Screen tests of "classic" Hollywood stars

The Judy Garland pictures are the same ones I've seen in some book I own about the making of "THE WIZARD OF OZ". I've seen some footage of various cast members of this movie in some wardrobe/makeup tests featured in the Turner-produced documentary on the history of "THE WIZARD OF OZ" (both the original story and the film itself). This documentary also features a rare home movie film footage of the rehearsal of "The Jitterbug" number which was either cut from the final print of the film, or else this scene was just never actually filmed. We also get to hear this song in particular dubbed over this entire footage, as well. Jack Haley as the Tin Man and Bert Lahr as the Lion look as though they were having loads of fun dancing together during this song.

On the topic of rare screen tests for movies, I'm still very interested in seeing some rare footage of Susan Hayward, with hopes that anything is in possible existence. I'd really like to see rehearsal footage, screen tests, or costume tests for her Oscar-winning role in "I WANT TO LIVE".  That movie proves Hayward's real versatility as an actress.

Documentaries are probably your best source for what you're looking for, though they usually only include short snippets. And you're right that the kind of "making-of" books you mentioned are a good source; they started to become popular in the 1970's and there are now a lot of them. A good source might also be the A & E Biography series which used to air on the A & E Network. Their Susan Hayward bio is on YouTube and contains her screen test for Gone with the Wind and some glamor shots from her modeling days before her acting career. A number of Hollywood actresses were featured on the series, so good luck doing a search if you're interested.

I came across this camera test (not an audition; she'd already been cast.) of the beautiful Gene Tierney for Twentieth Century-Fox's Belle Starr (1941), which I'm sorry to say I've never seen. But I sure will because one of her co-stars was Dana Andrews; he and Gene were one of my favorite screen couples in Laura (1944) three years later. And it was in Technicolor, not the standard for westerns in those days. The clip is credited to Historicfilms.com, so you may want to give the site a look.

Have you ever seen pictures of the salt mines where old documents and films are stored? From documentaries I've seen when something lost is found, it seems by accident. I don't think most of what is stored has been meticulously documented. Some boxes are marked legal papers United Artists. Wouldn't it be fun, as a group, we were given access for a week to catalogue as much as we could?

This test was shot in 1950, around the time Marilyn did The Asphalt Jungle for John Huston. It was apparently for a gangster's moll-type role in a film which was eventually scrapped, Cold Shoulder. She hadn't yet stepped onto the world stage as the "sex goddess" she later became, so there was still something direct in the way she went at the role, though there's some of the stilted speaking style she was sometimes prone to. Decent job, I'd say. It looks like Richard Conte with her.



But in this TV commercial the same year you can see she was also mindful of honing that image.

These are only brief parts of a test done for David O. Selznick, but the accompanying text gives some good information about the circumstances. The role went to Dorothy McGuire but Jennifer, of course, went on to marry Selznick later in the decade.