The Lost Highwway 12.01.05: The Kid Stays In The Picture

Posted by Mary Markham on 12.01.2005

"When a director hires a producer, you're in deep shit. A director needs a boss, not a yes man."

We all are familiar with the Hollywood “dream.” It usually entails some bright eyed kid struggling to eat and pay rent who happens to be in the right place at the right time and overnight his luck changes. He becomes the next Jack Nicholson or she becomes the next Faye Dunaway. Or he happens to be a successful executive in the garment industry visiting Los Angeles on business, is lounging by the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel, “discovered” by the great Norma Shearer, garners brief attention as an actor, saves Paramount from bankruptcy, becomes one of the biggest producers in Hollywood, retires to scandalous headlines, only to be reinstated at Paramount where he still resides. Or you could be the next Robert Evans.



I have seen “The Kid Stays in the Picture” numerous times. It is by far one of my favorite documentaries. The entertainment value of this film far surpasses most of the “fictional” blockbusters that Hollywood keeps churning out. Robert Evans as a human being is a parody of himself. He is immensely fascinating in an endearing and yet tragic way. The old “watching the train wreck” cliché. You can’t take your eyes off of his enormously successful yet bizarre life. I for one love “behind the scenes” Hollywood. It can be far more interesting than any other aspect of this crazy industry.



Robert Evans is a true success story. However I feel that perhaps his deal with the devil eventually fell through hence the latter part of his career. To start, Evans was already immersed in a profitable career. He worked for Evan-Picone, the clothing company started by his brother. His previous attempts in show business had been a flop. He was set on a career path that was in and of itself, glamorous. But all of that was about to change.



Thanks to the legendary Norma Shearer and Darryl Zanuck, Evans had a short lived career as an actor. Evans left the garment business for fame and soon to be fortune in the City of Angels. Shortly after wrapping Zanuck’s epic “The Sun Also Rises”, Evans decided he wanted a piece of the action as a Producer. At the end of the fifties Evans writes, “I was sure of one thing: I was a half-assed actor.” He quickly teamed up with Peter Bart (then working for the New York Times) and they offered up a $5000 movie deal for Paramount. "When I went out to LA, I knew one thing: property is king. No one wanted me - there's nothing worse than a pretty boy actor who wants to be a producer, especially a lousy actor. And I bought a property called The Detective to get my foot in the door. So I went to 20th Century Fox and demanded a three-picture deal and got it. Without the property, they wouldn't have given me anything." Before that came to fruition he was hired by Charles Bluhdorn, head of Gulf & Western, to shake up the deteriorating Paramount Studios. Within months, Robert Evans became head of Production and saved Paramount with a little film called, “Rosemary’s Baby”. And that was just the beginning. Under Evans reign at Paramount the following films were created making film history:

ROSEMARY’S BABY


LOVE STORY


CHINATOWN


THE GODFATHER


Evans took risks with all of these films but with a somewhat preternatural knowledge of their longevity and success. In this whirlwind of power and fame Evans married Ali McGraw (whom I believe to this day was the love of his life). He was on top of the world. “Snotnose” McGraw, as Evans called her had one simple request: that he never leave her.


No sooner than those words lingered gently above her head, then she was off to Texas to shoot “The Getaway” with the handsome and rugged Steve McQueen. Evans was in Paris translating “The Godfather” into different languages. Not once had he been to visit her in Texas. Realizing his mistake he flew to El Paso to meet with her. Confessing her affair with McQueen, McGraw walked away from their marriage and Evans was never quite the same.

After the roaring success of Paramount in the 70’s, the 80’s ushered in a silent greed that was gnawing away at Robert Evans. He was Paramount’s golden boy and yet was not reaping the financial rewards. He decided to step down from the throne and become an independent contractor making his own films. Suffice it to say this was the turning point for Evans. The events of the next few years would ruin him. He was introduced to cocaine. In his words, “the seducer had been seduced.” This led to a drug bust in which Evans name was smeared. Later he would be involved in a murder case that revolved around his friend Roy Radin’s ties to drugs. All of these ingredients were a recipe for disaster. Paramount asked him to vacate the premises. “Once king of the mountain, now I was not even allowed to climb it.” He lost his beloved home “Woodland” (Garbo’s old place) and then he lost his mind. He checked himself into a sanitarium and realized that this was the last place he needed to be. He just wanted to go home.

Little did he know that his good pal, Jack Nicholson had flown to Paris to beg the current owner of “Woodland” to sell it back to him. Done deal. Evans had his sanctuary back.



Over the years that followed, Evans found his way back to Paramount and back in the game where he still remains.

“The Kid Stays in the Picture” brilliantly pieced together by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen is a visually creative and bittersweet story of the Hollywood dream.



“There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently.”