BECTU History Project
Interview no: 201
Interviewee: June Randall (Continuity/Script Superviser) Interviewer: Manny Yospa (1) / Len Harris (2)
Date of Interview: 24 May 1991
Duration: 00:40:24June Randall Page 1
1: This is the ACTT History Project, which owns the copyright of this recording. It is the twenty-fourth of May, 1991. This is Manny Yospa speaking. I have Len Harris here with me and we are interviewing June Randall.
[00:44]
1: Would you like to just say something, just to...
My name is June Randall.
1: Well, to start with, can you tell us about your early life – where you were born and who your parents were and where you went to school?
Yes, I was born in London, the city of London. My parents were both Cockneys as well as I. I went to school until I was ten locally and then was evacuated to Australia, where Iwent to school there. And during the war I came back to England and that’s where I gotmy first job, at Gainsborough Studios, as studio manager’s secretary.
1: You just sort of went there and, you know, applied for a job and...?
Yes. I was looking for a job and I saw the Gainsborough lady on the roof. I had just seen James Mason in The Wicked Lady, so I was a great fan and I thought I might meet him sometime. I had no intention of going in the industry, just that I might meet James Mason.And I got the job as assistant studio manager’s secretary.
1: Who was the studio manager at that time?
Mike Johnson. His brother is Dennis Johnson, the production manager.
1: That’s right, I remember him. And at first you were just secretary to the...?
Yes, I was. I had no intention of going on the floor, I didn’t even know what supervisorsor continuity, what it was all about.
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1: What films were being made at that time?
There was a film called Odd Man Out being made. Also, I think there was Ronnie Shiner
and... the guy with the ukulele?
1: Oh, George Formby.
Yes.
1: George in Civvy Street.
That’s right, something like that was being made then, yes.
1: That’s right, I was there at the time. We went to Denham Old House to do some shots on the river there.
Yes, yes.
1: All that.
And then of course he left, Mike, and it was taken over by Tony Darnborough and Betty Box suggested that I leave the office and go down as assistant continuity to Nan on the floor, and they were making a film called Wanted for Murder, with Eric Portman. First time I was ever on the floor.
1: Who was continuity girl on that? [Winifred Dyer]
It’s out of my memory for the moment.
1: Was it Becky Singer?
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No. No it wasn’t. It’ll come to me in a minute, come to me in a minute. But I did a filmwith her, then Jo Harcourt came in and I did some films with her, and then they said would I like to do a film alone, which was The Blind Goddess, which was my first film.
1: And how did you like working the...
I enjoyed it very much. We had a lovely director called Harold French. That’s where Imet you, Manny. It was quite exciting for me, although it was a court case. Sir Patrick Hastings had written this and from a continuity point of view it was a very hard one to start, because of the cross cutting and eyelines. Which I learnt very quickly because of my mistakes.
1: Ah yes, they were always very tricky, those.
Yes, they are.
1: And who else was in the crew at that time, do you remember?
I’m not sure whether Arthur Crabtree was the director.
1: Oh yes, I think he was, that’s right.
And Reg Wyer, I’m not sure if he was the cameraman this time, my memory’s a bit goneto those days at the moment.
1: I have the same problem. [laughter] Oh yes. But how many films did you do at Gainsborough?
At Gainsborough? Well, I think Ken Annakin came in afterwards and we did all theHuggetts.
1: Oh yes, he came in with Ray Elton on Miranda.That’s right.
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1: That’s right, there was a bit of trouble at the beginning of Miranda I seem to remember. Do you know anything more about it?
No, I don’t.
1: We did a whole fortnight’s shooting then scrapped the lot.
[04:56]
Did we? I can’t believe it. Anyway, I can’t remember. But anyway, I think Miranda, yesI did that. Very happy picture with Glynis Johns. First time I’d met Ken Annakin. We used to call him ‘Panickin’ Annakin’. And I did all the films with him. We did a filmcalled Encore, Somerset Maugham’s Encore.
1: Oh yes, there were four films: Quartet.
Quartet. Gerry O’Hara was the first. And then after we built a new canteen they told us
the studios were closing.
1: [laughter]
Just as we’d built a new canteen.
1: And not only that, but they re-soundproofed the whole studio and on the day we were leaving they were still wheeling in new sound equipment. Do you remember that?
[laughter] Typical! Yes, I was very sad though, because I was very happy at that studio.
1: Oh, we were all very happy, yes. Do you remember the last party, the final party when Pet, Petula Clark, Pet Clark, she sang a few songs for us and she burst into tears?
It was sad, because not only that, I’d borrowed Petula Clark’s dress that she wore in The Huggetts for my wedding. I was married in Petula Clark’s dress. Or was it Jane... played Petula Clark’s sister in The Huggetts, it was her dress.
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1: Oh, that’s something anyway. Then you gave it back to her. Or kept it.
I took it back to the wardrobe department. In those days Manny we didn’t have anymoney at all, none at all.
1: No, well we weren’t paid all that much in those days.
No, no. But for me, having come from Australia, it was a lot of money.
1: Oh yes.
But I mean, you know, I think we did more with the money then than we do now. Theywere better times. And we didn’t work twenty-four hours a day.
1: What happened after Gainsborough?
After Gainsborough I was out of work for quite a while until I went on to Treasure Islandat Denham, on the second unit, which was directed by Russell Lloyd and Byron Haskin was the director of the first unit, Russell Lloyd was the director of the second unit, Cave- Chinn was the cameraman.
1: Ah yes. Who was in it? Wasn’t Robert Newton was it?
Robert Newton.
1: Oh yes, I remember.
Robert Newton, pieces of eight, the original. We were on location on the Hispaniola, the square rig, for months in Cornwall.
1: Oh, that would have been pleasant. Can you remember any little stories about whathappened in those...
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No, but later on I did another picture on a square rig, called Mutiny on the Bounty. Sothere’s nothing I don’t know about the mainsails or the bowsprit.
1: Because being a continuity girl you had to have all these technical terms down pat.
Yes, and going up the ratlines [pronounced: ratlins] and, you name it. Going up theJacob’s ladder. It’s very hard work really, because really you’re the only girl amongstquite a few men.
1: Oh yes, and it’s... Is there anybody that you particularly remember on any of thesefilms?
I try to forget them as soon as I’ve finished, Manny.
1: Okay. And [laughter], and where did you go to from there?
I can’t really remember what I did for them. I did a few horror films, a few horror filmsand a few small films, and then I sort of settled at ABPC [Associated British Picture Corporation] as it was then, as their permanent script girl, and did The Saint for two years.The Avengers for a year or two, and a few other films. Look Back in Anger, was my first really big feature, with Tony Richardson. It was his first film.
1: Because at this time you’re learning your craft very fast. What exactly does a continuity girl do? [laughter] That’s a question isn’t it?
Well, let’s say that a film is made up with pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each scene is done in little bits, each bit has to fit smoothly and we’re the ones to make it fit. We have to makenotes for the editor, generally, you have to be very observant.
1: Oh yes. Of course in those days they’ve got no, every actor had to smoke, because he didn’t know what to do with his hands otherwise.
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Yes. And in those days of course we didn’t have Polaroid cameras, in those days we had to draw everything, nowadays it’s a piece of cake, you just take a picture. And just look atthe picture and that helps a great deal.
[10:03]
1: Yes, because you had to remember the length of the cigarette each time.
Oh yes, and which side of the mouth he had it in. And if he goes through a door one day, six weeks later you might pick him up coming through with that cigarette and what handhe’s opening the door with. And all this we have to make notes on. It’s a very taxing job.
1: And also, I mean you had to work closely with the director as regards cheating of looks, looking the right or left side of camera and keep him straight on that.
Yes.
1: So you had to know a bit about...
[pause for interruption]
1: Len, can you think of any questions to ask?
1: Anyway, perhaps we can carry on with your job description.Well, I’ve finished.
1: You’ve finished that thing.
You might have to cue an actor, because an actor can’t remember his lines, and you cantell an actor to pick up something with his right or left hand to remind them, because manyactors can’t remember a thing they’ve done, they’re not disciplined. There’s many actors that are not disciplined and stage actors usually are, they’ve learnt their trade, but a filmactor generally is not so good on his continuity, and that’s what we’re there for. We justwatch everything happening.
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1: You’ve got to keep your eyes open and keep wide awake.
Your eyes and mouth and everything. Well no, really you keep your mouth shut, because a good continuity girl should not be seen or heard, just keep in the background and onlyspeak up when it really matters. Because if you keep nagging them they won’t take anynotice of you at all. So you have to be pretty cute on what you bring up.
1: The other thing I always admire continuity girls for, I think you were the one out on the mountain somewhere and the wind was blowing like a gale and you had your little – it may have been you – your little table and your typewriter, and every shot, you had to keep all your papers from blowing away and type out exactly what was done.
Oh yes, you have to take your desk or table everywhere; you can be in a stable, on a farmyard, on a boat, out at sea, anywhere. And I was on the tarmac of BOAC and this gentleman came out and he was an executive of BOAC and he said he’d been watchingme and did I want a job, because his secretary moaned if her typewriter was moved one inch along the desk. So he offered me a first class job, which I would have taken, except it was such a long way away from my home. But that was very nice. He said he’d neverseen anything like it, but my desk has been to more places you can ever imagine. You know, sometimes you can put your typewriter on your knee and you just have to get on with it, because we had to type up everything that goes on.
1: Yeah, at the time.
At the time, or if not you have to take it home with you and do it. Simple as that. I mean Iwouldn’t recommend the job to anybody, although I have trained a few girls.
1: Then, as I say, you went into Elstree, ABPC at that time.
And I was there for a long time. And then I mean I was so bored with being on The Avengers, I left and did a picture called Where’s Jack in Ireland, and that was my first freelance film. And then I did a very nice film with Robert Bolt, called Lady Caroline Lamb, which was a period film. And then I seemed to be stuck with period films from
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then on. I did Clockwork Orange with Mr Kubrick and Barry Lyndon with Mr Kubrick,The Shining with Mr Kubrick and I’ve done quite a few films, you know, quite big ones now.
1: Yes, you seemed to work a lot for Stanley Kubrick. What was he like? Did you get on well?
A beauty [? unclear] of a man. A hard taskmaster, but a very clever man.
1: And he was good to work with? He knew his stuff? You tell me.
No, he did know his stuff. Yes, he knows his stuff, as you know, he’s one of the bestdirectors in the world. And after that I did a film called, well I suppose I did so many.Flash Gordon. I mean I can’t... I did a film with Bette Davis which was very interesting.Now she was a very interesting woman to work with, but she didn’t get on with the director and after two weeks, because he said, ‘What do you think of this Miss Davis’, she said, ‘You’re the director, not me’ and she fired him. So then they brought in an old timercalled Roy Ward Baker who... she quite liked that because she could sit down and talk and go into big heads [?], which is what she wanted. The other man, the other director, wanted to make it more interesting. The picture, I might tell you, was a flop, it was calledThe Anniversary. But I enjoyed working with her because she was a real professional. Infact I’ve just finished her biography, which was very interesting.
[15:10]
1: Yes, you can always tell the professionals from the...
Yes. I did a picture called King David, which was an utter disaster, it lost a fortune, with Richard Gere, who was completely miscast as King David, and a picture called Revolutionwith Al Pacino who was also completely miscast that lost about thirty-two million dollars.I’ve done all the Bonds lately, the last five Bonds.
1: So you have been connected with the best of British films...
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I’ve done a lot with Roger Moore, who’s my very favourite man in all the world, he’s a gentleman, he’s a darling man. I’ve done Timothy Dalton’s films. I mean he hasn’t got the humour of Roger Moore, but he’s a fine actor, a fine actor.
1: And is there anything you can remember specially out of these, any special events?
No, not really, except I mean they’re all very hard work. When you’re a script girl you don’t really get involved in any... you just do your job, I mean it’s just so taxing. But Imean I have been taken all over the world on these jobs. I mean I did Mutiny on the Bounty and found that Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins and a hundred men on board, that was very nice, I must say. Being on board with Mel Gibson was a real treat, I can tell you.
1: Rather you than me.
And we were sixteen weeks in Tahiti, and that’s not really suffering. Then we went on tothe Pitcairn Islands in New Zealand. So that was one of my fine locations. I have been twice to Tahiti on films, and that is a, well I can only call paradise.
1: So you have had quite a few good times in the film industry.
Yes, I have had some good times, but lately things are so tough and you really, I mean youhave to be really... it’s really high pressure now because films cost such a lot of money.I’ve just finished The Alien 3, which is costing about forty million, almost fifty million dollars I believe. I mean for a horror film, I mean it is a good film and it will be very good, a young man, twenty-eight years old, directed it. High-powered American.
1: What was his name?
His name’s David Fincher, and he knew more at twenty-eight years old than most of the people on our floor who were experienced. A very, very clever young man.
1: Oh, so it’s a name to be watched.
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His name is to be watched. It was his first film. His first film, in charge of a fifty milliondollar film, which is something, I’ll tell you. And I believe he went back to the Statestoday, because we only finished like two days ago.
1: So now you’re looking forward to a little rest before you...
I’m going to have a long rest, Manny, because it seems to me as though the British filmindustry at the moment is faltering very badly, with no help from the governmentwhatsoever, it’s heart-breaking.
1: Have you seen his budget speech, he made his definite point, he says for the film industry, no cash.
He obviously doesn’t know that we can bring them in a lot of money. Someone should tryand educate him a bit.
1: No, he doesn’t care.
No, and I’ve written and written about this, but to no avail, and I feel very sorry about it because my whole life has been films, and now my livelihood is being swept away from under me and not only just me, but hundreds of fine technicians, the best in the world.
1: Well, it is true, because unemployment, we always have had a lot of unemployment.Although even in the worst of the days up to now...
No, we’ve always had crises, but there’s been nothing like this, nothing. The Americans are not coming over, there’s no incentive for them to come over at all. So this is really...
1: Yes, because even the worst of the times previously there was always something to look forward to, something always turned up.
Something always turned up, but I can’t see anything round the corner at the moment. So it looks as though I have a forced retirement. With all the experience I have had and thefilms I would like to do, I can’t do it. I can’t do it, because they’re putting a block on
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British technicians going to America now and I don’t blame them. I don’t blame them, they’ve got their own technicians to find work for. So what can I say Manny, except to say that I speak on behalf of all technicians who want to work and it’s so terribly sad.
1: Yes. How many films have you done?
I can’t remember, there are so many. There are many, many films. And that has been mylife, all my life.
1: And have you noticed any change in the films since when you first started, as to what they are now?
Well, naturally, because on my last film we had video playback, which meant that if I wasever querying anything I just played it back, I mean it’s a piece of cake. Polaroid cameras,which are absolutely magnificent, everything to help. I mean in the old days we had nothing, nothing to refer to. And I mean not only that, but as the video’s playing a picture comes out of the actual shot, out of the camera so that I put that in a big book, so I’ve gotan account of every shot in the film. In the old days the clapper boys probably would have to go into the darkroom and print up one of those frames. I mean this comes out automatically on the new video playbacks. I mean filming now is like... it’s advancing,extreme advance.
[20:27]
1: Yes, you don’t have to be a technician, you need to know how to push a few buttons.
Exactly, exactly.
1: What about the technique of making films?
You still have to know about the technique of making films, but I mean some of the technicians that come out of film schools now are better than the technicians that have been doing it all their lives, they really are clever boys. I did a film last year in Yugoslavia, the cameraman had just come out of film school, he was terribly clever, you know, really knew everything, I mean they have to to qualify.
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1: Because before we used to have to learn by making mistakes, as you said before, but now of course they...
Yes, you learn by your mistakes. Mind you, I mean every day I go in, I’m still verynervous. I find that good technicians are nervous because they know what the difficultiesare. It’s only those people who don’t know that are so cocksure and handy on a film set,they’re not nervous.
1: It’s just like the good actors.
Exactly.
1: They were always very nervous before they go on and as soon as they’re on and theystart, they forget it all.
That’s right, that’s right. So I don’t think there’s much else to say except that I’ve really had a good life in the film industry, met lots of very nice people, and this is what it’s comedown to now.
1: Still got a lot of tape left!
[break in recording?]
[21:44]
Len and I worked together in the old days and it was very nice and very pleasant. We had a lovely location in Devon.
1: That’s Len Harris, for the record.
Len Harris, the camera operator, who’d done all the old Hammer films. And we did a Hammer film together, we did that one with Leslie...
2: Leslie Norman one, yes.
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What was it called?
2: X the Unknown.
X the Unknown.
2: I’ve got a copy of that, you know, on 8mm.
X the Unknown, which was a really difficult location. It was night work in the Beaconsfield gravel pits. It was from five o’clock in the evening till about six o’clock the next morning in the freezing cold. You sunk into the mud as you approached. It’s one ofthe many, many experiences that you have to put up with in the film industry, good and bad. And it was, Tony Newley was in it and he was a young man and it was about a monster that comes up and eats cobalt, but made a fortune for Hammer Films, and nowthey’re all classics. And did we do that Quatermass, were you on that?
2: Yes, the three Quatermass films.
We did Quatermass with Val Guest directing. Brian Donlevy.
2: And the second Quatermass and the third one I did, I did a bit on the third one at MGM, and that was virtually MGM people there because Hammer had stopped their production team then.
That’s right. But I’ve never forgotten Brian Donlevy because we were on the hills somewhere and his hair blew off. And we were so stunned, we didn’t know he had falsehair on, and he called us a bunch of goddamn limeys for staring at him. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, there was an egg on top of his head instead of hair. Brian Donlevy went mad.
2: I found out he was a limey really, at least he was an Irish limey, he was born in Ulster.
Was he really?
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2: The time he was born, well Ulster’s still part of Great Britain.
Reminded me also of Harry Corbett who I did a film with, Rattle of a Simple Man, and we were on the barges, Ronnie Barker and Harry, on the barges up and down the canals – wedon’t have them now, they’ve stopped all that, although I believe there’s trips up anddown the canals – and the hairdresser crossing the canal dropped Harry Corbett’shairpiece. Now he was very, very touchy about his hairpiece, right, and everyone was fishing it, trying to fish it out when Harry Corbett came along. And they said, ‘It’s alright Harry, we’ll getting your hair, you’ll have your hair back any minute Harry’. Cut to Harry Corbett’s face, he was choked, he was thunderous, because he didn’t want anybody toknow we had his hair. [laughter] Needless to say, I don’t think that hairdresser lastedvery long, I remember now. She got into terrible trouble. [laughter] There are very funny things that happen on a film. And I mean at the end of the Bonds we always have small films made like outtakes, all the mistakes that are made on a film.
1: Yes, on the cutting room floor.
And they join them all together for the end of picture party. And what I didn’t know was,they had a hidden camera on me. Now, I did not know this camera was on me throughout the film, and I’m always eating sweets, this is my downfall – chocolate, sweets, you name it - I’ve always got my hand in the drawer, eating. And they put this, now I don’t know if it’s high speed, is it Len, that makes things go fast, what is it?
2: Slow speed.
1: Under cranking?
Under crank. They had an under crank camera on me, so that during this film, at the end of picture party, all you could see was me eating fast right through the film. I was very embarrassed, very embarrassed, because all the chins were hanging down, the stomach was out and they caught me in some beautiful moments. Mind you, I had to laugh, becauseif I didn’t, what would have happened to me, I had to laugh with everyone else who wason their backs with their legs in the air screaming with laughter. I did not see this camera. They must have seen me go over to the drawer then immediately switched on, it was
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somewhere hidden all through the film. It was a great laugh, but I’d love to get it, but MrBroccoli would never let it out, never, he didn’t let his films out. Such fun.
[25:30]
1: You can make a video of it.
Yes. He keeps these end of picture things very private, he’s a very private man.
1: How did you get on with Cubby Broccoli is it?
Yes, we made the last one in Mexico, which was a lovely country. Beautiful, colourful country. I enjoyed it very much and intend to go back for a vacation there one day.
1: Yes, from what I hear of him he sounds very nice.
Charming. Absolute gentleman. A man called John Glen directed them, also a great friend of mine. Because I met John Glen on a film, he was editing a film I did in Japan, and the people in the scene were speaking Japanese and shorthand is phonetics, so I took down the Japanese in phonetics and read it back to an interpreter, who interpreted what the actor was saying, and that is why I helped John Glen who was editing it, because he wasthrown a load of Japanese he couldn’t cut because he didn’t know where to cut, but he didwhen I interpreted it for him through my shorthand, and he never forgot it. So when hestarted the Bonds, he asked for me. That’s how I got into the Bonds, although I did the first one with Lewis Gilbert.
1: Because you have to be very accurate to get the phonetics right.
Exactly, but when I read them out to the interpreter he knew exactly what I was saying.
1: [laughter] Because the language is all... every word is a phonetic really.
Yes. That is a difficult language, Japanese. So that was another interesting thing. And Imean you don’t really have to learn shorthand to do continuity but it is really an advantagebecause you can take the dialogue down, sometimes the artists say the wrong things and
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then they say they said it correctly, you say, ‘No you didn’t and I’ll read it back to you’. But nowadays you can play it back of course, nowadays it’s hi-tech.
1: Because the technology has changed such a lot since you started in Gainsborough all those years ago.
Oh God, yes.
1: I mean remember the sound car they had when you went on location?
Yes.
1: And now it’s just a little box round a chap’s neck.
Well, what I think is what’s really going to happen in the future, you know, because as with my own job, script supervisor’s being done on a floppy disk computer now, there’s no typing, it’s all dictated and done into a computer and it’s all changed.
1: Computers can go wrong.
Computers have taken over the world, I’m out of the game I think. I’m not intocomputers. Are you Len?
2: Not really, not really, no.
No. But now, even my grandson now is a computer expert.
2: Whenever I get a wrong bill for something or other and you complain about it, oh it’s the computer, because the clerk perhaps hasn’t worked it out, they always blameeverything on the computer.
Blame the computers. I mean that’s the thing that’s coming now, it’s all... something different now. But I mean I’m very happy because I mean I’ve seen the best and the worstand I can look back with a great deal of happiness.
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1: And you’ve made your contribution to the film industry.
I think I have in a way, because looking back, and I’ve got loads of stills, and one day Ishall go through them and look through them and bring back lots and lots of memories. In fact, today Manny, you showed me some lovely ones that we did at Gainsborough with dear Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison and Ken Annakin. They brought back happy memories.
1: Because that film, there was a lot of young children in that who have grown, you know,there’s Diana Dors, Pet Clark, Tony Newley.
That’s right. My runner at Gainsborough employed me in America on a film. His name is Bernie Williams, he came in as a runner, then went into the mailroom, and now he’s a bigproducer in America and called me over to do a film called The Red Dragon, ThomasHarris. In fact, Thomas Harris’s new film is Silence of the Lambs, is a great hit in London, starting today, with Anthony Hopkins, but I did that film in America with him producing.
1: Oh, you were continuity on that one were you?
Yes I was. And Bernie Williams, who was the mail boy at the old Islington studios was the producer. And he also produced Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Michael Caine and Steve Martin.
1: Yes. Because there was another messenger boy started at Gainsborough, Bert Batt.
Bert Batt, who’s become one of our biggest first assistants. They all started at Poole Street. Gerry O’Hara, who’s a first assistant director. And, you know, it’s nice to see a success, but it’s just sad the way things have gone in England at the moment, I feel very sad about that.
[30:12]
1: It was a tragedy when that closed down, Poole Street.
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Yes, I was very upset about that. But I mean we had lots of studios once, lots. I mean you could always look forward to going from one studio to another and now there’s only two major studios, really. I mean apart from...
1: And they’re only hanging on by the skin of their teeth.
Yes, they are. And it’s sad to see such wonderful workers as the backroom boys, thechippies and the sparks and all these people who’ve learnt their trade, they’re in the same boat as I am. I mean I’m not retired yet.
1: And they’re all top craftsmen too.
Exactly, top craftsmen. But you see what’s happened is that the business retires you, you don’t retire, it drops you. When you don’t get the phone ringing any more, that’s when you have to get the knitting and go and sit in the garden. And that’s what I guess I’ll have to do now really, it’s about time I hung up my typewriter I think now. Yes.
1: Although if you had a phone call today you wouldn’t be.
Well I have, in actual fact I’ve been asked to do the second unit of Indiana Jones, Young Indiana Jones, but it’s going round the world and I think I’m a bit tired now. I haven’t said yes and I haven’t said no. I don’t think I will be, I feel a bit jaded at the moment.
1: Well, perhaps after you’ve had a little rest you might get restive again, you never know.
I just wish the film industry would buck up a bit, yeah.
1: Well, might have a change of government who would be a bit more interested in films.
Well, I still don’t think it would help very much. I’m afraid that I don’t think theAmericans will come back here.
1: Who’s your favourite technician of all the people you knew?
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They’re all my favourites. I don’t have a favourite.
1: That’s a very good answer. And who is the one you dislike most?
I did dislike Charlie Drake, who was an actor.
1: Everybody did.
The man was a pest. If you said black was black, he’d say it was white. He was a littleman that seemed to use his power over people in a nasty manner, but you see, you alwaysmeet those people coming up again. I don’t know what’s happened to Charlie Drake, it’ssuch a shame really, because I thought it was going to be a nice one. I did three pictures with him which was forced on me because I was under contract to a studio, and he was a difficult little man, I must say. I remember him as one of the pests in my life, but there arenot many people I don’t... I dislike really.
1: Generally the film industry is quite a friendly, sociable industry, everybody, at one time everybody used to know everybody else.
They always come to the fore if there’s something wrong, if you’re ill or anything, you always find that they always help, they’re very nice people. But really you’re on your own in the business and if you’re a woman it really is... it’s a man’s world, althoughwomen are creeping in now a bit, as directors. And I think, you know...
1: And cameramen. Camerawomen.
Yes, we had a woman focus, a woman clapper, we had it on The Alien. Alex Thomson, who was the cameraman on The Alien, his daughter, Chyna, was our clapper loader. Andshe’s very good too, she’s going on to focus and she’s very, very good. And works hard,carries heavy cases. She does a man’s job. She does, she’s very good.
1: Oh yes. As long as she doesn’t get caught in a darkroom on her own.
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Yes, and she’s very attractive, I might say.
1: Didn’t have those when I was... [laughter]
Exactly. Never mind, we did have laughs in the old days didn’t we?
1: Oh yes, we did. I suppose they still do have laughs. Not many though?
Not really. You must miss it though.
1: Oh, I do. Well, that’s why I’m so glad I’m back in the, doing this history project.
Yes, because you must miss it, because it’s the camaraderie. Do you miss it Len?
2: I do sometimes. Quite often in fact. And some days I get up, not so much now as I used to, and think, oh thank heavens I’m not working today, I feel awful, other days I feelgood, I think, oh I wish I was working, it would be lovely to go out and do something. In fact I have played around on 8mm just because I do miss it really, but then I get a bit sortof depressed when I, you know, you think it’s all over, it’s all gone, the parade’s gone by,you know, it certainly has gone by really. It is depressing.
But I mean you’ve worked on the best, I mean my favourite films are the old Hammer House of Horrors.
2: You like them do you?
I certainly do. And if they come on television I record them, because I think they were very well done, like the Carry Ons. They were all hard work and very well done and ifpeople would only look to see that we’ve made the best films in the world here inEngland.
[35:01]
1: Very true.
June Randall Page 22
June Randall Page 23Although the Americans do take the honour of having made them in America. But most
of them have been made here. All the Indiana Jones films have been made here.1: And again, the Kubrick films, the 2001 and all that.
All those films have been made here and lots... I can’t think of them at the moment, youthink there have been lots, we are the best. But there you go, what can you do?
1: Yes, because the trouble with the Elstree Studios is it is on valuable property land.
Exactly. The people in Borehamwood have to have another supermarket, dear. There’s only a Safeway’s, you’ve got to have another Tesco’s. But here they’ve pulled down ourbuilding, our beautiful studio. We had the best studio in the world, MGM. These are alltragedies as far as I’m concerned, utter tragedies, but that’s because I’m a supporter of theBritish film industry and it gets you nowhere.
1: Anyway, you’ve got memories.
I’ve got memories and that’s what I’ve got, and I’m happy to have those memories.
1: Good.
So, and I’m very glad to have done this little bit for the archives, Manny. I think that’s allI can say at the moment.
1: Thank you very much, June.
You’re welcome, Manny.[36:22 – end of recording]
