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The Eagle Has Two Heads
Theater: Plymouth
Opening Date: March 19, 1947
Performances: 29Playwright: Jean Cocteau
Director/Producer: John C. Wilson
with Helmut DantinePartial Cast: Helmut Dantine, Kendall Clark, Clarence Derwent, Cherokee Thornton, Eleanor Wilson
Tallulah's Role: The Queen
Tallulah was eager to take on the role of a Bavarian queen who must convince a handsome young assassin to spare her life. The play had been a success in France and Tallulah couldn't wait to tackle a demanding twenty- minute monologue. She initially had chosen Marlon Brando for the assassin and he did play the role in the pre-Broadway tryouts, but his behavior on the set appalled Tallulah. He picked his nose, scratched his crotch and in his death scene, he stumbled around the stage looking for a place to land that left the audience laughing. The rumor was that he didn't like Tallulah and he wanted to be fired. His crude tactics worked and he was replaced by the German actor Helmut Dantine. The play, however, lasting only 29 performances. The original title was translated as Eagle Rampant, but Tallulah wanted it changed saying "The only thing rampant about the goddamned thing is Brando's crabs."
