What was the point of enlisting Vidal? Did they feel that Williams was incapable of competently adapting his OWN play? Was Vidal a better penner of dialogue? Did they feel that the source material wasn't salacious enough, and therefore needed some spicy wordplay to jazz it up?
Lastly, how did these two literary talents get along? What did each think of the other?
Cheers.
http://jmoneyyourhoney.filmaf.com/owned
Perhaps because Vidal had done more movie work?
Vidal mentions Williams several times in his autobiographies. Williams seems to be one of the few people he does not criticize. You sense there's a level of respect there for his talent.
Where's your crew?
On the 3rd planet.
There IS no 3rd planet!
Don't you think I know that?
Vidal and Williams got along very well. They were good friends and had road tripped through Europe together in Williams Jeep in the early 50s. Williams probably recommended Vidal for the screenplay because Vidal was a prolific teleplay and screenplay writer by that time and was comfortable in the medium.
shareWilliams said himself that even though his name is credited, he did not actually work on the movie at all.
So the "point of enlisting Vidal" was to have a complete script to shoot.