Chapter 8

While we were talking, Roger had received a call on his phone, leaving the room to take it. When he came back, he told us that David wanted to take me to dinner, to talk about how things were going, and that he would have to drop me off at home so that I had time to be ready. Anna seized the opportunity.

“You can wear that dress, if you’re seen dining with David Masterson, I’m sure that there’ll be a picture in the gossip magazines by the end of next week. ‘Who is that stunning woman, seen dining out with the director of this year’s hit blockbuster’ comes to mind.”

She put the dress in a garment bag, along with a gloriously lurid sweater in the same vein. It was to be a part of a new range that she had been planning, and my appearance on her doorstep had given her the opportunity to launch it by the back door. We hugged and cheek kissed when we left, driving back into London.

“Thank you for that. Anna is a wonderful person and so talented. It’s a pity that you don’t get to give me dinner.”

“Actually, I’m also invited. David said that we will be at a table with Kurt and Kym, and he’s bringing his ex-wife, Irene. They can’t live together but remain friends. I think she wants to check out his latest leading lady. I’ll organise a car and will pick you up at seven, so you’ll have time to glam up. The dinner is at the Ritz, so that dress will certainly stand out against all the silks and satins that some ladies wear to that dining room. If you want to make a statement, that’s the way to do it. I expect that the press know that Kurt and Kym are in town, so expect to be asked to pose with them.”

He dropped me off at my door, helping me out and giving me a kiss as he handed me the garment bag.

“See you at seven, my love. Tonight, we may get a chance to offer that Barbie idea.”

When he pulled up, with a driver, at seven, I had been in the shower, made sure I was hairless, dusted and perfumed. I had the dress on, with shimmery stockings and my black heels and a black bag. I left my tablet at home, but took the work phone set to silent. As it was cooler, I had what was now my trusty Burberry coat on and had spent a lot of the interim time trying to get an elegant look with the make-up. That cosmetic company had supplied a lot of variations that I hadn’t tried yet and had made my face match the main colours in the dress. I may be wrong, but I was happy with it. The look on his face told me I wasn’t wrong.

He held my hand as we were driven to the Ritz. There, the doorman helped us out and we left our coats with the reception. In the dining room I experienced something that I had heard about, but not yet heard with my own ears. It was a sudden quietness as we approached the table as Kurt, and David rose to greet us. It was followed by a smattering of comments that my highly trained stewardess ears could pick up out of the background. All along the lines of ‘Who is that girl’.

Both men gave me a hug and I sensed that someone was taking pictures. We were all seated, and I was introduced to Irene Masterson, the ex-wife who still used her married name. With their body language, I guessed that they were still friends with benefits. It was an interesting meal, often interrupted by other, well-known, people who would stop by to say hello. When we had coffee in front of us, the talk turned to the film.

Kym was the one who said that she thought that Lily was too wishy-washy for a leading lady, which allowed me to suggest that we had already spoken about that, thinking that Barbara might be better, and told them about the variations and benefits that we had discussed. Kym reached over the table and patted my hand.

“I knew that you’ll be good value, Jamie. That’s a great idea. It differentiates the two men’s attitude in a single usage of the names. It just needs a new title when you get close to the opening time. I’m sure that one will show itself as you film. Sometimes, the best movie names come, out of the blue, as you’re on the set.”

Kurt and David bowed to her acceptance of the idea, and the dinner wound up around eleven, with Kurt and Kym saying that they had slight jetlag. As we stood, someone with an expensive camera asked us if we could pose. Kym knew the guy and she agreed on our behalf, telling him that Kurt and I were making a movie together.

The picture of the two of us was on the front page of a fashion / gossip magazine the next week. Inside was a picture all six of us, along with a press release that Roger had quoted on the night. Of course, the story wasn’t limited to just that. No, it asked the questions about who I was, where had I trained, and what my relationship with each of the men in the dinner party was. It certainly complied with Anna’s brief, as I had told him the maker of the dress and that it was to be a new line.

The following week we got serious in the studio. Kym had obviously spent much of Sunday rewriting the script, which she emailed to me on Sunday night, with the scenes we would be doing marked in red lettering, with my lines in bold type. That made it easy for me to pick out what I needed to say.

All of the scenes were interior shots. They had built a mock-up of the inside of the airliner, which was the place where the film really starts. David had looked at the script and had decided that the working title should be ‘Turbulence’, seeing that we could mimic a plane movement that would deposit me into Jack’s lap, with my relationship with Kurt being much more normal, as he was the Flight Captain, and we already had a friendship with benefits. At the end of the week, we were joined by Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, and Wanda, who had all done so well in their screen tests that they all had contracts that allowed them to resign. None of the other girls had come in for the screen test. It was odd, wearing the beige uniform, again, with none of us now employed by the company.

By now, you will be able to guess the story. Stewardesses talk about hunky Captain. Barbara has flashbacks of a night spent with said Hunk. All very light, just the closing shot of him unzipping her dress. We were aiming the film at the teen market. On a flight to Hawaii, Barbara finds herself in the lap of passenger, who has taken a shine to her and has never been refused. In Hawaii, the passenger meets with Barbara, leading to the slap scene. Passenger and Hunk face off as Hunk realises that he has real feelings for Barbara. This leads to a car chase and a fight where two great actors show that when it comes to stunts, they’re up there with the best of them. The action all takes place over a four-day layover.

It culminates on the beach, where Barbara, her friends, and the co-pilot, Cynthia, are having a break. Fight ends with Cynthia hitting the Passenger on the head with a beach umbrella. Then Barbara and Hunk meet at the bandstand, and she lets him know that their earlier night of bliss has left her pregnant. The final scenes, with the credits rolling, is the wedding and all the viewers can get their hankies out. There’s a lot more, to fill up the time, but that’s it, in a nutshell.

That week went into the next, and then into a third, before we had fulfilled our job. I was in the studio during the day, and out with Roger to various parties in the evenings. Not every night, but I did meet a lot of well-known people in the arts, politics, and even the odd minor royal.

I worked with a lot of people I had seen on screen in lesser parts. We only needed to have the first and business section, and a mock-up flight deck, with Kurt at the controls, and a very happy Cynthia as Co-pilot. I took on the role as the chief stewardess with the other three working the extras in the two classes. There was a lot of scenes that simply set the authenticity of the travelling, with us bringing the realism to the parts with our natural movements.

The part where I ended up in Jack’s lap was the hardest. We did it without any sound recording, so that orders could be called out when the camera was jiggled, mimicking the spot of turbulence. We said our lines as we did it and went into a sound booth to add them to the scene afterwards. It was hard work, especially needing to repeat scenes when David wasn’t happy. We also did some scenes with me and Kurt, or me and Jack, or me with the other girls in hotel rooms and nightclubs. All the clothing and make-up was professional, with our personal outfits and cosmetics supplied by the preferred shops.

The airline had come to the party and had agreed to let us film us disembarking in Hawaii, as well as using official dresses. I don’t think they had been told who would be playing the parts of the stewardesses. At the end of the third week, Roger gave me the message that I was needed to go into the office to see Horatio. He grinned when he called me Julia.

We were all booked into business class for a flight to Hawaii, via New York, on the following Wednesday. I had been seeing Mum on weekends, and she was getting over the operation and acting like a youngster. I had transferred the money but still hadn’t told her that her marriage wasn’t legal.

When we wrapped it up on the Friday afternoon, Roger was there to take me into the office. We were now very comfortable with each other, and it certainly felt like we were a kissing couple. In the office, I went to see Horatio, who had another gentleman with him. They both stood, with Horatio giving me a hug, and the other guy shaking my hand. He was, I found out, a Major in the British Military Police.

When we were seated and comfortable, he complimented me on my bringing the documents to Horatio, as many wouldn’t have done so. I found out that my father had been part of a group within the RAF, who had been able to add names to the Squadron roster sheet, enabling them to get married and claim extra benefits in the bogus names. They had already arrested two of the group, years ago, but had never looked at Group Captain Curtis as the leader of the gang. The papers that I had supplied had allowed them to get a line on others, as they had been named as witnesses on the marriage certificates. Not only that, but the group had also been selling squadron supplies on the black market, even weapons when they were in Bahrain.

As such, my father had been arrested when he last landed at Heathrow and was now in a military prison awaiting court martial, seeing that he was still on the reserve list. My help had been absolutely central in cracking what had been a cold case for nearly twenty years. The odd thing that the Major said was that, because all the other marriages were in bogus names, and only the one to my mother being in his real name, it was quite possible that the marriage would stand up as the only legal one.

After the Major had left, Horatio gave me my new documentation. I was now, according to a form from the Government, Julia Leigh Curtis. I had a passport in that name as female, with the old records carried over. I had a driving licence, and new bank cards in that name. As Julia Leigh, I had an Actors Equity card and a Green Card that allowed me to work in the USA. There was also another complete set of loyalty cards from our suppliers. I was now ready to face the world as the new me. All that was left was the operation needed to make it real.

On Sunday, Roger took me to see Mum. He sat in the lounge as I spoke to Mum in the kitchen, about the fake marriage crimes, and when I assured her that it was only hers that could be legal, she just said “Pity”. I assured her that I been told that the trial would be held behind closed doors, on an Air Force base, and that any sentence would be served in a prison with no visiting rights. With the selling of arms involved, he would be lucky to get out of it still breathing.

I then showed her the paper that had been the last thing that Horatio had given me. It was the list of all the wives, with all the children that had been born in the likely time frame. I had three half-brothers and four half-sisters. I now had more family than Roger! I left it with her, as I had a copy for myself. I had no plans to organise a get-together. I supposed that they all thought that their father had deserted them. We took Mum out to dinner, and she hugged us both when we left her back at the house. I would be in Hawaii, but Roger said he would be in touch, to which she replied, “Thank you, son.”

Monday, and Tuesday, I cleaned up around the apartment, then packed my new red case with things, finding that I didn’t have enough room. I rang the clothing supplier and asked if they did cases. When they said that they did, they asked me what colour I wanted and where I was going. When I said it was Hawaii, they told me that they had shipped a load of clothes there for the film and then told me they would deliver the case. When it arrived, it was half full of some wonderful warm weather clothes. I added my left-over things and closed it up. All I had, for the morning, was what I would be wearing, plus my shoulder bag with the tablet and phone, and my handbag with my paperwork and essentials.

I was more excited about the flight than any I had been on, and I had been on hundreds. I had an alarm for a ridiculous hour and was ready with my cases when there was a knock on the door. Roger loaded the car and drove me to Heathrow. I was sad to leave him at the door of the flight side, but his quick kiss and the assurance that he will see me as soon as we could get together, made me a bit happier.

Through the bag inspection and into the departure lounge, I was directed to the VIP section, where the others waited for me. With all the times we had waited to get on board, we had never done it dressed to the nines, offered drinks and nibbles, or been treated with deference before. I found that we had been upgraded, so we ended up sitting in the first-class seats, after being greeted by a flight crew and cabin crew that we had all flown with. It was fun, and a little strange to be on the other side.

The flight was good, with us only needing to be on our feet to go for a pee. I think that the stewardesses enjoyed our company, being able to chat with passengers who knew what they were doing. The Captain came out to talk to us. It seemed that the airline had put out a message to all staff that it would be supporting a new film and that there would be some scenes that they would all recognise. With the picture of me with Kurt that was in the magazine, everyone knew some of the cast.

We spent our time in New York browsing the airport shops, buying a few things that caught our eyes. Then we were back in the plane and heading for Hawaii and our workplace for the next couple of months. When we landed, we had the traditional Hawaii welcome, a first for us as we had never been VIP’s before. Then limos took us to the Prince Waikiki, and we were settled in our rooms.

The plan was for us to take a day resting and getting used to the warmth after the cold of London. Then, we would have a scene to shoot in an airliner. We had rehearsed it several times in the studio. Our extras had all arrived, and Kurt was to be here the next day. Jack was already here and raring to get started. The scene was straightforward. We would have two cameras in the cabin, and one set up near the top of the airbridge. We would farewell the passengers and there was some dialogue that allowed Jack to know where the stewardesses were staying. Then the flight crew would come out of the flight deck, and we would all collect our things and leave the plane, with dialogue needed as we walked up the airbridge.

The airline had allowed us a half an hour, with the part we would be using left uncleaned until we were finished. It meant that we would all be waiting in coaches at the bottom of the outside steps to the airbridge. The plane would arrive, the passengers and crew vacate the cabin and we allowed the cleaners into the economy section to start the cleaning. Then we did our scene and left it to the cleaners. If needed, we would be allowed to repeat the process on another day.

We were in our company uniforms, with extras that were playing the stewardesses working the economy in the black skirts, so that we stood out. They were just there for authenticity, and only had chattering roles. The scene was a single take, had to look real, and we did it flawlessly, first time.

The camera and sound guys packed their kit and went back to the hotel in the coaches, while the rest of us continued into the VIP lounge, where we met the boyish-looking owner of the airline, as well as several executives from Head Office. It was a laugh being feted while wearing our uniforms. Of course, the owner had to have a picture of him surrounded by a bevy of beautiful girls. I was sent a copy of the airline magazine, later on, which carried the story.

We still had some way to go with the film, and, over the next few weeks, finished all the interior and exterior scenes that became the links between the action. Then there was the two scenes that defined the turbulent times: me and Jack and me and Kurt.

Jack was adamant that he would be all right if I did actually hit him, as it would add realism when he was in later scenes with a handprint on his cheek. I didn’t want to do it, but we all have to give a little to create cinema, so I slapped him hard at the end of the first take. That meant that we needed to get it right, as he would have needed a ton of make-up to hide the red mark.

When I did the weep-making scene with Kurt, Kym told me to do it right, and that she would make me do it until she was happy with the take. David and the crew had no say in this, and, wisely, allowed her to direct. It took her four takes before she was happy, which left Kurt and I intrigued, considering that we thought we had done a good job with the first one. Kym had a wicked smile when she called it a wrap.

“That was so I could see if you can repeat perfection, Jamie. We’re going to talk about our film after this. I’ve had some ideas about the plot, and I’ve been rewriting the script. David is giving me credits as a scriptwriter on this one, and Jim has been talking to my producer about letting me co-direct the next.”

After that, all us girls had the time off while the boys worked on the action scenes. The whole crew were off to various parts of the island, while we lazed on the beach, learned how to surf, and did some shopping. That was a true two weeks of rest, because that’s how long it took. I didn’t ask how many cars they destroyed, or how many windows got smashed. It was a series of scenes, where Jack would see Kurt and try to punch his lights out, or vice versa. I do know that there was a car chase with two cabs and female American stars in cameo roles. When they did the argument scenes they had a bunch of locals, as extras, in the background.

During that time Kym sat with us, and we discussed her own project. She had revised her plot, going from a pair of mad sisters, to having us as two witches in a coven, adding the other four as other coven members. It would be a crime story, with the coven not revealed until late in the film.

Jack had agreed to play one of the husbands, and she had some other stars that we had met, way back at the party, as other characters. It would be set in Tallahassee, Florida. Cynthia thought that this was an unlikely place to find a coven of witches, and Kym told her that this just why she chose it. Being an old settlement, and a big college town, the place was awash with lovely buildings and gentle vistas in which to place pure evil.

This all made the other girls happy, knowing that there would be something for them after this film. Especially as we could all shed the cabin crew past and concentrate on being real people.

When we all got together, again, the screenplay got a slight change. Seeing as how we could all hold our heads up as budding surfers, the bit where Cynthia was supposed to hit Jack with a beach umbrella became her bashing him with a fake surfboard, which broke on impact.

This was after we were filmed on the waves and then seeing Kurt arrive at the beach, followed by Jack, who had brought a gun to the argument and was threatening to shoot everyone. He played the madness wonderfully. They were able to get a surfboard maker to produce a few in foam, dense enough to look real, but not hard enough to put Jack in hospital. We had a couple of real policemen haul him away, crying ‘Don’t you know who I am’.

The final scenes were shot in the Holy Family Catholic Church, a lovely, but modern, place which provided the most gorgeous backdrops. We were all in our finest, with me in ivory, rather than white, and the girls as bridesmaids in apricot. All the guys looked good in their suits, and it was a wonderful time for all of us, going back to the hotel for an after-shoot party to wind up this part of the production. That was a happy occasion, with us all still in our wedding finery. Kurt pretended that it was the reception and got everyone to hum a waltz while he twirled me around the room.

Me and the girls got lots of hugs and kisses, with some of the older stars telling us that we were the future of movies, and that they all wanted to work with us again. Some, we knew, would be doing just that. In Tallahassee.

Marianne Gregory © 2024