This program is proudly presented by Honda.
Good evening and welcome to the Golden Years of Hollywood. Later tonight a film you'll love,
The Beautiful Stars in My Crown. Don't miss it. But first the robe. I guess many of us owe a lot
to Hazel McCann. She was a department store clerk of Canton, Ohio and she was reading in
the New Testament, John chapter 19 verses 23 and 24 about the robe of Jesus Christ,
the crucifixion. The coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among
themselves, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be. She asked the question,
what happened to the robe? Dr. Lloyd C. Douglas, a Lutheran minister, answered her question with
his novel, The Robe in 1942. That novel sold more than two million copies within a matter of months.
It is one of the most popular books of the century and was the basis of this quite wonderful movie,
the first movie the 20th Century Fox made in cinemascope in the 1950s. It was a big hit at
the box office and launched a new means of movie entertainment. I hope you enjoy The Robe.
The Robe is quite a remarkable film and I think it looks quite good on TV, don't you? I believe
that it was shot in two formats because not every cinema was able to show it in cinemascope. I have
a few pictures that I think you might find quite interesting about this film. This is one of the
lobby cards from The Robe and I draw your attention to two things. One, the picture itself
accentuated the new format of the screen and at the bottom of that you'll see the first motion
picture in cinemascope, the modern miracle you see without glasses. I have two things to tell you
about this. In the first instance 3D had come before cinemascope and a lot of people thought
that they'd probably have to wear glasses to see The Robe. So that's why I said the modern miracle
you can see without glasses because people didn't like that very much. But there was another little
thing that happened. A lot of people seeing that on the posters didn't bring their glasses when
they saw the film. So then they had to modify the legend to something like the modern miracle you
could see without special glasses. This is the Regent Theatre in Sydney at the premiere time of
The Robe. You can see how they highlighted cinemascope there. Big picture of the Queen,
it was really done with grand style. And there were other photographs that were distributed at
the press and elsewhere because they let people know that this was an event. This is a shot taken
inside the Regent Theatre in Sydney showing you where the cinemascope screen was placed. Before
the area which was occupied by the normal old-fashioned ratio which I frankly prefer.
The next shot's rather interesting too. This is a frame blow-up of one of the crucial scenes in The
Robe and I'd like to put it on record right now and I'll stick my neck out quite comfortably
because I believe this to be true that Victor Mature in his heyday was a very competent actor
and in fact gives the most interesting male performance in The Robe. I'll always remember
him for this film and its sequel Demetrius and the Gladiators which you might be interested to know
was begun before The Robe was even finished in production. I hope you're enjoying the film. We
shall return to The Robe in a few moments. Going to be a normal ratio film and Gene Simmons is
among many of the players in the cast who said it was rather strange having so many actors on
the screen at the one time because of the breadth of the picture and I can see her point. They just
lined all the actors up so you could see, well I guess for want of a better term, spectacle and
crowds on the screen. However it works very well doesn't it and I hope you've enjoyed it tonight.
Is the soundtrack record available? Well I guess it might be and the record shop I tried for is
Averin Suzen's in the Town Hall Square Arcade in Sydney. They may have it but it's getting
harder and harder to get. Right coming up very soon tonight I have a lovely film for you and
it's called Stars in My Crown. Joel McCrae, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell, very interesting supporting
cast that includes Lewis Stone and Wano Hernandez that magnificent black actor whom everybody
adored in a film I presented in January called Intruder in the Dust. You will stay for Stars in
My Crown won't you? Forget about feeling a bit dozy, make yourself a cup of coffee or tea because
you will treasure Stars in My Crown. And now next Saturday night I believe that next Saturday night
I'm presenting one of the great movie events on television in the Golden Years of Hollywood for
1989. It's MGM's magnificent production Marie Antoinette directed by W.S. Van Dyke II with
Norma Shearer in the title role, Tyrone Power as Count Axel Fersen with the support of John
Barrymore, Robert Morley and Nita Louise, Joseph Shulkraut who'll absolutely astonish you. Marie
Antoinette is an experience I hope all of you will enjoy but I urge you not to miss it and make
sure the young people are watching too. It's movie making in the grand scale and it will break your
heart it is so moving. Following Marie Antoinette next Saturday night The White Angel in which Kay
Francis portrays very well indeed Florence Nightingale and in The White Angel you'll see
one of the most unforgettable few minutes of confrontation I've ever seen in a movie involving
Montague love and Kay Francis it's extraordinary. So that's the program next Saturday night Marie
Antoinette and The White Angel and in a few minutes time the beautiful stars in my crown.
This program was proudly presented by Honda.