Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part II

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ5hzKKenNU9Q8zv2ix7KD0GcPgm89rNNzwmT3HZZ8TdZZ86uTK6g-xqsX-s3SqTVDIOclOneQniL-d8CnYfMKnbehGRNPRL4mkSZ-aGeFrUKn-2fk8OTxPjMV6Xr0288uYZar2JsJ_Jz/s1600/artdirectionTheInformer1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536896414924983106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ5hzKKenNU9Q8zv2ix7KD0GcPgm89rNNzwmT3HZZ8TdZZ86uTK6g-xqsX-s3SqTVDIOclOneQniL-d8CnYfMKnbehGRNPRL4mkSZ-aGeFrUKn-2fk8OTxPjMV6Xr0288uYZar2JsJ_Jz/s320/artdirectionTheInformer1.jpg" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 257px;" width="257" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>by guest contributor Whistlingypsy</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The emergence of those stylistic elements in American films later termed <i>noir </i>by critics is often debated and open to interpretation.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Five years before the films that captivated French critics for their “dark” plots and visual style, John Ford directed an equally dark film for RKO Studios. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Informer</span> (1935) was based on the novel by Liam O’Flaherty and tells the story of an increasingly desperate man. <span lang="EN">Whether John Ford had the stylistic treatment of German expressionism in mind when</span><span lang="EN"> making the film seems unlikely, but </span>Gypo Nolan’s (Victor McLaglen) flight through Dublin’s fog wreathed streets suggests these atmospheric elements as an archetype of <i>noir</i> essentials. Through the effective use of black velvet drapery and fog, to disguise the minimal budget for art direction, Polglase and assistant art director Charles Kirk created an atmosphere that is alternately brooding and menacing, dark, claustrophobic and bleak. Setting the story over the course of one night gives immediacy to Nolan’s frantic race to outrun his conscience and his pursuers. <span lang="EN">This small film would proved an artistic triumph, surprising studio executives, and won four Academ</span></span><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">y Awards, one for John Ford’s direction and Victor McLaglen’s portrayal of the lead character.</span></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;">Alfred Hitchcock, before he began directing films in 1925, was active as an art director. He entered the industry in 1919 when he was employed by the Islington studio location of Famous Players-Lasky and he worked as an art director on at least six films before moving on to directing. Hitchcock’s lifelong interest in production design has often been understood in light of his experi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegK03W6KHP0AIIXY8PICgLOKNTygJImp0HUdDjESJKHZB1T2jte_qMHUXL9TOj3H1sKXG74ghqj10UBx0HKDDOed3bpsQNp9GlI2-y9nFV4GWxAG6Z1_-6NSzZEka53fSjT1L9zo9Xz1k/s1600/artdirectionSuspicion1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536893241127740146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegK03W6KHP0AIIXY8PICgLOKNTygJImp0HUdDjESJKHZB1T2jte_qMHUXL9TOj3H1sKXG74ghqj10UBx0HKDDOed3bpsQNp9GlI2-y9nFV4GWxAG6Z1_-6NSzZEka53fSjT1L9zo9Xz1k/s200/artdirectionSuspicion1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a>ences at German studios both in Berlin and Munich and his exposure to German expressionism.</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;">Hitchcock’s first project for RKO Studios had been a comedy and with his next assignment he was given the opportunity to pursue a subject in keeping with his earlier darker films. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Suspicion</span> (1941) was notable for first introducing actor Cary Grant and director Hitchcock, and for using art d<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95S5fE57dHpHjWjcMNzBPmfN1Dkn65z07j_YP1wB65ymq-OfB6eK8KeOlohodtGX2DC00NKNjV9ewDK4hWbP2uc9ALDezkUNZr6h1lOCRI4Opcg_otgQsD3DTOzImVtnxZu1rF2aQ8dS4/s1600/artdirectionSuspicion2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536893545410650658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95S5fE57dHpHjWjcMNzBPmfN1Dkn65z07j_YP1wB65ymq-OfB6eK8KeOlohodtGX2DC00NKNjV9ewDK4hWbP2uc9ALDezkUNZr6h1lOCRI4Opcg_otgQsD3DTOzImVtnxZu1rF2aQ8dS4/s320/artdirectionSuspicion2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 257px;" /></a>irection as a psychological element in storytelling. The contrast between Lina’s (Joan Fontaine) reassuringly stuffy family home and the coldly menacing home she shares with husband Johnny (Grant) personifies the tension of her state of mind.</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;">The film’s art direction, supervised primarily by Carroll Clark, is also noteworthy for using the human form as an architectural element. The tall and solid form of Cary Grant balanced on the stairs is echoed in the equally tall and solid column at the foot of the stairs. The graceful line of the pinstripe in Grant’s suit is echoed, but altered, in the equally graceful lines of the treads and risers of the stairs. These lines are further mimicked in the lines falling across the wall and surrounding Grant’s head. The elements confirm and confuse by communicating both Grant’s guise of reliability and the shadow of suspicion regarding his motives, all combining to create one of the most emotionally menacing sequences in the film.</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Van Nest Polglase is credited with supervising art direction on what is considered the finest film ever made in America. However, the credit for most of the innovative art direction rightly belongs to Perry Ferguson. Many film scholars have written in depth on the making of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Kane</span> (1941), with a focus on cinematography and the use of lighting, but few focus on the contribution of art direction.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5GOH44SCXhWHTRlXsiIpWtedR2CJS1UW03i6sSieH8YP0LKGzuYWpNjpC8gky1E2vE787aTui_dy2KXCwo14wdLZ4yTldsRdTPeviAZ-GrfEXKvX583vcGG7gyHS7zbGtBO0KSL2dAdT/s1600/artdirectionCitizenKane.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536894085944090018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5GOH44SCXhWHTRlXsiIpWtedR2CJS1UW03i6sSieH8YP0LKGzuYWpNjpC8gky1E2vE787aTui_dy2KXCwo14wdLZ4yTldsRdTPeviAZ-GrfEXKvX583vcGG7gyHS7zbGtBO0KSL2dAdT/s320/artdirectionCitizenKane.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a>Pauline Kael, film critic and author of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Citizen Kane Book</span>, mentions neither Polglase nor Ferguson. Orson Welles, in trade paper ads the day of the film’s Hollywood premiere, gave thanks “to everybody who gets screen credit for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Kane</span> and thanks to those who don’t.” Considering the risk involved in screening the film, this was a generous acknowledgment of the work of many creative individuals. Although Welles appears to have refused to acknowledge Polglase’s contributions, he praised Perry Ferguson’s historical details stopping short of giving Ferguson his due credit on the film.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ferguson’s use of revers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbVsxXHB8e6FMuT3tMYs3zJK5ko01VdFYDqbHjlwVb3QOPPQs5VaXx7BerOutSBrJYQw9lSG1oq3Pd77Ilf_6FBh_2yxmQN_tWyuArKx1U2C0OpHewZfbQY0D9kjhFGmnCEaDDccAkvvL/s1600/artdirectioncollage3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536894483708036914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbVsxXHB8e6FMuT3tMYs3zJK5ko01VdFYDqbHjlwVb3QOPPQs5VaXx7BerOutSBrJYQw9lSG1oq3Pd77Ilf_6FBh_2yxmQN_tWyuArKx1U2C0OpHewZfbQY0D9kjhFGmnCEaDDccAkvvL/s320/artdirectioncollage3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 211px;" /></a>al of scale as Kane’s ambitions move from larger than life to dwarfing the man who created the illusion is one of the film’s benchmarks and an example of RKO’s sophisticated art direction. A comparison of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Kane</span> with a lesser film in production the same year proves the level of RKO’s emerging visual style.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stranger on the third Floor</span> (1940) was a minor B-film that caused no great stir at the time and could have easily disappeared to the dustbin. Some film historians claim the film contains the first examples of what would later be termed <span style="font-style: italic;">noirish</span> elements (but this is open to debate). Compare the two films for their remarkable similarities: the often dream-like quality, elaborate sets, oversized props and the exaggerated reversal of perspective found in both is significant. <span class="postbody1">The photos to the right show a scene from each film that again reveals a stylistic use of the human form in an architectural environment, and nearly duplicates the body language of the lead character poised at the top of the stairs. </span>Two different art directors created the design of these films, but the designs were produced under the guidance of Van Nest Polglase and RKO art direction.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="postbody1">Polglase left RKO Studios as head art director in 1942 and divided his time between freelance and studio projects before retiring fifteen years later. His film credits during this period include <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fallen Sparrow</span> (1943); <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Song To Remember</span> (1945); <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gilda</span> (1946);<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Slightly Scarlet</span> (1956) and B-films directed by Allan Dwan.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In February of 2005, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Art Directors Guild</span> unveiled its new Hall of Fame and inducted the following legendary production designers at the ninth annual <span style="font-weight: bold;">Art Directors Guild Awards</span>: Wilfred Buckland, Richard Day, John DeCuir Sr., Anton Grot, Boris Leven, William Cameron Menzies and Van Nest Polglase.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="postbody1">A trend in film criticism seems to have developed regarding Polglase’s contributions to RKO’s art direction, dismissing them as negligible at best. An unfair appraisal of Polglase may be due to the assumption that he ran his department based on his experiences at and observations of M-G-M and Cedric Gibbons. Richard B. Jewell, film historian and author of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The RKO Story</span> states, </span>"The supreme irony of RKO's existence is that the studio earned a position of lasting importance in cinema history largely because of its extraordinarily unstable history. Since it was the weakling of Hollywood's 'majors,' RKO welcomed a diverse group of individualistic creators and provided them...with an extraordinary degree of freedom to express their artistic idiosyncrasies.... [I]t never became predictable and it never became a factory." </span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jewell’s assessment that RKO was a studio of artistic freedom did not preclude conflict over creative control. David O. Selznick, the man responsible for Polglase being made head of art direction, left the studio after a brief fifteen months. Polglase remained with the studio for ten years as an administrator and art director, successfully filling both roles with films that satisfied audience demand for inventive entertainment and studio executives’ demand for new revenue.<span class="postbody1"> A change of perspective from Polglase taking credit for work he did not do would result in his making possible the outstanding work of art directors Carroll Clark and Perry Ferguson.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="postbody1">There are many elements that form a link between architecture and art direction. </span>The difference between the two disciplines is where architecture “encompasses” space from without art direction “evokes” space from within, and the architecture of film works within cuts and edits, frames and openings. The architect designs a space with an eye to permanence while the art director designs a space with an eye to the ephemeral. This leaves the art director a greater sense of flexibility when creating his projects unfortunately; the <span class="postbody1">architect and the art director both depend on the efforts of preservation to maintain a permanent record of the artist’s original vision.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Scroll down to read Part I of Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect of Cinematic Dreams</i></span></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Carroll Clark Cary Grant Charles Kirk Film Noir John Ford Orson Welles Perry Ferguson RKO Studios Van Nest Polglase Victor McLaglen Whistlingypsy (author) Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part II

by guest contributor Whistlingypsy The emergence of those stylistic elements in American films later termed noir by critics is often debated...

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