I have never seen the movie, 'Maria's Lovers,' starring Robert Mitchum, Nastasia Kinski and John Savage. It was filmed in and around Brownsville, PA. when I was editor of the Brownsville Daily Telegraph and playing poker at the Elks Lodge, a fire hall, and a private residence.
But when the actors and film crew came to Brownsville, a small rustic community about 20 miles from Pittsburgh, PA., it triggered a lot of passion and caused a lot of activity at the lodge. Nastasia, the former wife of film director Roman Polanski, even presented the Elks club with a nude photo of herself with a live python wrapped around her.
Savage, who starred in 'The Deer Hunter,' made himself available for an interview but Kinski was too playful and elusive to slow down for a reporter. When she wasn't shooting the film, she hung out at the lounge in the Holiday Inn where she lived the life of an international star. One night I tried to convince her to give me an interview, pointing out I had been a correspondent for People Magazine. That appeal failed.
'What do I need with People?' she said. 'I was on the cover of 'Time.' But thank you for asking me.' She threw a kiss my way and ran to a waiting limo.
Mitchum was also elusive from the local press. He managed to stay drunk between takes. One night my friends in Brownsville told me he grabbed a bottle of tequila and strolled down the town's main street shouting, 'Does anybody know we're making a pornographic movie in your town?' Then he would take a drink from the bottle and roar with laughter.
Savage spoke to a local veterans group and I got somewhat of an interview from him. He didn't have much to say and it wasn't much of a story, though, and I think the veterans left disappointed.
It didn't matter. My interest in those days was putting out a daily newspaper and playing poker three nights a week.
The most action was at the Elks Lodge where Brownsville Police Chief Sam Nicola and his wife, Fanny, had regular seats in the game. You had to be a member to play, so I paid for a year's membership. During the eight months I worked at the Telegraph, I estimate I won a little over $10,000.
One night one of the members hung the photo of Kinski and the serpent on the wall. She had signed it and the photo was quite fetching.
'Pretty, ain't she?' the member said.
'If you're talking about the girl, absolutely, but I'm not sure about the snake,' I said.
I was never much of a Mitchum fan, but I do love foreign films. 'Maria's Lovers' received so-so reviews from movie critics and one of these days I do plan to watch it.
I don't know if they are still playing poker back at the Elks Lodge. But I am sure if the lodge is still in existence that the photo of Nastasia is still there. The photo is art and nobody wants to mess around with art.
There were a lot of rumors circulating Brownsville about Kinski. Supposedly she had met a young coal miner and fell in love with him. I asked about that, but nobody could give me a name and so I dismissed it as just a far-fetched tale. But still, one never knows.
It's too bad Mitchum didn't get in on our poker game. I would have loved to have seen him collide with Chief Nicola on a hand, or even Nicola's fiery Italian wife, Fannie.
An interviewer once asked the director of 'Maria's Lovers' why he had chosen Brownsville as the location for the film. He said the town had an ancient look about it that fit in with the plot and that he was impressed with the old buildings and the bridge crossing the river.
I did spend one day on the set of the movie. The police had roped it off and kept about 100 fans at bay. Some of the town's young beauties had come to the area, hoping to be chosen to play a walk-on part in the film.
I remember a lovely blond, about 19, who was the daughter of a local judge. She saw me there with my camera and asked him if I had met Mitchum.
'Of course,' I said, lying to her.
'I would love to meet him,' she said dreamily. 'He has always been one of my favorite actors.'
For a long moment, I hesitated. If I hadn't been married at the time, who knows what my response might have been. All I told her was, 'Good luck,' knowing that dreams die hard.
