Extracts from
"The Journey"
by Robert Barham.

Epilogue - "Catch a Falling Star"

At the Mann’s Chinese theatre in Hollywood. There they have hand and footprints of the great film stars immortalized in concrete slabs for all to see.

In the corner of the courtyard to the front of the Chinese theatre are Archie’s hand and foot prints.

When Joan and I were in Hollywood, we visited this "shrine". We were looking around at the stars set in concrete and happened to stop by the prints of Bing Crosby.

As we looked down a voice at the side of us asked, "Who's Bing Crosby"? We looked up and saw a young man of around eighteen or twenty.

I was a little taken aback. I told him that it was Bing Crosby, the singer and film star.

The young lad looked at me blankly.

I continued, "You know, Bing Crosby, White Christmas, er, the "Road to" films with Bob Hope."

He continued his blank expression.

"Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, he was one of the great film stars!" I continued trying to enlighten him.

"Nope, can't say I've ever heard of him." The young man walked off.

Joan and I looked at each other and our jaws dropped. How could someone, anyone, not know of White Christmas Bing!

What has dawned on me since starting this journey is that maybe, just maybe, the likes of Chaplin, Cagney, Grant, Crosby, Astair, the great stars of the golden era of Hollywood, are finally starting to fade.

The likes of Crow, Pitt, Clooney are the stars of today, and to a younger generation, they are the golden stars.

When I was younger there would be no end of matinee films on TV with the likes of Grant, Sinatra etc. Even say ten to fifteen years ago, that was still the case.

Nowadays, unless you're watching one of the cable movie channels, many of those films either are not shown, or if they are, the other channel will have a football game, or those in their late teens or early twenties are out with their friends, doing whatever we all did in our younger days.

I do find it both sad and strange that "The Great" generation of film stars might be starting to fade. After all, they were the pioneers of so much of what we watch today.

How many times have you read that "such and such" a film is a remake of this or that film. How it is often said, oh, that's not a patch on the original!
In the conversations I've had about Archie over the last four years, a fair number of people under the age of, say 24, would say" Who?"

Could it really be that Archie is slowly fading into the sunset? I hope sincerely not.

In late 1996 Robert Barham began work on a musical about the early life of Cary Grant. The musical was entitled "Archie". During the course of his research, Robert came across a number of extraordinary coincidences between his own life, and that of Cary Grant. In "The Journey", Robert tells the fascinating story of his three years writing and researching the musical, from page to stage. A tale which would take him from London, to Cary's birth town of Bristol, and finally on to Hollywood. 

To order The Journey, go to http://www.lulu.com/content/877810.  You will then have the ability to download this e-book for $5.90.

Chapter One  |  Chapter Four  |  Chapter Six

Chapter Eight  |  Chapter 11  |  Epilogue