In part 34 of this series on May 22, I explained that Mabel Wagner wrote in her book Lest I Forget — which chronicled her time developing Trellis Bay with her Polish husband Wladek Wagner in the 1950s — that working for Countryman Films left her exhausted. Her husband had built a tiny cottage next to Tamarind House for her housekeeper, Myrtle Penn, my future sister-in-law, but she would have been sleeping at the clubhouse, probably in a large room converted into a dormitory for her and the other girls from East End. They had to be ready with breakfast for all the filmmakers when the launch arrived from Guana Island
Ms. Wagner had at first looked forward to having a change from talk about construction work. She enjoyed listening to her guests’ British accents, particularly when she heard that some of them worked at Pinewood Studios, near her sister’s home in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, just outside London.
She was also struck by the friendliness of actors Sidney Poitier and John Cassavetes, who joined Mr. Wagner aboard his yacht Rubicon on a trip to St. Thomas for supplies, taking a break from filming to do a little sightseeing. When she had to get supplies herself, she gladly accepted Mr. Poitier’s offer to mind the children while she was away. She describes him as a kind, charming gentleman.
Unwelcome change
However, Ms. Wagner noticed an unwelcome change in Mr. Wagner’s behaviour. While it is understandable that she might blame his unwillingness to let her join them on a shoot on an unaccustomed jealousy of men nearer her age than his, he might equally well have feared that dashing around would tire her out. Her husband’s description of the detailed work involved in making the film conflicted with the portrayal of the movie “Our Virgin Island” as a romantic story. Ms. Wagner wondered why the film company was so impressed with a book about Robb White and his young bride building one little house on Marina Cay years ago — but did not seem to appreciate the monumental task of building the Trellis Bay complex where they were staying.
End of filming
By December 1957, Countryman Films had finished the filming. The company thanked the Wagners for their help and hospitality and presented them with a lovely clock and some beautiful pictures of the children and family. Then they loaded their baggage and equipment on to Rubicon to be taken to St. Thomas for shipment back to England. Some of the film crew helped Mr. Wagner unload them in St. Thomas before saying goodbye to him.
Mr. and Ms. Wagner had thrilled the children by deciding to fly to St. Thomas for a few days and prepare for Christmas. They had often seen planes arrive and leave “daddy’s airstrip,” but now they were going to be on one.
Public Works had removed the wire fence Mr. Wagner had erected around the runway for some reason, so cattle often strayed onto the runway and had to be chased off before a plane could land or take off. The airport was used frequently, and Jack Monsanto flew in from St. Thomas twice a day, now in a larger four-seater.
Boarding it was exciting in itself, but when it took off they saw their Trellis Bay from the air for the first time. From the airport in St. Thomas, they took a taxi to Yacht Haven, then took a dinghy to the Rubicon, where they were warmly greeted by Mr. Wagner and Russie, their dog.
St. Thomas party
Mr. and Ms. Wagner were invited to join the film company at a party they were hosting at the Virgin Isle Hotel, then the largest hotel in St. Thomas.
Ms. Wagner wrote that she was excited at being invited to what would have been her first party in years, but they had no energy left even for fun. Just the thought of getting dressed was too much. In any case, they could not leave the children by themselves.
There was always work to be done on Rubicon, but she could feel no urgency about anything.
The aftermath of the film company’s “takeover” was not as easy a time as she had expected. They were both exhausted. Meanwhile, Mr. Wagner’s headaches after the HMS Triumph attack (see part 15 of this series, published on May 23, 2024) seemed to be worsening, and he was often unusually irritable and impatient.
Ms. Wagner recalls that she felt that she needed to rest at quiet, calm Trellis Bay, but she did not feel well. She could not function. She suddenly felt she was falling apart. Their friends in St. Thomas were not surprised, and one of them suggested out of the blue that she needed to visit her family in England.
Who booked the flights is unclear, but Ms. Wagner says that she and the children were quickly packed up and off on a flight to London, leaving Mr. Wagner in bewilderment and disbelief about what was happening.
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