Tyrone Power I: Q&A with Maria Ciaccia
Tyrone Power was a Fox contract player for nearly two decades. Were there any roles he wanted to get — whether at the studio or elsewhere — but that went to someone else? Any projects he wanted Darryl F. Zanuck to pursue, but that never came to fruition?
You name it, he lost out on it. Zanuck refused to lend him out after Marie Antoinette because he had what amounted to a supporting role, and he felt that MGM had used him unfairly; however, Norma Shearer had demanded him. He was offered the role of Parris in Kings Row; Zanuck refused to loan him out. [Robert Cummings got the part.] Supposedly he was to do Golden Boy [William Holden played the title role]; instead of loaning him out, Zanuck brought director Rouben Mamoulian to 20th for Power.
He was also up for Ashley in Gone with the Wind; Shearer wanted him for a film she was to produce in the '40s; again, no go. You have to figure that as the #2 star in the world, there were many offers. He was scheduled for How Green Was My Valley, but the role he was to play was cut.
While the war was still on, he tried to negotiate a new contract for one film a year and the ability to work outside the studio, but the studio played hardball and he was forced to re-sign. After all, none of those returning stars had any idea what they were coming back to, and Power was told (and I'm sure others were told the same thing): the studios were busy grooming new people and if they weren't happy with their contracts, they could go elsewhere.
Following an initially successful comeback after World War II, Power's career faltered in the late 1940s and early 1950s. What happened? Had Fox suddenly lost interest now that they had Gregory Peck, or …?
No, Power is the one who lost interest. He left Hollywood after Zanuck pulled Nightmare Alley from distribution and basically finished off his contract in Europe. He did Mister Roberts in London, toured in John Brown's Body — he turned to the theater. He even refused From Here to Eternity to do a play. He was one of Harry Cohn's favorite actors, and Cohn had wanted him for lots of things. What Power wanted to do ultimately was a film a year, and that's what he did, as soon as he was able to dump Fox.
Did Tyrone Power ever say which film and/or performance was his favorite? And why? Do you have a personal favorite Tyrone Power performance and/or movie?
His favorite film was Nightmare Alley and the part of Stan in that was his favorite part. He was very proud of having done Blood and Sand and Witness for the Prosecution (above). He was only proud of four films, he said: the aforementioned three films, plus Abandon Ship / Seven Waves Away. I assume Mark of Zorro was another favorite, also This Above All and The Long Gray Line. It's a shame he didn't live because both Billy Wilder and John Ford would have used him again.
My own favorite is Nightmare Alley, but I also love The Rains Came and The Razor's Edge. I like most of them. I'll be honest and say I could do without Pony Soldier, That Wonderful Urge, and Untamed. I chose two of my favorites, Cafe Metropole and Love is News for the second Tyrone Power box set.
By the way, Nightmare Alley is great!