Cinema: Bachelor's Children

When Ferdinand de Lesseps set out to build the Suez Canal in 1859 he was a dignified widower of 54, who had had five sons by his first wife. Five days after the canal was finished in 1869 Ferdinand de Lesseps married again. By his second wife he had six more sons and as many daughters. Of the 17* de Lesseps offspring seven were still alive last week.

When Twentieth Century-Fox set out to make a $2,000,000 picture about Ferdinand de Lesseps last spring, Producer Darryl Zanuck entrusted the leading role to 23-year-old...