THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD

I can't remember for sure but I think I posted something 3 or 4 years ago but this is pic my cousin (who still lives out west) sent me recently.  I worked on this movie in 1962 and 1963 in the Production Office as a 17 year old kid looking for adventure.  Look closely at the center of the photo and you can see Max von Sydow, a Swedish actor portraying Jesus in the film directed by George Stevens Productions.  The set is the "City of Jerusalem" built in southern Utah and is now under water after completion of the Glen Canyon Damn on the Colorado River.  I have no way of knowing but my Mom could conceivably be in this still image taken from a Arizona Highway publication but I prefer to believe she is!

Given Easter is upon us I thought it wholly (no pun intended) appropriate to post!

https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-D9ik4WY47CnEDS1grvwMn11ToSAZf428fkwKmBiY7zS2kX4THiVJZvOsk4vO-8sJl4kp-hhbtXJHCrCA_sodPg/messages/@.id==ALmNhlkR6XzRXLjPFwJpMEqZHb0/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appId=YMailNorrinLaunch

Happy Easter Everyone!


George Stevens did many takes of John Wayne's single line, "Truly, this man was the Son of God." A rumor has long persisted that at one stage, Stevens pleaded with Wayne to show more emotion, an overwhelming sense of awe. During the next take, Wayne changed the line to, "Aw, truly this man was the Son of God."

In his diaries, Charlton Heston says that when he filmed the baptism scene with Max von Sydow that if the river Jordan had been as cold as Pyramid Lake where they shot the sequence, Christianity would never had gotten off the ground.

In his career, Max von Sydow has played Jesus, Satan, and was the title character in The Exorcist (1973).

Max Avon Sydow, though playing Jesus was actually an avowed atheist



https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059245/trivia

Sadly, your link didn't work for me, knot, but thanks for sharing the memories. I think I do recall your posting something about working in movies, and remember being impressed!

RealLindaL wrote:Sadly, your link didn't work for me, knot, but thanks for sharing the memories.  I think I do recall your posting something about working in movies, and remember being impressed!

Didn't work for me but it's nice to know there are a couple of movie people on this forum.

RealLindaL wrote:Sadly, your link didn't work for me, knot, but thanks for sharing the memories.  I think I do recall your posting something about working in movies, and remember being impressed!

Darn it . . . . don't understand . . . . it works fine for me . . . . put cursor on link and click . . . . . boom, pic is up. . . . . I'm bummed now, sorry!

Telstar wrote:
Happy Easter Everyone!


George Stevens did many takes of John Wayne's single line, "Truly, this man was the Son of God." A rumor has long persisted that at one stage, Stevens pleaded with Wayne to show more emotion, an overwhelming sense of awe. During the next take, Wayne changed the line to, "Aw, truly this man was the Son of God."

In his diaries, Charlton Heston says that when he filmed the baptism scene with Max von Sydow that if the river Jordan had been as cold as Pyramid Lake where they shot the sequence, Christianity would never had gotten off the ground.

In his career, Max von Sydow has played Jesus, Satan, and was the title character in The Exorcist (1973).

Max Avon Sydow, though playing Jesus was actually an avowed atheist



https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059245/trivia

Interesting Telstar, John Wayne was one of the 'stars'with whom I had no interaction whatsoever as the scenes I would know about were on location in northern AZ and southern UT. The scenes you refer to were all interior shots done at Desilu Studios in Culver City.

My recollection of Mr. Heston was he seemed to be the consummate professional, he did not hang out at the production office and we never had the occasion to even speak. I remember a rumor circulating around him, however, that the company helicopter would be made available for use of Mr. Heston's wife when she visited the location. The fly in the ointment was George Stevens Productions' insurance policy did not cover any liability for Mrs. Heston . . . . . in the end the company transported her at her request.

I've always hated hearing about John Wayne's political beliefs and racial views, because he was a big hero to me when I was a little girl. I loved his westerns, and was lucky enough to meet him and have my picture, along with both my brothers, taken with him when he made Wings of Eagles out at P'cola NAS. In the picture he has his hands on our shoulders and is wearing a very handsome Naval uniform. He played a character named "Spig" Weed in that movie. My dad worked at the base and took us out of school one day to go see Maureen O'Hara (dad's favorite actress) and John Wayne, if we could only get close enough. During a break my dad walked right up to him and asked him for an autograph and if he'd take a photo with us kids. He was extremely nice, asked my dad what he did for a living, I was in total awe. I still have the picture and the autograph. We also got a good picture of Ms OHara, and my oldest brother got John Ford's autograph. Ford said very few people ever asked him for his autograph, nobody paid attention to the director. I later learned that Ford was a spy for the US during WWII. Pretty impressive. So , no matter what bad stuff I hear about John Wayne, that's my memory of him-him actually seeming interested in what my dad did for a living.

That's funny. I don't have any television up north yet this year. I ran to town for supplies and saw his true grit in a bin. I have the new one already. Watched it after dinner tonight. JW was fantastic in that.