On a recent trip to the Pacific Coast I met Hollywood Producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., who told me that his forthcoming picture, Conspirator, had been inspired by a story he had read in TIME. He took me to see several sequences from it, and I asked him in turn to write me about the chain of events that led to its being produced. Here is his story:

"... A cover to cover reader of TIME, I found the following in the Books section of your issue of April 19, 1948: 'This speedy, thrilling novel begins with a courtship so disarmingly warm and sunny that no reader will dream of the horrors lying in wait . . . Few readers will be able to put down Conspirator before they have reached the last gasp.'

"These words about a new English novel by Humphrey Slater made me turn immediately to the novel itself and then to Studio Head Louis B. Mayer, with the recommendation that TIME'S judgment should be followed and the novel purchased at once, if available.

"Things moved fast. Mr. Slater, the author, was met by our representative in London, and Conspirator purchased from him on April 22, 1948, three days after the date of TIME'S issue. The following day Slater was approached by three other major American studios, all equally inspired by the TIME review. They arrived too late.

"As you know, Conspirator deals with the story of a 17-year-old girl who marries a major on active duty with His Majesty's Brigade of Guards. Despite the major's high position in the most sacrosanct military unit in the Empire, he is secretly in the Communist Party and giving military information to the Soviet. When his young wife learns of his treason she becomes a thorn in the side of the intelligence operation of the Russians in London, and the major is instructed to liquidate her lest more trouble follow . . .

"This is the core of as tense and exciting a situation as can be imagined and, for obvious reasons, to derive full value from the material it became desirable actually to produce the picture in London and, if possible, with the cooperation of the Brigade of Guards. Because of the nature of the material, we anticipated a cold refusal by the latter. To our surprise, full consent was given with certain stipulations that were readily accepted by us ... As one result of the Guards' participation in making the film, our Conspirator audiences will see a famous Guards' regiment in a military formation similar to that which tourists so eagerly attend at Buckingham Palace.

". . . Shooting began at Boreham Wood on Nov. 8 ... ended on Feb. 4, and on the 11th Director Victor Saville, together with Frank Clark, his English cutter, brought a rough cut of the picture to Hollywood, where we are presently engaged in preparing for its first sneak preview. Once . . . previewed and edited ... and the final musical score added . . . Conspirator will then be finished and ready for the world markets.

"From TIME review to Hollywood preview it will have taken just under a year, and TIME along with us can await with interest the verdict on its own appraisal of the original material."

To say the least, this kind of reaction to a TIME story does not happen every week. When it does, however, we are happy to hear about it. Good luck to Producer Hornblow and his new picture.

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