Our story of the month: June 2005

The house's 'haunted' shell stands on a bluff overlooking the shoreline. The dark, solitary form fills the horizon. Broken glass-panes glisten in the sunlight and curtains beat furiously through opened windows. Shingles hang precariously from the house front. They seem to be saying, "Stay away".

Legend has it, the house is haunted, and has been since m murder occurred there at the turn of the century. Grey Stone Mansion was owned by an elderly couple and it is believed the husband murdered his wife, buried her in the basement, and then went mad. Night after night he'd sit by the window, rifle in hand, daring anyone to intrude on his world. Some local people swear they have seen the ghost of Grey Stone's 19th century owner still sitting in the window with his rifle.

On the sunny afternoon I travelled to Grey Stone no madman, or rifle, was to be found. The house did have a mysterious and eerie setting, but no ghost wandered the halls. As a matter of fact, for the past five years, Robert DiBerto, a real estate agent from Lee, New Hampshire, has owned and occasionally occupied the 1894 house. Mr. DiBerto and his family have been restoring Grey Stone to its historic beauty, hoping to make this lovely Cape Neddick home an enjoyable summer get away.

Cape Neddick is a part of the town of York, Maine. York itself is comprised of four separate areas: York Harbor, York Beach, York Village, and Cape Neddick.

One year ago the Maine Film Commission's director, Lea Girardin, contacted Mr. DiBerto. A production company wanted to use his house, Grey Stone, for a movie. Some of DiBerto's renovations would need to be disguised by false walls and other illusions would be used to alter the look of the home. But Grey Stone Mansion was it! The ideal house for a new film: "Bed & Breakfast", starring Roger Moore, Talia Shire, and colleen Dewhurst.

In "Bed & Breakfast", Roger Moore, (has portrayed The Saint and James Bond) plays a British con man who seeks anonymity, at a dilapidated old bed and breakfast, by posing as a handyman. In the movie, Grey Stone Mansion becomes the Wellesly House, a failing inn run by Colleen Dewhurst, Talia Shire, and newcomer Nina Siemaszko. Cape Neddick and Cape Porpoise are combined to create a fictional Maine town called Peeler's Point. But Mainers will recognize their own.

With an artist's eye, Roger Moore pointed out to me how Maine's natural beauty seemed to be made for the camera. "This area is very ripe for film making; it's just lovely. "Bed & Breakfast" simply could not have been filmed anywhere else. After all, bed and breakfast means Maine"! The movie's star was very taken with Maine's natural beauty. "The gorgeous coastline, trees, and sky can't be recreated in Hollywood", says Moore.

It was a series of coincidences that enabled Moore to come to Maine in the first place. One year ago, he and his wife were dining at Chasin's in Hollywood with President-Elect George Bush and his wife, Barbara. Executive Producer, Jack Schwartzman was attending a cocktail party in the same restaurant. "Jack spied me, came over and said he had a marvelous script for me to read. Well, I read it and found it absolutely fascinating. It was a very different sort of thing for me to do. I hadn't made a movie in four years, not since "A View To A Kill", because I wasn't interested in doing any Bondesque movies. This script provided me an opportunity for change". With a wide grin he confides, "but I still get to play and all the women fall in love with the handyman".

"Bed & Breakfast" was not originally written with a British handyman in mind. Talia Shire (Godfather, Rocky) suggested the role be rewritten for an Englishman. Moore read it, loved it and is now a partner in the movie.

"It was a very well-written script. I really wanted to do it", continue Mr. Moore. "But I did have other commitments at that time. Andrew Lloyd Webber had engaged me to do his new musical in London." Roger Moore: Saint, Spy, Hero, and now musical talent? "Well, no, not really", he informed me, laughting out loud. "They felt I could sing, but I knew better. We began working on the production, but in the end I pulled the plug on it. I felt it was the kindest gesture I could offer the audience. I did it out of respect for them and charity for my fellow singers".

"Suddenly I found myself free". Quicker than a blink Roger Moore was piloted to Maine to begin production on "Bed & Breakfast", under the direction of Robert Ellis Miller (Madame X, Her Life As A Man). "It's just beautiful here", Moore relates, "I mean who couldn't love it? They found us a beautiful home in Ogunquit, right on the water".

A York resident was chosen to chauffeur Moore from his home to various set locations. Being a passenger, Mr. Moore was able to see Maine first-hand. "Maine's beauty is unique, but you know some things are universal". With a dead pan expression he went on to tell me how he greatly disliked the "dead drivers" who visited Maine during the tourist season. Then he broke out in laughter. "It's true, you know! Dead drivers. There are a group of tourists who travel scenic routes all over the world going about 5 miles per hour in 35 m.p.h zones. It drives me mad. And you're not even allowed to pass them!"

The frustration doesn't really seem to trouble him though, rather he appears delighted with his humorous conception of these slow tourists as dead drivers. "I have a home in Gstaad, Switzerland and one in the South of France. It's the same there. They are both resort areas and tourists make it impossible to move through town. Well, thanks goodness have left Maine for the summer, ayuh?", he says with a chuckle.

"Seriously", Moore continue, "my wife, son and I have been here for two months a,d we love it". But with a six day filming schedule none of the crew or cast have been able to see too much of Maine except for site locations between the bridge and Cape Porpoise. But what they have been able to enjoy is the consideration Mainers have given them. Echoing the sentiments of both cast and crew, Roger Moore went on record as saying, "The neighbours of Grey Stone are wonderful, simply wonderful! In other places, its inevitable, you'll get people coming on the set, without permission, and then refusing to leave. They will declare they know their rights and refuse to budge. I've seen it in California and elsewhere. The crew will request them to leave saying 'but please sir, we need to put the camera there'". Once more he breaks into laughter. Humor seems to be an integral part of his person and seeing the humor in life's problems is one of his assets.

Second part of this article will be published next month.

Read our previous stories of the month

August - September - October - November - December 2003

January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December 2004

January - February - March - April - May 2005