The Lady's a Loner and Likes It

In 1967 reporter Jack Ryan met with Inger Stevens in a bar in Utah, where she was shooting the film Firecreek. Inger was playing pool with the locals and holding her own in the game before she sat down to talk with Ryan about her tendency to live a life of solitude. Ryan wrote that "Inger smiles gently and speaks softly so that her ideas don't sound as harsh as they read...Inger's steely self-possession seems far less total, and you wonder whether it may be a thin shield rather than a complete attitude." Here is what Inger shared about her life in the interview:

On being a dancer:

At 16 I ran away to join burlesque. I never thought of it being bad, so, because I didn't think bad, nothing that happened to me was bad. I remember being asked to care for a drunken performer, sick and helpless. People said, "disgusting and shocking." I thought only that he was a sick man; nothing shocked or disgusted me because I could see nothing bad in the world.

On being frugal in spending:

I have no status symbols. Oh, I tore up some rosebushes at home for a sauna bath and pool, but I use them every morning, not just look at them. My Mercedes? Well, I squeezed the dealer down $500 from his bottom price, and my cars last me seven or eight years, so they are hardly luxuries. 

About her 2-year marriage to agent Anthony Soglio in the 1950's:

All I wish to say is that it left a lasting impression on me.

On her nearly 3-year battle with Paramount over her contract which ended with Inger going in debt to pay off contracts made by her former husband Anthony Soglio:

It was a nightmare but when it was over, I was a free woman in every sense of the word. I no longer needed anyone. I could laugh at problems that once would have made me so moody that I'd be afraid to be by myself. Now I'm alone a lot. People ask me if I'm lonely. I tell them I have my own small home, and I like its solitude. I have my own Mercedes to take long drives—alone. 

On traveling:

My favorite pastime is travel by slow freighters to strange ports—again alone. Am I afraid? Never—well, yes, once I was frightened off from visiting Marrakesh, but maybe I'll still visit it to see for myself. I'm planning freighter voyages to the Orient and the Greek Islands. It's better to travel alone unless you are with somebody very much a part of you, and there's nobody like that in my life. Yes, I'll do that soon. The Greek Islands? No, I'm saving them for my man, whenever I meet him. I'm not so independent to rule out marriage, but he'll have to be somebody you can think and communicate with. I want a marriage we can grow in. When I meet this man—then I'll sail the Greek Islands with him. Until then, I'm saving them. [When Ryan asked "what if he doesn't want to go to the Greek Islands?", Inger smiled and replied, "He will. He will."]

We know now that Inger was actually secretly married to producer Ike Jones from 1961 until her death. That marriage, kept secret because it was interracial and would've destroyed Inger's career at the time, was marked with a lot of separations in living arrangements and romantic arrangements and has been described as tumultuous by some. Knowing that Inger and Ike continued to be romantically involved with others and spent much of their marriage estranged, I don't know if Ike was the man she says she's holding out for in the interview. Perhaps, the smiling reply "He will. He will." was a sweet, secret acknowledgment to Ike of their future plans. I have wondered if interviews about her not being married include words or phrases that might not mean anything to the reporter or the public, but were a secret code between Ike and Inger...just my own speculations here. Interestingly, in Ike's obituary, it actually has a small quote about the two traveling. Friend and producer Bob Booker remarked:

They would to go the airport, walk up to the counter and say, ‘When’s the next flight and where is it going?’. They would disappear for a week.

I do believe that Inger was a loner throughout her adult life and enjoyed her solitude; she was conditioned to be independent after a traumatic childhood and I think she felt better protected on her own and in control. I'm always pleased to find interviews of hers; I know she is guarding some truths,  but she's shedding a good deal of light on her life as well.

Source:
Colker, David. "Ike Jones dies at 84; pioneering African American film producer." Los Angeles Times. October 11, 2014.
Ryan, Jack. "The Lady's a Loner and Likes It." The Kilgore News Herald Sun. August 27, 1967.

The Farmer's Daughter: The Speechmaker, Part 2

The Farmer's Daughter
Season 1, Episode 2: The Speechmaker, Part 2
Originally aired September 27, 1963

Episode 2 is a continuation of the first episode's events. Click here to read part 1.

We see Katy, sitting at a desk in her room at the YWCA, writing a letter to her mother swearing she will never work in Congressman Morley's home again. Katy (Inger Stevens) returns to the Morley home to collect her belongings and ends up getting in another heated argument with Congressman Morley (William Windom) as Grandmother Agatha (Cathleen Nesbitt) and Secretary Cooper (Philip Coolidge) are making bets as to whether Katy will return permanently.

Katy applies for travel to Congo to help children and has an interesting interview about it with an ever-humming, ever-twitchy, strange little Mr. Collins (Bob Jellison) representing the Oversea Corp. of Human Relations who tells her she must be recommended by Congressman Morley in order to be granted the position. Due to her latest fight with Mr. Morley, Katy assumes her chance for the Congo position is blown.

When Mr. Collins stops by the Morley house for a recommendation, the congressman forgets he is angry at Katy when asked to describe her. He runs on:

Katy is competent and she's beautiful and she's responsible and bright and she's beautiful. Well, she's fun and when things are low she's like a snowflake in the desert and she's beautiful.

The Farmer's Daughter writers certainly do not waste any time bringing the romantic feelings between Congressman Morley and Katy to the forefront of the series; a fact that spelled an earlier demise for the show than had they taken some time before showing us that attraction. That being said, the little smiles and sweet comments between the main characters are very exciting and pleasant to watch.

Again, Katy writes to her mother that she's very busy in Washington, D.C., and has a handsome man taking her to all the nightspots—but that is squashed by a fellow YWCA tenant who reveals that all that Katy is writing to her mother is a lie. Katy's been moping in her room since leaving the Morley residence. Just as Katy sets out on an actual date, the congressman visits her. He has completed her application for the Congo assignment but he also offers an alternate application, one to return as governess and take care of his family.

Katy chooses the latter and immediately saves the day when Congressman Caulfield arrives to reprimand Morley for the reclamation speech his son delivered in the first episode. Knowing the congressman's career is on the brink, Katy concocts a scheme and tells Caulfield that she completely agrees that the speech was inappropriate, but that it was all part of a bigger plan. Once Caulfield thinks Katy is in agreement with him, Katy shares that the congressman was clever enough to deliberately plant his stance on reclamation in his son's speech to test public reaction, and that he has been receiving tons of letters of support from people since then. Suddenly, Katy's meddling has turned what was viewed as political disaster into, as Caulfield puts it, the "neatest political maneuver."

Production Notes

I have a bound "Day out of Days" schedule for The Farmer's Daughter series that was owned by casting agent Eddie Foy, III. Mr. Foy bound the individual copies of these daily reports and the book includes all of seasons 1 and 2, and most of season 3. The report includes production number and title, producer, director, assistant director, schedule days, and date. The report also includes character, days of work, days idle, days total, start date and finish date. I will be including this information in all of my future episode summaries of The Farmer's Daughter.

Episodes 1 and 2 of the first season are combined in one report dated July 15, 1963.

Production # 3468 - The Speechmaker, I

Production # 3818 - The Speechmaker, II

Schedule Days: 2 (July 17-July 18, 1963)

Producer: Peter Kortner

Director: Don Taylor

Associate Director: Herb Wallerstein

Katy (Inger Stevens), Glen (William Windom), Agatha (Cathleen Nesbitt), Cooper (Philip Coolidge), and Collins (Bob Jellison) all worked both scheduled days of 7/17 and 7/18.

Steve (Mickey Sholdar-noted as a minor) and Danny (Rory O'Brien-also noted as a minor) both worked on the 17th only. Characters Sylvia, Tula, Sylvia, and Secretary are all noted just for one day of work. Although he played Congressman Caulfied in both episodes, Paul Hartman is not listed on the report.

I will be adding links to the episode summaries on my Farmer's Daughter page: click here!

Hang ‘Em High (1968)

Hang 'Em High is a 1968 western directed by Ted Post and starring Clint Eastwood. The film was a big success at the box office and, apart from a few critics who thought it a poor imitation of Italian westerns of its time, it was a critical success as well.

According to director Ted Post, Inger was hesitant at first to take the role since she was unfamiliar with Clint Eastwood's work. Soon that wasn't a problem. Post explained:

Well, as you know, Clint's not intimidating in any way. She began to like him very much as the days went on. Then, very, very much, etcetera. When we got to the love scene, they had already found their way together. At the end of the picture she came over to me and said, 'Anytime you do a picture with Clint and there's a part in it, call me.'

Cattle driver Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) survives a lynching by a mob that wrongly pins a crime on him. Cooper unknowingly purchased his cattle from a thief, but the group accuses him of being the thief and a murderer. The men steal his saddle and money before hanging him from a tree.

Cooper survives this incident and is cleared of any wrongdoing by Judge Fenton (Pat Hinkle) who then offers Cooper a job as a marshal. The film focuses on Cooper's work as a marshal as well as his hunt for the lynch mob that attempted to murder him.

Inger Stevens plays storeowner and widow Rachel Warren. Rachel first locks eyes with Cooper when she peers into a tumbleweed wagon full of prisoners. He has not yet been deemed innocent by Judge Fenton at this point.

Rachel takes her time silently circling the wagon, closely examining each man's face. It is clear that the man she hunts is not inside.

When we see her next, Rachel is again inspecting prisoners. The judge and officers allow Rachel to inspect all new prisoners, because she is desperately seeking the men who wronged her.

Rachel is let down and it is obvious she's been following this routine of wary hope for quite a long time. Cooper suggests that her behavior is strange and Rachel immediately takes offense. She responds, "We all have our ghosts, Marshal. You hunt your way and I’ll hunt mine."

During a public lynching of the actual rustlers, Cooper visits the local brothel and is there ambushed by some members of the mob. Rachel insists on going to the brothel to care for Cooper herself. She tends to his wounds and stands guard from a chair by the bed.

The madam warns Rachel that she is growing too attached to the marshal, by saying "...but one of these days he's gonna get better. Then you'll have a man on your hands."

Rachel is undeterred. She nurses Cooper back to health and takes the weak marshal on a picnic. He kisses her several times and she asks him to stop and then shares her story. Rachel was married to a doctor. They relocated from Denver because her husband wanted to go where doctors were most needed. As they sat by a fire at their camp, Rachel and her husband were approached by men who asked for food. The men then shot her husband and raped Rachel, as she says in a heart-rending speech, "they took me...and took me...and took me."

Cooper asks what Rachel will do if she never finds her attackers in the prison wagons or cells and she cannot answer. Since that awful event, Rachel's been consumed with bringing the men to justice.

The picnic is interrupted by a violent rainstorm so Rachel and an unwell Cooper seek shelter in a nearby shed. Rachel covers him with a blanket and flour sack, rubs his back and arms to combat his shivering, and finally lies down and holds him close to her.

When he awakes, Cooper gently kisses Rachel and they make love.

Time moves on. Rachel sees Marshal Cooper and meets him outside her store. She looks at him with eyes full of longing and hope for the future. Rachel says that since she met him she knows that she can let go of her ghosts and embrace life again. Cooper tells her that he doesn't know what comes next for him and rides off as the film ends. It's a bittersweet and appropriate ending for a western about a loner lawman, but I still yearned for him to invite sweet, dedicated Rachel to share his saddle and ride off into the sunset together.

Inger's performance in the role is often quiet but intense. As she does in so many of her performances, Inger says so much about her character in her eyes alone. Inger would've made a fantastic actress in silent films as well. She doesn't need words to convey her character's feelings or motivations, but when Inger delivers her lines it is slowly, thoughtfully. Each word and the pause before and after are meaningful.

Source:
Schickel, Richard. Clint Eastwood: A Biography. Vintage Books, 1997.

The New Interns (1964)

The New Interns is a 1964 drama that served as a sequel to the 1962 film The Interns. The movie stars a group of young talented actors whose careers would take off in later television and film roles. Cast includes Dean Jones, Barbara Eden, George Segal, Dawn Wells, and Inger Stevens. Telly Savalas, Stefanie Powers, Michael Callan, and Kaye Stevens reprise their roles from the first film.

The film plays very much like the medical television shows we see on television today and it was actually transformed into a television show called The Interns in the 1970's. Each intern deals with personal and professional dilemmas and, especially, romantic entanglements while they learn their craft.

There are spoilers about Inger's character and her story ahead so read at your own risk. (If you want to watch the movie and then come back, it was actually posted to Youtube 3 years ago and can be found here.)

Inger plays Nancy Terman and Nancy's story is the most heartbreaking and powerful in the film. I'm rewatching the film as I type and it is honestly difficult knowing how her story turns out.

Nancy is a new social worker who is still fragile and emotional when dealing with her first dying patient. When the patient asks when he will get to return home to his family, Nancy's face reveals that he will never be going home. He becomes hysterical when he realizes his illness is terminal and a distraught Nancy breaks down in the hospital. Intern Tony Parelli (George Segal) confronts her for upsetting his patient and tells her that his patient needs ¨professional care, not sloppy sentiment.¨

Later, Tony runs into Nancy in his old neighborhood. Nancy is paying a house call to her client and Tony apologizes for yelling at her at the hospital. They decide to go out for a drink, but are first accosted by a gang that Tony was once a member of as a teen. The three men threaten Tony and Nancy, but Tony later tells Nancy not to worry because ¨they were bored. Just looking for a few kicks.¨

But Tony is wrong. The gang holds a grudge for their former member-turned-respectable doctor and decide to hurt him by hurting Nancy, with whom Tony has fallen in love.

On a late night in the field, Nancy is alone and getting into her car when the three men grab her and force her into the backseat. They tell the terror-stricken Nancy that all three of them are going to have their way with her and the gang rape then occurs offscreen. The scene is brutal to watch because of Inger's eyes; you see the fight, then the panic, then the absolute realization of what is about to take place. It is powerfully acted.

Tony finds out about the rape when Nancy is admitted to the hospital with extreme physical injuries.

Soon, Tony is able to visit the healing Nancy. She is happy to see Tony and is smiling and making jokes. On another visit, Nancy puts on makeup and says she cannot change the past but she does not want to dwell on what happened, she wants to look to the future with him.

Nancy decides to go to one of the intern's parties (a baby shower with lots of booze). She's having a great time chatting with the other ladies, but the guests get drunker and rowdier. When a drunk man pulls Nancy onto the dance floor and chases her when she says no, Nancy is completely triggered. Reminded of the brutality of her rape, Nancy's eyes go vacant and her body limp. Dr. Considine (Michael Callan) sees this and gets her to the hospital.

After weeks of treatment, Nancy remains in a non-communicative state. She is non-verbal and non-responsive. The attending doctor writes Nancy and her recovery off completely. This scene infuriates me! The film's treatment of a rape victim is hard to watch for a modern viewer. The doctor blames Nancy's tenderness as the reason for her post-traumatic stress. He basically tells Tony that Nancy is a lost cause and that the rape is a minor issue; he insists that the major issue at play is that Nancy is unstable. I was shocked watching the scene on my first viewing and I'm just plain angry at the way Nancy is discussed and discarded on my second viewing. Here's what the attending doctor says:

Even if we could get her out of this catatonic state, she'd still require years of intense treatment to find out the real cause of her instability...Without going into a lengthy diagnosis, I think it's safe to say that Nancy is an unstable personality. She's one of those tender people who cannot deal with stress and pressures...Give her up, Tony. The prognosis is not good.

I want to scream at the screen, "She was traumatized! She's worth years of intense treatment! Help her!"

Despite this, Inger plays each of her scenes with vulnerability and sincerity. All of the other characters' storylines are much easier and enjoyable to watch (despite some parts that would not fly today concerning the male interns trying to seduce female interns) and the acting throughout is quite good. However, Inger's performance stands out as the most compelling and I highly recommend watching it. She blows you away and breaks your heart at the same time.