Considered for Carnage

Bill Cutley, or as his friends called him, Dick, was just beginning to light his evening cigarette. Success doesn’t come without having a few vices. Mr. Cutley had more than a few, but when you’re in as successful as Mr. Cutley, people tend to replicate your habits rather than critique them. This was fine for Mr. Cutley. In earnest, he didn’t have time to conflate the egos of his employees or haggle with their representation. Movie making was his business, and focusing on anything other than the bottom line costs men like Mr. Cutley their jobs nine times out of ten.

This outlook, which some may call harsh, of his job’s daily duties is primarily why MGM signed Mr. Cutley to a 10 year $1 million contract. Hollywood was in shock that a studio head from Kansas earned the coveted “First Million Dollar Contract.” The confusion many felt towards Mr. Cutley bursting onto the scene abated quickly however, when in 1952 he signed Gene Kelly to an exclusive contract and produced the massively successful “Singin’ in the Rain.” After that, people wanted to get close to Mr. Cutley, hoping he would help them succeed as much as he had himself. The problem with Hollywood is, everyone is so concerned with themselves that they forget to learn about those they want to take advantage of. If even one of these people looked deep enough and long enough, they would have stayed clear of Mr. Cutley. Sadly for Ms. Angie Nicoles, the discovery of just how destitute Mr. Cutley’s morality was would have saved her life.

It was the summer of 1955. MGM just released “A Willow of Words,” its biggest project to date. It was helmed exclusively by Mr. Cutley meaning opening night would be a packed house. Ticket sales were projected to earn the studio ten times the massive budget spent creating this epic. Mr. Cutley, always a measured man, truly believed in this project, believed in it like he never had a project before. Maybe that is why he was blinded to the little things. Scrutinizing the little things was Mr. Cutley’s favorite part of the job back in Kansas, and early on at MGM he still had enough time to make sure the production and set pieces were up to snuff. “A Willow of Words,” along with the five other movies MGM had been producing this past year, had left little time for Mr. Cutley to ensure that the story and design were exactly like he was envisioning in his mind when the script was first pitched. While not a man of hubris – as that to Mr. Cutley led down a short road to perdition – “A Willow of Words” clearly had the ability to be a commercial and critical darling unlike anything MGM ever made before. That, like so many other things, is why the hardest of falls come when one is highest up.

Mr. Cutley loved an October release. It had never failed him. He liked to think that it was too cold to avoid the indoors for the Eastern states, and too slow in the entertainment world to miss out on a new MGM film in the West. While many found his allure to October as nothing more than superstition, the results were undeniable. All MGM films helmed by Mr. Cutley made almost double what they were projected to make by the media, and with so few other movies coming out, usually got rated higher due to little comparison. This is why Mr. Cutley, always a man for details, should have realized something was amiss. The weekend of October 15^th, one week before the release of “A Willow of Words,” was unusually warm in the East. Temperatures hit 85 degrees, a phenomena that hadn’t happened for 30 years and wouldn’t become a norm for another 40. While the Eastern US was staying hot – and therefore outside – the West was stirring with the excitement of “East of Eden” and “Rebel Without a Cause” both coming out at the end of October. This didn’t concern Mr. Cutley, not because it shouldn’t have, rather because, how can something become a concern if you have no knowledge of it happening? Now, with the East distracted and the West having options like never before, “A Willow of Words” would be successful or a failure on its own merit. Unfortunately, the last thing it could rely on was being a good movie.

It wasn’t that “A Willow of Words” was bad per say, rather it was almost three hours of self-aggrandizing, dryness, and frankly confusion. Mr. Cutley went to the premier in Hollywood, and while he was being ham-fisted and ogled upon prior to the film beginning, by the end he was able to stand up and leave the theatre to nothing but distracted eyes. Not a single viewer could look upon him. The magnitude of it all didn’t hit Mr. Cutley until his personal assistant finally spoke up during the car ride to his home,

“Mr. Cutley…”

With this request to begin conversation, the almost wholly exhausted studio head of MGM turned to look at his assistant.

“…well… well sir I’d say that the benefit of this movie is that it can be seen as an incredible learning experience.”

A learning experience.

Nothing in that very moment could have so aptly cut through the minutiae of the premier and strike at the true outcome more. This movie was a failure. A failure for MGM, a failure for Mr. Ripley, and a failure for audiences. Whatever came next, Mr. Cutley knew would not be good. That was another of his many vices – being a realist who understands the true gravity of a situation.

In the following months, “A Willow of Words” earned less than a quarter of its budget, meaning Mr. Cutley, the man who succeeded in earning a $1 million contract before anyone else in Hollywood, had just cost his studio $6 million with one movie. The writing was on the wall. Whereas most other studio heads would be fired immediately upon losing that much money in one film, MGM executives realized the potential Mr. Cutley had, and that punishing him now would be no worse than the internal torment he already feels. Still, they had to give off the appearance of being hard on the man that created an economic sinkhole, so right before the new year, Mr. Cutley received a note reading,

Dearest Bill,

We know the difficulties you have personally felt with the lack of success “A Willow of Words” has had. We do not blame you. Movies fail much more often than they succeed; nevertheless, for the company to save face, you must know you are on thin ice. The board has decided to give you the opportunity to make one more film, and the theatrical success or failure of it will determine if you shall finish out your contract with us at MGM. Please, use your best judgement like you always have, and bring home a winner.”

Reading that letter would have provided most men in Mr. Cutley’s position with a sigh of relief. He still had a job and an opportunity to prove himself. Yet Mr. Cutley was more inquisitive than most. He read in-between the lines and struck at the heart of the issue. For one, the use of “failure” was of significant importance to him. The movie was critically average, but nowhere near a failure. It came to Mr. Cutley that the film’s failure – and any concerns MGM had - were tied to money and money alone. Audiences just wouldn’t see it. The other prominent point was the fact that his next movie had to be a “theatrical success or failure.” With this, one of the most devious and heinous plots in all of Hollywood history came into Mr. Cutley’s mind.

It would require an up-and-coming actress. Someone with draw, but not someone that would be missed. This last part was vital, for Mr. Cutley planned to create a new film with the sole goal of recouping the lost money, all without ever finishing filming.

The plan was set into motion 3 months later, in March of 1956. Casting calls had just begun for the new movie titled “Considered for Care,” and would be about a maid who is hired by an affluent but lonely millionaire, and over time a romance forms between the two. In the role of the millionaire would be Clark Gable, but the actress, at the insistence of Mr. Cutley, had to be a rising star. Well, there were plenty of those in Hollywood, all that needed to be done was cast the net.

It took 3 weeks before the right actress arrived. Mr. Cutley was always present for auditions. He felt that it gave him a good understanding of how the role should and should not be played when film started rolling. He also liked to intimidate his casting employees and the auditioning talent; it was another one of his many vices to feel in a state of superiority at all times. “Considered  for Care,” was especially important for Mr. Cutley to hand pick an actress. While others thought it was just excessive managing after the results of “A Willow of Words,” Mr. Cutley kept repeating the same mantra to himself on the inside, rising star + won’t be missed = Cutley’s success… rising star + won’t be missed = Cutley’s success… rising star + won’t be missed = Cutley’s success…This concern was weighing heavily on the studio head’s mind when in walked Angie Nicoles. While Mr. Cutley likes to believe he immediately realized she was the star fit for his next film, in earnest it wasn’t until he asked about her personal life that he knew she was perfect. No family in the state, just moved to Hollywood, was in a few small movies but had started to make a name. Plus, unlike the other ladies that auditioned, it would be believable that Mr. Cutley picked her to star as she clearly had the acting prowess. It was so unfortunate she would never be able to go on and be successful though.

It took another month before the movie began filming, and just like every movie, Mr. Cutley needed to ensure that everything was up to code. His first order of business when sets started to be designed was to ensure that  any occurrence would seem more accidental than planned. Because of this, Mr. Cutley found the stage director and quickly said,

“You need to fire your assistant. I caught him engaging in some rather… nefarious activity. Do not fret, for I have already secured a replacement for you.”

With that, Mr. Cutley was off. While unexpected, the stage director was not shocked. He trusted his second in command but Mr. Cutley doesn’t look at people the same as average humans, so he just moved on with his day, firing his assistant such as he was told.

The only problem was that Mr. Cutley’s replacement was little more than a random hire found working in a retail shop in the greater Los Angeles area. Mr. Cutley paid the man and told him to say he had worked for Paramount and Warner Brothers for 15 years combined and MGM had won him when his last contract was expired.

After securing the fall man, Mr. Cutley went on to do the most important part of his planning phase – meet with insurance agencies. In the 1950s, each insurance firm would only insure a movie up to $500,000, and one needed good reason to get the maximum amount anyways. Mr. Cutley spent two weeks before the start of filming going to as many insurance firms he could in the state of California, all with the same story. It would begin with the insurance worker going,

“Hello sir. How may I assist you today?”

Mr. Cutley would reply, “I am well. I work for MGM studios, a big movie company, and well… while I fully expect the film to go off without a hitch, it is an extremely expensive and complex film I am making see? So, what I am asking for is just a little bit of a larger safety net. We have to film in multiple different countries, with multiple actors flying, doing stunts, and large set pieces. You wouldn’t happen to be able to assist in this endeavor would you.”

It’s unsure whether the message Mr. Cutley conveyed tonally struck each listener as that of a dear friend asking for help, or a venomous snake you are too afraid to turn away from for fear it would strike. Either way, in the span of the two weeks Mr. Cutley spent traveling insurance firms, he was able to have all ten that he went to sign off on insuring “Considered for Care.” In total, the firms would be liable to pay $8 million if it could not be released, but Mr. Cutley had one more trick up his sleeve. He went to MGM’s usual insurance provider, and took out what was then the maximum of $750,000 on each of the two stars of the film. By the end of his planning, Mr. Cutley had the makings of a tidy sum available to him in the incredibly unlikely case of accident or injury.

With filming beginning in May, Mr. Cutley’s moment of truth was fast approaching. He knew that all of his hard work could not be rushed, so for the most part he waited. He watched as “Considered for Care” was being put together and slowly growing into a tangible product, and felt an uncharacteristic sense of insecurity. This, unlike “A Willow of Words,” was actually a good film. Ah well, Mr. Cutley thought, no film could recoup the losses from his last mistake. He had to stay the course.

It wasn’t until the final month of filming, in late July, that Mr. Cutley sprung the final leg of his plan. As he knew would be the case, the new assistant stage director was horrible. Always lazy, unsure what to check, unaware of the simplest of safety regulations, the only problem was the incredible stage director who, even with this assistant, ensured the sets and mechanics of the film were always safe. Yet one day, the director could not come in, and Mr. Cutley knew he would never find a more opportune moment. In the hours before Angie Nicoles was set to come on and do a monologue about whether she could truly love Clark Gable’s millionaire for himself or just his money. It was an incredibly moving scene that everyone on set would watch when Angie performed it, and she always bent down in the same spot to cry at the end. There was also a light right above her, about 50 feet in the air and weighing somewhere near 90 pounds. Mr. Cutley, on this late July morning, could have been found tinkering with the support wires that kept the light from falling.

To not arouse any suspicions, Mr. Cutley had practiced on an old light at home. With a month of practice he could sabotage the rigging in under 45 seconds. This is exactly what happened, and as the hours ticked away, the light became looser and looser, until, at around 3 pm, with everyone standing around and Mr. Cutley sitting in his chair off to the side like he always did, Angie went into her monologue. This time though, with an anonymous note at her door in strange handwriting, she arrived with a whiskey bottle, to make it appear that her maid character was in the throes of an emotional binge. Angie, always the experimenter, liked the idea, and with the director getting the okay from Mr. Cutley, the scene went as it always did. Everyone was transfixed. Angie performed as if she herself were drunk on booze and love but unsure which was talking louder to her. As she went to lay down, a sudden snap could be heard but was registered by only one man.

In moments the daze lifted and everyone was unsure what to do first. Do they put out the fire that began to rage with the mix of incandescent bulbs and whiskey, or remove the crushed body of Angie Nicoles?

Mr. Cutley, always the man with a plan, was ordering everyone to a position that would help quell the fire and remove the dead actress. Within 10 minutes there were fire blankets and fire extinguishers. Within 15 the fire department was there. Nevertheless, the entire set had been charred. The film survived miraculously thanks to the director’s quick thinking, but that was the least of everyone’s concerns, for Angie Nicoles, the girl with the brightest future in Hollywood, went up in flames.

It would be another 5 weeks before the insurance paid out for the set and Angie’s life insurance. Mr. Cutley made the studio an incredible bundle of money and was congratulated by the executives at MGM for making the best out of a terrible scenario. They renewed his contract for another 5 years on top of the 4 remaining. With this extended opportunity to make films, Mr. Cutley was on the lookout for the next hit, one that he would personally monitor and ensure went off without any problems. After searching for a bit, a script hit his desk. His assistant described it as a historic epic that would cost millions to make but would be remembered for all time. It was title “Ben-Hur.”

As for “Considered for Care,” it went down in Hollywood lore. Some say there are screenings of the unfinished product still out there, but few have ever claimed to see it. Now, the movie is remembered by a different name, one that suites its legacy much more, “Considered for Carnage.”