Hollywood Screen Tests, Take 2
Judy Garland inValley of the Dolls? Walter Matthau inThe Seven Year Itch? These are among the what-ifs offered by these screen tests from the vaults of Twentieth Century Fox. Some of the pieces are more intriguing than others (there's too much time spent onHello, Dolly!), but the goodies are choice: teenage Tuesday Weld showing her independent spirit in a casual "personality test," and the brand-new Rock Hudson rather unpolished in an extended emotional scene. A highlight is a long test of a pre-Green HornetBruce Lee (shot, Lee mentions, a few days after the birth of his son Brandon), in which the future star shows off his dazzling kung fu moves. Matthau's test (he was favored by director Billy Wilder) is played side-by-side with Tom Ewell trying the same scene; Ewell got the role he'd played on Broadway, but this snippet makes you wonder what might have been.--Robert Horton