Today's midday movie is proudly brought to you by Wilson's Family.
Memories of the
And a very good afternoon to you.
You know sometimes I've said this is a movie for listening as much as looking.
I've just read something so interesting here.
In this book we have the words listening is a skill which is often slighted or ignored
altogether.
And when you say you've got to listen it's kind of negative.
And it is isn't it a way?
No I've said that myself.
I hope you don't take it in a negative way because I mean it most sincerely.
Well in his book Fred Orr says listening well is a mixture of hearing, seeing, attending
and empathising.
How can you listen well to get the most out of the movies that I present for you?
Because I think that's basic because when you've got good words you've got to hear.
Now this is a book called How to Succeed at Work by Dr Fred Orr and I'm talking Fred at
the end of the movie today.
Now how to succeed at work how about we change the title to How to Succeed at Living Better.
Maybe that would get us close to something that means something to all of us.
Well it certainly means something to me.
So stay around after the movie.
Now today's movie is light, slight, bright.
I think it's very funny but it's for listening as well as for looking.
Now the author of the film and also co-writer of the screenplay is Vera Kaspari or Vera
Kaspari who wrote among others Vardelia, A Letter to Three Wives and best of all Laura.
Now Vera Kaspari or Kaspari is a woman of interesting words.
So here we have a comedy that has a lot of interesting words in interesting situations.
Let's take a look at the players in the film.
I know you're going to love the cast.
See the two elderly ladies.
The one in the green is Julia Dean and Elizabeth Patterson is the one in what looks like a
floral dress.
Now they play two busybodies.
They're both spinsters and they're delightful.
I love every moment they begin and end the picture.
Now in that shot the man in the middle with the hat on that's Richard Lane who plays the
detective and the other two, do you recognise George Brent in the glasses?
George Brent in one of his funniest movie parts and his wife May is played by Carol
Landis one of her last film appearances before her untimely death.
Now there are other people in the picture that I like very much.
Right in the middle of the shot here we have Virginia Mayo.
Now you all know how much I think of Virginia and she's very good particularly for scenes
in the film where she has to act very tough as if she's a gangster's mole and standing
there looking very suave in his tuxedo is Terhan Bay.
Very charming with a dash of Charles Boyer in his performance.
I like him.
He's very funny and he and Virginia Mayo make a very good team.
I'm not telling you anything about the plot but I've got to tell you this.
Take a look at this shot of Terhan Bay with Anne Dvorak.
Now Anne Dvorak is a very favourite lady of mine on the screen.
One of my favourite Anne Dvorak films would have to be Flame of the Barbary Coast with
John Wayne.
Did you hear that Pauline?
That's one movie that John Wayne didn't steal.
Anne Dvorak took it away from him.
Anne Dvorak steals the picture.
She plays Olive.
She's very funny.
She looks great in gowns designed by Don Loper and just looking and listening at her will
brighten your day.
So listen, empathise and enjoy it.
The visuals and the sound and by the way this might interest you.
The score was done by Carmen Dragon.
Carmen Dragon the father of Captain of the team Captain and Tenille.
I love this movie.
I hope you do too.
Today's midday movie was proudly brought to you by Wilson's Fabrics and Wall Coverings.
Out of the Blue.
It was a sleeper in the late 40s.
A lot of people unfortunately didn't see it and our version unfortunately I don't know
how it must be about seven or eight minutes shorter but the continuity was alright wasn't
it?
But did you notice in the cast list Hanna Brooks as herself?
Well she didn't even appear and I believe she sang a song in this called Out of the
Blue.
I don't know if any of you have seen this version but I thought you'd like it and I hope you
did.
Isn't Virginia a dream?
Mind you all of them had to take place second fiddle of course to the lovely Ann Dvorak.
Tomorrow's movie gorgeous colour and vista vision is The Girl Rush with Rosalind Russell,
Fernanda Lamasse, Gloria de Haven and Eddie Albert.
I think you'll like it.
But in a few minutes time How to Succeed at Work.
This book is a book for everybody who wants to get a little bit more out of life.
I'll be talking to Dr Fred Orr in just a moment about this wonderful book that has just been
published in Australia by Alan the Nunwin.
Now I mentioned this book at the beginning of our program How to Succeed at Work by Dr
Fred Orr.
Just take a look at this shot of two books by Dr Fred Orr.
Today I'm going to talk to Fred about How to Succeed at Work and tomorrow How to Pass
Exams.
Now let me say one thing to you before I start chatting with Dr Fred Orr.
These books are about living.
They're not just about one thing, about your work during the day or about sitting at an
examination table.
Their implications are much further and the books are written in the most wonderfully
interesting prose.
As far as I'm concerned these are the books of March 1987 and I'm hoping everyone will
respond and want to get hold of them both.
Now Fred, How to Succeed at Work, there is a need for such a book otherwise there would
be no point in writing it.
That's right Bill.
What's the need?
Well the need in fact came from, the exam book came first, that was published in 1984
and the parents of many students wrote in or rang me and said look the chapter on self
confidence or time management or stress has a tremendous amount of relevance to me as
a worker.
Why don't you write a book about work?
So basically that's the, as you say, it's a fundamental philosophy really, it's just
not about sitting at an office desk.
It's really looking at diet, looking at exercise, looking at interpersonal relationships, looking
at leisure which people often ignore.
It's really a comprehensive view about, it's really a mini philosophy of life.
But it's written in terms of everybody can understand and appreciate.
I love it, I love the way you've written it.
Yes it's sort of a chatty type of style, lots of anecdotes and case histories of people
that I think the readers would identify with.
I hope this book's on sale at newsagents, do you know if it is?
Well this, the workbook is brand new, it's just being released so it'll take a bit of
time too but certainly the major book shops would have it and people should ask at the
newsagents and certainly they can order it for them.
Now remember this, as we're talking today, that Fred's books are published by Alan and
Unwin in Australia.
Now write it down if you can, now we're going to be talking again tomorrow, say you've got
another day, you don't have to rush up for a pencil and paper now.
But how to succeed at work I have looked at and am very impressed with.
Now I quoted a bit about listening, I'd like to hear you speak on the subject of listening
for pleasure and for work success.
Well listening is something that surprisingly is short changed.
People listen sometimes only with their ears and they don't take in what they see.
In fact as far as communication is concerned about two thirds of what really seeps in is
visual.
Even though we are listening with ears we have got to concentrate with our eyes, we've
got to be thinking about what we see, what we hear, what are the implications of what
that person is saying to me and trying to identify the emotions as well behind the message.
So listening is a very complicated and complex task that people often do not work at enough.
You know Fred, I feel this very seriously about so many of the movies of the past where
dialogue could be heard clearly despite advances in sound recording, all they record now is
like a hearing aid, they record all the noise so you can't hear the words.
And I remember it took me three viewings to realise that a film called The Pleasure of
His Company was an incredibly subtle film and I know what you mean by listening, there's
a scene involving Fred Astaire, Levy Palmer, Debbie Reynolds towards the end which I would
like you to see this film to illustrate your point where if you really look and really
listen you realise that the import or the thrust of the dialogue is going that way and
not this way as it seems to be going, that there's this very subtle subtext or sub-meaning
or whatever you like to call it.
So I can see your point, you've got to look and listen.
Yes, good listeners are people who are watching the gestures and the facial expression, the
eye contact.
There's a very acute listener that I know who watches for any slight moisture on the
forehead is picking up the pulsation of the carotid artery at the neck as subtle changes
of the person's behaviour and good sales people often are doing this without knowing it, they
are monitoring the emotions of the person.
How do you feel about cassettes, audio cassettes that are on the market these days, which there
could be one called How to Succeed at Work, there could be one on How to Lose Weight and
so on, how do you feel about those?
Do you think they're a good idea?
Well yes, I think in some way Bill they're very good at saving time in that you can be
listening to that cassette as you're motoring to work back at your leisure time.
They do in fact, it's a prime opportunity for people to be learning and improving their
lifestyle on the go, while they can have a portable cassette recorder on their belt as
they're walking the dog in the evening and if they're not with somebody else.
So yes cassettes are part of our lifestyle and I think that why not, why not use them.
Are you bringing this out on cassette as well?
Possibly, yes.
I should think that would be a darn good idea.
Now you've divided your book up into some very interesting chapters, I wouldn't know
where to begin, should one begin at the beginning and say chapter one is getting organised to
succeed at work, well may I add to that to succeed at living, I think that's fair enough
judging from what I've read.
What people often say, what do you mean by success and they think well is this many many
dollars money in the pocket or is this kudos title on door company car that sort of thing.
I said no, no in fact success really is achieving personal satisfaction, to be able to finish
a day and think that has been a very good productive day, I feel good within myself
about what I've been doing and not everyone is made to be a high flyer, homes a court
etc.
In fact many people would be shattered by the stress of that sort of lifestyle but success
means different things to everybody, it's finding satisfaction.
Before we have a short break I've got a question for you, I have always liked to write down
these are the things I must do today, do you think that's a good thing to do?
Excellent, yes but having written them down the object is to get to the high priority
jobs that's the key.
Of course so would you say to a housewife who's watching right now if you've got a
list of choices to be done write them down.
Yes indeed write them down and then select the three most important jobs to get done
today and be sure that they get done.
I think we think the same way.
Yes.
I wish I'd written this book I'd be proud of it.
We'll be back in just a moment with Dr Fred Orwell talking about his new book How to Succeed
at Work.
There are so many interesting angles to Fred's book you really must read it, I mean we can
only skim over the surface but what I'm really wanting to find out at this point and I believe
this is fundamental to working well and living well and that's getting down to relationships.
Are we talking about one to one or one to many?
Well both Bill, often if you have a work unit of let's say ten people there's a very high
probability that at least one or two of those ten people are going to be what we call problem
people.
There'll be friction, there'll be difficulties, there'll be tensions, anxiety at work and
it's my firm belief and this comes from years of clinical work that because people pose
a threat, their difficulties in approaching them, these difficult people and the problems
they pose are sort of tucked under the carpet and before long you get a huge dromatory bulge
in the carpet and a speck of dust falls from the light fitting and you get a huge explosion.
And what I'm suggesting in the book is don't dismiss these day to day difficulties, try
to address them before they mount up and form a bond.
So if you've got a housekeeper, a secretary or an assistant and you say make those calls
for me please and they don't make them when you want them made and after three days it's
still the same thing, you've got to get rid of either the problem or the person because
obviously there's something sick in the business.
Well what I'd certainly recommend is deal with the problem first, try to address the
problem and try to understand, I mean perhaps there is something, maybe the person is having
hassles at home and that's being brought into the office and undermining the effectiveness.
Trying to understand the person pulling them aside, not pulling them aside but growing
them aside and in a quiet private conversation try to understand what the person is experiencing
at work, are there any problems but giving the feedback, saying to the person well look
I've been a bit disappointed that this particular job was not done, it wasn't done in the correct
fashion or the fashion I'd like it to be done in, is there any difficulty that you're seeing
once again asking them for their assistance in helping to solve the problem?
You know one of the things that I think is a problem in a work situation and maybe in
an ordinary living situation as well is keeping secrets.
I mean if two or three people work together and I've experienced this with someone over
the years and one of them keeps secrets, like a phone call comes in and these two don't
know about it, then one of them gets the call and they don't realise its importance or its
significance and then you can waste half a day when answers could have been given, you
know if you just share the knowledge.
Why do people not share the knowledge?
Well sometimes people feel that their personal territory is going to be threatened, if someone
begins to share too much knowledge that their job is going to be under threat and get petty
jealousies and territorialism and that in the end in fact limits the productivity of
the work unit.
Well my wife and I, we're the people we work with, supposing we get an important letter
in where they'd be involved in phone calls, we always go out to the staff and say, now
we've just had this letter and if they don't read it we explain to them the content, we
say you possibly will receive a call about this, we just want you to know what's going
on.
We haven't got to give all the details, just say this is the issue, that is the name, please
if that call comes we must speak to the person immediately.
It's as simple as that.
That's right.
So it's the boss's problem, perhaps even more than the people who work with the boss.
Well boss and I think the worker, if the worker is not getting the communication, especially
if the worker is not getting feedback, being told that they are doing good work or poor
work, they should certainly go and address that issue with the boss because feedback,
knowing that you're doing a good job or knowing that you're not doing a particularly good
job is the most valuable information that a worker can get.
Can I tell you a little story then?
Yes.
About feedback, about people's relating to people, the backhanded compliment I detest.
The person in question is a very famous television actress, Shelley Long.
She's sitting in the back of a chauffeur driven limousine being taken to the studio.
The chauffeur happens to be a woman, a very nice woman, a very intelligent woman who's
had a lot of experience in driving and in fact is a part time writer.
And Shelley Long says to the woman, what is that lovely fragrance you're wearing?
Andy Driver replies, it's Chalamard, Miss Long.
And she says, it's beautiful.
Don't wear it again, it upsets me during my meditation.
Isn't that a vile piece of communication?
That's right, that's right.
Needless to say, this lady does not drive Miss Long anymore.
But I think there are ways.
You may as well face the problem directly rather than go around it in that nice mean
undercutting manner.
That's right, that's right.
Direct straightforward communication is far, far preferable to circuitous communication.
Now I'm going to ask you a leading question, or it may not seem so to you, but to me it
is.
When people are confronted with a book, how to succeed at work, like how many pages, oh
I'll never read all of that.
I think you then can dip into your book if one hasn't got the time to read it all.
Well the book is in fact in the very early parts.
It's hey, look, the book is about efficiency, that's one of the themes, and choose the chapters
that immediately speak to you.
If you say, ah look, that particular chapter relates to me right now.
I'm having a concern about this or that, then go straight to that chapter.
Read the chapters that have immediate relevance.
It's a book that in fact can be pulled off the shelf and read many different times depending
on the circumstances.
But certainly different chapters are going to have different meanings at different stages
of the person's life.
You know I think you must have an enormous understanding of things that I just strive
towards in my life.
I think you've got it all together.
What is the background Fred that's brought you to this stage of having such an insight
into relationships and into work?
Well I've done many many different jobs.
I think one of the things that I would recommend to young people is that they try to sample
many many different jobs.
I've been a factory janitor, I've been a tree pruner, I've been a swimming coach, a tour
guide and I think all of the really defined, the best sort of work for oneself is a function
of exposing oneself to lots and lots of different opportunities.
Trying to sample as much of the work possibilities as one can.
Because otherwise if you just guess I think I'll have a go at job X.
You're limited very much in your judgment.
You really have a very, students coming straight from school have very little opportunity to
get a full exposure.
So young people really should have the opportunity of trying to sample as many different jobs
as possible, meet as many different people from different jobs as they possibly can.
And it gives them a much better ground to make a decision about what I'm going to do.
Can I make a comment if you don't mind on that?
A chauffeur story again.
I meet a person, hello how are you, nice to meet you.
What do you do for a living?
I'm only a chauffeur.
My reply to that is how dare you speak about yourself like that.
You're demeaning a very important job in our community.
Do your job well and that's not a question of only.
So this is also about taking pride in your own achievements isn't it?
One's work is a very, very important part of one's self image.
The feeling of one's self.
We spend a lot of hours per day and it's very important that a person have happiness and
pride in the work.
Fred it's a pleasure to talk to you and we'll talk again tomorrow about the other book and
also a little bit more about how to succeed at work.
There it is, there's the book by Dr. Fred Orr published by Alan Unman.
You must read it.
And I shall be back in just a few minutes with a few comments about something else and
also tomorrow's movie The Girl Rush.
Well I don't know about you but I just feel just a little bit exhausted after listening
to Dr. Fred Orr because I think he really has his finger on the pulse.
You really have to read How to Succeed at Work.
As I said the publishers Alan and Unwin do try and get hold of that.
It's so interesting and you read little bits here and you think oh let's think about that.
I just love it.
I'd keep it by the bed.
I really would.
Well I'm going to as a matter of fact because I haven't finished it yet.
Now on the subject of Alan and Unwin recently I travelled to America and on board the plane
I was handed a copy of this by a very friendly steward and I read it and I was staggered.
It was so good.
Not because I was surprised by the author.
His name is Jeff Watson.
I'm sure you've heard Jeff Watson on the radio or you've seen him on television.
Well this book written with Pamela Wright is based on an ABC program and it is wonderful.
If you've ever travelled or have an urge to travel you really should read The Best of
Travellers Tales by Jeff Watson with Pamela Wright.
I started to dip into it.
I'm a book dipper.
I'll start to read a little bit then I'll read a bit more.
It's like whenever I get a biography I always look oh I wonder what they've written about
such and such a movie.
I go to that first and then I might read backwards or forwards.
I don't know.
But that is wonderfully funny and you really must get hold of it.
The Best of Travellers Tales by Jeff Watson with Pamela Wright.
And like Dr Fred Orr's book How to Succeed at Work it's published in Australia by Alan
and Unwin.
Now so I'll make sure that I do this properly.
I just want to do a couple of special books that I had to ignore or forget about the other
day.
One of them is this book from Harper and Row.
Now if you are the kind of person who is involved in gardening or the sort of person who hasn't
got much room and wants to get into the business of cacti this book is absolutely fabulous.
Eva Hogan has devoured it.
Now you know Eva.
She works with me here at Network 10 and she told me that I've got to talk about this one
because everybody who's been gardening or cacti will want to know about it.
The illustrations are positively glorious.
I try to look for one of course I don't find any.
Well there we are.
A couple of some of the beautiful illustrations from the Encyclopedia of Cacti by Coleman,
Goertz and Gruner.
Published in Australia by Harrop or correction by Harper and Row I should have said.
That is excellent.
Well we've run out of time again.
There'll be more time tomorrow to talk to Dr Fred Orr.
And also tomorrow's movie is The Girl Rush with Rosalind Russell.
Now Rosalind Russell sings, dances and plays a very vital character in The Girl Rush and
her supporting talent Fernanda Lamass, Eddie Albert and Gloria de Haven.
You will watch won't you?
And of course a return from Dr Fred Orr.
Good afternoon.
You're welcome.