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TV Guide
January 29, 1954
Mr. Colman's testimony brought to light an uncelebrated facet of Mr. Montgomery's many-sided talent, and underlined what is in constant evidence: the elegant aplomb Bob brings to everything he does. With Bob, as anyone knows who has watched his unruffled performance on his Monday night drama series, nothng ever goes wrong. Well, hardly ever.
But a short while ago, Bob must have been thinking of politics as he narrated a show featuring a fine performance by actress Teresa Wright. When Miss Wright returned for the usual round of congratulations and what's-on-for-next-week, Montgomery persistently called her Martha Scott, another capable actress who was nowhere around that evening. A few weeks later an abashed Montgomery informed his viewers that he had committed a spectacular blooper.
Montgomery, producer and director, as distinguished from Montgomery, actor, is strictly a postwar development. Bob is one of that rare breed of actors with creative abilities so abundant they burgeon out in all fields of dramatic art. Discharged from the Navy in 1944 with a fine war record, Bob was put in a film that was noteworthy for accuarte casting. The movie was "They Were Expendable," with Montgomery as a PT boat skipper, his job during the war.
Director John Ford became ill before the film was completed and Bob took over. From then on there was no stopping him.
When Montgomery came East in 1949 to head his TV show, rumor had it that he was merely a front man. Though Bob doesn't get involved in all the technical detail that harasses many producers, he does have a great deal to do with the overall supervision of his show, including the choice of scripts and casts.
Despite his tremendous ability, Bob sometimes gets off the beam. Before "Late Love," the show in which his daughter Elizabeth is currently appearing, opened on Broadway, Bob went up to see the show's New Haven tryout. His pre-Broadway decision: The show would run a brisk 10 days. It's still running, proving that Producer Montgomery, paid for his judgment of what constitutes a good show, can be as wrong as anybody.
It is almost a ritual for an actor abandoning Hollywood to unleash a few parting blasts at the cultural stagnation of Movieland. Montgomery, who put in 20 years there, considers those days the happiest of his life. As he says, "I worked hard. It was full of disappointment and joy, discouragements and rewards. I'll be forever grateful for all those wonderful years."
The Lady Lost Her Head
Probably Bob's most notable triumph was his performance as Denny (sic) in "Night Must Fall," a part in which he carried a young lady's head around in a satchel. Previous to this film (1938) (sic), he had been cast in dozens of movies as a charming wastrel.
Bob does little acting now, and only on his TV show. With the right part he'd make another movie, but not just to appear on the screen again.
Montgomery has become a figure of note outside the dramatic field in recent years. He's a wheel in the Republican Party, and it was said that if Dewey had been elected in 1948, Bob would have rated a cabinet position.
Let's See, Now--Who Else...
Bob's outspoken radio commentary a few years ago was another tenet of the Montgomery plan for a rich, full life. His favorite target: the alliance between crime and politics.
On the show he once demanded "Get Costello out of the country," referring to gambler Frank Costello. A lady fan from New England wrote in complete accord: "I agree with you. And while you're at it, get rid of that awful Abbott, too."
Bob also got into hot water when he accused a big city politician of a tie-up with the gangs. Though Montgomery's insurance company paid off out of court, feeling that he lacked evidence, Bob says he'll be glad to repeat the charges, any time, any place.
All this would seem to stamp Montgomery as a crusader, but the name infuriates him. Instead, he says, "It's just a matter of setting a trap for rats. It's a community project. When you find out that something is wrong, you go out and do something."
Somehow Montgomery still finds time to be an active member of the board of Macy's department store, of New York society and of the sport car crowd. And right now he's off on a new tack. His next idea for improving the country is to improve the country's newspapers, which he contends, for the most part, are now too passive, without fighting editors. He loves a fighting newspaper and feels that without it the U.S. has lost some of its flavor. And that's the latest crusade for the non-crusading Montgomery.