it was a wall and in between that and the house were some trees and shrubs to represent the orchard. The advantage of being a set meant that it could be lit to represent night-time in the middle of the day for the 'balcony scenes'.

Other sets included the interior of Juliet's bedroom, the Capulet family mausoleum and a narrow street for one of the fight scenes. Leading off the main soundstage were dressing rooms for the cast. Some of the crew were already there adjusting lights and placing props on the sets. Cecil informed us that for today we would be blocking the scenes and doing some minor rehearsing without costumes. The following day we were expected to arrive at seven o'clock ready for costume, makeup and to start shooting at about 8am.

I'm sure that everyone knows by now that films are not shot in the order in which they appear on the screen. There are many reasons why this is done, often economic, such as grouping together the scenes where various cast members appear so that they don't have to hang around for days with nothing to do. Richard and I appeared in so many of the scenes that we were there almost every day.

One of the first scenes we filmed was the one in the Capulet mausoleum. As I spoke my final lines, there were genuine tears streaming down my cheeks. As Richard helped me to my feet after Cecil called out “Cut!”, he was surprised.

“Harriet! You're really crying; what is it?”

“I feel such a fool Richard, but I keep thinking that this is the final time I'll be performing these lines and it makes me so sad.”

He gave me a hug. “Think of it this way; when you are an old lady, you'll be able to put on the DVD or whatever they are using then, and watch yourself giving one of the best performances of Juliet ever seen.”

“Thank you, Richard, you're very kind,” I said and gave him a hug and a kiss him on the cheek.

Pinewood has many facilities for cast and crew, including a very good canteen where vouchers can be used to obtain meals at the production company's expense. Most days I went there for lunch in company with some of the other cast members or crew, but on one occasion I was there on my own. Film-making is hungry work so there I was, in costume and tucking into chicken and vegetables when a very handsome young man walked up to the table where I was eating. He was dressed as a Roman soldier and carried a tray with a bowl of soup, a plate piled high with food and a large cup of tea.

“Hello,” he said. “I'm Jack. You must be Juliet. Do you mind if I sit down?”

“It's a free country,” I replied, “And why do you think I'm playing Juliet?”

“Well you're in costume, you're young and very pretty,” he replied with a beaming smile.

“But Juliet was only fourteen and I'm a lot older than that.”

“Not that much older I'm sure,” he replied. I decided it was time to turn the conversation.

“So what film are you starring in? 'Ben Hur'? 'Julius Caesar'? A remake of 'Quo Vadis'?”

Jack smiled ruefully. “Actually it's 'Carry On Claudius' and I'm just an extra but I do have two lines. I hope they don't end up on the cutting room floor, or maybe I do. It's a god-awful film but it pays the rent and I can't afford to be choosy. At least I get free meals.”

“I thought the 'Carry On' films finished years ago,” I responded.

“This is a revival, but all the original cast are long gone. Maybe they should have left the franchise for dead too,” Jack responded with a wry grin.

“As far as your part goes, everyone has to start somewhere. My first television performance was a 'blink and you'll miss it'.”

“And look at you now – a big star.”

“I don't know about that, but I'm performing with some pretty big stars.”

“This is my last day on 'Claudius'. I don't suppose there's any chance of a bit part in your film?” he said. I suppose I might have guessed there was a reason for him introducing himself.

“I don't handle casting; you'd have to enquire at the office,” I responded.

“Yes, but you could put in a good word for me. I'd make it worth your while.”

For a moment I didn't realise what he was implying and then the penny dropped. I rose to my feet and said stiffly “I don't think you have anything I want, Jack.” Then I walked away.

In a way, I felt sorry for him. I guessed he was so poor that he had nothing to offer but his body, but he had picked the wrong girl. Later I heard that he had enquired about being an extra and tried to say that he knew me, but he hadn't done his homework as he didn't even know my name. In any case, they had nothing to offer him.

When I told Dame Emily about my encounter with Jack, she smiled sympathetically.

“The same thing has happened to me several times,” she said. “It's funny that newcomers to acting think that we can snap our fingers and get them a job. We both know that that just doesn't happen. If we em>did try and bring in a young unknown actor, especially a handsome one, the rumours would be flying round in no time!”

Shooting continued, and I took care not to go for lunch on my own, but I didn't see Jack again. I presumed that he was searching for work somewhere else.

We had reached the last few scenes which took place at the Capulet house.

Act Three Scene Five takes place after Romeo and Juliet's wedding night, and onstage is usually played on the balcony. Cecil had decided that it would take place mostly in Juliet's bedroom He was anxious that the film should receive no higher than a 12A classification, especially as he hoped it would become a reference film for teenagers studying the play. Although Richard and I were in bed together, there was no overt sexual content. I was dressed in a full-length linen nightgown with a high collar and while Richard was shown with a bare chest, he wasn't shown any lower than the waist. I suppose whatever viewers chose to imagine was up to them. We did enjoy a lingering kiss and I have to confess that Richard is an extremely good kisser, but not as good as Reggie, who fortunately knew that it was only acting.

The scene starts as the two young lovers wake up, and Juliet tells Romeo that it is not yet dawn.

'Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day:
It was the nightingale, and not the lark, etc'

He contradicts her with:

'It was the lark, the herald of the morn,
No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east:

She again contradicts him until he says he is willing to stay and be taken and put to death. Alarmed by this she immediately responds:

'It is, it is: hie hence, be gone, away!
It is the lark that sings so out of tune... '

As we are saying these lines, Richard hurried out of bed and is shown to be wearing breeches, highly unlikely though this would be! He hurriedly puts on his shirt and grabs his doublet. I also slip out of bed and we embrace. The Nurse comes in and warns us that the house is astir. We hurry to the door leading onto the balcony and the next shot is from outside as we make our farewells and a final kiss before Richard scales the balcony and slides down the rope to the ground.

In a final exchange I say:
'O God, I have an ill-divining soul!
Methinks I see thee, now thou art below,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb:
Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale.

He replies:
'And trust me, love, in my eye so do you:
Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu, adieu!

With that he hurries through the orchard, scales the wall and disappears.

This is not the end of the scene, as first Juliet's mother and then her father appears to tell her she is to marry Paris. However, we had already filmed the rest of the scene a few days previously.

The next scene we were to film was the famous 'balcony scene in Act Two. Cecil called me and Richard into his office for a meeting. Max and Billy were there as well. When this sort of thing happens, I always wonder if I've done something wrong, but it wasn't that at all.

“There's something I'd like to discuss with you. I know that you are both accomplished stage performers and if you had the option, might like to perform the scene without having to stop while the camera is repositioned. Billy tells me that a friend of his, another cameraman, has been hired to shoot a film here on another soundstage. There's been a delay in starting and he's free for a day. My proposal, with Max's agreement, is that I approach their company to hire him and the camera for a day. If we run through the scene twice, using two cameras and changing their position between takes, then we will have the complete scene shot four times which gives the editor plenty of footage to use. How does that sound?”

I looked at Max and Cecil. “It's fine by me. It will be just like we're onstage. How about you, Richard?”

“I'm all for it,” said Richard.

“Right,” said Max. “I'll get on the phone and see what we can arrange. As I see it, it's a win-win situation; they save a day's pay for the cameraman and a day's camera hire and we get the advantage of two cameras.”

Max was right to be confident. He already knew people from the other production company and everything was agreed over the phone.

The following morning, Richard and I were at the studio early but Billy was already there.

“Let me introduce you to Joe, my mate.”

Joe stepped forward and shook our hands.

“Glad to be of service. It won't do my CV any harm to appear in the credits of a classic film for a change. Makes a difference from all the 'superhero' ones I've been doing of late, but don't say I told you that,” he said with a laugh.

Richard and I went to our dressing rooms to prepare and when we came out again, Cecil and many more of the crew were there.
Billy's camera was at the end of a long boom for the first shot in which he would follow Richard as he scaled the wall of the orchard and crept towards the Capulets' house.

Lighting was turned on and it really did look very convincing as moonlight. The scene was shot twice. I was impressed with Richard's athleticism as he scaled the wall which was quite high as mentioned in the text. I asked him afterwards how he managed it and he confessed that some of the rocks in the wall were sticking out slightly as footholds and he had practiced using them quite a few times.

Now the two cameras were repositioned. Billy's camera was elevated on the boom but still positioned below the balcony, looking up at where I would be standing. Joe's camera was focussed on Richard.

The scene starts with Romeo saying: 'He jests at scars that never felt a wound.'

As I heard that, I walked out onto the balcony.

'But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun...'

If we had been shooting with one camera, each of us, in turn, would have had to perform all our speeches, but now we could perform our parts in order just as we did onstage. I should mention that Dame Emily was there to perform the part of Juliet's nurse, but she is only heard from inside the house so had no need to be in costume.

We performed the scene twice, 'just to be sure', and then the cameras were set up again from different angles and we performed the scene again, twice. This time, when Cecil called 'Cut', we heard spontaneous applause from the crew who were watching, which was very gratifying.

Max had so much confidence in us that he had already booked the 'wrap party' for late that afternoon in the Club House Bar, which is a very elegant venue. Most of the cast and all the crew seemed to be there. Joe was also invited to come along. He came up to Richard and me when we were chatting and said some very complimentary things about our performance. It was a very pleasant way of concluding the filming of the play. Now we had to wait up to about six months while all the post-production work took place, and then we would all be invited to the premiere. In the meantime, I had another important event to attend.

To be continued.