Chapter 27

We, in Europe, now think that the influx of migrants is a problem. In Germany, after the war, there were over seven and a half million German prisoners, as well as an influx of thousands more being shipped in from other theatres of war.

On top of that, there were tens of thousands of Displaced Persons, some fleeing the Soviets and the Soviet Zone. The British, alone, had two million prisoners in a space no bigger than Suffolk, on top of the local population. The speech was wishful thinking, at best.

Add to that the shortage of food, with it rationed to one and a half thousand calories a day, which reduced to eight hundred and fifty a day later on. It was a recipe for all sorts of skullduggery for a year or more, until rules changed, and things got more serious after the zones were unified in nineteen forty-seven. A year after that, the Soviets withdrew from the pact.

The troops, in general, had a wonderful time for a while. They could buy a packet of cigarettes for less than a shilling, and the sell them on the black market for up to a hundred and sixty Reichsmarks. They could then get four pounds for the Reichsmarks and buy more cigarettes. This was stopped in forty-six, by the introduction of vouchers in the canteens and NAAFI shops, but by that time the crooked ones had made a killing. Rations were swapped between armies, with the American Zone being supplied directly from home. The French Zone had its own problems, having to rebuild its own country at the same time.

In my film, the platoon milks the system, creating wealth which they send back to Britain to their families. They fraternise, they loot, they organise a brothel, they buy stolen goods to on sell to the Americans. As a platoon of motor and diesel engineers, they find themselves in charge of a Mixed Service Unit of Displaced Persons who are being used as drivers and general labourers. This gives them access to trucks and light vehicles.

Now, they could move things around with impunity, made even better when they get assigned a Civilian Labour Unit as well. These were units of German prisoners, who had been given a choice of spending some time in a concentration camp until they were processed or working as labourers in the clean-up and rebuilding. The platoon and the ranking German are of one mind, and together they increase the rate of illegal activities. They even hire out DPs and prisoners as temporary labour.

My story comes to a head as they start a side-line of transporting former SS and camp guards to ports, like Hamburg, where they can get on ships to escape justice. Eventually, the Military Police get wind of it and work to find the culprits. The arrests get made as four trucks, with the platoon as escort, are stopped to find ten wanted Germans and Poles, along with a load of contraband. The platoon are all court-marshalled and sent back to Britain. The Germans are sent to the camps to be processed, and the DP’s remain working to rebuild the country.

The final scene is in a pub, in Britain, some years later, where the six main members of the platoon (our major characters) are having a reunion, after spending the bulk of their sentences working in reconstruction crews, where they made more money. They are well-off, and now respected members of society with their money being used to buy cheap property. The meal is interrupted by the publican turning up the radio to hear the news that the King had died. They raise their glasses, and the ex-lieutenant says, “The King is dead. Long live the King!”

It would be a film with a dominantly male cast, with filming in Germany, and a mixture of European characters. I wrote it with the intention of using sub-titles, with the characters speaking their own language among themselves.

I finished the screenplay and printed off copies for the shareholders. When Jeff read it, he didn’t laugh, just gave me a hug and a kiss, telling me that I was a genius. He wanted one of the main characters, something I was sure that he could do now that he was fast becoming a box office attraction in his own right. ‘Tycoon’ was to be released in April and was getting good reviews. I couriered the screenplay to the shareholders and sat back to see what they thought.

It took a while, with a short break to go to New York for the premiere of ‘Tycoon’. It was the first time that I met the rest of the cast. They were certainly a stellar group and I saw my creation for the first time. It was very well produced, with the storm scenes quite believable. Some of the words had been changed to fit the American audience. Only one thing bothered me, and that was how Jeff as one of the crew, and Pamela, a mistress-in-waiting, looked like they were enjoying their roles a bit too much. After that, Jeff stayed in America to go on a promotional tour with the cast.

We had a meeting in May, with Kurt and Kym flying over. It took place in Jim’s office, with his backers present. David and Tony were up for directing and editing, as usual, Kurt wanted to be in it. This time, it was decided to approach one of the bigger British studios with the story, to see if we could do a similar deal as ‘Tycoon’. Horatio offered to make the approaches, as long as I went with him to the meetings.

I joined Tony and Cecil scouting preliminary locations in Germany for three weeks. We came back to join Horace at the office of one of the bigger British studios, with a strong catalogue of war films. They were happy with making ‘Occupation’ and our offer of technical assistance and the screenplay, for a four percent part of the box office was negotiated. We would supply the directing and cinematography crews, locations, and some casting.

It was a good deal all round, and we left with ink drying on contracts. This was one that I wasn’t going to sit in the back room on. We had enough money behind us to sign on the best crews that we had and put them up in decent hotels when we were ready to film. Our location scouting had put us ahead of the game, and we just needed to get a good cast.

Eric was asked to play the C.O., with some scenes after the original parade ground address. Kurt was up for an American officer. Jack was the lieutenant and we had some of the studio stars, as well as Younger Agency clients, for the rest of the English. We had Germans and Poles for authenticity and arranged with a collector of military vehicles for some trucks. Things like tanks were only seen in backgrounds. I sent a message to Jeff about parts, and he said that he had been contracted to be in an American production as soon as the promotional tour finished, so would stay there for the moment.

I had a visit from Agnes, who showed me some pictures of why he was keen to stay. One showed Jeff and Pamela in a snogging session outside a restaurant while they were waiting for a cab. Agnes told me that she had written evidence that they were sharing a suite at the hotels. She had more pictures. I wasn’t surprised, after seeing the heat between the two of them in the film. She wanted to know if I had anything that I wanted to say.

“Just one thing, Agnes. Jeff is still my husband and will remain my husband until he asks for a divorce. He is now a movie star in his own right and is worth enough money to buy them a place in America to live in, should they decide to stay together. When he does, I’ll have an address where I can send his things. If you come up with evidence that she is pregnant, I will be the one to file for divorce.”

When she had left, I went to the bedroom to lay on the bed and have a good cry. I then took his pyjamas from under his pillow and went through to the kitchen where I startled Ruth by borrowing her kitchen scissors and cutting them into small pieces. It was merely a gesture, but it allowed me to start thinking straight. Ruth didn’t need to say anything, but her look of support was enough. I suppose that a lot of it was my fault for getting him into films. As a couple of friends, we hit it off. As a pair of stars, though, it became complicated.

I wondered how much of it was him wanting to be a father, seeing that I wasn’t any good in that way. I went back into the bedroom, with a few suitcases, and carefully packed his things. I even boxed his awards that were on show in the lounge. I then asked Colin to get Jeff’s Audi opened and to help me load all of his things in it. We parked it in the space over the hoist so that it was out of the way. Jeff was no longer ‘in the building’. I would need to do something about his things in Valencia and Palma, sometime in the future.

The filming of ‘Occupation’ would start in the following March, so that we had authentic weather for the outside shots. That meant that David, Tony, and Cecil could fine tune the locations, and find good interiors for the few inside ones. There were still British troops stationed in Germany, mainly in NATO training roles, so we could use the few older buildings that were dotted around.

I decided that I was going to have a long break, in the villa near Valencia. I took Jacquie and Bronte with me, closing the house and letting Colin, Ruth, Larry, and Brendon have the apartment in Palma for a change. I started to write a story about an airline stewardess who fell into a movie film and became famous, marrying her old school friend and being happy until he cheated on her. I got some way into that before putting it aside to see how it ended.

It ended when Jacquie showed me some pictures that Agnes had sent, showing Pamela with a distinct baby bump. I called Horatio and asked him to start the divorce proceedings, and that I would fly home to sign the papers. Jacquie came with me. I had an extra case with Jeff’s things from the villa. When we got home, we put them in his Audi.

The next day, we went into London in my car, still with very little mileage on the clock. The signing of the documents didn’t take very long but discussing the success of ‘Tycoon’ took a while longer. It had been breaking records from the first weekend, and our share of the takings was substantial. We also discussed Jeff’s involvement as a shareholder, without any input. It was decided that Horatio would write a letter, pointing out that if he has no more input, the rest of the shareholders will buy out his share at the original value. Jeff could think what he liked about the reasons, but a quick ring around the others all agreed. When I thought back, he hadn’t actually put any money up front.

I also arranged that one of the other shareholders would collect any awards I may win. Kurt would be attending, as well as Tony and David. Jacquie and I flew back to Valencia for the rest of the year and into the next. I spent a bit of time reading screenplays, rather than writing them. Jim had given me six that the British studio were looking at. They wanted me as the leading lady in all six. Three were linked. They were about an ordinary girl who joins a dramatic group and becomes a star in her local area, catching the eye of an agent. The end of the first film sees her in a big West End Production and getting awards. The second film had her cast in movies, and her marriage to the agent, with that one ending with her about to have a baby.

The third film is a complete turn-around. The baby was stillborn, and she spirals into depression. She still makes hit films but is kept going by an increasing reliance on drugs. Her marriage falls apart and her star wanes. She ends up as a producer in another small drama group, with most of the actors in the detox group she now attends.

The studio wanted to make all three as a single project, and Jim had said that Tony and David would be part of it if I decided to come on board. The rest of the cast would be from the studio’s own stable, some of them would be working on ‘Occupation’. It was a compelling story, with a lot of twists and turns. I rang Jim, in January, to tell him that I was very interested, and agreed with the up-front payment they had offered.

I won the screenplay award in the BAFTAs and the Oscars but didn’t attend. ‘Tycoon’ almost swept the board in the Oscars. I noticed that Jeff had picked up the Supporting Actor. I sent him a congratulatory text. His reply said that he was sorry about the way things had turned out, and that someone would be coming to the house to collect his things.

I spoke to Colin at the apartment, asking him to pack any of Jeff’s things that he could find, and to bring the case home with him. I told him that we would open the house in the first week of March. They flew from Palma to Valencia, and we joined them on the flight back to Britain. On the way I put everyone on the same page, and we arrived home ready for a busy year. We were home for three weeks when we had a message that someone was coming to collect Jeff’s things. We pulled the car out of the garage and just had to give them the keys and the paperwork. It made the van they had brought a little superfluous, as all the larger items that he originally brought to the house had gone out when we re-organised the gym.

I decided that my own A5 was now old enough to trade in, organising an A4 on lease. I would be spending time in Germany and then more time in the studio. The studio was north of London, so that I would have to find a hotel nearby if there was any extended days of filming. I threw myself into the work to keep my mind occupied. My part in the making of ‘Occupation’ was finished fairly quickly, with us having a meeting of all the cast and telling them what their parts entailed. I wanted the platoon to be shifty, the Germans to be haughty and the DPs to be cowed, yet canny.

They got the gist and things went well after that. It wasn’t a film that put anyone on a pedestal but was meant to be one where the ensemble was the star. It did work out that way, although the officers and NCOs had more dialogue, and I left them to it as I went back to make my first picture in the trilogy. It would be my first picture without my friends around to help. A new director and crew was daunting, but I had made enough films now to know what to do.

We made ‘Kathleen Cary, Drama Queen’ that year, to be released in the next year. ‘Occupation’ was also finished that year, so, for the first time, I would have two films up for awards the year after. We went into the winter season at the house. We stayed at home over the festive season, and I went off to film ‘Kathleen Cary, Film Star’ early the next year. That one was a little more complicated and took all that summer. By that time, ‘Occupation’ was doing well in the cinemas and the shareholders were getting income.

I was off on a U.K. tour for ‘Drama Queen’ when I met Adrian. He was an owner of an independent cinema in Bristol. It was funny, when we first met, as he was a member of the Fan Club and was almost tongue-tied. It didn’t take long before he realised that I was just another person and I stayed in Bristol for a week, at various events, with him taking me to lunch on a few days.

It was strange, being dined by another man. After Roger and Jeff, I had become a bit reclusive, but he made me laugh. I went along to a matinee showing and it was a treat for the audience when he stood me up, in the stalls, and announced that they had just watched me on the screen. We had a good half hour talking to the customers. I met some nice people. Adrian and I swapped phone numbers, as well as some saliva.

It also turned out that his family owned a range of independent cinemas around the country, and Adrian had a Cessna that he used to do the rounds, now and then. The jewel in the crown was the CineWorld in Crawley, a multiplex with a leisure complex. He rang me to tell me that he was flying into the airfield at Redhill, and that he normally hired a car. It was, he said, a lot cheaper than landing at the bigger airport at Gatwick. I told him that I would pick him up.

I drove my Audi to Redhill and sat to watch the planes for a while. I went into the main office building to ask about courses in flying. When Adrian landed, it turned out that he was a regular, and well known by the guy I had been speaking to. I drove Adrian into Crawley, and explored the Centre while he did what he had to do. We had lunch with his Centre manager and then we went back to Redhill. He took me for a flight in his Cessna, down to the coast and along the beaches until we turned to go back to Redhill. Along the coast, he handed me the control and I tried some gentle turns. I was hooked!

When we landed, I asked him if he was in a hurry to go back to Bristol. He smiled and said that he was mine for a couple of days. He secured his plane and I drove him home. Jacquie had met him during the promotion tour, so he was introduced to the others. Ruth gave me a wink and said that she had some oysters for a seafood cocktail entrée. Whatever the old wives say about oysters, these worked, twice.

During our pillow talk, I revealed that my father had flown Typhoons and Tornados and that I had always wanted to fly. Being cabin crew was enough, at the time, but I thought that I could now find the time to take classes. We went back to Redhill the next day, and I signed on for a test flight with an instructor, to see if I had a chance. Adrian waited while I was in the air.

Ben, the instructor, took us up, then got me to take the controls, telling me to make turns, climb, descend, and then climb again with a circular movement, like they use with gliders. All the time he was asking me where we were, and I could tell him the road numbers we were passing over. After some ‘S’ turns, he asked me which way we should go to head back to the airfield. I pointed off to the right and he nodded.

“Take us there, please. I’ll take over when we reach the landing approach. I have to tell you that you’re a natural. We can have you with a restricted licence inside a couple of months.”

He allowed me to keep my hands and feet on the controls as he took us down. I could feel every movement as he did so. When we got out, he took me into the office where Adrian was waiting.

“How did she go, Ben?”

“Daughter of a fighter pilot, Adrian. How would you think. She’ll be flying formation with you inside three months.”

I didn’t know what to make of that comment, so let it slide. I wasn’t about to film the third film of the trilogy until early the following year, so signed up for the course, there and then. I felt more alive than I had been for some time. By the time I took Adrian back to his plane, he was almost a member of the family, and turned out to be an anime fan, so would have long conversations with Bronte that was so far over my head it wasn’t funny.

I went flying nearly every day, and also spent a lot of time in the classroom. When it came to navigation, I found out that my father had been speaking rubbish. It was either that, or that I had become a lot brighter since those days. There were a few times that I would go to Redhill and fly off with Adrian to visit the other cinemas, with him happy with me taking the controls. I still had the knack of knowing where I was when I had looked at a map and was able to factor in the flying speed.

We would stay in hotels and make love into the early hours. I asked him if he would like to spend Christmas with me in the apartment in Palma. That year, all the others went to Valencia, while we flew his Cessna to Palma, with a couple of fuelling stops along the way. There was a light aircraft airfield not far from the city of Palma. We hired a car to go to the apartment, where we kept ourselves to ourselves, and then took walks along the beach.

Jacquie called me to tell me that both ‘Drama Queen’ and ‘Occupation’ were in the running for both the Globes and BAFTAs. After Christmas, we took a commercial flight to London, stayed long enough to be outfitted for the Globes, and then flew to Los Angeles. The Awards night was interesting, with me there as a star, with Adrian as my plus one. We went to a couple of parties beforehand, so that he could get to meet some of the people I hadn’t seen for a couple of years.

I picked up the Screenplay Globe for ‘Occupation’, as well as the Best Actress Globe for ‘Drama Queen.’ ‘Occupation’ took the Directing, Cinematography and Best Picture Globes. Eric added to his growing collection with the Supporting Actor Globe. Jeff didn’t attend. He wasn’t nominated for anything, this year. Pamela was, though, with another actor on her arm.

We didn’t stay long at the after-party and flew back to London the next day. We stayed at the house, alone, until the BAFTAs, where ‘Occupation’ took the Best Film, Direction, Cinematography, and Screenplay. I got the Best Actress for ‘Drama Queen’, which also got the Most Outstanding British Film.

Jacquie had told me that I wasn’t nominated for the Actress Oscar but was in the running for the screenplay of ‘Occupation’. There would be a big group going to that one and I asked if someone could get mine for me. I wasn’t surprised that a decent British film wasn’t considered. Leaving all the awards at the house, we flew back to Palma to continue our time alone.

We discussed things, and Adrian decided that he would put on a special Julia Leigh week, showing my films, a different one each night. I said that I would bring the various awards, as long as he arranged proper security. By the time he had arranged it, everyone was home. I had soloed and had bought my own Cessna. When I arrived at Redhill, Ben was there to help me load up my case and the boxes of awards.

“What on earth are in these, Julia, they’re heavy?”

“Globes, BAFTAs and Oscars, Ben. They’ll be on show at the cinema in Bristol, a bit of a surprise for the audience during ‘Leigh Week’.”

The next week, we worked through my films, in order of production, with the Saturday night being a surprise showing of ‘Kathleen Cary, Film Star’. On Monday, Adrian and I flew in a loose formation back to Redhill, where he helped me load up the cases and I drove us back to the house.

Marianne Gregory © 2024