1953–54 Volume 78 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLL of Phi Delta Theta for September, 1953 25
covered a lot of ground since his yeoman
days and years at Oklahoma U. and Yale.
"I really started out to be a teacher but
wound up in the theater," he explained. A
meeting with director Richard Boleslawski
won him his first Broadway bid because
he looked like the typical college boy.
This led to the long running farce. Sailor
Beware, his first meaty assignment, and
other successes followed, including End of
Summer, The Philadelphia Story with Katharine
Hepburn and Joseph Gotten, besides
The Shrike.
"The Philadelphia Story was sort of written
with us in mind," Heflin explained. So
was The Shrike. The part was offered to
him before it was offered to Jose Ferrer,
who played it on Broadway. Van Heflin
was tied up with a picture and couldn't
take the role until the play went on tour.
The Hollywood side of Van Heflin's success
story is a little different. Three years
before The Philadelphia Story he couldn't
make a dent in the movies. He finally took
a $100 a week cut in pay for his first film
role. Still he didn't stir a bit of attention
until MGM took him under its wing. That
started a trail of 20 film roles starting with
Santa Fe Trail, The Feminine Touch,
H. M. Pulham, Esq., and the winning
Johnny Eager.
"I've played everything from rogues to
detectives," Van added, "but right now I'm
really excited by the part I did in Shane.
"In case you're wondering," said Van,
"Shane is what is called an action crammed
melodrama about the legendary west. It's
the story of the battle between the cattlemen
and the homesteaders in Wyoming.
That's been done a dozen times, I know,
but believe me, this one is different." ^
"To get the action scenes alone," said
Heflin, "we spent over three months in
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Director George
Stevens kept driving us every minute. He's
a stickler for perfection. Wait until you see
some of the fight scenes. They reach a new
high in gore and violence.
DADDY KEPT WAITING
Proving that even movie stars have this problem.
Van Heflin impatiently waits for his lo-year-old
daughter, Vana, to ,get off the 'phone so he can
make an important call. The popular star recently
completed the top role of his career in Shane, epic
outdoor drama in which he shares honors with Alan
Ladd and Jean Arthur.
"And talk about being realistic! I've still
got an eight inch scar to prove it."
The real credit for the film's force. Van
Heflin emphasized even as he laughingly
admitted he sounded like an advance press
agent, belongs to Director Stevens. "He
really directed this one with a bat in his
hands." Alan Ladd plays the title role of
Shane but don't let that fool you. Shane,
we have it on good report, clearly is Van
Heflin's masterpiece.
Theatergoers who saw Van Heflin perform
so convincingly in The Shrike
shouldn't find it difficult to believe. "Just
give me a good part and I'm in my glory,"
he said.
New General Officers Are Named
Ray Blackwell, Franklin '24, has been named Alumni Secretary of the Fraternity, and new
province presidents have been appointed in Iota, Lambda, and Omicron North. The November
SCROLL will carry full details.