Chapter 4
"L...C...A"
Fleur stood in the middle of the set, a well-appointed living room. "You people hear me, and hear me good!" His voice was coming through a megaphone, and boomed against the collective ears of the young men standing around the set.
"I don't expect to hear any giggles or comments of any kind while this scene is in progress. I do, and the violator is right out on his ass, hauling it back Stateside!"
The ail-American camera crew nodded in assent. The soundstage doors at the Elstree Studios were locked and guarded. A red warning light shone above them.
The hour was late, and all but a few of the guards had gone for the day. None of them would have dared enter the closed set.
Each of the British Cinematograph trade unions had tried to insist that their members must be present during all shooting. But Fleur, as always, had found a way round this dilemma.
Fleur simply used the British camera crew and technicians to film the "linking shots," the completely unobjectionable material which would form a very small part of the completed movie. And in the evenings his own, trusted fellow-conspirators would make the picture which Fleur intended to produce....
Finally, after a great deal of preparation, he was ready to start the cameras rolling on the first scene. As he had promised Mason earlier in the day, Roxie Keene's first seduction was going to be very delicate, and very erotic. Just how erotic he hadn't, of course, revealed to his employer!
There was, however, one remaining snag. Though Fleur didn't think it would prove to be a particularly hard one to overcome. Roxie herself was game for anything. She had the physique and the features of a Marilyn Monroe: but unlike the late, greatly lamented glamour queen, Roxie was totally unneurotic. She didn't care that men desired her only for her body, for her magnificent sex-appeal-and her only aspirations towards culture were comic-books and science-fiction magazines....
For a change, Roxie wasn't the problem. Rather, it was Glen Tenny who might-just possibly prove difficult when he realized what was expected of him.
Tenny was a Londoner, and had reached the age of thirty without achieving any real success in motion pictures. He played supporting roles and was usually wasted in B-films as the hero's insipid best friend. A gossip columnist had once labeled him: "the oldest juvenile in the film business" and the tag had unfortunately stuck to him.
And assuredly this was a pity. Glen had a great deal of talent and it was gradually being destroyed by bad luck and his own, rapidly growing cynicism and disregard for his future. He had received too many stabs in the back, too many flippant and unkind remarks had been thrown his way....
Nor could he be blamed for his failure-or for feeling disheartened and sick to death of the movie industry-any more than he could be blamed for his unfashionable, "glamour-boy" good looks.
But if his background had been different, Mason would never have succeeded in signing him to play in this picture. Only an actor who was descending the ladder of fame would make a film with a has-been like Mason. Success attracts success in the cinema industry. And failures are drawn together just as inexorably....
Fleur adjusted his sun glasses. His eyesight had grown so weakened by the constant use of dark lenses that he could scarcely see without them now. What had started out as an affectation had become a necessity. He presented a bizarre and commanding figure, dressed in his "working" clothes: a pair of tight black hipster pants with a deep, brilliantly white belt; an orange tee shirt and cream, open-toed moccasins.
Nor was this outfit any affectation. Fleur knew that it was important for him to be seen instantly by his actors and his camera crew when he was directing. It helped them, and it helped him, if he stood out sharply from the rest of the production team.
Privately, he had explained to Glen Tenny how he worked. He used three cameras to cover the action, which he wanted to flow in an unbroken sequence from beginning to end of the scene. In this way, there was no interruption, no breaking of the mood for the actors while new camera angles were arranged. It also enabled Fleur to film very rapidly, editing the finished material in the cutting rooms so that the completed scene was made up of close, medium and long shots.
With a stroke of genius, Fleur had invented a method of reloading the cine-cameras with fresh film that required only a few seconds delay. And this meant that two of the cameras were constantly shooting-and a single "take" could last for an indefinite period.
Fleur had also explained to Glen Tenny how the first scene should be played. They were adhering to Steve Dane's script for the opening sequences and Fleur was relying on the seductive powers of Roxie Keene to break down Glen's reserve when it came to departing from the screenplay and "improvising" the erotic details which he, Fleur, had added to the scenario.
Of course, Glen had been briefed that this was to be a "daring, Adults-Only" type of movie; whether he would go all the way-forgetting the technicians unconcerned that everything he did was being filmed-remained to be seen....
Fleur had contrived to make the studio look as intimate as possible. He had erected a barrier around the set, reducing the scale of the vast sound-stage as much as possible. And he had kept the crew to an absolute minimum: apart from the actors and himself, only three cameramen, a lighting expert and Lillian Trent were present. Lillian had agreed to act as "clapper-girl" and perform any other tasks that were required-since her part in the film wasn't due to start filming for a week or two.
Now he stepped out of the harshly lit set and turned to give a final check that everything was in place. The scene was Glen's apartment in Charing Cross: a startling, riotously decorated studio-flat which was the very epitome of decadence and corruption. Fleur had seen to it that the furnishings and objects d'art represented the character's evil personality to perfection. And the rich technicolor hues would render them even more vivid when they appeared on the screen.
The screenplay had it that Glen had picked up Roxie in a Soho coffee bar. They had shot, in montage, the sequences depicting their meeting; and now Roxie was about to enter the web and become ensnared by the fascinating but totally amoral character played by Glen.
But it had proved a tough job convincing Karl Murrey and Mason that they should use an American girl for the leading role. Dane's script specified that the character was a naive little country girl-essentially English, a girl who knew the excitement of London only at second hand: via the glossy magazines and publicity stories.
Fleur had managed, however, to persuade them that this particular angle had been exploited too many times in recent years. He suggested that they altered the focus slightly; making the girl an American who hoped to find a quieter, more "normal" life in London-since she hated the reckless pace and the increasing violence of her homeland.
In short, she was to be a girl who imagined that she was escaping from a life of immorality, sickness and perversion...little realizing that she was trading one hot-bed of corruption for another....
Fleur hoped to point up some of the parallels between the New World and the Old in his movie. He knew the plot outline was banal, but the style of a film interested him far more than its content: and in this particular case he was going to create a picture that would cause such a sensation that nobody would pay much attention to its superficial plot!
Roxie and Glen took up their positions and waited for Fleur to start the cameras rolling. She sat demurely on an antique Victorian sofa, a guileless expression on her beautiful face, her knees pressed tightly together. A pleated gray skirt covered most of her legs, and a prim white blouse-loose-fitting so as to disguise the fullness of her breasts-was tucked into the belt at her waist.
Glen stood at the cocktail cabinet, about to pour drinks. He had changed into a silk Chinese robe: patterned with red and violet dragons, three quarter length. A little uneasily, the actor had agreed not to wear anything beneath this kimono; and the flush on his cheeks was not entirely due to the heavy film make-up!
Fleur had organized one camera to zoom in on his outstretched hand directly as they began to roll.
On Glen's palm rested three tiny white tablets-which he was about to slip into Roxie's martini....
"Cool it!" Fleur called. "We're all set! Quiet everybody!"
Fleur raised both hands high in the air.
"Lights!"
The big arcs flared into maximum power. "Cameras!"
Now three cameramen switched their 700mm cameras on and kept their eyes fastened to the big viewfinders.
"Action!"
Lillian Trent held her clapper-board in front of the camera, snapped it down, counted five softly under her breath-and moved silently out of the way, off the set.
Britain's first full-length sex film was under way! And it was to launch more than an entertaining sojourn!