From the Monkee Spectacular Archives, June 1968
MICKY ALONE
Micky joked as he headed up one of the sand dunes to begin filming the tank sequence again, “It looks as though I’m the only Monkee in this movie.”
We stood and watched as director Bob Rafelson put Micky through his scene over and over again. Here’s what’s happening: Micky is out on the desert alone and along comes this tank. He signals it to stop, and an Italian soldier comes up from inside the tank. The soldier waves his arms and yells at Micky to get out of the way. Soon, over the hill marches an army of Italian soldiers, coming right for Micky. Director Rafelson shoots this scene from all angles until he gets what he wants.
Micky is a real professional and does everything he’s told correctly. It’s getting pretty hot in the desert now, and the clock shows 10 A.M., and there’s still no sign of the other Monkees. We wonder what’s happening back at the hotel, so we decide to hop in the car and find out for ourselves. Micky goes along, too, since he’s finished with his part of the scene.
BACK AT THE HOTEL
Just as we arrive back at the hotel, Mike is pulling away in his black Buick Riviera. It must be time for him to start shooting his scene. Sure enough, when we hit the pool area, who should be lying in the sun, but Davy and Peter, along with Neko and several girls who are staying at the hotel, are there.
Davy waves and tells us to get in our suits and swim. “I don’t know when they need us on set today,” Davy laughs, “so we might just as well make the most of it.” Davy already has a very good tan, but he never burns, so he can lie in the sun as long as he wants. Peter, on the other hand, just can’t seem to get a tan at all. He complains, “All I’m getting is more freckles. I never had freckles up until just a year ago. Now I have freckles on what used to be my hairline.”
Micky came running out of his room toward the pool asking, “Has anyone seen my bathing suit?” Davy said, “You can borrow one of mine, man.” Micky headed over to Davy’s room and disappeared, yelling, “Thanks.”
When Micky came back to the pool he was wearing Davy’s beige bathing suit and it seemed funny that the suit would fit since Micky is so much taller than Davy. But actually, they’re pretty much the same size around the waist.
SWIMMING FUN
Peter, Davy, and Micky all dove in the pool together and swam for about 30 minutes. The hotel guests watched them diving and riding on each other’s shoulders. Peter has gotten to be quite an expert diver. He swam to the side of the pool and pushed his hair back from falling over his forehead. “This is the only time I look like my old self,” he laughed, joking about his Monkee haircut. He’s very pleased with the new sideburns he’s grown for the film. They’re coming in very black, and this is quite a contrast to his reddish brown hair. Micky’s hair isn’t as dark as it looks on screen or in photos. It’s really a sandy colored brown. Also, he’s not wearing it as curly as he once did, and it looks very groovy
Brendan Cahill came over the side of the pool where Davy was swimming and asked if he had time to do a tape-recorded interview to be played on a radio station in New York. Davy nodded OK, but then changed his mind. He was beginning to get impatient about his call for filming and asked Brendan to hold off the interview until later that evening.
The boys were getting hungry, so Davy ordered sandwiches and drinks for everyone, and we ate by the pool. Mike had come back from location by now, but he didn’t join the crowd. He ate in the dining room all by himself. During the entire time, Mike seemed to be spending most of his moments alone. He’s not unfriendly, but he does do a lot of thinking, and you have to be alone to think. When Mike walks, he always looks down at the ground and keeps a serious expression on his face.
CARD GAME
Davy started laughing with Neko about the card game they’d had the night before. “I lost again,” Davy admitted. “We watched the show together, then played cards and went to bed early.”
“I was too tired to watch the show,” Micky yawned. Peter said he watched but didn’t think it was one of their stronger shows.
By this time it is 12:30 and all the Monkees are told to be out on location by 12:45. Peter is talking to Micky about what would happen “if all the flowers on earth were wiped out, what would become of the animals?” Peter likes to talk and he spends a great deal of time doing just that. He’s about as opposite in this way from Mike as you can get.
Micky heads away from the pool to get dressed for the shoot, complaining that his nose is getting ting red from too much sun. “I don’t tan too easily,” he admits, “but my nose sure gets red!”
BACK TO LOCATION
By one o’clock we’re all back in the sand dunes ready to shoot. Davy’s wearing tight yellow horsehide trousers with his bright colored rajah coat and a dark purple cowboy hat; Mike’s dressed in a white turtleneck sweater and dark trousers; Peter has on an orange shirt, dark green leg-hugging slacks and beige knee-high moccasins; and Micky has on the same outfit he wore for the morning shooting.
Fans are clustered around watching every move closely. Peter has to have the makeup artist work on him before he steps in front of the cameras. The other three Monkees aren’t wearing makeup today because the shooting is all outside. Micky is busy hopping around talking to fans carrying a small yellow flower in his hand and generally seeing what every member of the crew is doing. He likes to check the camera angles, talk to the extras, watch director Rafelson plotting a scene, and try out any new prop that might be used in the filming process. The other three Monkees aren’t as interested in the technical side of filming as Micky is. Mike likes to go riding in groovy custom cars while he waits to shoot his scene. Dean Jeffries has brought down some special cars to be used in the film, and Mike keeps himself busy driving them around the location set. If he could own more automobiles, he would buy them. Currently, Mike has seven cars.
THE CAMERA MOVES
The scene being shot next is one in which the Monkees face a group of Arabs on top of the sand dunes. There are also Indians sitting on horses shooting arrows at the Monkees. Davy, Peter, Micky, and Mike are having a great time in this scene. They seem to be enjoying themselves much more here than they used to on the set of the Monkees’ TV show.
It is about 3:30 p.m. when all the fans start to arrive. School has let out, and the word that the Monkees are in Palm Springs is spreading. There are about 150 girls and boys watching the filming now. Whenever the Monkees are not in front of the cameras, they come to the sidelines and sign autographs. Peter enjoys talking to the fans and kids along with them about school, music, dating, etc. Davy poses for many pictures with fans, and Micky is still busy going from place to place and from activity to activity
At 4:30, director Rafelson stops filming because a dust storm has begun and it’s making photography too difficult. The Monkees are happy because they can get back to the hotel and swim for a few hours.
Davy waves goodbye to the fans, and the boys all get into the studio limousine and return to the hotel. It’s been an easy day for the Monkees and much, much fun for all their fans. And for us, too!
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