'He gave us eleven free days on that picture that he didn't have to give us; we just had a ball with him. And he literally saved my life on Superman!
The film was produced by Alexander Salkind, whose wife Berta fancied herself a writer and repeatedly sent Mankiewicz script rewrites, which he ignored. After Brando's final day on the movie Mankiewicz and Donner took the actor to dinner on the King's Road.
The Salkinds got wind of it and joined them unannounced, Berta squeezing herself into the booth between Mankiewicz and Marlon.
'She was drunk,' recalls Mankiewicz. 'And she turned to me and said, "I keep sending you these rewrites and you never reply to me."
I said, "Mrs Salkind, I apologise, I'm just so busy!" To the whole table she said, "You know how much my husband is paying him." And then she announced my salary to everyone; it was just awful. "You should get on your hands and knees," she said to me, "and thank my husband for hiring you."
Well, Alexander Salkind was about four foot eleven, and I said, "Mrs Salkind, I'm always on my hands and knees when I'm talking to your husband so I can look him straight in the eye."
Suddenly she grabbed a steak knife and went right for me - the knife was four inches away from my chest, I swear to God - and Marlon grabbed her hand and shoved her down in the booth saying, "Will you behave?"
She nodded, and then came RIGHT at me again. You always wonder when something like that happens to you what you're going to do, and I'm afraid in my case I flunked, because I was so aghast I didn't try and stop her.
So I do owe Marlon one. I tell you what, even at Marlon's age then, boy his reflexes were awful fast. Got her just in time.'
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