Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/914212
92 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2017 CUT / PRINT the Beverly Hills Hotel. Among them were former editors Robert Wise, Dorothy Arzner, Edward Dymtryk, John Sturges and Robert Parrish, as well as key directors such as guild president Joseph Mankiewicz, John Huston, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, Rouben Mamoulian, King Vidor and George Stevens. Arguments about instituting a loyalty oath was only part of the October 22 agenda, although at the previous August board meeting, DeMille had engineered a plan requiring all members to go on record when he orchestrated a "signed ballot," one that did away with anonymity. Any member who did not vote yes would be seen to oppose the oath; it passed 574-14. Mankiewicz was on vacation in Europe at the time, after working on All About Eve (1950), and knew nothing about this. With Mankiewicz back at the next board meeting, the oath requirement was discussed, and it remained in place. However, Daily Variety reported that Mankiewicz refused to sign, and that a "bitter debate" divided the guild. No one knows who fed this story to Variety, but DeMille assumed it was Mankiewicz, which the latter denied. DeMille was furious at this public challenge to his power and, as Brianton writes, "He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory." More strife followed, as DeMille tried to oust Mankiewicz, whom he had personally nominated as SDG president. The outrageous conduct of DeMille and his supporters intensified as the guild's executive secretary was pulled into the fray, and a ballot to recall Mankiewicz was rushed to the membership list by motorcycle messengers. In an astonishing display of hubris, 50 to 55 Guild members who were potential Mankiewicz supporters were intentionally left off the list. This insult is carefully explained by Brianton, as is the resulting October 22 full membership meeting. There, as DeMille spoke, the mood became uproarious, and Brianton captures its intensity by heavily citing the official transcript. (The DGA later sealed the transcript and, although it has since become available, the only version accessible for some years was Mankiewicz's heavily annotated copy.) DeMille came prepared with his usual thoroughness, expecting to hold sway. He apparently saw the fight as one to preserve American conservatism and guild unity. Speaking of those 20-odd members who signed a petition to undo the Mankiewicz recall, he railed, "Is it their object to split this Guild wide open so that The Daily Worker and Pravda can gloat over the spectacle?" DeMille was eventually cowed into presenting a motion to repeal the recall, but that did not end the rancor. Members continued to speak out against him and it seemed as if DeMille was going to be expelled from the board. It was then that Ford, who had remained silent, rose, identifying himself to the stenographer. According to the transcript, his actual words were, "My name is John Ford. I am a director of Westerns." Apparently some chuckled, as Ford (another guild founder) was far more than a director of Westerns, although at the time he was working on Rio Grande (1950). Brianton characterizes Ford's speech as "rambling, jumping from one topic to another." According to the author, "Having made it clear that he supported Mankiewicz and was no fan of DeMille's loyalty oath," Ford then proceeded to speak emphatically in defense of DeMille with the result that — in Brianton's estimation — "Without Ford's intervention, it seems unlikely DeMille could have survived the meeting." Ford's solution was to suggest that the entire board resign, thus saving face for DeMille. This eventually transpired, and a new board took office, with Mankiewicz remaining as president. Ford Joseph Mankiewicz.