In January of 1953 Mel Ferrer left the United States to make two films abroad
- the first in Morocco and the second in London. But before going on to
Africa for "Saadia" he hooked up with close friend
Gregory Peck in Paris for a short "bachelor
trip," driving
through some countries and connecting up here and there in other
European spots. Mel was making reports home to journalists on a regular
basis with items appearing in various gossip columns along the way, and
this photo essay was done by Movie World while the two of them were in Sweden the last week of
January.
From Sweden Mel wrote home to Hedda Hopper that Gregory Peck
"caused such a riot he had to be rescued twice by radio patrol cars."
The two men met Sweden's top star while there - actress Anita Bjork -
and Mel gave her the script of his play "Strike a Match." She cabled
Ferrer shortly after with the news she was doing it on the Stockhom
stage and couldn't wait for the movie. Later that summer she was in
London filming "Night People" with Gregory Peck.
The gentleman in the middle of the photo below left is Sheldon Reynolds
with whom Mel was planning to make a movie following "Knights of the
Round Table" in London. It was called "Four Who Died" and concerned the
state of the world if Hitler had won World War II. Their plans seemed
definite throughout most of the year, but the movie was never made.
Although the press was having some fun calling the two married
men bachelors, 1953 was a turning point in both men's
marriages. Gregory Peck was having some widely publicized marital problems at the time and
his prolonged stay in Europe was to become an official (and expected) separation from his wife. Mel on the
other hand had been
good-naturedly dodging rumors about his marriage for years and there was
no reason to believe he didn't plan to return home at the end of his two
(or possibly three)
foreign shoots. Fate ruled otherwise. It was Gregory Peck who introduced
Mel to Audrey Hepburn - his "Roman Holiday" co-star - in London that
July while he was there filming "Knights of the Round Table."
His life
altered dramatically after that.
Additional photos can be found in the Gallery
