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Post by Cinemaniac on Feb 2, 2024 2:35:07 GMT
In honor of Clark Gable's birthday today, I had watched that documentary on the making of "GONE WITH THE WIND". There are some interesting scene of actresses trying out for the role of Scarlet O'Hara such as Lana Turner, Jean Arthur, Joan Bennett, and Paulette Goddard (the latter came so close to landing this role she even got as far as doing a Technicolor screen test). There's even some early black and white screen tests of Vivien Leigh after she first auditioned for this movie. This got me wondering, if there's any other footage in existence of various stars trying out of certain movies or else makeup/costume test footage. Rare visual behind the scenes content tends to attract my attention and I'm always searching (at memorabilia auctions, usually) for pictures pertaining such backstory evidence. I'm interested in seeing these screen tests or wardrobe tests of different stars from other movies (1930s-1960s). Is any of this available through studio archives?
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Post by topbilled on Feb 2, 2024 3:58:50 GMT
About ten years ago, I bought a DVD of REBECCA (1940).
As part of the bonus features, there were a few screen tests that Selznick did for the role that eventually went to Joan Fontaine.
One of the screen tests was made by Vivien Leigh...and it was obvious to me that she couldn't get out of the Scarlett mode, and she couldn't get a handle on how to really play the second Mrs. de Winter. I think Selznick gave her the chance to audition as a favor to Olivier, who really wanted Leigh as his costar in the film. (Later, Olivier & Leigh would do a radio version of REBECCA.)
The other screen test included as a DVD extra was one done by Margaret Sullavan. Oh my goodness, she was really bad. And it pains me to say it, because she was usually such a wonderful actress in every film she made. But she was all wrong for it, too sophisticated, couldn't properly hone in on the character. I felt embarrassed for her watching that test.
It's easy to see why Selznick and Hitchcock went with Fontaine, who had the perfect combination of grace, beauty and virginal innocence.
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Post by sagebrush on Feb 2, 2024 12:09:12 GMT
This is not quite a screen test, but rather a "personality test" of Ann-Margaret in 1961 singing "Mac The Knife". I love it because as a teenager she was very shy, but this shows how she became a different person when singing or dancing.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Feb 2, 2024 14:42:30 GMT
This is not quite a screen test, but rather a "personality test" of Ann-Margaret in 1961 singing "Mac The Knife". I love it because as a teenager she was very shy, but this shows how she became a different person when singing or dancing. George Burns was an early champion after he selected her to dance with him in a Christmas show at the Dunes in Las Vegas, so he may have helped pave the way to a screen test. The holy grail for me would be footage from the 1961 Oscars of her singing "Bachelor in Paradise", one of the nominated songs. To say that she gave it extra "oomph" would be a serious understatement and I'm sure the industry was buzzing about her the next day. It was my first exposure to her and I've never forgotten it. |
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Post by I Love Melvin on Feb 2, 2024 15:08:09 GMT
This is a famous one of those "personality" tests, with James Dean and Paul Newman being borderline flirty in a test for East of Eden (1955). I'm glad Newman didn't get the role of Dean's brother. They weren't nearly different enough and the roles required it. But, not to worry, because Paul had plenty in store for him.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Feb 2, 2024 16:25:40 GMT
About ten years ago, I bought a DVD of REBECCA (1940).
As part of the bonus features, there were a few screen tests that Selznick did for the role that eventually went to Joan Fontaine.
One of the screen tests was made by Vivien Leigh...and it was obvious to me that she couldn't get out of the Scarlett mode, and she couldn't get a handle on how to really play the second Mrs. de Winter. I think Selznick gave her the chance to audition as a favor to Olivier, who really wanted Leigh as his costar in the film. (Later, Olivier & Leigh would do a radio version of REBECCA.)
The other screen test included as a DVD extra was one done by Margaret Sullavan. Oh my goodness, she was really bad. And it pains me to say it, because she was usually such a wonderful actress in every film she made. But she was all wrong for it, too sophisticated, couldn't properly hone in on the character. I felt embarrassed for her watching that test.
It's easy to see why Selznick and Hitchcock went with Fontaine, who had the perfect combination of grace, beauty and virginal innocence. That extra is now YouTube, so I'm going to round out your excellent post by adding it here. A very young Anne Baxter starts it off. It's interesting that only Vivien Leigh got to actually read opposite Olivier. |
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Post by topbilled on Feb 2, 2024 16:47:56 GMT
That's right, Anne Baxter also screen tested for the role. It would have been a much different movie if any of those other actresses had snagged the part.
Olivier and Leigh would make THAT HAMILTON WOMAN the following year.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 2, 2024 16:57:30 GMT
From something I had written on my blog a few years ago:
...going back to Orson Welles’ Campbell Playhouse for a moment, the Mercury company did a radio version of Daphne Du Maurier’s classic story REBECCA on December 9th, 1938. This was over a year before Alfred Hitchcock’s film version. Welles essayed the part of Maximilian De Winter (portrayed by Laurence Olivier on screen); and Margaret Sullavan was the second Mrs. De Winter. Interestingly, Sullavan would screen test for producer David Selznick, but lost the part to Joan Fontaine. Rounding out the cast of the early radio version is Mildred Natwick as Mrs. Danvers, which Judith Anderson played so well in the movie.
On November 6th, 1950, Laurence Olivier repeated his role of Max De Winter on the air. He was joined by wife Vivien Leigh for the Lux Radio Theatre production. Leigh, like Margaret Sullavan, had also screen tested for David Selznick, but was not considered ‘right.’
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Post by topbilled on Feb 2, 2024 16:59:48 GMT
If anyone's interested (Sullavan's name is misspelled):
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Post by I Love Melvin on Feb 2, 2024 17:10:08 GMT
Cinemaniac, you mentioned makeup/wardrobe tests, so I'll add this one Marilyn did for her unfinished movie, Something's Got to Give (1962). For decades it was the public's only peek at what the movie might have looked like, other than stills from her famous "nude" swim, until footage from the film was restored in the 2001 documentary Marilyn, The Final Days, detailing events around the shoot.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Feb 2, 2024 17:25:48 GMT
If anyone's interested (Sullavan's name is misspelled): I just had a taste of it and will get back to it later. Do you know whether Mildred Natwick was under consideration for the film role, since the radio version was done first? I wonder how much Welles might have known about the proposed film version and whether he was trying to steal some thunder. I couldn't tell who played Mrs. Van Hopper, Rebecca's employer, but her interpretation seemed too much the crass American to have moved in the circles she was supposed to have. Florence Bates in the movie was detestable but seemed more compatible with the upper crust of society. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 2, 2024 17:37:42 GMT
About ten years ago, I bought a DVD of REBECCA (1940).
As part of the bonus features, there were a few screen tests that Selznick did for the role that eventually went to Joan Fontaine.
One of the screen tests was made by Vivien Leigh...and it was obvious to me that she couldn't get out of the Scarlett mode, and she couldn't get a handle on how to really play the second Mrs. de Winter. I think Selznick gave her the chance to audition as a favor to Olivier, who really wanted Leigh as his costar in the film. (Later, Olivier & Leigh would do a radio version of REBECCA.)
The other screen test included as a DVD extra was one done by Margaret Sullavan. Oh my goodness, she was really bad. And it pains me to say it, because she was usually such a wonderful actress in every film she made. But she was all wrong for it, too sophisticated, couldn't properly hone in on the character. I felt embarrassed for her watching that test.
It's easy to see why Selznick and Hitchcock went with Fontaine, who had the perfect combination of grace, beauty and virginal innocence. That extra is now YouTube, so I'm going to round out your excellent post by adding it here. A very young Anne Baxter starts it off. It's interesting that only Vivien Leigh got to actually read opposite Olivier. |
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Post by topbilled on Feb 2, 2024 18:05:21 GMT
If anyone's interested (Sullavan's name is misspelled): I just had a taste of it and will get back to it later. Do you know whether Mildred Natwick was under consideration for the film role, since the radio version was done first? I wonder how much Welles might have known about the proposed film version and whether he was trying to steal some thunder. I couldn't tell who played Mrs. Van Hopper, Rebecca's employer, but her interpretation seemed too much the crass American to have moved in the circles she was supposed to have. Florence Bates in the movie was detestable but seemed more compatible with the upper crust of society.
I am not sure what Welles' motivation was...this playhouse series broadcast on radio usually had him and the Mercury Players (with an occasional Hollywood star thrown in for publicity value) enacting roles from classic literature. Though Du Maurier's novel had only recently been published, it was already optioned by Selznick. It is possible that Welles was trying to snag the role in the film that went to Olivier.
There were 56 episodes of The Campbell Playhouse...43 survive. You can read more here:
orsonwelles.indiana.edu/collections/show/3 |
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Post by Andrea Doria on Feb 2, 2024 18:46:19 GMT
Cinemaniac, you mentioned makeup/wardrobe tests, so I'll add this one Marilyn did for her unfinished movie, Something's Got to Give (1962). For decades it was the public's only peek at what the movie might have looked like, other than stills from her famous "nude" swim, until footage from the film was restored in the 2001 documentary Marilyn, The Final Days, detailing events around the shoot. When Marilyn first died, before all the complicated conspiracy theories started developing, people were simply saying she probably killed herself because she was aging and starting to lose her looks. Insert Sepiatone's eye roll here. I've seen other clips from, "Something's Got to Give," and I think she was at her thinnest and most beautiful at this time. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 2, 2024 19:00:21 GMT
Cinemaniac, you mentioned makeup/wardrobe tests, so I'll add this one Marilyn did for her unfinished movie, Something's Got to Give (1962). For decades it was the public's only peek at what the movie might have looked like, other than stills from her famous "nude" swim, until footage from the film was restored in the 2001 documentary Marilyn, The Final Days, detailing events around the shoot. When Marilyn first died, before all the complicated conspiracy theories started developing, people were simply saying she probably killed herself because she was aging and starting to lose her looks. Insert Sepiatone's eye roll here. I've seen other clips from, "Something's Got to Give," and I think she was at her thinnest and most beautiful at this time. |
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