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Lots of name dropping here - just accept it as the jet-set, high-flying nature of our family at the time - rather than any attempt to show off.
A bit of background - my Dad (Tom Curley) was a freelance Company Secretary (wonder if that contributed to my becoming a Freelancer??) who worked solely in the British Film Industry from about 1946 until he died in 1960. I can remember him working at home some weekends "budgeting a film" - using large Accounting forms to create a grid into which estimated costs and income were entered, summed, cross-checked etc... much like an Excel Spreadsheet these days.
He worked at the major studios at that time around London - Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree, and I can remember him having to go to Malta on one picture. He never owned a car for some reason, but made up for that omission by traveling in style - certainly towards the end of his life - when working with the Boulting Brothers (John and Roy Boulting), their Rolls Royce would pick him up each morning and take him in to the Studios. Other names from that era include Aubrey Baring and of course my Uncle George Pitcher.
Uncle George was a film Producer and Auntie May was his Assistant. John Flower (auntie May's son) got into the family business by becoming a film cameraman.
So there I was - a fresh-faced lad of 17 with stacks of O'Level results but no A'Levels, and my father had just died... what to do, where to go?? It was arranged for me to spend a day at Shepperton Film Studios to get an idea of what "working in the film industry" was all about. I traveled by public transport from Hayes to Shepperton, duly arriving at the entrance Gate and asking for George Pitcher and May Flower (what a great name!!) and initially being shown the outside of the sound-stages, the grounds where "exteriors" were shot, also near the garbage dump (more of that later) and some of the "work-buildings" where perhaps scenery was constructed or artwork undertaken. Some clever and detailed work went on there!!
This gave me an idea of how large the place was, also how many "associated" jobs and people were involved in the making of a film - it wasn't just actors/actresses and Directors/Cameramen.
Lunch was next up - in a very pleasant restaurant on-site and I can remember seeing my "first star" of the day. I was at a table and could see through the window a massive great black Daimler type limousine arrive, and out popped Joan Collins (bear in mind this is 1960!!) and as she was walking from the car to the restaurant a little red Mini zoomed up and started "coralling" the Daimler and Joan C - the guys inside were having great fun - preventing both car and star from going to where they wanted - what wizard japes I thought - this is work?? Let me in!!
After lunch it was onto the Sound-stages, where (I'd been warned) entrance/exit could only be undertaken when the red-light was off - and complete quiet was required whilst shooting took place - so my questions had to be saved for the proper times.
First it was onto the "Road to Hong Kong" stage - where Bing Crosby was in evidence (alas Bob Hope wasn't shooting that day - but seeing Bing was exciting). What was happening was they were trying to get Bing to lip-synch a song he'd recorded previously. Over and over he would walk towards the camera whilst the song-recording started with "Three, two, one......." a count down that presumably got erased from the soundtrack, and then in would come the Old Groaner's smooth voice. Sometimes it was the lights, other times it was Bing either getting to his mark too early or too late, but that "take" took hours "to get". I remember looking all around there was of course the beautifully coloured and lit scene (I think it was a hotel room or maybe an apartment) but back from that, in the comparative dark was cables, chairs, general clutter - then up 10 and more feet in the air more cables and hanging bars, lights, walkways, electricians/techicians etc... I remember it a little like those pictures of "Earthrise" from the Moon - all around dark, black, space - and small, down there... the centre of attention - was something brilliant.
Apparently Road to Hong Kong was behind shooting schedule - mainly because Bing and Bob would ad-lib so much that scenes had to be re-shot until the Director was satisfied.
Then it was onto the sound-stage for Uncle George's picture "Day of the Triffids" - I'm pretty sure Howard Keel was in the scene being shot also either Jeanette Scott or Nicole Maurey, but what I remember most was Mervyn Johns (father of Glynis Johns). He was not in the scene being shot, but was needed in the next - so I was introduced to him - and was able to talk with him during takes. He was Green-faced (quite offputting initially) because he'd apparently been stung by a Triffid (not in real life - you understand!!) and was a pleasure to talk to. What made this meeting even more memorable was that I was to meet him again many years later.... Can you imagine my disbelief, in perhaps 1969 or 1970, having driven with Helen Roche, Brian and Vonnie Stoate from Johannesburg some 300 miles north to Phalaborwa, ready to enter the Kruger Park for a weekend - we checked in (purely by chance) to the Lion Hotel, went down for dinner - and there he was - all alone at a dinner table - a very weird coincidence.
Auntie May then took me off to the Costume Room for Day of the Triffids - quite a big room and over in one corner - was a veritable jungle of vines, leaves, blossoms etc... these were the Triffids, some of which stood 6 or more feet tall - it looked something like this.... a still from the film. If you don't know the story - they invaded from space and stung people in the eyes with whip-like tendrils, which caused blindness - and expected to take over the world - under cover of darkness!!
Being Joe Cool I walked (completely un-afraid) up to this collection and was reaching out to feel the leaves.......... Now... unknown to me... in amongst all the foliage, was a bloke who was repairing some of the tethers and levers that made the things move.... and of course - just as I stretched out my hand - he pulled some wires/levers....... BUGGER ME!!!.... there was a horrible sound of dry leaves and vines being whoooshed into the air, the tendrils and vines went up above my head - I nearly shat myself!! Maybe it was this that put me off the film-industry??
To calm down - I was shown "the back-lot" - basically the garbage dump - where unwanted scenery and props are dumped... and what was there...?? The Guns of Navarone!! There they were, slightly disconnected, all made out of wood! - not metal!
From there I was walking with Uncle George across to the car-park to get a lift home, and as we're nearing his car he nods and says "goodnight" to a man I'd seen walking towards us........ Bing Crosby... on his way home!!
What a day!