Screen tests of "classic" Hollywood stars

Speaking of Joanne Woodward, the year before she signed her contract with Twentieth Century-Fox she was screen-tested by Warner Brothers for the role of Abra in East of Eden (1955), which eventually went to Julie Harris. At that point she'd mostly done live television in New York but they must have seriously considered her because the test was with James Dean himself. I don't know Patricia Smith well, but she appears to have made a career of small and supporting roles. The first scene depicted was apparently cut from the final script as being too intimate, with Cal crawling in the window of her bedroom. Martin Sheen narrates, so I'm assuming this was part of a package put together for home video or DVD release. His narration suggests the tests were set up to test Jimmy, but it seems more likely that it was the women who were being tested, since Kazan wanted Jimmy from the get-go. It seems to me that Dean did a masterful job of "listening", always a challenge for actors, in his scene with Joanne. It's all in the eyes, with that slight flinching when she mentions other women he's been seen with. Julie Harris was brilliant in the role but I think Joanne was an extremely credible contender.

EDIT: On second thought, at least the first scene may have been meant to test Jimmy, because the actress is turned away from the camera for almost the entirety of the scene, with the camera focusing on him.



The slate says this is a wardrobe test but the actors are obviously being asked to demonstrate their chemistry as well, which they certainly do.

Blood and Sand (1941) had the definite advantage of having three of the most gorgeous people in Hollywood, Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Rita Hayworth in Technicolor. This is another wardrobe test archived by historicfilms.com. It's all so matter-of-fact, which not only shows what a professional he was because he's graciously meeting the requirements of the test, but it also gives us a good opportunity to just gaze at one of the true movie legends of the golden age.

Theodore Bikel had some name recognition, particularly after co-starring with Mary Martin in the original company of The Sound of Music on Broadway, but I don't know the backstory of how this audition for Goldfinger (1964) came about. It's a good take on the villain character, cerebral and matter of fact, which makes the implied threat sort of creep up on you. You can also see that he's gathered his resources between the first and seconds take, which runs more smoothly.



And actor Tito Vandis auditioning for the same role on the same makeshift set. The threat seems a little more hollow in this one and the accent may be working against him. But I feel for anyone auditioning for a big role with some staffer with script in hand. Must be really intimidating.

 James Brolin's screen-testing for Octopussy reminded me of the following fascinating footage, I Love Melvin:

                                                            

 Presumably Edward G. Robinson's falling away from the pLanet of the apes work-in-progress was not simply his said declining health - he'd later appear again with Charlton Heston and complete SOYLENT GREEN shortly before his passing, but also the discomfort and time element that was required of the simian actors as, of course, the costuming and makeup became much more involved than seen above.

 Charlton Heston gave the eulogy for Edward G. Robinson.

 I Love Melvin, a Dean Martin/Dodgers search yielded the following photo - I thought of you with Marilyn Monroe who's seen with Albie Pearson in what's said to have been her last public appearance, a muscular dystrophy benefit at Dodger Stadium in 1962:

                                                      

 There's some footage and plenty of other photos culled from the June evening if further interested.