1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:22,530 Speaker 1: Pushkin. You might have noticed that things are a little 2 00:00:22,570 --> 00:00:26,610 Speaker 1: different on Cautionary Tales this year. In twenty twenty four, 3 00:00:26,850 --> 00:00:31,010 Speaker 1: we brought you a new episode every fortnight, but this 4 00:00:31,170 --> 00:00:35,610 Speaker 1: year we are doubling our output. New stories of heart 5 00:00:35,650 --> 00:00:40,450 Speaker 1: thumping peril, mind blowing mistakes and jaw dropping scandal will 6 00:00:40,490 --> 00:00:45,130 Speaker 1: now be delivered straight to your ears every week. Here's 7 00:00:45,170 --> 00:00:53,290 Speaker 1: on for you right now. This episode, which combines oscar 8 00:00:53,410 --> 00:00:57,530 Speaker 1: ceremonies Starredust with the far less glamorous world of taxation, 9 00:00:58,090 --> 00:01:00,810 Speaker 1: was recorded in front of a live audience at the 10 00:01:00,850 --> 00:01:28,370 Speaker 1: Bristol Festival of Economics. Ernest borgnine was getting tired of 11 00:01:28,610 --> 00:01:33,730 Speaker 1: playing heavies nearing forty, thickening around the middle, and thinning 12 00:01:33,770 --> 00:01:37,370 Speaker 1: on top. The actor was running out of time to 13 00:01:37,410 --> 00:01:42,130 Speaker 1: become a Hollywood leading man. Ernest had joined the US 14 00:01:42,290 --> 00:01:45,730 Speaker 1: Navy right out of high school, but on leaving in 15 00:01:45,810 --> 00:01:49,330 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, had struggled to find work amidst the 16 00:01:49,410 --> 00:01:52,970 Speaker 1: mass of men returning home from war. Hit pack a 17 00:01:53,050 --> 00:01:56,690 Speaker 1: lunch and stand outside factories in his hometown just in 18 00:01:56,730 --> 00:02:00,650 Speaker 1: case they were hiring. They weren't, but life on the 19 00:02:00,650 --> 00:02:05,210 Speaker 1: production line didn't much appeal anyway. After navigating the high 20 00:02:05,330 --> 00:02:10,450 Speaker 1: seas to Earnest, the factories of Connecticut looked like jailes. 21 00:02:12,090 --> 00:02:17,450 Speaker 1: It was Ernest's mother, Italian born Anna Bornigno, who suggested 22 00:02:17,570 --> 00:02:22,170 Speaker 1: he enter show business. It didn't seem an obvious career 23 00:02:22,290 --> 00:02:25,610 Speaker 1: choice to Ernest. Why should he become an actor? Of 24 00:02:25,690 --> 00:02:26,410 Speaker 1: all things? 25 00:02:27,490 --> 00:02:30,290 Speaker 2: You always like to make a damn fool of yourself, 26 00:02:30,370 --> 00:02:33,730 Speaker 2: making people laugh. Why don't you give it a try? 27 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:40,730 Speaker 1: So try he did. His veteran benefits financed some acting classes, 28 00:02:40,810 --> 00:02:45,850 Speaker 1: but Ernest, burly and gap toothed, felt self conscious amongst 29 00:02:45,930 --> 00:02:49,770 Speaker 1: his young and fresh faced classmates. He had never even 30 00:02:49,810 --> 00:02:52,610 Speaker 1: read aloud before, and it showed. 31 00:02:52,770 --> 00:02:57,650 Speaker 3: All the stars were shining like demons. 32 00:02:57,970 --> 00:03:03,050 Speaker 2: No, mister borgnine, the word is diamonds. 33 00:03:02,890 --> 00:03:04,050 Speaker 1: Said his acting teacher. 34 00:03:04,530 --> 00:03:05,330 Speaker 3: Ah shit. 35 00:03:07,050 --> 00:03:11,650 Speaker 1: The class erupted into life, but Ernest would need to 36 00:03:11,650 --> 00:03:16,450 Speaker 1: get used to humiliations. Auditions for budding actors the brutal. 37 00:03:17,250 --> 00:03:20,610 Speaker 1: It wasn't unusual for Ernest to wait two or three 38 00:03:20,810 --> 00:03:24,370 Speaker 1: hours to read for a part, only to be dismissed 39 00:03:24,410 --> 00:03:28,690 Speaker 1: a few lines in. At one casting, he hadn't even 40 00:03:28,850 --> 00:03:34,210 Speaker 1: opened his mouth before the director bellowed. Next, when he 41 00:03:34,290 --> 00:03:38,450 Speaker 1: finally began to land minor roles, His round face and 42 00:03:38,610 --> 00:03:43,570 Speaker 1: stocky build saw him type cast as rowdies, hoodlums, and bullies. 43 00:03:44,450 --> 00:03:49,490 Speaker 1: Playing a cowpoke or gangster. Ernest's brief appearances on film 44 00:03:49,490 --> 00:03:53,810 Speaker 1: would invariably end with a being knocked flat by the 45 00:03:53,890 --> 00:03:58,970 Speaker 1: movie's hero. In the nineteen fifty three blockbuster From Here 46 00:03:59,010 --> 00:04:04,970 Speaker 1: to Eternity, Ernest played a sadistic military policeman, Fatso Judson. 47 00:04:05,490 --> 00:04:09,050 Speaker 1: It was a solid supporting role with pages of diet 48 00:04:09,770 --> 00:04:14,570 Speaker 1: and the chance to off Frank Sinatra's character, but Ernest 49 00:04:14,730 --> 00:04:19,130 Speaker 1: still ended up dead himself, killed by the handsome leading 50 00:04:19,210 --> 00:04:24,650 Speaker 1: man Montgomery Clift. Ernest had drawn heavily on his navy 51 00:04:24,730 --> 00:04:29,610 Speaker 1: experience to bring the menacing Fatso Judson to life, so 52 00:04:29,730 --> 00:04:33,930 Speaker 1: much so that James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity, 53 00:04:34,370 --> 00:04:37,170 Speaker 1: stopped by the set to congratulate the actor. 54 00:04:37,690 --> 00:04:41,050 Speaker 3: You're absolutely the son of a bitch, I wrote about 55 00:04:41,570 --> 00:04:42,170 Speaker 3: keep it up. 56 00:04:43,450 --> 00:04:47,210 Speaker 1: But the quality of Ernest's performance was painting him further 57 00:04:47,330 --> 00:04:52,490 Speaker 1: into a corner. Hollywood's hottest new production company was seeking 58 00:04:52,490 --> 00:04:55,530 Speaker 1: a lead to carry a new project. It was the 59 00:04:55,570 --> 00:05:01,010 Speaker 1: story of a humble bronx bachelor searching for love. Ernest's 60 00:05:01,050 --> 00:05:01,770 Speaker 1: name came up. 61 00:05:01,970 --> 00:05:05,690 Speaker 3: Oh come on, he does nothing but kill people in pictures. 62 00:05:05,770 --> 00:05:07,490 Speaker 3: This is about a lonely butcher. 63 00:05:07,850 --> 00:05:11,930 Speaker 1: This guy can act, The producer was told, so Ernest's 64 00:05:11,970 --> 00:05:12,450 Speaker 1: got the call. 65 00:05:12,850 --> 00:05:15,690 Speaker 3: We've heard nice things about you, were considering you for 66 00:05:15,730 --> 00:05:16,170 Speaker 3: the lead. 67 00:05:16,930 --> 00:05:20,450 Speaker 1: The actor was flabbergasted. No one had ever given him 68 00:05:20,450 --> 00:05:25,010 Speaker 1: a shot at stardom like this, but the producers sure 69 00:05:25,090 --> 00:05:26,090 Speaker 1: he was right for the role. 70 00:05:26,650 --> 00:05:28,930 Speaker 3: Of course, otherwise I wouldn't ask you. 71 00:05:29,970 --> 00:05:34,210 Speaker 1: The film's writer and director flew out for a formal audition. 72 00:05:35,170 --> 00:05:40,210 Speaker 1: Ernest was on location, playing yet another heavy This time 73 00:05:40,370 --> 00:05:44,250 Speaker 1: the script had him being knocked unconscious by Spencer Tracy. 74 00:05:45,610 --> 00:05:48,850 Speaker 1: Ernest came to the reading fresh from the set. His 75 00:05:49,090 --> 00:05:52,410 Speaker 1: cowboy costume was dusty and his chin had a growth 76 00:05:52,410 --> 00:05:56,610 Speaker 1: of stubble. His first words came out with a Western twang. 77 00:05:57,010 --> 00:06:00,250 Speaker 1: What was he thinking? He was blowing his big chance? 78 00:06:01,570 --> 00:06:05,010 Speaker 1: Kicking off his cowboy boots and throwing his ten gallon 79 00:06:05,090 --> 00:06:12,490 Speaker 1: hat aside, Ernest began again. The scene had lovelorn butcher 80 00:06:13,050 --> 00:06:17,410 Speaker 1: Marty Pilletti, carrying his mother's please did he go out 81 00:06:17,410 --> 00:06:21,490 Speaker 1: on the town and meet a nice girl? The Pilletti 82 00:06:21,570 --> 00:06:25,730 Speaker 1: family home wasn't so very different from the Bornino one, 83 00:06:25,970 --> 00:06:31,690 Speaker 1: so Ernest played the role, imagining his mother, Anna was 84 00:06:31,730 --> 00:06:32,650 Speaker 1: reading his cues. 85 00:06:34,210 --> 00:06:39,330 Speaker 3: Marty put on the blue suit, ouo suit, gray suit. 86 00:06:39,450 --> 00:06:44,450 Speaker 3: I'm just a fat little man, fat ugly man, ugly, 87 00:06:44,610 --> 00:06:47,090 Speaker 3: I'm ugly, I'm ugly, I'm ugly. 88 00:06:47,250 --> 00:06:55,650 Speaker 1: Mighty alone. Ernest looked up from the script across from him. 89 00:06:56,010 --> 00:07:02,970 Speaker 1: The director and the writer were in tears. The part 90 00:07:03,130 --> 00:07:08,010 Speaker 1: was his. Ernest Borgnine would play the eponymous lead in Marty, 91 00:07:08,690 --> 00:07:13,730 Speaker 1: a film backed by HECT Lancaster, the production company founded 92 00:07:13,770 --> 00:07:17,450 Speaker 1: by Burt Lancaster that was pumping out box office smashes. 93 00:07:18,530 --> 00:07:24,250 Speaker 1: This was it. Once Marty hit cinema screens, Ernest Borgnine 94 00:07:24,450 --> 00:07:28,770 Speaker 1: would be a star, no more bit parts for him. 95 00:07:28,850 --> 00:07:34,010 Speaker 1: The only problem was the people making Marty didn't want 96 00:07:34,050 --> 00:07:38,290 Speaker 1: it reaching cinema screens. They didn't even want to finish 97 00:07:38,410 --> 00:07:43,250 Speaker 1: filming it. I'm Tim Harford and you're listening to cautionary 98 00:07:43,290 --> 00:08:10,610 Speaker 1: Tales live from the Bristol Festival of Economics. In the 99 00:08:10,690 --> 00:08:15,770 Speaker 1: nineteen forties and fifties, the super rich were the entertainers. 100 00:08:16,810 --> 00:08:19,370 Speaker 1: The head of US Steel could expect to be paid 101 00:08:19,410 --> 00:08:23,410 Speaker 1: three hundred thousand dollars a year, but Frank Sinatra grossed 102 00:08:23,450 --> 00:08:29,210 Speaker 1: closer to four million but with great riches come great taxes. 103 00:08:30,010 --> 00:08:33,810 Speaker 1: That about the time Ernest borgnine was mooching around factories 104 00:08:34,050 --> 00:08:38,610 Speaker 1: desperate for work, any megastar's income over two hundred thousand 105 00:08:38,690 --> 00:08:43,530 Speaker 1: dollars could be taxed at a whopping ninety four percent. 106 00:08:45,090 --> 00:08:49,410 Speaker 1: Some in Hollywood didn't mind, of course. Patriotic bombshell Ann 107 00:08:49,610 --> 00:08:52,650 Speaker 1: Sheridan was amongst the most sanguine. 108 00:08:52,890 --> 00:08:56,170 Speaker 2: I regret that I only have one salary to give 109 00:08:56,210 --> 00:08:57,090 Speaker 2: from my country. 110 00:08:57,890 --> 00:09:02,090 Speaker 1: But others weren't quite so sure. B movie star and 111 00:09:03,010 --> 00:09:07,930 Speaker 1: future president Ronald Reagan worked only part of the year, 112 00:09:08,450 --> 00:09:12,690 Speaker 1: completing a couple of features, and then loafed until the 113 00:09:12,850 --> 00:09:14,730 Speaker 1: end of the tax year rolled around. 114 00:09:15,410 --> 00:09:17,490 Speaker 3: Why should I have done a third picture? Or even 115 00:09:17,530 --> 00:09:20,170 Speaker 3: if it was gone with the wind, what good would 116 00:09:20,170 --> 00:09:20,770 Speaker 3: it have done me? 117 00:09:21,850 --> 00:09:25,170 Speaker 1: But plenty of other Hollywood stars churned out more than 118 00:09:25,210 --> 00:09:29,090 Speaker 1: two films a year. So were they working for mere 119 00:09:29,290 --> 00:09:33,210 Speaker 1: cents on the dollar? Of course not. They looked for 120 00:09:33,330 --> 00:09:40,130 Speaker 1: tax loopholes. Investing in oil exploration was particularly popular. Financing 121 00:09:40,130 --> 00:09:44,650 Speaker 1: a drilling operation attracted generous tax breaks and allowances. It 122 00:09:44,690 --> 00:09:47,930 Speaker 1: became so prevalent that one insider joked. 123 00:09:48,210 --> 00:09:50,650 Speaker 2: When you see a group of movie people talking on 124 00:09:50,690 --> 00:09:54,130 Speaker 2: a set, you don't know whether they're discussing a film 125 00:09:54,570 --> 00:09:55,130 Speaker 2: or an oil. 126 00:09:55,250 --> 00:10:00,410 Speaker 1: Well, but stars didn't have to go wildcatting in the wilderness. 127 00:10:00,770 --> 00:10:05,290 Speaker 1: They could exploit corporate tax breaks without venturing beyond Beverly Hills. 128 00:10:06,170 --> 00:10:10,090 Speaker 1: If a Bing Crosby or Gary Cooper agreed to star 129 00:10:10,210 --> 00:10:12,770 Speaker 1: in a movie, they'd set up a company to take 130 00:10:12,770 --> 00:10:16,730 Speaker 1: the fee or sell that company's shares to the studio 131 00:10:16,810 --> 00:10:20,690 Speaker 1: making the film. They could continue to take dividends from 132 00:10:20,730 --> 00:10:24,250 Speaker 1: these firms at a much lower rate than income tax 133 00:10:24,410 --> 00:10:28,210 Speaker 1: until the money ran out. Then the firm would simply 134 00:10:28,530 --> 00:10:35,410 Speaker 1: disappear when the film Marty was entering production. Almost half 135 00:10:35,490 --> 00:10:40,890 Speaker 1: of all Hollywood films were made using these collapsible corporations 136 00:10:41,090 --> 00:10:47,770 Speaker 1: to dodge sky high taxes independent production companies. These vehicles 137 00:10:47,770 --> 00:10:52,610 Speaker 1: for tax evasion did offer actors other benefits, though many 138 00:10:52,650 --> 00:10:56,650 Speaker 1: had felt constrained by the studio system, where capricious movie 139 00:10:56,690 --> 00:11:00,970 Speaker 1: moguls like Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner or William Fox 140 00:11:01,290 --> 00:11:06,410 Speaker 1: called all the shots. Stars wanted more of the profits, true, 141 00:11:06,890 --> 00:11:11,530 Speaker 1: but some also yearned for more creative control over their careers. 142 00:11:12,890 --> 00:11:18,490 Speaker 1: In this Bert Lancaster was a pioneer the charismatic and 143 00:11:18,690 --> 00:11:22,770 Speaker 1: acrobatic star had initially run away to join the circus 144 00:11:22,850 --> 00:11:26,730 Speaker 1: during the Great Depression, but his physicality soon found its 145 00:11:26,890 --> 00:11:31,490 Speaker 1: true home on the silver screen. He was an adonis 146 00:11:31,890 --> 00:11:35,770 Speaker 1: and audiences lapped him up, whether he played a prize 147 00:11:35,770 --> 00:11:40,050 Speaker 1: fighter or a pirate. Bert's name on the cinema marquee 148 00:11:40,250 --> 00:11:44,570 Speaker 1: was estimated to bring in an extra million dollars in 149 00:11:44,690 --> 00:11:50,330 Speaker 1: ticket sales. An obsessive autodid act, Burt Lancaster wasn't just 150 00:11:50,370 --> 00:11:53,810 Speaker 1: going to loafer around like Ronald Reagan. If he was 151 00:11:53,850 --> 00:11:55,970 Speaker 1: going to be in hit movies, dammit, he was going 152 00:11:56,010 --> 00:11:59,250 Speaker 1: to learn how they were made. Teaming up with his 153 00:11:59,410 --> 00:12:04,450 Speaker 1: diminutive agent, Harold Hecht, Lancaster began to produce his own films. 154 00:12:05,130 --> 00:12:08,530 Speaker 1: Doubling up as a hustling film exec and the swashbuckling 155 00:12:08,570 --> 00:12:15,490 Speaker 1: leading man was exhausting but rewarding. His films made millions. 156 00:12:16,690 --> 00:12:20,450 Speaker 1: These profits were a highlight that's an otherwise gloomy time 157 00:12:20,490 --> 00:12:25,770 Speaker 1: for Hollywood. TV was taking off. Televisions were monochrome, the 158 00:12:25,850 --> 00:12:28,970 Speaker 1: picture quality was poor and the scenery was wobbly, but 159 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:32,850 Speaker 1: many Americans would rather stay in to watch television rather 160 00:12:32,890 --> 00:12:36,850 Speaker 1: than trapes out to a cinema. The movie makers fought 161 00:12:36,930 --> 00:12:42,610 Speaker 1: back by releasing lavish, colorful epics with stories and characters 162 00:12:42,650 --> 00:12:45,370 Speaker 1: far too big to ever fit on the small screen. 163 00:12:46,290 --> 00:12:53,210 Speaker 1: Burt Lancaster's Pirate Pics and Western's fell firmly into this category. 164 00:12:53,330 --> 00:12:59,970 Speaker 1: So when Heck Lancaster announced their next project, Marty, it 165 00:13:00,050 --> 00:13:04,490 Speaker 1: was met with bafflement. Even the scriptwriter was mystified. 166 00:13:05,010 --> 00:13:08,570 Speaker 3: I don't know why they put up the money. The 167 00:13:08,650 --> 00:13:12,810 Speaker 3: venture had a hopelessly uncommercial smell. 168 00:13:14,010 --> 00:13:17,650 Speaker 1: Marty had been a well received TV play, praised for 169 00:13:17,690 --> 00:13:22,210 Speaker 1: its naturalistic dialogue and a strong main performance from Rod Steiger, 170 00:13:23,090 --> 00:13:26,930 Speaker 1: but a sentimental script seemed far too experimental for a 171 00:13:26,970 --> 00:13:30,850 Speaker 1: Hollywood hit, and it was too short to boot. Could 172 00:13:30,890 --> 00:13:36,970 Speaker 1: the downbeat storyline be given a Hollywood polish, then, well no. 173 00:13:37,850 --> 00:13:41,290 Speaker 1: Hecht Lancaster had given the TV shows writer and director 174 00:13:41,970 --> 00:13:46,850 Speaker 1: total creative control, and they wanted Marty to remain true 175 00:13:46,930 --> 00:13:51,490 Speaker 1: to its roots. Bert wouldn't feature on screen either, and 176 00:13:51,650 --> 00:13:54,850 Speaker 1: nor would Steiger, who'd passed on the chance to reprise 177 00:13:54,930 --> 00:13:59,330 Speaker 1: his role. And in the absence of star power, the 178 00:13:59,370 --> 00:14:04,850 Speaker 1: dowdy central part had gone to Ernest borgnine a bit 179 00:14:05,050 --> 00:14:14,330 Speaker 1: part Fatso what was Burn Lancaster doing? Thought Hollywood? Some observers, though, 180 00:14:14,970 --> 00:14:20,170 Speaker 1: had their theories. Location shooting began in the Bronx. The 181 00:14:20,210 --> 00:14:23,890 Speaker 1: director had never made a feature film before, and I 182 00:14:23,930 --> 00:14:27,810 Speaker 1: didn't know you could record multiple takes of each scene. 183 00:14:28,330 --> 00:14:32,770 Speaker 1: You only ever got one try on live TV. Once 184 00:14:32,810 --> 00:14:36,530 Speaker 1: this and other details of film craft were explained to him, 185 00:14:37,210 --> 00:14:40,850 Speaker 1: all went smoothly, and it had to, for the crew 186 00:14:40,930 --> 00:14:45,930 Speaker 1: had been set an impossibly horrid schedule. Ernest delivered his 187 00:14:46,050 --> 00:14:50,450 Speaker 1: dialogue against the rumble of l trains, the honking of taxes, 188 00:14:50,850 --> 00:14:54,010 Speaker 1: and the babble of real Bronx natives going about their business. 189 00:14:55,010 --> 00:14:59,810 Speaker 1: Some local tufts, though, took exception to this invasion of 190 00:14:59,970 --> 00:15:05,010 Speaker 1: film folk in general, and to Ernest borg Nine in particular. 191 00:15:05,290 --> 00:15:07,170 Speaker 3: Badia mol Inferno. 192 00:15:06,730 --> 00:15:11,370 Speaker 1: De lu shouted, one it American youth, let's beat him up. 193 00:15:12,370 --> 00:15:16,210 Speaker 1: The gang, it turns out, believed that Ernest really had 194 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:20,930 Speaker 1: it in for Frank Sinatra from here to Eternity. Ernest 195 00:15:21,090 --> 00:15:24,010 Speaker 1: was happy to trade punches with the boys, but he 196 00:15:24,050 --> 00:15:28,610 Speaker 1: thought it first explained that the animosity was merely play acting, 197 00:15:29,290 --> 00:15:32,370 Speaker 1: and that he and Frank were in fact good friends, 198 00:15:32,610 --> 00:15:35,730 Speaker 1: bonded by their shared Italian American heritage. 199 00:15:36,210 --> 00:15:39,730 Speaker 3: Why didn't you tell us that? From then? 200 00:15:39,810 --> 00:15:45,010 Speaker 1: On the man born ermez Bornino was lavished with gifts 201 00:15:45,050 --> 00:15:49,370 Speaker 1: of pizza and gallons of red wine. His money was 202 00:15:49,410 --> 00:15:53,690 Speaker 1: no good in any of the local trattoria. Ernest felt 203 00:15:53,730 --> 00:15:57,650 Speaker 1: confident as he flew to Hollywood for the interior. Shots 204 00:15:58,450 --> 00:16:02,450 Speaker 1: had all been meticulously worked out in New York. These 205 00:16:02,570 --> 00:16:05,930 Speaker 1: TV guys certainly knew how to shoot on a small 206 00:16:06,010 --> 00:16:13,290 Speaker 1: studio set. Only there weren't any sets. They hadn't been built. 207 00:16:14,050 --> 00:16:17,450 Speaker 1: There was no need for them, for the film wasn't 208 00:16:17,490 --> 00:16:23,090 Speaker 1: going to be completed. Turns out, said the crushed leading man. 209 00:16:23,850 --> 00:16:30,770 Speaker 3: There was some financial shenanigans attached to the picture. 210 00:16:30,770 --> 00:16:54,650 Speaker 1: Cautionary tales will be back in a moment. Those who 211 00:16:54,770 --> 00:16:59,250 Speaker 1: thought it odd that Bird Lancaster was making a stylus 212 00:16:59,650 --> 00:17:03,490 Speaker 1: low key black and white melodrama seemed to have been 213 00:17:03,530 --> 00:17:09,450 Speaker 1: proved right. Bird Lancaster wasn't going to make Marty, at 214 00:17:09,530 --> 00:17:11,370 Speaker 1: least not all of it. 215 00:17:12,210 --> 00:17:15,930 Speaker 3: Hecked Lancaster wanted to lose money because they were making 216 00:17:15,970 --> 00:17:18,450 Speaker 3: so much money from their other pictures. 217 00:17:18,250 --> 00:17:20,610 Speaker 1: Said a disappointed Ernest Borgnine. 218 00:17:21,010 --> 00:17:23,450 Speaker 3: They wanted to shoot half of it and then put 219 00:17:23,490 --> 00:17:26,690 Speaker 3: it on the shelf and take a tax loss. That way, 220 00:17:26,730 --> 00:17:30,010 Speaker 3: The producers could pay themselves a salary and yet not 221 00:17:30,170 --> 00:17:31,730 Speaker 3: have to show a corporate profit. 222 00:17:32,850 --> 00:17:37,450 Speaker 1: Tax structures of the type that encourage filmmakers not to 223 00:17:37,530 --> 00:17:44,290 Speaker 1: make films create what economists call an excess burden. When 224 00:17:44,290 --> 00:17:47,930 Speaker 1: people distort their behavior to avoid a tax. In this way, 225 00:17:48,530 --> 00:17:52,690 Speaker 1: nobody wins. The tax avoider is worse off because the 226 00:17:52,730 --> 00:17:57,050 Speaker 1: avoidance is costly. The tax authorities are worse off because 227 00:17:57,290 --> 00:18:02,250 Speaker 1: the tax isn't paid. Badly designed taxes can make life 228 00:18:02,530 --> 00:18:13,970 Speaker 1: uglier and gloomier too. In the late sixteen nineties, England's 229 00:18:13,970 --> 00:18:19,730 Speaker 1: finances were in disarray. The Kingdom's sterling silver coinage had 230 00:18:19,730 --> 00:18:24,490 Speaker 1: been fatally compromised, with people clipping bits of old coins 231 00:18:24,530 --> 00:18:29,050 Speaker 1: to keep the valuable slivers of silver. Newer coins with 232 00:18:29,250 --> 00:18:34,210 Speaker 1: engravings and milled edges to defeat the clippers instead attracted 233 00:18:34,290 --> 00:18:39,410 Speaker 1: forgers on top of denuded coins and fake coins. The 234 00:18:39,530 --> 00:18:43,810 Speaker 1: rising value of silver meant there was a healthy export 235 00:18:43,890 --> 00:18:48,890 Speaker 1: trade in small change. A silver sixpence was worth far 236 00:18:48,970 --> 00:18:52,330 Speaker 1: more melted down in Paris than it was as a 237 00:18:52,370 --> 00:18:58,370 Speaker 1: coin in London. To shore up the royal finances, King 238 00:18:58,490 --> 00:19:03,610 Speaker 1: William the Third sought to introduce fair and progressive taxes 239 00:19:04,010 --> 00:19:10,570 Speaker 1: to raise revenue. He alighted on a window tax. Those 240 00:19:10,730 --> 00:19:15,130 Speaker 1: with grand houses boasting many windows paid the highest rate 241 00:19:15,290 --> 00:19:20,130 Speaker 1: per glazed opening, while more modest buildings paid less duty 242 00:19:20,170 --> 00:19:24,290 Speaker 1: for each window. It was an easy levee to administer 243 00:19:24,450 --> 00:19:29,410 Speaker 1: two a tax inspector could simply count each window from 244 00:19:29,490 --> 00:19:36,010 Speaker 1: the street. Over time, the tax rates rose and then rocketed, 245 00:19:37,330 --> 00:19:41,810 Speaker 1: so property owners bricked up existing windows and planned new 246 00:19:41,810 --> 00:19:49,890 Speaker 1: buildings to reduce their taxable apertures. The poorest, unsurprisingly suffered. 247 00:19:49,930 --> 00:19:55,930 Speaker 1: Most unscrupulous landlords blocked off windows, leaving tenants in dark, 248 00:19:56,490 --> 00:20:02,890 Speaker 1: unventilated rooms. The window tax finally died one one hundred 249 00:20:02,930 --> 00:20:08,170 Speaker 1: and fifty years after its introduction, and only once campaigners 250 00:20:08,170 --> 00:20:11,650 Speaker 1: had convinced the tra of the obvious that a lack 251 00:20:11,690 --> 00:20:15,530 Speaker 1: of light and fresh air was taking an appalling toll 252 00:20:15,610 --> 00:20:21,890 Speaker 1: on people's health. It was a classic excess burden. When 253 00:20:21,890 --> 00:20:24,970 Speaker 1: a tax system consigns people to a wretched life in 254 00:20:25,050 --> 00:20:29,930 Speaker 1: a dark, airless dwellings and doesn't even raise revenue, then 255 00:20:29,970 --> 00:20:34,010 Speaker 1: that tax system has gone wrong. And it went wrong 256 00:20:34,090 --> 00:20:38,370 Speaker 1: when singers like Bing Crosby turned down paying gigs to 257 00:20:38,410 --> 00:20:43,810 Speaker 1: become oil prospectors, When Ronald Reagan loafed for most of 258 00:20:43,850 --> 00:20:49,170 Speaker 1: the financial year, and of course, when gap toothed and hefty, 259 00:20:49,610 --> 00:20:54,410 Speaker 1: Ernest borgnine was denied his shot as a starring role. 260 00:20:56,890 --> 00:21:02,370 Speaker 1: But lucky for Ernest, the Internal Revenue Service, to its credit, 261 00:21:03,090 --> 00:21:07,650 Speaker 1: knew something was up too. In nineteen fifty four, it 262 00:21:07,810 --> 00:21:11,650 Speaker 1: introduced a new code cracking down on many of the 263 00:21:11,650 --> 00:21:17,610 Speaker 1: most egregious abuses by the Hollywood elite. So could Heck 264 00:21:17,770 --> 00:21:23,610 Speaker 1: Lancaster just shelve Marty halfway through and draw their producer 265 00:21:23,730 --> 00:21:27,690 Speaker 1: salaries and write the rest of the budget off. The 266 00:21:27,810 --> 00:21:29,850 Speaker 1: answer pleased Ernest. 267 00:21:30,290 --> 00:21:34,050 Speaker 3: The taxman said no, they had to finish the picture, 268 00:21:34,410 --> 00:21:37,170 Speaker 3: show it once and then take a loss. 269 00:21:37,890 --> 00:21:42,970 Speaker 1: So the interior sets were built and cameras rolled once 270 00:21:43,010 --> 00:21:44,410 Speaker 1: again on Marty. 271 00:21:45,010 --> 00:21:47,370 Speaker 3: I'm not sure that was good news. 272 00:21:47,490 --> 00:21:49,970 Speaker 1: Said Ernest of his partial reprieve. 273 00:21:50,570 --> 00:21:52,530 Speaker 3: But it was better news. 274 00:21:53,650 --> 00:21:57,450 Speaker 1: Bert Lancaster hadn't been around much for the making of Marty. 275 00:21:57,970 --> 00:22:01,850 Speaker 1: He'd been directing himself in the adventure flick The Kentuckian. 276 00:22:02,930 --> 00:22:07,090 Speaker 1: He'd left Marty to his business partner Harold Hecht, who 277 00:22:07,170 --> 00:22:10,170 Speaker 1: in turn had surrendered most of the creative control to 278 00:22:10,250 --> 00:22:13,610 Speaker 1: the writer and director. If you're not planning to finish 279 00:22:13,610 --> 00:22:18,610 Speaker 1: a film, why sweat over it. Bert did turn up 280 00:22:18,770 --> 00:22:23,730 Speaker 1: for Marty's first screening, though Ernest brought along his wife 281 00:22:23,970 --> 00:22:27,530 Speaker 1: and mother in law, after all, it might be their 282 00:22:27,770 --> 00:22:34,370 Speaker 1: only chance to see him carry a motion picture. Nineteen 283 00:22:34,410 --> 00:22:39,650 Speaker 1: minutes later, as the end credits rolled, Ernest watched Burt 284 00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:45,370 Speaker 1: Lancaster beckon to Harold Hecht more than a head shorter 285 00:22:45,490 --> 00:22:48,650 Speaker 1: than the star. He trotted after Bert into a corner, 286 00:22:49,130 --> 00:22:53,090 Speaker 1: whereupon Bert grasped his co producer by the lapels and 287 00:22:53,210 --> 00:22:54,370 Speaker 1: hoisted him into the air. 288 00:22:54,850 --> 00:22:57,570 Speaker 3: This is the movie you weren't going to finish. Why 289 00:22:57,650 --> 00:22:59,170 Speaker 3: the hell didn't you shoot more? 290 00:23:00,050 --> 00:23:03,890 Speaker 1: Bert clearly loved Marty, and from that moment on became 291 00:23:04,170 --> 00:23:08,610 Speaker 1: very invested in it. The distributors suggested releasing Marty as 292 00:23:08,650 --> 00:23:13,170 Speaker 1: a bee movie shortish or derv served up in cinemas 293 00:23:13,170 --> 00:23:19,730 Speaker 1: before a more commercial main offering, but Lancaster had other plans. 294 00:23:19,770 --> 00:23:24,770 Speaker 1: Marty was going to be an a movie, albeit with 295 00:23:24,850 --> 00:23:29,890 Speaker 1: a limited release. They'd screen it at a single New 296 00:23:29,970 --> 00:23:35,530 Speaker 1: York cinema. From that tiny bass, word of mouth would 297 00:23:35,610 --> 00:23:40,090 Speaker 1: sell their film. Special screenings were arranged for an invited 298 00:23:40,130 --> 00:23:45,050 Speaker 1: audience of barbers, manicurists, and shoeshines, ordinary workers who might 299 00:23:45,130 --> 00:23:48,890 Speaker 1: identify with the characters on the screen and recommend Marty 300 00:23:48,970 --> 00:23:52,370 Speaker 1: to their clients. The New York Yankees were treated to 301 00:23:52,410 --> 00:23:56,810 Speaker 1: a viewing anything to create bars, and it worked to 302 00:23:56,850 --> 00:24:01,370 Speaker 1: an extent. Audiences lined up around the block night after night, 303 00:24:01,690 --> 00:24:07,130 Speaker 1: week after week to see Marty, but still only at 304 00:24:07,170 --> 00:24:13,530 Speaker 1: a single cinema seating fewer than six hundred patrons. Eventually, 305 00:24:13,810 --> 00:24:16,290 Speaker 1: someone had the bright idea to enter Marty for the 306 00:24:16,290 --> 00:24:19,890 Speaker 1: main prize at the Can Film Festival, the Palm Door. 307 00:24:20,650 --> 00:24:25,610 Speaker 1: It wasn't so unlike the neorealist European films that usually 308 00:24:25,650 --> 00:24:29,130 Speaker 1: picked up gongs at Cannes, and any praise from the 309 00:24:29,210 --> 00:24:34,770 Speaker 1: judges could be flammed up in press releases as international acclaim. 310 00:24:35,610 --> 00:24:40,490 Speaker 1: Hollywood films rarely triumphed at the Festival International du Film, 311 00:24:41,210 --> 00:24:46,970 Speaker 1: so expectations were low. Betsy Blair, who played Marty's demure 312 00:24:47,050 --> 00:24:50,210 Speaker 1: love interest, was coincidentally going to be in Can with 313 00:24:50,290 --> 00:24:53,690 Speaker 1: her husband Gene Kelly, but no one else from the 314 00:24:53,770 --> 00:24:56,770 Speaker 1: cast or crew bothered to book a ticket. It was 315 00:24:56,810 --> 00:25:01,290 Speaker 1: a scrabble then when Marty swept the board and their 316 00:25:01,290 --> 00:25:06,010 Speaker 1: presence was required urgently at the award ceremony, Marty had 317 00:25:06,050 --> 00:25:10,410 Speaker 1: cost just a few hundred thousand dollars to make a 318 00:25:10,450 --> 00:25:14,730 Speaker 1: minuscule budget, made worse by Burt Lancaster's habit of dipping 319 00:25:14,770 --> 00:25:17,530 Speaker 1: into it to pay bills for the other films he 320 00:25:17,610 --> 00:25:22,210 Speaker 1: had in production. But after the Palm Door the cash 321 00:25:22,330 --> 00:25:27,090 Speaker 1: began to flow. Hecht Lancaster spent one hundred and fifty 322 00:25:27,330 --> 00:25:32,250 Speaker 1: thousand dollars on ads alone, thirty times the five thousand 323 00:25:32,330 --> 00:25:37,250 Speaker 1: dollars that paid their leading man, and as Oscar season approached, 324 00:25:37,610 --> 00:25:40,930 Speaker 1: Hecht Lancaster sent a print of the film to the 325 00:25:40,930 --> 00:25:45,330 Speaker 1: homes of the voting Academy members, along with a projectionist 326 00:25:46,250 --> 00:25:51,450 Speaker 1: and food at the British Bafters, the New York Film 327 00:25:51,490 --> 00:25:55,970 Speaker 1: Critics Circle the Writers Guild. Marty was picking up awards, 328 00:25:57,090 --> 00:26:03,770 Speaker 1: but an Academy award would seal Marty's success. At a 329 00:26:03,810 --> 00:26:08,450 Speaker 1: rehearsal for the Oscar ceremony, Ernest Borgnein decided the wisest 330 00:26:08,490 --> 00:26:12,970 Speaker 1: course of action would be to enjoy his Best Actor 331 00:26:13,330 --> 00:26:17,490 Speaker 1: nomination as much as possible. He was up against friends 332 00:26:17,530 --> 00:26:22,130 Speaker 1: and former co stars Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy. James 333 00:26:22,170 --> 00:26:25,130 Speaker 1: Cagney was in the running, and so too was James Dean, 334 00:26:25,490 --> 00:26:29,210 Speaker 1: who died the previous year. In a car wreck. Ernest 335 00:26:29,370 --> 00:26:34,610 Speaker 1: was resigned he didn't stand a chance, but Oscar host 336 00:26:34,850 --> 00:26:37,210 Speaker 1: Jerry Lewis was more encouraging. 337 00:26:37,250 --> 00:26:39,090 Speaker 3: You're gonna when, you're gonna win. 338 00:26:39,730 --> 00:26:42,250 Speaker 1: Ernest thought the comedian was just being polite. 339 00:26:42,410 --> 00:26:44,450 Speaker 3: You want to bet I'll win, I'll bet you a 340 00:26:44,530 --> 00:26:45,810 Speaker 3: buck ninety eight. You're gonna win. 341 00:26:47,330 --> 00:26:51,410 Speaker 1: Back home, Ernest counted out one hundred and ninety eight 342 00:26:51,490 --> 00:26:54,930 Speaker 1: pennies just in case and took a nap. 343 00:26:56,290 --> 00:26:58,090 Speaker 3: How can you fall asleep? 344 00:26:58,730 --> 00:27:01,770 Speaker 1: The shrieks of Ernest's wife, Rhoda awakened him. 345 00:27:02,250 --> 00:27:05,770 Speaker 2: How can you sleep when you're up for an Academy award. 346 00:27:06,890 --> 00:27:13,450 Speaker 1: Ernest looked up sleepily his apoplectic partner, Well, I'm not 347 00:27:13,730 --> 00:27:40,730 Speaker 1: gonna win. Cautionary tales will return after the break. The 348 00:27:40,770 --> 00:27:43,770 Speaker 1: borg Nines drove to the Oscars in their new Cadillac, 349 00:27:44,170 --> 00:27:47,930 Speaker 1: new to them at any rate. It was secondhand. Ernest 350 00:27:48,010 --> 00:27:51,130 Speaker 1: fidgeted in his coat tails. It was the last formal 351 00:27:51,170 --> 00:27:53,330 Speaker 1: suit at the rental store, and the coat was too 352 00:27:53,370 --> 00:27:57,770 Speaker 1: small and a little threadbare. The get up was constrictive 353 00:27:57,970 --> 00:28:03,090 Speaker 1: and hot, and sweat beaded on Ernest's expanse of forehead 354 00:28:04,090 --> 00:28:08,450 Speaker 1: as the couple awkwardly settled in their places. Bert Lancaster 355 00:28:09,130 --> 00:28:14,610 Speaker 1: seats away, smiled over and exchanged pleasantries. Ernest thought the 356 00:28:14,770 --> 00:28:18,170 Speaker 1: greeting was warm enough, but something in it suggested that 357 00:28:18,330 --> 00:28:22,890 Speaker 1: Bert was numb, too sure of a win either. Hecht 358 00:28:22,970 --> 00:28:27,050 Speaker 1: Lancaster was setting up a lavish post awards party, but 359 00:28:27,170 --> 00:28:30,970 Speaker 1: Harold Hecht was already fretting about the expensive food, dead waste. 360 00:28:30,970 --> 00:28:34,690 Speaker 1: If Marty flopped, he'd have roast beef to feed his 361 00:28:34,770 --> 00:28:39,250 Speaker 1: family for years. The thought prompted him to start knocking 362 00:28:39,370 --> 00:28:40,490 Speaker 1: back the drinks. 363 00:28:41,210 --> 00:28:46,410 Speaker 3: And now Best Cinematography in black and white. 364 00:28:48,250 --> 00:28:52,170 Speaker 2: The Oscar for Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy. 365 00:28:51,770 --> 00:28:58,450 Speaker 3: Picture, Best Song, Oscar Goes Too. 366 00:29:03,290 --> 00:29:07,250 Speaker 1: Oscar. Ceremonies can be interminably long. 367 00:29:08,330 --> 00:29:12,730 Speaker 2: Next, Best Live Action Short Subject, Too Real. 368 00:29:17,250 --> 00:29:25,610 Speaker 3: Thenominations for Best Art, Direction and Color. They called your Name. 369 00:29:26,610 --> 00:29:30,530 Speaker 1: Rhoda borgnine was punching her husband in the side. 370 00:29:30,370 --> 00:29:31,450 Speaker 3: Get her Bernie. 371 00:29:32,410 --> 00:29:35,730 Speaker 1: Ernest's attention had drifted during the ceremony. 372 00:29:36,490 --> 00:29:37,610 Speaker 2: They called your name. 373 00:29:37,930 --> 00:29:43,730 Speaker 1: You won. On stage, Jerry Lewis folded with laughter as 374 00:29:43,930 --> 00:29:49,690 Speaker 1: Ernest pressed one dollar ninety eight into his hand. Afterwards, 375 00:29:50,210 --> 00:29:53,090 Speaker 1: Ernest couldn't recall what he said as he clutched the 376 00:29:53,130 --> 00:29:57,650 Speaker 1: Oscar statue to his chest. The speech was short. He 377 00:29:57,770 --> 00:30:02,250 Speaker 1: thanked Rhoda and his dad, but spoke most movingly about 378 00:30:02,250 --> 00:30:06,610 Speaker 1: his mother. Anna borg Nine, the one who'd inspired him 379 00:30:06,650 --> 00:30:09,970 Speaker 1: to act in the first place, had sick and died 380 00:30:10,290 --> 00:30:12,610 Speaker 1: before Ernest's star had risen. 381 00:30:13,530 --> 00:30:17,250 Speaker 3: She barely got to see any of it. It wasn't fair, 382 00:30:17,330 --> 00:30:20,610 Speaker 3: but fair, just this and on life's menu. 383 00:30:22,530 --> 00:30:26,570 Speaker 1: The cast and crew of Marty cut a swathe up 384 00:30:26,610 --> 00:30:30,370 Speaker 1: and down the carpet at those twenty eighth Academy Awards 385 00:30:31,130 --> 00:30:37,850 Speaker 1: Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture. Variety said the former 386 00:30:38,010 --> 00:30:42,770 Speaker 1: circus acrobat Burt Lancaster nearly did a full flip each 387 00:30:42,850 --> 00:30:47,890 Speaker 1: time a Marty winner was announced, and Harold Hecht wouldn't 388 00:30:47,930 --> 00:30:50,210 Speaker 1: have to eat all that roast beef after all. The 389 00:30:50,330 --> 00:30:53,410 Speaker 1: after party was a raging success. If there'd been an 390 00:30:53,490 --> 00:30:57,370 Speaker 1: Oscar for Best Bash, said the trade papers, it would 391 00:30:57,370 --> 00:31:02,290 Speaker 1: have won hands down. Not only could Ernest act, they reported, 392 00:31:03,170 --> 00:31:08,330 Speaker 1: he could dance a mean rumber two. Marty, the film 393 00:31:08,410 --> 00:31:13,410 Speaker 1: it's makers supposedly saw only as a tax loss, turned 394 00:31:13,570 --> 00:31:17,610 Speaker 1: an outrageous profit. It didn't gross as much as a 395 00:31:17,730 --> 00:31:22,930 Speaker 1: Bert Lancaster westerm, but given its minuscule budget, its returns 396 00:31:22,930 --> 00:31:27,850 Speaker 1: on investment were remarkable. Its clutch of Oscars was estimated 397 00:31:27,890 --> 00:31:31,890 Speaker 1: to have added many zeros to its box office receipts. 398 00:31:33,530 --> 00:31:40,130 Speaker 1: Hollywood watched on drooling as Marty filled cinema seats everywhere. 399 00:31:41,210 --> 00:31:47,250 Speaker 1: Perhaps they didn't need expensive herds of cavalry horses, armaders 400 00:31:47,250 --> 00:31:51,290 Speaker 1: of pirate ships, or armies of extras to compete with TV. 401 00:31:52,170 --> 00:31:54,850 Speaker 1: Smaller films might be the answer, and they could even 402 00:31:54,970 --> 00:31:57,890 Speaker 1: cherry pick scripts that had already been hits on the 403 00:31:57,930 --> 00:32:03,210 Speaker 1: small screen. Studio executives now vied for the rights to 404 00:32:03,330 --> 00:32:09,570 Speaker 1: film popular teleplays like the claustrophobic jury room drama Twelve Men. 405 00:32:10,370 --> 00:32:13,370 Speaker 1: And if the sets could be smaller, so could the characters. 406 00:32:14,130 --> 00:32:18,050 Speaker 1: A love story needn't chronicle Anthony and Cleopatra floating down 407 00:32:18,090 --> 00:32:23,690 Speaker 1: the Nile. Butcher Marty Paletti worrying a spinster school mistress 408 00:32:23,690 --> 00:32:26,450 Speaker 1: in the Bronx played just fine too. 409 00:32:26,930 --> 00:32:30,530 Speaker 3: The success of Marty proved that moviegoers are interested in 410 00:32:30,570 --> 00:32:33,170 Speaker 3: people like themselves. 411 00:32:32,210 --> 00:32:36,050 Speaker 1: Said no less an expert than Elia Kazan, director of 412 00:32:36,090 --> 00:32:41,850 Speaker 1: Brando's on the Waterfront and a streetcar named Desire. But 413 00:32:41,970 --> 00:32:45,890 Speaker 1: for oscar winning ernest things wouldn't be as smooth as 414 00:32:45,930 --> 00:32:49,770 Speaker 1: he might have expected. Bert Lancaster wasn't so sure about 415 00:32:49,810 --> 00:32:54,690 Speaker 1: making more art movies. He was obsessed with filming Trapeze, 416 00:32:55,290 --> 00:32:58,490 Speaker 1: a garish, star studded epic, taking him back to his 417 00:32:58,570 --> 00:33:03,570 Speaker 1: circus roots. It was being filmed abroad, partly to shield 418 00:33:03,610 --> 00:33:08,130 Speaker 1: any profits from the US tax collectors, and perhaps Burt 419 00:33:08,210 --> 00:33:11,810 Speaker 1: Lancaster wasn't so sure about Ernest Borgnine as a leading 420 00:33:11,930 --> 00:33:16,890 Speaker 1: man either. It signed a seven picture deal with Hecht Lancaster, 421 00:33:17,450 --> 00:33:21,330 Speaker 1: but all they offered him were bit parts roles. Not 422 00:33:21,410 --> 00:33:27,050 Speaker 1: becoming a celebrated Oscar winner. Counseled Ernest's agent he should 423 00:33:27,090 --> 00:33:31,570 Speaker 1: be playing the main roles, so Ernest turned each and 424 00:33:31,810 --> 00:33:37,970 Speaker 1: every offer down flat. Hecht Lancaster finally declared that these 425 00:33:38,130 --> 00:33:42,330 Speaker 1: constant rejections were a breach of contract. Then Ernest was 426 00:33:42,410 --> 00:33:46,970 Speaker 1: placed on suspension to kick his heels at home. Finally, 427 00:33:47,290 --> 00:33:50,810 Speaker 1: the inactivity got to him and he snapped. 428 00:33:50,690 --> 00:33:53,450 Speaker 3: Christmas is around the corner. I want to go to 429 00:33:53,570 --> 00:33:56,010 Speaker 3: the five and diamond, get a job selling things. 430 00:33:57,170 --> 00:34:00,650 Speaker 1: Rhoda borg Nine talked her husband out of working in 431 00:34:00,690 --> 00:34:05,650 Speaker 1: a store, and after sacking his agent, Ernest rebuilt his 432 00:34:05,770 --> 00:34:10,250 Speaker 1: career by letting hect Lancaster own him out to other 433 00:34:10,330 --> 00:34:15,890 Speaker 1: filmmakers for one hundred thousand dollars a time, a quarter 434 00:34:15,970 --> 00:34:20,850 Speaker 1: of which Ernest could keep. Eventually it'd saved enough to 435 00:34:21,010 --> 00:34:23,850 Speaker 1: buy his freedom from the men who had made him 436 00:34:23,850 --> 00:34:27,570 Speaker 1: a star and for whom he had made a fortune. 437 00:34:27,650 --> 00:34:31,530 Speaker 1: It left him half a million dollars out of pocket 438 00:34:32,650 --> 00:34:36,410 Speaker 1: that the actor often laughed when revealing this figure to interviewers. 439 00:34:36,930 --> 00:34:41,250 Speaker 1: Some said Ernest's financial falling out with the producers prompted 440 00:34:41,290 --> 00:34:45,090 Speaker 1: him to concoct, or at least inflate, the story that 441 00:34:45,170 --> 00:34:49,970 Speaker 1: Marty was conceived solely as a tax dodge. But it's 442 00:34:50,010 --> 00:34:53,770 Speaker 1: not easy to see why Ernest would lie, and it 443 00:34:53,850 --> 00:34:57,450 Speaker 1: makes sense that the producers wouldn't publicly admit to the scheme. 444 00:34:58,090 --> 00:35:01,170 Speaker 1: What would they say, we wanted a tax loss, but 445 00:35:01,410 --> 00:35:06,250 Speaker 1: one a clutch of oscars by mistake for nineteen sixty 446 00:35:06,330 --> 00:35:10,570 Speaker 1: seven mel Brooks comedy The Producers plays a similar scenario 447 00:35:10,690 --> 00:35:16,330 Speaker 1: for laughs. In it, a Broadway musical celebrating the rise 448 00:35:16,450 --> 00:35:20,250 Speaker 1: of the Third Reich is staged as a sure fire 449 00:35:20,410 --> 00:35:24,170 Speaker 1: flop to allow for the embezzling of the production budget. 450 00:35:24,890 --> 00:35:31,410 Speaker 1: Only audiences love numbers such as Springtime for Hitler making 451 00:35:31,450 --> 00:35:32,890 Speaker 1: it a runaway success. 452 00:35:33,450 --> 00:35:34,770 Speaker 3: How could this happen? 453 00:35:35,250 --> 00:35:36,810 Speaker 1: Wales one of the fraudsters. 454 00:35:37,050 --> 00:35:42,050 Speaker 3: I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast. 455 00:35:42,530 --> 00:35:43,850 Speaker 3: Where did I go right? 456 00:35:45,570 --> 00:35:49,690 Speaker 1: If we accept Ernest's version of events, then Marty is 457 00:35:49,730 --> 00:35:53,290 Speaker 1: a rare positive twist on the many tales of taxes 458 00:35:53,450 --> 00:35:59,010 Speaker 1: causing perverse outcomes. Instead of bricking up windows or prompting 459 00:35:59,130 --> 00:36:04,530 Speaker 1: entertainers to stop entertaining, the tax rules, here might unintentionally 460 00:36:04,610 --> 00:36:09,970 Speaker 1: have created a movie masterpiece by encouraging Heckler Lancaster to 461 00:36:09,970 --> 00:36:13,770 Speaker 1: give the bold makers of Marty a free creative hand. 462 00:36:14,850 --> 00:36:18,570 Speaker 1: Harold Hecht himself said that such freedom was rare because 463 00:36:18,690 --> 00:36:21,690 Speaker 1: producers were usually under such pressure to play it safe, 464 00:36:21,890 --> 00:36:25,890 Speaker 1: given that even modest films were still a big financial gamble. 465 00:36:26,570 --> 00:36:34,450 Speaker 1: Seeking a tax Dodge took that gamble away once he 466 00:36:34,490 --> 00:36:40,650 Speaker 1: had ditched his agent. Ernest Borgnein's career spanned decades. He 467 00:36:40,690 --> 00:36:44,290 Speaker 1: was in some of the biggest films of the nineteen sixties, seventies, 468 00:36:44,330 --> 00:36:49,690 Speaker 1: and eighties that resigned himself to supporting roles and yes 469 00:36:50,410 --> 00:36:55,090 Speaker 1: usually playing heavies. He was still working right up to 470 00:36:55,170 --> 00:36:59,690 Speaker 1: his death in twenty twelve at the age of ninety five. 471 00:37:01,530 --> 00:37:04,290 Speaker 1: In his final years, he took time to write a 472 00:37:04,330 --> 00:37:08,850 Speaker 1: breezy autobiography explaining why he saw the funny side of 473 00:37:08,890 --> 00:37:14,010 Speaker 1: his career ups and downs. Ernest wrote that plots, plans 474 00:37:14,130 --> 00:37:18,010 Speaker 1: and other such shenanigans were a waste of time as 475 00:37:18,010 --> 00:37:21,570 Speaker 1: an actor. His attempts to land more leading roles after 476 00:37:21,610 --> 00:37:26,730 Speaker 1: the success of Marty had come to nothing, and that 477 00:37:26,890 --> 00:37:32,650 Speaker 1: was okay. He adopted as his personal motto something he 478 00:37:32,730 --> 00:37:36,890 Speaker 1: read on a sign above a hot chestnut stand as 479 00:37:36,890 --> 00:37:42,290 Speaker 1: he walked home from another failed audition. I don't want 480 00:37:42,370 --> 00:37:46,450 Speaker 1: to set the world on fire, read the sign. I 481 00:37:46,570 --> 00:37:54,690 Speaker 1: just want to keep my nuts warm. The key sources 482 00:37:54,770 --> 00:37:58,730 Speaker 1: for this episode of Portional Tales were Ernest Borgnin's memoir 483 00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:03,370 Speaker 1: mild To Biography and Kate Burford's book Burt Lancaster and 484 00:38:03,450 --> 00:38:07,610 Speaker 1: American Life. Porchy Tales is written by me Tim Harfard 485 00:38:07,650 --> 00:38:11,050 Speaker 1: with Andrew Wright. Live edition of the show is written 486 00:38:11,130 --> 00:38:15,850 Speaker 1: with Ryan Dilley, reproduced by Alice Fines. Tonight you heard 487 00:38:15,850 --> 00:38:20,890 Speaker 1: the voice talents of Oliver Hembra and Sarah Chap The 488 00:38:21,010 --> 00:38:24,810 Speaker 1: sound design and original music is the work of Pascal Wives, 489 00:38:24,850 --> 00:38:28,610 Speaker 1: Sarah and extended the script. Our recording engineer was Doug Fletcher. 490 00:38:29,090 --> 00:38:32,170 Speaker 1: Thank you to Ashley late and the Bristol Festival and 491 00:38:32,250 --> 00:39:25,770 Speaker 1: Economics