07/16/2024
Happy birthday to my mentor and friend, film historian DOUG MCCLELLAND (July 16, 1934 – December 25, 2002). He was born Douglas Parsons in Plainfield, New Jersey, and from childhood wanted to become a film critic. He began a personal journal in which he wrote his early reviews, starting with JUNGLE BOOK (1942), a movie he always loved. This dedication eventually led him to work as assistant theater editor at the NEWARK EVENING NEWS in 1952, at the time among the top 15 newspapers in the nation. He often mentioned the reviewer at THE NEWS, David Steinberg, as being his earliest, most important influence, “a tough, very tough, taskmaster,” who taught him much about the business. At THE NEWS Doug – now going by the name McClelland after his stepfather adopted him – wrote feature stories, movie reviews and did celebrity interviews. He always had colorful stories to tell about those he met: Kim Novak (who wore a sexy, revealing negligee as he nervously tried to ask her questions), Rosalind Russell, Polly Bergen, Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds, Peggy Ann Garner (who kept trying to feel him up), Joan Crawford, Jane Wyman, and countless others. His editor was very excited when they were able to get an interview with Judy Holliday. “Doug, this is going to be great! She isn’t like all those other empty-headed actresses, she’s smart and articulate.” When Doug got to the restaurant for the interview, he said that Holliday immediately covered her face with the menu and either responded “yes” or “no” or with grunts to all his questions. He was glad to get out of there, but “I had to pull that article out of nowhere, she gave me nothing.” He met Joan Crawford several times. On one occasion, he and a friend went to her house. Looking at her white rug and knowing what a clean freak Crawford was, Doug asked her if they should take their shoes off before entering. Crawford replied dismissively, “Don’t believe everything you read.” In later years he took care of his stepfather, who was very ill. When Doug was telephone-interviewing actor Cornel Wilde, his stepfather was none too happy that Doug was ignoring him, even for a little while. In the middle of the conversation, the stepfather suddenly blurted out, “Doug! Doug! Why did you p*e in my pants?!” Doug later laughed to me, “I know that Cornel had heard it, but he was too much of a gentleman to mention it.” In 1961, he became editor of the weekly RECORD WORLD (covering all aspects of showbiz), and continued with this until 1972, often contributing articles to the magazine as well. His film review in that publication for HELLO, DOLLY! (1969) was so scathing, Barbra Streisand herself complained to the publisher. After the call, Doug faced his publisher with trepidation, but was told, “Whatever you’re doing … keep doing it!” The stars who came in and out of his office were like a who’s who of show business, including those on their way up, and those on their way down. An interview with Judy Garland, then promoting her animated feature GAY PURR-EE (1962), was particularly sad. A popular DJ at the time rode a bus with the two and heckled and threw things at Garland as Doug tried to protect her. It’s safe to say that Doug met or talked with literally hundreds of celebrities in his lifetime. As editor of RECORD WORLD, he went to many parties in New York City. Sometimes, he confessed, he would position himself next to prostitutes – male and female – because they “had all the good dirt about Hollywood.” As an author, Doug wrote a total of eleven books; his first, THE UNKINDEST CUTS, was a groundbreaking volume, inspired by an incident on the set of MIRACLE IN THE RAIN (1956). He explained to me, “I was on the Central Park, New York, set to interview the female star of the film, Jane Wyman. The director put me in the background of one scene involving Jane and character actor Halliwell Hobbes, playing an old ship captain. I was supposed to be a businessman taking his lunch on the grass there behind the pair. Old Hobbes, however, had trouble remembering his lines and eventually the scene was cut from the film prior to release.” In addition to his books and newspaper work, Doug wrote for FILM FAN MONTHLY, SCREEN FACTS, FILMS IN REVIEW, AFTER DARK, HOLLYWOOD STUDIO MAGAZINE, CLASSIC IMAGES, FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, and all the other movie mags that came and went; he also wrote book reviews for THE ASBURY PARK PRESS. His favorite subjects were the B leading ladies (Ann Savage, Helen Walker, Jean Brooks), character actresses (Mabel Paige, Doro Merande, Renie Riano), and those he thought underappreciated (Eleanor Parker, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Viveca Lindfors, Ann Dvorak). He loved Jane Frazee (“the Judy Garland of Poverty Row”), Evelyn Keyes, Ann Sheridan, Betty Hutton, Evelyn Ankers (a good friend), Jeanne Crain, Ann Richards, Jennifer Jones, Constance Moore, and literally hundreds of others. His articles for FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, I thought, were among his best. His choices were novel (Stephanie Bachelor, Maris Wrixon, Nancy Kelly) and his writing was unparalleled. Doug claimed to sweat over every sentence and comma, but he was just being modest. He would just sit down and out the words would flow, on the same typewriter he used in 1952 at the NEWARK EVENING NEWS. (When the old typewriter would act up, he had a hammer ready to get it going again!) His humor was always evident in his pieces and his selection of words was exquisite. He was always a stickler when it came to his articles; he wanted to watch every movie, at least as many as he could, so he wouldn’t make a mistake. It was sound advice. I met him when I was in my twenties, not sure I could make my writing work. He was the first to believe in me, constantly encouraging me and finding something to praise even in my worst articles (and there were stinkers!). It was Doug who literally yelled at me to become book reviewer for CLASSIC IMAGES, even though I was unsure I could handle the job. When I did my first review, I got a series of nasty letters from the author of the book I panned. I was a little upset, but Doug was ecstatic. “Don’t worry about that guy! Write what you want; give your opinion no matter how much it hurts ‘em. Who are you trying to please? Why do you care? Who are they to you? Tell the truth!” With that, I let loose, and, boy, was he happy every time I wrote a bad review! “I like when you’re mean,” he told me. I cannot even fathom what my life would have been like without him giving me advice and taking such an interest in everything I did. Doug had an incredible knowledge of films; I’ve never known anyone who even came close. His conversations were filled with lively tidbits (many unprintable) he picked up during his long, distinguished career as a film writer. He could look at a movie and see things most of us miss, such as similarities to other films that I never noticed until he told me. He was so perceptive. He lived and breathed film. One week he bought more than ten movies from a video dealer. When I asked him how he was going to pay for all of them since he was on a tight budget, his response was pure Doug: “So I don’t pay the electric bill this week.” And who else would get excited spotting Ethelreda Leopold (the Bess Flowers of the blonde bombshell set) dancing by in a movie? He loved all kinds of movies, particularly those from the 1940s, and even if I watched something unspeakably bad (like, for instance, TWO IN A TAXI), invariably and enthusiastically, he would say, “I’d take a look.” And he meant it. He taught me, among other things, to form your own opinions, don’t rely on what’s already printed by other writers. Don’t be afraid to go against the popular (or unpopular) consensus. He was always driven to write about lesser-known actors and actresses. When he did his two-part article on Maris Wrixon, he was asked, “Why Maris?” and not Bette Davis. Ever the movie lover, Doug replied, “Maris needs it, Bette doesn’t.” Doug jokingly once said, “Even if I were to elope with Ann Savage or Constance Moore, I could hardly forget Laura, my fine friend.” Well, I’ll never forget Doug McClelland, the finest writer of film, ever, and one of my best friends. I miss him every day. © 2011 Laura Wagner
BOOKS:
THE UNKINDEST CUTS: THE SCISSORS AND THE CINEMA; SUSAN HAYWARD: THE DIVINE BITCH; DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (about THE WIZARD OF OZ); THE GOLDEN AGE OF B MOVIES; HOLLYWOOD ON RONALD REAGAN; HOLLYWOOD ON HOLLYWOOD; STARSPEAK: HOLLYWOOD ON EVERYTHING; BLACKFACE TO BLACKLIST: AL JOLSON, LARRY PARKS AND THE JOLSON STORY; HOLLYWOOD TALKS TURKEY; ELEANOR PARKER: THE WOMAN OF A THOUSAND FACES; and FORTIES FILM TALK.
