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Post by dreamer on Nov 26, 2006 18:08:43 GMT -5
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Post by Shaun on Nov 26, 2006 18:50:30 GMT -5
Garbo heard Hepburn was making a test and wasn't too thrilled about it. Garbo really wanted to play Joan of Arc. So I guess RKO was planning to star Kate in a movie about her, but somehow it fell through. Doesn't the Technicolor look amazing? I didn't know it was that advanced in 1934!
That first set reminds me of what Kate said in All About Me--that that screentest was awful and that George Cukor saw the other one, "the good one." What if Cukor hadn't saw the good one, but only the one shown in AAM? We wouldn't have Katharine Hepburn would we? Perish the thought!
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Kama
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Post by Kama on Jan 26, 2008 15:58:25 GMT -5
TCM site, silent screen tests for Little Women: www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/?cid=64354TCM site is wonderful. There are great behind-the-scenes photos (BUB and more), many trailers and so on. |
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Post by dreamer on Jan 26, 2008 17:14:28 GMT -5
I think we had this video up some time ago  This is as I recall not really a screen test but shows a scene from Little Women - if I'm not wrong I believe Judy solved the big question back then. But I might be wrong and I am dreaming as usual  |
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Post by Judy on Jan 26, 2008 18:15:37 GMT -5
I think we had this video up some time ago This is as I recall not really a screen test but shows a scene from Little Women - if I'm not wrong I believe Judy solved the big question back then. But I might be wrong and I am dreaming as usual Well, dreamer...and Kama...though they appear to me to be actual scenes, they're not necessarily the exact ones that wound up in the film...In other words, they are takes of scenes and you can see them a split second before the scene begins and know that they are about to begin - you can see the ...it's not a clapboard but just a board placed in camera range with the scene number and such - if there was sound, you'd likely hear the word "action." You can see when the director has yelled cut in the dancing scene because they all just stop. But I especially love to catch just that split second before they start a scene, where you can see the real expressions on their faces. For instance before the scene where they all approach the table with ice cream and cake, you can see Joan Bennett is laughing about something looking at Kate. Wish it was longer! |
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Post by Hep on Jan 26, 2008 18:55:31 GMT -5
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libearian
Newbie
I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!
Posts: 3
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Post by libearian on Jul 4, 2008 17:22:05 GMT -5
She would have been awesome (thanks Amber  ) in "Joan of Arc" - does somebody know why it wasn't made with Kate or did she just do the test for a friend to test the colour? According to the AMPAS site, there is a 1934 treatment for a Joan of Arc film by Thornton Wilder in the George Cukor papers at the library there. Can you just imagine what a treasure that would have been? And thanks for posting those great pics! |
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Post by CrazyForKate on Oct 11, 2009 21:51:40 GMT -5
Does anyone else really really wish she had done a screentest for GWTW? It would have been interesting to see her play Scarlett even only for a few minutes.
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Post by Judy on Oct 11, 2009 22:35:41 GMT -5
Does anyone else really really wish she had done a screentest for GWTW? It would have been interesting to see her play Scarlett even only for a few minutes. I for one am very glad she didn't get to play Scarlett O'Hara. I think she would have been completely wrong for it. I know that her involvement in a film of the magnitude of GWTW would have been a boon to her career, but I think she was very, very savvy and knew that Selznick could hire her and then let her go the minute he found the right person - and, as she said to him, "you're not going to tell me you're going to be stupid enough not to find her" after all the hoopla about the search. And then she knew he would have dropped her and THAT could have ruined her confidence and her standing in the business to have that blow at a time when her career was in the toilet. And then, of course, had she done Scarlett - we might not have gotten Tracy Lord - so I think everything happens for a reason. Having said all this, I also have to admit that I am not one who would put GWTW on my list of favorite movies. I just don't see what the fuss is all about. I mean, I KNOW what it was about then - the success of the book, the suspense over how that success would be translated to the screen, the spectacle, the huge production, stars, etc. - but I just don't FEEL anything watching it. Mostly I think it's because I see/feel ZERO chemistry between ANY of the actors. Between Scarlett and Rhett there should be some heat and I find Leigh and Gable thoroughly unsuited to playing with each other. I think she's GREAT and he is, too, in the role. But they may as well be acting in different movies as far as chemistry is concerned. And Leslie Howard? 'Nuf said. All this is IMO - so I apologize if I've offended anyone who loves the movie. To each his own. But it wouldn't even make my top 50. I'd take The Philadelphia Story over it in a heartbeat. Sorry for the rant. |
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Post by CrazyForKate on Oct 11, 2009 23:02:14 GMT -5
Oh, I know she wouldn't have been suited for the full movie. But a screentest might have been fun.
I'm reading the book at the moment so I've been thinking about it a lot.
And I disagree about Gable and Leigh. But Leigh and Howard? That's another story. Ew.
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Post by dreamer on Oct 12, 2009 3:08:15 GMT -5
I prefer Tracy Lord 10 times over Scarlett O'Hara - so am with Judy on this.
What really would interest me would be - why Kate wanted the part? Was it her way to beat the box office poison and stay in business or was it the part?
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Post by Judy on Oct 12, 2009 8:21:22 GMT -5
I prefer Tracy Lord 10 times over Scarlett O'Hara - so am with Judy on this. What really would interest me would be - why Kate wanted the part? Was it her way to beat the box office poison and stay in business or was it the part? I think it's, maybe, hard for us to imagine now - or, rather, to understand - the wild success of the book when it was published and then the legendary hoopla surrounding the making of the movie. At least in reputation - and it was probably actually so - it was THE movie that everybody was talking about. So it was THE part any actress of that time seemed to want. I can't figure out why, frankly. I think there were SO many more interesting women's roles at the time. For instance, Bette Davis's Jezebel - in my opinion - is a hundred times deeper and more complex a character than Scarlett O'Hara. I just never saw Scarlett as an interesting character. To me, she's a petulant shrew throughout and any hardship that she endures and faces up to - like the loss of her father or the downfall of Tara when they are starving and scrambling to survive, or the shooting of the soldier or delivery of Melanie's baby - NONE of it changes her. Even when Rhett walks out on her and she's in tears and talks about "tammarah," there's still not the slightest inkling that she's been transformed. Perhaps that was the point. But if so, that's why I've never been able to warm to the character - even though Leigh played the hell out of it and she's really the only saving grace for me - what I mean is, she gave Scarlett dimension that I really think would have been missing without her (though I have always been intrigued by what I've seen of Paulette Goddard's test; I thought she could have been wonderful in it, too). So it's really the character of Scarlett that has always been off-putting to me. And though Leigh was absolutely the right choice, even she couldn't save it - for me. But, getting back to your original question, dreamer - about why Kate might have wanted the part: I think she thought it was a role and a movie that would have elevated her out of the industry perception of failure. Perhaps she also thought it was a great role - everyone seemed to - and maybe she even connected to the Southern part of it because of her papa being a Virginian. And the fact that it was Selznick. And Cukor directing. Perhaps she thought she would naturally be thought of for the role. Anyway, I know I am in the minority and that most people find it a wildly romantic saga. It just leaves me cold and always has. |
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Post by dreamer on Oct 12, 2009 12:31:22 GMT -5
What I really never have understood is the trabba buh around Scarlett O'Hara - she was probably as much an ass as Mary of Scotland - and that part was not one of Kate's faves. I have understood the popularity of Mitchell's book - I guess it was as popular as Harry Potter is today. Although I must admit - haven't read either of them. The figure Scarlett hasn't enough dept - to say it with your words Judy "she leaves me cold" - ( where as the other characters don't ). As does those modern fairytales. I know it is theeee books to read - friends of mine stand up in the night to be there when the bookstore opens. It is crazy - and I guess something that is created by the industry. Just like ET etc. So my last guess for today is that the Selznick Studio already back then created a hysteria around the film. There is no doubt about Leigh's portrayal is fantastic - I don't blame it on her - but the character is where I have my trouble. And having thought of what Kate said about Mary of Scotland - I just had a hard time to figure why Kate would want to portray a character like Scarlett O'Hara other than maybe get back in business - ahh she didn't really leave but you know what I mean. The idea of Kate thought romantic about the part - meaning because of her father being from the south has never crossed my mind. I believe you are onto something Judy. Here is what Kate said and an interesting site I found recently -> oldhollywood.tumblr.com/tagged/Katharine_Hepburn |
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Post by martha on Oct 28, 2009 12:43:18 GMT -5
Anyway, I know I am in the minority and that most people find it a wildly romantic saga. It just leaves me cold and always has. well we're a minority of two then, judy. and what distinguishes the 'romance' of GONE WITH THE WIND for many americans (and makes it very different than the Harry Potter imaginary adventures dreamer has mentioned) is that GWTW draws upon a messy and complicated and for some of us embarrassing part of american history. yes, slavery. so for me its hard to romanticize the world of the rich folk who benefited from that system. ya ya ya its only a movie. but that's part of the complicated response to this movie for americans and how i find it differs from how the rest of the world sees it. just my two bits. back to kate!  |
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Post by dreamer on Oct 28, 2009 14:03:07 GMT -5
Slavery - Martha didn't only happened in America - it happened all over the world. The South might have made it more obvious - but we have to remember also that the North - the Yankees - were the ones who liberated and fought for freedom. Which didn't happen much else where as much in history. So I think that despite the "messy" part of history - it is not there the problem of the viewer of today finds their in GWTW - why else do so many love North and South with Patrick Swayze. No I really do believe that it is the character Scarlett who is the issue - the snobbery - her ignorance - her cold heart. As it is difficult to warm up to a person who can't learn from her faults and the kind of ego the character has. Sorry about my rambling - but I felt you misunderstood what I meant Martha. Giggles we are at least three here  And that I mentioned HP was only to pin point how popular the book was back then - and that I believe that the S Studios already back then had the publicity drums playing at full speed - producing a hysteria (or call it a need) as we see with some films today. |
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) in "Joan of Arc" - does somebody know why it wasn't made with Kate or did she just do the test for a friend to test the colour?
And that I mentioned HP was only to pin point how popular the book was back then - and that I believe that the S Studios already back then had the publicity drums playing at full speed - producing a hysteria (or call it a need) as we see with some films today.
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