Having just seen Hollywoodland (fairly flawed but entertaining film), my brother was looking around online trying to find out how many innaccuracied the film presented, and he actually found in the WIKI article the most compelling evidence agains George "Superman" Reeves commiting suicide that I've heard. Read the following remembering the main reason he was supposed to have killed himself was due to the failure of his career.
That's right. Reeves was filming for perhaps the best known director in Hollywood. How on earth could he be despondant about a career that led him to filming with Hitch?
And think of this - how shocking would Psycho be with first Janet Leigh being killed, then heroic George Reeves? I have nothing against Martin Balsam's portrayal of Arbogast, but George would have been better. I wonder what scenes were shot with Reeves.
And get this from the WIKI Psycho Article:
Quote:
Many people find it hard to believe that Reeves shot himself, as his life seemed to be getting back on track, right up until his death. In 1958, he seemed to give up drinking, only having a glass of champagne at parties, and the producers of Adventures of Superman agreed to revive the series with two seasons' worth of episodes to begin airing in early 1960. He had also ended his affair with Toni Mannix, an actress and wife of studio mogul Eddie Mannix, and, as stated, he and Lemmon were going to be married within three days. That same month, he had signed a five-motion-picture deal with Paramount Pictures, and was filming scenes for the role of doomed detective Milton Arbogast for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
Had he lived until the next day, June 17, he would have fought light-heavyweight boxing champion Archie Moore, and, considering his successful wrestling career in the 1940s, Reeves would not have turned down his shot at fame. These facts of what might have been for Reeves strongly contradict the theory that he killed himself for being typecast as Superman, because with the new, bright future for him in sight, it would be unlikely for him to commit suicide. Not surprisingly, the planned continuation of the Adventures of Superman television series was cancelled after his death.
That's right. Reeves was filming for perhaps the best known director in Hollywood. How on earth could he be despondant about a career that led him to filming with Hitch?
And think of this - how shocking would Psycho be with first Janet Leigh being killed, then heroic George Reeves? I have nothing against Martin Balsam's portrayal of Arbogast, but George would have been better. I wonder what scenes were shot with Reeves.
And get this from the WIKI Psycho Article:
Quote:
At the time of his death, the only scene left to film for George Reeves was the staircase murder with Mother. Reeves had been hired for the role simply because Hitchcock had enjoyed his take on this scene, and was dismayed when Reeves was found dead. However, in an incredible attempt to carry out his original vision, Hitchcock played back Reeves's audition film for his replacement, Martin Balsam, and ordered him to directly mimic what he saw onscreen; if Hitchcock was not satisfied, $50 would be docked from his pay. Balsam got it right on the first take.
