"Well, that carpet...if anyone can survive that carpet..." - Katharine Hepburn surveying the set of "The Dick Cavett Show"
The Dick Cavett Show: Hollywood Greats DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
Attention fans of classic Hollywood film: if you plan on watching The Dick Cavett Show: Hollywood Greats - and you should - then be sure to clear your schedule for at least fourteen hours. Packed with a galaxy of Tinseltown stars (Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Bette Davis, Kirk Douglas, Katharine Hepburn, Groucho Marx, Robert Mitchum, Debbie Reynolds) and star makers (Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Mel Brooks, Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Orson Welles), this collection is so intriguing that you might be tempted to watch the entire thing in one sitting.
The jewel of the collection is a two part interview with Katharine Hepburn that originally aired on October 2 and 3, 1973. Hepburn had never done television before, and she frankly wasn't sure she wanted to start now with this Dick Cavett fellow, even if other people said he was the best interviewer around. She decided that she would visit Cavett's set to acquaint herself with the studio and with the host. Unbeknownst to Hepburn, the cameras were rolling as she critiqued the carpet, the paint color, and the flimsy table that stood in front of the guest chair. After personally swapping out the table for one that would be sturdy enough to allow her to prop up her feet, Hepburn agreed to be interviewed - as long as the interview was conducted right then and there. No audience, no band, no makeup - just Hepburn, Cavett, the cameras, and those awful tables. What followed was a mammoth conversation that, when combined with footage of the star's studio tour, provided enough material for two episodes of the ninety minute ABC late night series The Dick Cavett Show.
During this landmark interview, Hepburn is everything we would expect her to be: regal, yet down to earth; artificial, yet totally natural; haughty, yet somehow unpretentious. "Don't tell me what's wrong - just fix it" she clucks to a stagehand while almost simultaneously offering to bring in a carpet from home to help cover up the set's deficiencies. She is never less than fascinating, whether talking about her youthful ventures into cat-burgling, her career ups and downs, or the fact that until his death in 1962 her father collected her salary and gave her an allowance.
Hepburn makes a perfect counterpoint to Bette Davis. The two have much in common. They both gained fame at the same time. Both were quick to speak their minds and found themselves fighting against the studio system. Yet while Hepburn exudes a casual elegance throughout her interview, the chain smoking, blunt spoken Davis often comes across as brittle.
Robert Mitchum proves to be both sexy and funny in his conversation with Cavett. Absentmindedly flicking his cigarette lighter open and closed, he somehow manages to swagger even while sitting. He nonchalantly discusses his pre-stardom life in a Georgia chain gang ("It was all we had - we called it home"), the reason he would never go into politics ("I have vices enough"), the key to a thirty year marriage ("Deviousness"), and his days of working with ill-tempered horses with "piano key teeth" in old Hopalong Cassidy flicks.
The episode featuring Fred Astaire contains more music than talk. Fans of the hoofer will thrill, however, at the jazzy number he performs near the end of the show. A randy Groucho Marx makes fellow guest Debbie Reynolds into the butt of his very off color jokes. Reynolds herself is perky yet flinty. Just try not to think of Postcards from the Edge, Carrie Fisher's roman a clef novel about a Hollywood diva when watching this interview. Joining Marx and Reynolds onstage are Laugh-In's Dan Rowan and Marx's "secretary" Erin Fleming. Kirk Douglas proves to be immensely likeable even when his cleft chin is covered by a beard. Brando, in the middle of his obsession with Native Americans, shares the stage with a coterie of tribal leaders and officials.
The directors are just as entertaining as the stars. Orson Welles is playful and charming, relating stories in his instantly recognizable voice while dropping cigar ash on the front of his black shirt. At one point, he takes over the show, impishly asking Cavett questions.
Alfred Hitchcock's mordant sense of humor really comes through in his interview. He tells a story about how he once threw a party where all of the food was dyed blue - blue chicken, blue water, blue bread - just to see if any of his guests would ask why. He also hired an elderly woman to "crash" his wife's birthday party at a fancy Hollywood eatery.
John Huston speaks lovingly of working with Humphrey Bogart, saying that "he was the first choice for all the pictures I did with him and is still my first choice in pictures...I only wish he were here to do today." The irony that Huston heartily puffs away on a giant cigar while eulogizing Bogart and writer James Agee (The African Queen), both of whom died from smoking-related illnesses is hard to miss.
Finally, old Hollywood meets new when directors Robert Altman (M*A*S*H), Mel Brooks (The Producers), Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show), and Frank Capra (It's a Wonderful Life) appear together in a single episode. Altman, who seems soft spoken and shy here, was a hot new film director (even though he had worked in Hollywood for years). Brooks - as outrageous as one would imagine - was also a Hollywood vet, but had directed only two films when he appeared here. Former movie critic Bogdanovich also had only two films under his belt. Capra tells a story about how he "fixed" the classic film Lost Horizon after a disastrous preview by simply burning the first two reels. The conversation between these auteurs is often lively and fun.
"Conversation" really is the key to the success of this set. When celebrities appear on talk shows today, they are merely there to hawk their latest film or TV show, often giving the exact same sound bites on several different shows. None of Cavett's guests are there to sell anything, though. They are on the show to converse about film. It's hard to imagine many of today's stars being able to speak eloquently and passionately about their craft for sixty minutes straight. Most of the "Hollywood Greats" featured here are from an era the likes of which we'll never see again, so get some popcorn, settle in front of your TV, and get ready for a lesson in true class and style.
The twelve episodes that make up The Dick Cavett Show: Hollywood Greats are divided onto four discs. The discs are housed in a foldout case decorated with stills of Cavett. One of the panels lists the episode dates, guests, and bonus materials found on each disc. Unfortunately, the discs themselves are plain white. Printing the names of the guests on the individual discs would have been a simple yet welcome touch allowing fans to more easily find their favorite episodes. A folder panel holds a booklet that includes a written introduction by Cavett, a short essay by Turner Classic Movies' host Robert Osborne, photographs, and production notes about each episode.
The simple full-motion menus employ clips from the episodes set to the show's theme song. Viewers can choose to play all episodes on each disc consecutively or individually. There are no scene selection menus, but chapter stops are included at each commercial break.
