STACK #157 Nov 2017

EXTRAS FEATURE

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CHATEAU MARMONT 8221 Sunset Boulevard HISTORY The of Part 3

Rebel Without a Cause  rehearsal at the Marmont. Nicholas Ray on the left lighting a cigarette; James Dean in front of the TV; Nick Adams far right next to Natalie Wood

and improvisations he injected into his characterisation of a juvenile delinquent totally mesmerised Nicholas Ray. So much so that he began discussing with the young actor other film projects he would like to undertake with him. But they would never come to fruition. On September 30th, 1955, shortly after completing Giant , Dean drove his silver Porsche Spyder from LA to compete in a road race at

D irector Nicholas Ray, a protégé of from the sultry actress Gloria Grahame in 1952, Ray took up permanent residency at the hotel. Later, when four freestanding bungalows were built in the grounds of the Marmont, Ray immediately occupied one of them. Surrounded by tall pine and eucalyptus trees and backing onto the hotel’s discreet oval swimming pool, Ray told his friends that it was like inhabiting a grand Hollywood home without all the problems of owning one. In early 1955 Ray used his rented Marmont bungalow for rehearsals for his forthcoming filmmaker, Elia Kazan, adored living at Chateau Marmont. Following his divorce

movie , Rebel Without a Cause.  It became a second home for the film’s young cast, which included Dennis Hopper, Nick Adams, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood and the moody James Dean. Screenwriter Stewart Stern would state, “During those early readings of the script, Nick Ray enthroned himself as guru at Chateau Marmont.” However, Ray crossed the line between guru and lover when he began an illicit affair with the underaged Natalie Wood, who, after rehearsals, would stay with him overnight at the Marmont. On the Warner Bros. film set, James Dean’s style of method acting impressed all of the cast and crew. The intense emotion

Salinas, California. He never made it. On Route 46 his car collided with a Ford coupe, killing him instantly. Three weeks later, Rebel Without a Cause was released. The film, combined with his untimely death, turned James Dean into a cultural icon. In the Spring of 1956, Montgomery Clift – described as “the most beautiful man in movies”– and his best friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, were half way through shooting the MGM Civil War melodrama Raintree County . On his way home, after attending a dinner party at Miss Taylor’s house in Coldwater Canyon, Clift wrapped his car around a telegraph pole. Taylor arrived at the accident shortly after to find her actor friend bloodied almost beyond recognition. His face was so swollen, his eyes had disappeared and his mouth was ripped apart. She quickly realised he was choking and thrust her hand down his throat and removed several teeth which were blocking his windpipe. 16-year-old Natalie Wood, James Dean and director Nicholas Ray on the Warner Bros. set of Rebel Without a Cause

One of the Marmont’s bungalows situated in the grounds of the hotel

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NOVEMBER 2017

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