She – Nov 1956
Shy Dirk Bogarde
by Michael McGrath
A close-up of Britain’s best-loved film star who, at 35, is rich, successful but still a bachelor
The road was becoming quieter now as most of the Pinewood Studio workers had left for home. The two girls sat in the car opposite the studio gates and waited. As each car appeared at the entrance, they leaned forward expectantly, only to sink back in their seats again with a sigh of disappointment on discovering the vehicle’s occupants.
Several hours passed before their labours bore fruit. With an almost silent hum a sleek black and cream Bentley shot through the gates and along the country road past them.
‘That’s him. Quick! Get after him.’
Luck brought a couple of red traffic lights, and at the second stop they even managed to drive alongside the Bentley. The young man driving it pretended not to notice his attentive audience. In a matter of seconds they were on their way through the country again, then suddenly the Bentley made a sharp turn up a long drive through a field towards a palatial white house.
The young lady read the warning: Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted. ‘Oh, well. We’ve found out where he lives, dear. And didn’t he look wonderful at those lights. Come on, let’s go home and have a nice dream.’
That’s all true they told me the story themselves. They had been determined to see him in person. The drive had taken less than 20 minutes, but it was the most exciting 20 minutes they had ever spent. They had seen him at last when he wasn’t on the screen, and they would be talking about it for months.
The two young ladies in this incident shall remain nameless. The young man was Dirk Bogarde.
He dislikes publicity
It is only comparatively recently that the Rank Organization has realized that in Dirk Bogarde they have one of the most exciting screen personalities ever known in the British cinema. Dirk was for years considered off beat and different. Although he worked amazingly hard at perfecting characterizations for his pictures, he hardly ever lifted a finger to publicize himself to filmgoers.
He told Rank executives that he loathed making personal appearances and attending film premieres and festivals. They grinned and mumbled he’d get used to it. When he was invited to first nights he politely declined. When they insisted that he travel around the country doing ‘personals’ and getting to know people, he made a point of doing everything wrong and frowning at everybody. Before very long his bosses ceased to press any public appearances on him. But they gave knowing glances to each other which said, ‘Time will tell. He’ll realize the value of publicity when people start forgetting him.’
Quite a time has passed since Dirk stopped doing personals. He has never regretted his attitude about them, and has never lost any popularity by devoting his leisure hours to his country home. On the contrary, he has since become Britain’s biggest box office star-and to this day he still doesn’t care about publicity. Ask him his pet dislike and he’ll answer reporters. He’ll tell you he seldom reads about himself or his pictures, though he is always very interested to know how his films are faring with the public. And he devotes considerable time and money to see that all his fan mail is given proper attention.
Fans should keep their illusions
Dirk Bogarde today is a phenomenon. He enjoys the comforts that success as a film star can bring, but he makes his own rules concerning his responsibilities to his fans. He sincerely feels that if he gives good performances in good pictures, the public should be satisfied. His life outside studio hours is completely his own, and the mere thought of running round the country signing autographs for giggling girls he finds nauseating. Dirk is convinced that for most people, meeting their favourite film stars is a disillusioning business. And the last thing he wants to do is give anybody the chance to be disillusioned about him. The only place ardent Bogarde admirers are likely to find their idol is at film garden parties that are given in aid of charity.
Maybe it’s because Dirk is so unattainable that his followers go sometimes frighteningly wild whenever he comes within touching distance. One of the first opportunities that Northern filmgoers had of seeing him in person was in the play Summertime, that he took on tour last year before a highly successful London run. He was beseiged by excited crowds, who sometimes let their admiration get a little out of hand. So much was he mobbed on the way to theatres, that taxi drivers refused to carry him in case their cabs got damaged. Eventually Dirk had to use his £7,000 Bentley, which proved to be rather unfortunate, as overzealous admirers thought nothing of twisting off the headlights and removable parts in efforts to get a Bogarde souvenir. Dirk worried about the demonstrations, saying that this wasn’t at all the reaction he liked from admirers. He had already had a sample of how destructive some fans can be before the tour, when a party of schoolgirls descended on the grounds of his house and pulled up thousands of carefully cultivated daffodils.
Besides proving that he can cause a sensation when let loose in the streets, Summertime proved to a few people who needed convincing that Dirk Bogarde, as well as being a compelling screen personality, was also a very fine actor who doesn’t need a camera to magnify his qualities.
Although Dirk loves the theatre he very seldom finds a chance to return to it. Rank don’t leave him much spare time. No. sooner had he finished The Spanish Gardener, than he was rushed into Ill Met By Moonlight. And then, just to make sure he doesn’t catch his breath, they’ve got lined up Campbell’s Kingdom, from the book by Hammond Innes, that will have locations shot in Canada, to be followed by Doctor at Large. However, busy Mr. Bogarde never complains, and says cheerfully. ‘Well, I’ve got to keep the rent paid.’
How about Hollywood?
The question inevitably arises that as Dirk has been so successful, when will he be going to Hollywood to rise even higher, as so many of his co-stars have in the past few years. Dirk is non-committal. ‘I’ll go if they give me a good script with a good director like Elia Kazan or George Stevens,’ he explains. ‘Up to now, though, I’ve turned down all they’ve offered me as they all looked pretty bad. As it happened, none of them has been very successful, and several have been real flops.’ He mentioned The Egyptian and Diane.
But Hollywood has had an envious eye on Dirk for several years, and it can only be a matter of time before they find him the kind of picture he wants. However, stories of fabulous Hollywood fail to impress him. He finds all the satisfaction he needs from a fairly quiet life at his beautiful home near Amersham, reading and gardening; and, if he’s especially energetic, riding. Very few people are aware that it was Dirk who introduced Rex Harrison to Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, the writers of the new musical hit on Broadway, My Fair Lady. It was at Dirk’s picturesque home that the music for the show was first played.
Show business friends often come to spend the Sunday or weekend. Swimming in the pool is popular, and Dirk is a good host and won’t let his guests get bored.
Dirk strongly feels that we don’t do enough to entertain American stars who come to this country. One Sunday, Kay Kendall was driving through Hyde Park on the way to Dirk’s for the day. Who should she see sitting on the grass under a tree, quite alone studying a script but Gene Kelly, who was making a picture in England at that time. Kay could hardly believe her eyes, and ran to the nearest phone, told Dirk of her find, and asked if she should bring the lonely American down. ‘Of course you must bring him if he’ll come,’ Dirk replied, and Kay did. So well did Gene enjoy the day with his English friends, that he didn’t leave till the following Thursday.
Will he marry?
On the subject of love and marriage, Dirk told me that it was certainly biologically possible he would get married one day, but that he didn’t go for any special type of girl. ‘I’ll open the door one day and there she will be I hope probably covered in spots and cross-eyed, and I’ll be a goner.’
If this was a sure way of snaring Bogarde, I know quite a number of girls who would develop crossed eyes and spots tomorrow.
Perhaps the most appealing ingredient in Dirk’s personality today is that although he is Britain’s biggest money-making star, with a fan mail well up above everyone else’s, he is still continually worried about his career, and whether the public are enjoying his pictures. Maybe he can’t forget the now very-red-faced producers who told him when he was starting that his head was much too small and he was far too skinny to ever get anywhere in the film industry. He seems to feel that he’s on a very big bubble that might burst any moment, and that suddenly people will think he’s been fooling them. Very, very few stars have such humility.
