By Jay Meisel

Meisel@hometownnewsol.com

FORT PIERCE - Theories over the years that famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart was captured by the Japanese, worked as a spy for President Roosevelt or decided to assume a new identity gained little credence with members of her family.

Such is the case with the premise of the new movie, "Amelia," which focuses on a supposed love affair between Mrs. Earhart and Gene Vidal, the father of author Gore Vidal.

Sally Chapman of Fort Pierce, the granddaughter of publisher George Putnam, who married Mrs. Earhart in 1931, said she doesn't believe the affair ever occurred.

Mrs. Chapman said no one in her family, including her grandfather, ever mentioned such an affair. And no one she has talked to believes it ever occurred.

The affair story, she said, is largely based on Mr. Vidal recalling that when he was 7 years old, his father said he was in love with Mrs. Earhart.

Last week, Mrs. Chapman traveled to New York City to see the premiere of the movie. She said she hoped it would do justice to Mrs. Earhart, but found it disappointing.

It's like if you are "served a slice of apple pie, but they don't put any apples in it," she said.

"I was hoping this movie would do justice to Amelia Earhart," she said. "In my opinion, it fell flat.

"Because of Gore Vidal, they created this fictitious movie that had nothing to do with this great woman's life," she added.

By the movie focusing on the affair, she said, it leaves out the "rich part" of her life, Mrs. Chapman said.

When Mrs. Earhart married Mr. Putnam, after he divorced Mrs. Chapman's grandmother, Dorothy Binney Putnam, she embraced his family, Mrs. Chapman said.

She flew into St. Lucie County in 1934 to see her new step-granddaughter, at the time, Mrs. Chapman's sister.

And she taught Mrs. Chapman's father, David Putnam, to fly.

Mrs. Earhart was the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. She disappeared while trying to fly around the world.

Mrs. Chapman, who was born in 1937, the year that Mrs. Earhart apparently died, said even her grandmother, Dorothy Binney Putnam, developed a friendship with Mrs. Earhart.

"They stayed in contact over the years," Mrs. Chapman. "She respected her (Mrs. Earhart) for her accomplishments."

Mrs. Earhart isn't the only famous person in Mrs. Chapman's family. Her maternal great-grandfather, Edwin Binney, was the inventor and co-owner of Binney & Smith, the company that made Crayola crayons. He retired in Fort Pierce.

Original plans for the movie called for actress Virginia Madsen to portray Mrs. Chapman's grandmother.

Mrs. Chapman said she talked with the producer at the premiere and asked him why the script was changed to eliminate her grandmother from the cast of characters.

The producer said they decided it would make the script too complicated, she said.

Then, she said, "he just put up his hands and said, 'That's Hollywood.'"

It appears, Mrs. Chapman said, they wanted to produce a movie with the most sensational angle.

Her feelings are similar when it comes to most of the theories that have surfaced regarding Mrs. Earhart's fate.

"I just laugh at all these various theories," she said. "These are stories written by people who want to gain fame through writing books."