Take 2: Irene Mayer Selznick, a Life in Three Acts

<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1rwjNKvjiJVAo6vLvvJ4L7E6u5-MWrWAroNu2dRpFuq9xQFc0p633lqr8W0FmG2NBITm_-VBQRzKgL5TLleMYjGTqHXmBGXSINuLRkQWt3rKjgwSsxV2421BCnEfRa0eAGAOSesPrpjI/s1600/Private+View%252C+Irene+Mayer+Selznick+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1rwjNKvjiJVAo6vLvvJ4L7E6u5-MWrWAroNu2dRpFuq9xQFc0p633lqr8W0FmG2NBITm_-VBQRzKgL5TLleMYjGTqHXmBGXSINuLRkQWt3rKjgwSsxV2421BCnEfRa0eAGAOSesPrpjI/s400/Private+View%252C+Irene+Mayer+Selznick+3.jpg" width="391" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Classic Film Boy and The Lady Eve Discuss the Fascinating Irene Mayer Selznick</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSnv0SDnAR0IDllOtkp8c_djExaJ4v1CfoEnScXtpzDVM3E6YJXolP4j-0KST9FMSLrIWxuS89jSo-EyqVmcL1rx9TtdV8InczQ-Kb6LRcZtzAmz7KtOaP4Jmc0TywweFbqR5ByWGi46e/s1600/Take+2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSnv0SDnAR0IDllOtkp8c_djExaJ4v1CfoEnScXtpzDVM3E6YJXolP4j-0KST9FMSLrIWxuS89jSo-EyqVmcL1rx9TtdV8InczQ-Kb6LRcZtzAmz7KtOaP4Jmc0TywweFbqR5ByWGi46e/s200/Take+2-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"><i>Welcome to Take 2, a conversation about Irene Mayer Selznick, the daughter of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer and first wife of famed producer David O. Selznick. Both Classic Film Boy (CFB) and I (TLE) recently read <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1238423.A_Private_View" target="_blank"><u>A Private View</u></a></span>, Mayer Selznick’s 1983 autobiography.We were impressed by the story of this strong woman who grew up and lived in Hollywood during its golden age and went on to become an esteemed Broadway producer in her own right. CFB invited me to discuss her life with him and, over the past month or so, we did:</i> </span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">CFB</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">: It is great to find another fan of Irene Mayer Selznick’s autobiography. I knew very little about her until I read Scott Berg’s <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/292751.Kate_Remembered" target="_blank"><u>Kate Remembered</u></a></span>, his biography of Katharine Hepburn, with whom he became great friends. He was also friends with Irene, and she really intrigued me. By this time it was later in her life, after her autobiography had been published, and I wanted to know more about this woman.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">TLE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">: Over the past few years I’ve had an experience that could be called “all roads</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">lead to Irene Mayer Selznick” – I kept coming upon interesting references to her as I</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">read about or researched other subjects. Eventually, I knew I had to get my hands</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">on her autobiography. This led me to also peruse biographies of her father as well as</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41243.Showman" target="_blank">David Thomson’s bio of David O. Selznick</a></span> - primarily to learn more about Irene in</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">relation to the two key men in her life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">CFB</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">: I’ll need to read the David Thomson book. I’ve read a few others on David O. Selznick. It interests me that several books infer that Irene had an iron will and you didn’t want to cross her. Yet I didn’t get that feel from her autobiography. I guess the truth lies somewhere in between. Still, I very much wish I could have met this woman. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzSNLuhaXufe9-ZQroNP61u072SFf2AFCO1iHLDDyHFL9vCW1H32vgcbX24Zl2STL-fngdJx_hXEP12F5Qie1-UzLQipfXVw0tmzXYnqoKK3r9-SquVL_ky6AspagKEq2Or1Qw_nnq_3_/s1600/Edie+Louis+Margaret+and+Irene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzSNLuhaXufe9-ZQroNP61u072SFf2AFCO1iHLDDyHFL9vCW1H32vgcbX24Zl2STL-fngdJx_hXEP12F5Qie1-UzLQipfXVw0tmzXYnqoKK3r9-SquVL_ky6AspagKEq2Or1Qw_nnq_3_/s320/Edie+Louis+Margaret+and+Irene.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mayers: Edie, Louis B., wife Margaret and Irene in the 1920s</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">You would expect that someone who was brought up in Hollywood during the 1920s would have been part of the jazz age/flapper set. Yet I was amazed at the quiet life Irene and her sister Edie lived. It wasn’t sheltered, but it wasn’t flamboyant, either. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">TLE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">: My impression was that Irene and Edie’s lives under their father’s roof were intensely scrutinized and fairly insulated. Louis B. was vigilant and protective to the point of warning his girls not to become smitten with #1 Hollywood bachelor <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/about/awards/thalberg.html" target="_blank">Irving Thalberg</a></span> (before he married Norma Shearer) because of his ill health. Irene wrote that they were allowed to socialize with him but were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">never</i> seated next to him at dinners or events.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene seems to me to have been a stifled child. She behaved very self-protectively, careful not to reveal much about her thoughts or feelings to her parents. She had a stammer, something that developed in childhood and apparently lasted most of her life.  Probably the most telling statement she made about her early life was that her parents had given her everything but a sense of her own worth.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnxOMuNiNj8PGjwQwnv5uUuZZo2Nj4NVhG_U5NQu1wAHEs-xYz07fXq3hiWK0-Wx9FRh3daACpEln42z5wZkFU0aMfyhDe7q-84Vrw0NGVRaU3J4FXhoIknAqrGlObZ2uwMk_XFF6eHy4/s1600/the+selznicks+arrive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnxOMuNiNj8PGjwQwnv5uUuZZo2Nj4NVhG_U5NQu1wAHEs-xYz07fXq3hiWK0-Wx9FRh3daACpEln42z5wZkFU0aMfyhDe7q-84Vrw0NGVRaU3J4FXhoIknAqrGlObZ2uwMk_XFF6eHy4/s400/the+selznicks+arrive.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irene and David O. Selznick on the town</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene grew up to be more her father’s daughter than her mother’s. She was very bright, discerning and determined. And she was a good-looking woman, stylish and modern in her day. I have the impression that David O. Selznick counted on her for quite a bit during their 19-year marriage – which may be why he could never completely let her go. She had been his foundation and sounding board during those years when he achieved the heights.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">CFB</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">: Great impressions, and you are on target. I do think Louis B. was overly protective, yet Irene never seemed to shy away from more intellectual pursuits. Where her older sister, Edie, definitely focused on the clothes and societal aspects of life as she came of age, she preferred people whose minds she admired. I enjoyed her fond recollections of <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.hearstcastle.org/history-art/historic-people/william-randolph-hearst" target="_blank">William Randolph Hearst</a></span> (and not-too-fond memories of <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/44966|106932/Marion-Davies/" target="_blank">Marion Davies</a></span>, who also had a stammer). He treated Irene as a woman with a brain, and she treasured their conversations together. David did the same thing – he recognized that she was his equal in that regard. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">As for her father, Irene paints a side of Louis B. in her autobiography that many may not be aware of. She recalls when he – notoriously fond of Americana and family-friendly fare – saw <i>A Streetcar Named Desire</i>, which Irene produced for the stage. Louis B. came to the tryouts in New Haven, and Irene was worried about his reaction. Others were respectful but weren't gushing, but it was Louis B. who pulled Irene into a room and told her, “You don’t have a hit, you’ve got a smash. You wait and see.” She was then shocked to see her father and Elia Kazan, the play’s director, deep in conversation and clearly enjoying each other’s company! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">I also agree with you that Irene was a good-looking woman, although Edie didn’t think she put enough into how she looked. I love this from Irene’s book: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdusoV3w_qcpdZFqMiXuUUQDUQdOjVdVEy0rv0j3NQdLpp_boyJevkCAEU6Ekpi2b3YFgqE68kBAdRWfOcNvKh7utSljCwnv-mrBejbYkSW9BRDGcHrwS16Ej0eQEylP4m6k5iRlo_TQo-/s1600/Irene+and+Edie+1929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdusoV3w_qcpdZFqMiXuUUQDUQdOjVdVEy0rv0j3NQdLpp_boyJevkCAEU6Ekpi2b3YFgqE68kBAdRWfOcNvKh7utSljCwnv-mrBejbYkSW9BRDGcHrwS16Ej0eQEylP4m6k5iRlo_TQo-/s200/Irene+and+Edie+1929.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irene and Edie Mayer in the 1920s</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Edie to Irene: “Do me a favor, darling. While I want you to look beautiful for yourself, actually I’m being selfish. Everyone thinks I’m years younger than you, but there are some people from way back who remember. So take care of yourself for my sake, because you make me years older than I appear.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene’s response when a friend asked how old Edie was: “She used to be two years older than me. Now she is younger than springtime.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">TLE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">: You touch on a significant aspect of Irene’s life, her disastrous relationship with her sister, Edie. Theirs was a sibling rivalry that eventually drove them completely apart. Edie had suffered ill-health when she was young and, as a result, received a lot of special parental care and attention. Because it was expected of her, Irene deferred to her “frail” sister’s every whim. As the two grew up, Irene became the more popular of the two and was part of Hollywood’s up-and-coming younger crowd. This didn’t escape Edie's notice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJZIepUPPRX4gjclz_DGWBcOJk4MRVB98XHE-8RmJxbjGi9BNg54r2BrQaMz6tGSomZV0XKD85SVawRfbZwOYl11zVHR_uGCxuo-JWEvWE3qsDzMS4Nc6n5c2WEZrdtpcjcTUEWb1p74T/s1600/Edie+Goetz+with+Van+Gogh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJZIepUPPRX4gjclz_DGWBcOJk4MRVB98XHE-8RmJxbjGi9BNg54r2BrQaMz6tGSomZV0XKD85SVawRfbZwOYl11zVHR_uGCxuo-JWEvWE3qsDzMS4Nc6n5c2WEZrdtpcjcTUEWb1p74T/s320/Edie+Goetz+with+Van+Gogh.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edie Mayer Goetz at home...with Van Gogh</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Edie was a woman of great social ambition. Her husband, Bill Goetz, was a producer, though not a trailblazer in the way L. B. Mayer or David Selznick were. Mayer brokered Goetz’s partnership at 20^th Century Fox and it’s said that the snide inside-the-industry crack “the son-in-law also rises” was aimed as much at Goetz as it was Selznick. Goetz’s most significant film was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sayonara </i>(1957), and it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. He was a canny and forward-thinking businessman and enormously popular in Hollywood. Once the Selznick’s split up, he and Edie were at the heart of its social scene and remained so until his death in 1969. Edie quickly lost her social clout once Goetz died.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene’s ambition seems of an entirely different nature. Her inclination was to be in on the action, not a decorative accessory or hostess. Her diary from her teen years includes comments on films she saw at MGM previews. These journal entries reveal Irene to have been perceptive and frank in her observations – even at 17. Her take on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Romola</i> (1924): “…L. Gish good as always but didn’t make the most of her opportunities – leading male part should not have been the villain – not enough love interest.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwR5meKVGBjvVTHGbJXksY0jBvHAdpTXWERZpRrpct7g9-wW5r5RfmJttONqatJf1KpTeuJ3u4UI4-eYNZPcnSGI3NJS3QJzIy6zXevF0hPv1mY-TKCIE4spw-RL6Z7owKDawIATjmNFc/s1600/Irene+and+boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwR5meKVGBjvVTHGbJXksY0jBvHAdpTXWERZpRrpct7g9-wW5r5RfmJttONqatJf1KpTeuJ3u4UI4-eYNZPcnSGI3NJS3QJzIy6zXevF0hPv1mY-TKCIE4spw-RL6Z7owKDawIATjmNFc/s1600/Irene+and+boys.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irene with her sons Jeffrey and Daniel Selznick</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">In her book Irene writes that it amused her father to ask her opinion of a movie and then try to argue her out of her point of view. When she was dating Selznick, they went to a preview of a picture of his one night and afterward he asked what she thought of it. Irene replied with noncommittal remarks - and he challenged her, “…speak up; no one’s going to hold it against you. If you’re afraid, I promise you no one will ever know a word you’ve said.” Irene writes that she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> afraid but over time she felt free enough to say anything she wanted to him. Selznick told her that he was undoing the damage her father had done.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">David Selznick was the younger son of <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.fortleefilm.org/studios.html" target="_blank">Lewis J. Selznick</a></span>, L.B. Mayer’s one-time employer and long-time anathema. The Selznick boys were on Mayer’s “off-limits” list for his girls, but Irene and David, once committed, were not to be stopped. It seems to me that Irene may not yet have had a true sense of her own worth, but she was developing a mind and will of her own.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">CFB:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"> She clearly had a will of her own, and I like how you track it from those observations about film to her conversations with David. She really needed an iron will, considering the men in her life. She could stand up to her father and husband, so dealing with Edie probably was more frustrating than anything else. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene was great friends with Katharine Hepburn, and you know Hepburn was no pushover. Still, Irene spent years in analysis, and she was never afraid to admit it or discuss how it helped her. Perhaps that is what grounded her considering the characters around her. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tnQoL-jW9ELuJv5d9R36HewEvirVkwMibA_Y75zbsz_qRuInYPE_VWExUOaRtN7qbMx1f3iX68NOxNeloBOhcKlsEXdUJgvowPL4zNXcSQxqz15Q-FfOdp8e2voxzNkjlRCGNDkfwBsR/s1600/kate+and+irene+asking+directions+in+montego+bay+jamaica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tnQoL-jW9ELuJv5d9R36HewEvirVkwMibA_Y75zbsz_qRuInYPE_VWExUOaRtN7qbMx1f3iX68NOxNeloBOhcKlsEXdUJgvowPL4zNXcSQxqz15Q-FfOdp8e2voxzNkjlRCGNDkfwBsR/s400/kate+and+irene+asking+directions+in+montego+bay+jamaica.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katharine Hepburn and Irene in Jamaica, asking directions...</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Going back to Berg’s book, he was friends with Irene for nearly 20 years until she died, and it’s a nice companion piece to Irene’s autobiography. He describes her as such when they met in the 1970s: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">“I don’t think she was more than five feet tall – with short dark hair in bangs and the shrewdest pair of eyes I have ever seen; and I know she was one of the most powerful presences I have ever beheld. … It would be less than precise to call Mrs. Selznick an extremely difficult person, but she was easily the most challenging I have ever met. One never let down one’s guard with Irene, unless looking to be knocked out or thrown out. Emotional, volatile and analytical, she took nothing at face value, probing layers beneath layers in even the simplest matters.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Berg was very fond of Irene, and it’s interesting to have this insight when you read her autobiography. Her book was no frivolous undertaking to cash in on her fame, and I believe she took great care to analyze her life before setting it down on paper.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Eve, I feel like we could talk about Irene for days, but perhaps we should wrap this up. Any final thoughts about this fascinating woman? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">TLE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"> I’d like to talk a bit about Irene Mayer Selznick’s accomplishments after she departed Hollywood. Her family and friends are extremely interesting, of course, and her life was entwined with the history of movies in America, which is covered in her book, but there was more – she managed to reinvent herself and carve out a career of her own in New York.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene’s decision to leave Selznick and relocate on the East Coast was bold. She wasn’t sure what she might achieve, but turned to old friends for advice, friends like famed playwright/director <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/05/moss-hart-diaries-kitty-carlisle-marlene-dietrich" target="_blank">Moss Hart</a></span> who urged her to pursue her dream of becoming a theatrical producer. After a while, she rented an office, hired a general manager and got going. Her first production, an Arthur Laurents play starring Shirley Booth, didn’t get to Broadway but closed after an out of town tryout. Laurents later retooled the play, came up with a new title, but kept Shirley Booth  - who won a Tony for her role. David Lean later adapted it to film; this was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Summertime</i> (1955) starring Irene’s good friend Katharine Hepburn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviMu-eHKIrN__mlUlnbdE3JKPgqImHCJdDlcSmYI4p_vdPDweN8-NY8bCWdnFY5yvfuSkE0thIxDq-3iKrHpx1FSrVb9hcK8dBs8ivEaSbMLePq2UVeX_P-JLcMHF_aX79iupxHGWq2wO/s1600/Streetcar+on+Broadway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviMu-eHKIrN__mlUlnbdE3JKPgqImHCJdDlcSmYI4p_vdPDweN8-NY8bCWdnFY5yvfuSkE0thIxDq-3iKrHpx1FSrVb9hcK8dBs8ivEaSbMLePq2UVeX_P-JLcMHF_aX79iupxHGWq2wO/s400/Streetcar+on+Broadway.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final scenes: <i>A Streetcar Named Desire</i> on Broadway, 1947</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">It was on Irene’s 40^th birthday that she received the script for what became her second production and it was this play that established her – and everyone associated with it. The play was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Streetcar Named Desire</i> by <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/tennessee-williams/about-tennessee-williams/737/" target="_blank">Tennessee Williams</a></span>; it debuted on Broadway in 1947 to a half-hour standing ovation. According to Irene, the play made director Elia Kazan “a king.” It also made Marlon Brando a star (he went straight to Hollywood after the play and never looked back), brought a Tony Award to Jessica Tandy, who played Blanche Dubois in New York, and a Pulitzer Prize to Williams. The film adaptation would win four Oscars.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene was certainly a powerhouse, she went toe-to-toe with the indomitable Kazan when they worked on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Streetcar </i>(perhaps second nature to her by now, after dealing with her father and husband). In fact, Tennessee Williams had a habit of referring to her as “Dame Selznick,” apparently acknowledging her pedigree and her demeanor. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_EoFSz_IBCsllX0mDZUzx7GMg_rk0iagvVvPnMyPBf89rVC7GcQ6cWs0b5csGVDZZWXFJuJ3aXogc_oGbxWj8nv3TLN_PxX7_oNKl7UPKbYO0Q19f5T3mi0hZXfMaPmNxjqBgkpgyC_f/s1600/Bell+with+Palmer+and+Harrison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_EoFSz_IBCsllX0mDZUzx7GMg_rk0iagvVvPnMyPBf89rVC7GcQ6cWs0b5csGVDZZWXFJuJ3aXogc_oGbxWj8nv3TLN_PxX7_oNKl7UPKbYO0Q19f5T3mi0hZXfMaPmNxjqBgkpgyC_f/s1600/Bell+with+Palmer+and+Harrison.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bell, Book and Candle </i>on Broadway</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">Irene produced several more Broadway plays. Her production of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bell, Book and Candle</i> in 1950 starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer and was <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051406/" target="_blank">adapted to film</a></span> in 1958 and became a hit starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. Irene’s production of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Chalk Garden </i>in 1955 brought her a Tony nomination; <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057933/" target="_blank">the film adaptation</a></span> starred Deborah Kerr.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">In her memoirs Irene described her life as a play in three acts, the first as her father’s daughter, the second as wife to her husband, and the third act was her career in the theater. She wrote, “With perseverance I’ve gotten this far. Now, with a little more luck, I’d like to grow very old as slowly as possible.” She died in New York in 1990 at age 83.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">I’ve really enjoyed this, CFB, and want to thank you for inviting me to discuss Irene Mayer Selznick's incredible story with you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;">CFB:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"> You're welcome. Detailing her amazing theater work – which many people may not know  of – is a wonderful way to wrap up a conversation about Irene. She wasn’t just the daughter of mogul Louis B. or the wife of wunderkind David O. She was a tough, sharp and respected Broadway producer, and her stage work alone represents a strong legacy. </span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiaDBO6AoKQjkJ5XaAj7NMJQGGqmHlQHQj0uJCLPwCmZWUezoNqWOR9qtFME8UOgyi4fqHPwiSKDcPfmllaDwb1z8D1NzuNj8zqqR3xdeGkXDHH6qlv4GWDZYawRgHtklILMRgJqAS-35i/s1600/irene+solo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiaDBO6AoKQjkJ5XaAj7NMJQGGqmHlQHQj0uJCLPwCmZWUezoNqWOR9qtFME8UOgyi4fqHPwiSKDcPfmllaDwb1z8D1NzuNj8zqqR3xdeGkXDHH6qlv4GWDZYawRgHtklILMRgJqAS-35i/s320/irene+solo+1.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irene Mayer Selznick</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;"><i>Following is an audio clip of a 1948 radio program that begins with Elia Kazan and Irene Mayer Selznick accepting the New York Drama Critics' "Best American Play" Award for Tennessee Williams. The program goes on to feature portions of the play itself, with narration by Kazan and scenes performed by the original Broadway cast - including Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Jessica Tandy:</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wmpjP-ZKDvg" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.classicfilmboy.com/" style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</a><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>to visit <span style="color: #cc0000;">Classicfilmboy's Movie Paradise</span>. <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/05/en-route-to-elysian-fields.html" style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</a> to learn more about the evolution of <i>A Streetcar Named Desire.</i></span></div>

A Streetcar Named Desire Bell Book and Candle Classicfilmboy David O. Selznick Elia Kazan Irene Mayer Selznick Katharine Hepburn Louis B. Mayer Tennessee Williams The Lady Eve (author) Take 2: Irene Mayer Selznick, a Life in Three Acts

Classic Film Boy and The Lady Eve Discuss the Fascinating Irene Mayer SelznickWelcome to Take 2, a conversation about Irene Mayer Selznick, the daughter of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer and first wife of famed producer David O. Selznick. Both Classi…

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Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part I

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fKuLNpex1jwHYBdjS8KrRsPV_la-fLsfQs5NtafmCUrw2c3xa81CaU7SgeWVGe-PLuTos12-9i0VaOTmxjUaqEUDR-Lx3dOZGdLjFZnTkrPezj7n6z3xPoxm8Xy6OGhePEBoV7XE_qeD/s1600/artdirectionTheMan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534727802972294098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fKuLNpex1jwHYBdjS8KrRsPV_la-fLsfQs5NtafmCUrw2c3xa81CaU7SgeWVGe-PLuTos12-9i0VaOTmxjUaqEUDR-Lx3dOZGdLjFZnTkrPezj7n6z3xPoxm8Xy6OGhePEBoV7XE_qeD/s320/artdirectionTheMan.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 248px;" /></a><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>by guest contributor Whistlingypsy</i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">The artistry of classic films reveals a cinematic alchemy in melding talent both before and behind the camera. The actor/actress and director are the two most visibly recogn</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">izable artists who created the image on screen. A careful viewer can also learn to recognize the names of the creative individuals who labored beh</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ind the scenes. Van Nest Polglase was one of these individuals who created the world in which our favorite characters move and have their lives.</span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite his elegant and intriguing name, his nearly decade-long tenure as RKO Studios’ art director and over 300 films to his credit, Polglase remains something of a</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">n enigma. In the absence of a definitive biography on the man’s life and career, much of what has been written is often contradictory and filled with errors (he was not mar</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ried to actress Dolores Del Rio as one source claims). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Van Nest Polglase was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 25, 18</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">98, and his unique name is a result of his family’s Cornish heritage. His education included the study of both architecture and interior design, but this is where the two paths of his life story diverge.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Some sources claim that Polglase finished </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">school an</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">d was employed </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">by Berg and Orchard, a New York architectural firm. He is also credited with work on the Presidential Palace under constru</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ction in Havana, Cuba. The likelihood that he was involved in the Cuban project is remote, the architects of record were Cuban born Carlos M</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">aruri and Belgian born Paul Belau, and some sources claim that Polglase actually dropped out of school before receiving a degree in architecture.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">However, in 1919, at the age of 21, Polglase was working for Famous Players-Lasky (today known as Paramount Studios) at their New York studio facilities. He made the move to the studio’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hollywood location when financial constraints forced the</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> closing of the locations in New York and Europe. He remained with Paramount Studios for a decade before mov</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ing to M-G-M where he wo</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">rked under Cedric Gibbon’s leadership.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">During his first decade alone, advances in architectural design and filmmaking technology forced Polglase frequently to reevaluate his style and expand his visual vocabulary of art dire</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ction. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">He came to filmmaking at a time when the first sets </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">were built to resemble a theater stage to give audiences a reference point, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">and the</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> category of “settings” covere</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">d everything</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> from art direction to set design. The practice of group</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ing t</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">h</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">e </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7BFPGO57d1vAwNWwIZQLvlkQqcgenj81hf-xn4gWkjHNuuZrFp3kWk7zbtS75i9sRyymp6y0kDywZmWDL-fDrddwYfbIiFad22bAI7hX6anFMXSsCCAXVeSdOdDvW6iw9s_O26MuhhOP/s1600/artdirectioncollage1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535049549163415026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7BFPGO57d1vAwNWwIZQLvlkQqcgenj81hf-xn4gWkjHNuuZrFp3kWk7zbtS75i9sRyymp6y0kDywZmWDL-fDrddwYfbIiFad22bAI7hX6anFMXSsCCAXVeSdOdDvW6iw9s_O26MuhhOP/s320/artdirectioncollage1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 162px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 321px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">different disciplines into o</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ne category, as well as crediting an individual for a department’s</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> work, makes it difficult to track Polglase’s work during his early career. However, the AFI Catalog of Motion </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pictu</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">res lists <b>Stage Struck</b> (1925, Paramount) and <b>Untamed</b> (1929, M-G-M) among his</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> early titles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Stage Struck</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> proved a challenge for Polglase to create a design suitable </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">for Gloria Swanson, who had distinguished herself as a design and style icon through her previous films in partnership with Cecil B. De Mille. <b>Untamed</b> was set in three distinctly different locations requiring equally distinct design sensibilities and featured Joan Craw</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ford in her first sound picture, which came with the adde</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">d challenge of incorporating the new technology into the set design.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">RKO Studios was formed when the KAO (Keith-Albee-Orpheum) theater chain an</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">d FB</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">O (Film Booking Offices Of America) were brought together under the control of RCA (Radio </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">C</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">orpor</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6JkJReYnJsdsINP5375IJz0xj5Y1nB-XuLtAKzkGbrIVTY04HYJk1RhBLhAQfkaD08gUUt1tk0g-thmxP42FX5XDGKr_ZM9gXzoyvZk7yZG2LIlOLIPJN6hq8SZYMVBpo5RiWxXrtpNM/s1600/artdirectionRKOlogo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535050296022427442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6JkJReYnJsdsINP5375IJz0xj5Y1nB-XuLtAKzkGbrIVTY04HYJk1RhBLhAQfkaD08gUUt1tk0g-thmxP42FX5XDGKr_ZM9gXzoyvZk7yZG2LIlOLIPJN6hq8SZYMVBpo5RiWxXrtpNM/s320/artdirectionRKOlogo.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 214px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">ation of America). David O. Selznick was hired in 1931 and in his new role as p</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">roduction </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">chief, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">he recruited producer/director Merian</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> C. Cooper, director George Cukor, actress Katharine </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">H</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">epburn and art director Van </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nest Polglase. One of Polglase’s first projects as art director was to redesign the studio logo to incorporate the blinking radio tower at the heart of RKO’s business ties with the RCA Corporation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The image most frequently associated with RKO’s art direction is the series of films that paired Fred Astaire and Gingers Rogers. The films were charming fantasy confections, but the art direction was equally roote</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wFxfzY9Smn2mlXpR3AUmuwwfGhvwt7lVBhgQv57EqCyXTmAHy-fV5HKJfffJV3NXAH3GHoR7_dHEQUhJh2UI5-f1AHtjqz7G-2NgxIRXZwv60q2f2pGfk72LoylZgyqm3d63mpD-2yyU/s1600/artdirectionFlyingDownToRio.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535050739205614562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wFxfzY9Smn2mlXpR3AUmuwwfGhvwt7lVBhgQv57EqCyXTmAHy-fV5HKJfffJV3NXAH3GHoR7_dHEQUhJh2UI5-f1AHtjqz7G-2NgxIRXZwv60q2f2pGfk72LoylZgyqm3d63mpD-2yyU/s200/artdirectionFlyingDownToRio.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 151px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">d in the c</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">oncepts of architecture. The art direction is ideally suite</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">d to the dancers with both personifying the streamlined and elegant, witty</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, athletic and sexy ideals of art deco architecture.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The fantasy version of Venice in <b>Top Hat</b> (1934), which combines streamlined modernism a</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPo0MlW_9odu_xGBmKc6E6Qrm2LKJJDQgfSdYhVMyVXMBVnRg876ZifBQhrodMv1OpeYVnzf9K2ZtfN_UbjmHr-lPLjlbebISdnPkuKHByX7aj9Uf9YvCRUYRsQCixEzB7gPq9W-Ryv5Ru/s1600/artdirectionGayDivorcee.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535051088026491762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPo0MlW_9odu_xGBmKc6E6Qrm2LKJJDQgfSdYhVMyVXMBVnRg876ZifBQhrodMv1OpeYVnzf9K2ZtfN_UbjmHr-lPLjlbebISdnPkuKHByX7aj9Uf9YvCRUYRsQCixEzB7gPq9W-Ryv5Ru/s200/artdirectionGayDivorcee.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">nd neo-classical references, displays an architectural style both immediately recognizable and equally unfamiliar to movie audiences. The result is tied neither to the past nor the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">present, but freely evokes the glamorous lifestyle of theatergoers’ dreams, transporting weary Depression era audiences out of their all too grim present and allowing them to hop</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">e for a better future. The popularity of the Astaire and Rogers films allowed the studio to pursue projects set in a wide variety of eras with equally varied plotlines.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A glimpse at Katharine Hepburn’s filmography during the perio</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">d reveals the careful attention to detail in the Civil War era design of <b>Little Women</b> (1933); the modified art deco chic of Adolphe Menjou’s apartment in <b>Morning</b></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2ZbgsmJudjIbxsHOHbISiheakQWavrZMESV1kiixG8QLumxqmDJpAWUrqKn4rDFtyx4XPGiXxjY3qbYWGfO_R8fpgt5ZtdYEK6R5cOjqldJ2sTl-D__PjDb_mgyR7R9as_1k2I9l5wuz/s1600/artdirectionGrantandHepburn.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535051969093367570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2ZbgsmJudjIbxsHOHbISiheakQWavrZMESV1kiixG8QLumxqmDJpAWUrqKn4rDFtyx4XPGiXxjY3qbYWGfO_R8fpgt5ZtdYEK6R5cOjqldJ2sTl-D__PjDb_mgyR7R9as_1k2I9l5wuz/s320/artdirectionGrantandHepburn.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 246px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> Glory</b> (1934); the us</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">e of a Victorian era Arts and Crafts design blend in the boarding house of <b>Stage Door</b> (1937) to communicate homey comfort; the all for fun eccentric design of <b>Bringing Up Baby</b> (1938) from the jail cell to the museum display.</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In 1939, RKO undertook the ambitious remake of <b>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</b>, a film that had been an enormous success for Universal Pictures d</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">uring the silent era. The challenge was to create a new version that would exceed the expectations of those who could remember the original and make new fans of younger moviegoers. The film proved a showcase for Polglase’s attention to detail, and his perfectionism gave the historical sets an element of accuracy not found in the creations of the larger studios.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Paris of the RKO version features extravagant sets, immense staircases and oversized doors; the attention to detail is evident in the massive bells (Gabrielle, Big Marie and the rest) and a whole cow roasting on a spit (a prop that seems to have traveled to <b>Citizen</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> Kane</b> for a picnic), the garden party lit by paper lanterns and the grand spaces within Notre Dame, from Clophin’s (Thomas Mitchell) court of miracles to Quasimodo’s (Charles Laughton) sanctuary in the clouds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizey410aTpvP9rOiuv3t5H7hK_y3BJ04dObUeN1i8HPilAWo8aBEXazbV9YmNGDBlOuhTVIIGLJ7ONJeX8lfSCUcV_bJTCbXZ4QqobqNPSoug7UBiVdr204WfBcd_A6HuibnbTOB3mHM_9/s1600/artdirectioncollage2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535051352448946946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizey410aTpvP9rOiuv3t5H7hK_y3BJ04dObUeN1i8HPilAWo8aBEXazbV9YmNGDBlOuhTVIIGLJ7ONJeX8lfSCUcV_bJTCbXZ4QqobqNPSoug7UBiVdr204WfBcd_A6HuibnbTOB3mHM_9/s400/artdirectioncollage2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 177px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A fundamental point to keep in mind is the emergence during this period of an RKO-specific visual style, and while the stylistic elements of art direction are the product of a talented art director, other factors contribute to this development. The influence of German expressionism in <i>film noir </i>is widely acknowledged and can be observed in films made by German expatriates in Hollywood during the silent era. The creative individuals of RKO’s art direction were working between the influence of expressionism and the emergence of <span style="font-style: italic;">film noir</span>, and the challenges of the studio system; reduced budgets and relatively modest sets provided the genesis of a new genre. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">During Polglase’s tenure at RKO, the studio faced continued economic challenges and numerous changes at the executive level. One such change in management philosophy led the studio to distribute films for independent producers, with Walt Disney’s earliest feature length titles among these films. The artistic vision of any RKO film bore Van Nest Polglase’s name, but he was not solely responsible for realizing this vision. Polglase relied heavily on his department and especially on the talents of Carroll Clark, Perry Ferguson and Charles Kirk. The question regarding artistic vision is additionally problematic when such independent directors as Ford, Hitchcock and Welles are behind the camera. Did these directors have cooperative relationships with Polglase, working to bring their visions to the screen, or was an art director entirely secondary to their vision? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Part II will follow soon...</i></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Thank you Lady Eve for your gracious invitation to contribute to your blog site, and thank you filmguy24 for your invaluable insights into the world of architecture as it relates to art direction.</i></span></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Cedric Gibbons Charles Laughton David O. Selznick Gloria Swanson John Ford Katharine Hepburn Orson Welles RKO Studios Van Nest Polglase Whistlingypsy (author) Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part I

by guest contributor WhistlingypsyThe artistry of classic films reveals a cinematic alchemy in melding talent both before and behind the camera. The actor/actress and director are the two most visibly recognizable artists who created the image on scr…

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