Customer Reviews

Hollywood Movie Stills

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This book is devoted to a neglected aspect of film-making, illustrated with hundreds of stills, which were produced in vast numbers by the great studios in their Hollywood heyday. Although the invention of photography preceded the development of cinema by over half a century, the stills unit was an important part of the movie-making process, up until the decline of the studios in the mid 1960's. Even in the fledgling silent days, a photographer was usually attached to every production, to provide on the set shots of the cast and crew, which were used in posters and images reproduced in newspapers and magazines as the means of publicity. When it became apparent that audiences were drawn to particular players, portrait photography and "candid" views of the stars became a thriving industry. Galleries were established at the studios, with specialists in lighting, make-up, wardrobe and retouching employed to create timeless, universal and strikingly glamorous images. Sometimes this was of the lower-brow "cheesecake" variety, exploiting the subject's physical attributes, or in line with kitschy seasonal or holiday calendar art. Photographers also took pictures at the star's homes, nightspots, at parties, and premieres and award ceremonies. They took any photos that were needed as props in the films themselves, and occasionally tried gimmicky trick shots, created images that were not to be found in the finished film, or devised a new way of capturing an important scene which had been staged in a way not to lend itself to a still photo. An example given is the still of Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable as hitchhikers in It Happened One Night, sitting side by side on a fence with their thumbs out - a simpler and more direct image which encapsulates the moment in the film. And the stills ordered by Harry Cohn of Rita Hayworth in the hall of mirrors climax of The Lady from Shanghai, made with Hayworth wearing a more provocative costume than she would wear in the film itself. Stills could also be the last surviving visual record of lost or missing films, or films abandoned midway through production like Josef von Sternberg's I Claudius, and George Cukor's Something's Got to Give. Stills also can provide evidence of scenes cut, censored or changed, and even changes of cast. The 1983 reconstruction of the 1954 George Cukor/Judy Garland A Star is Born used stills of cut scenes to fill the gap where the soundtrack had been found but the footage remained missing. Vito Russo's book The Celluloid Closet presented a rare full face portrait of Sebastian Venable from Suddenly Last Summer, who can only be glimpsed from behind in the film. And we see Ingrid Bergman in a draped Grecian gown and an arrow through her neck, meant for the dream sequence devised by Salvador Dali for Spellbound, which Hitchcock edited. Whilst some stills can show details that are not meant to be seen, like a crate of oranges labelled "produce of Israel" in The Sound of Music, others deliberately do not reveal detail as part of the publicity campaign, such as the appearances of E.T., John Hurt in The Elephant Man, and the strict control Alfred Hitchcock placed on stills for Psycho so as not to disclose plot. The studio heads did not approve of these latter stills, finding them overly static and failing to represent the "excitement and flavour" of the film. One can imagine how dumb-founded audiences were to one still in particular of John Gavin and Vera Miles gazing fearfully at a wooden rocking chair, the meaning lost without having seen the film. It is thought that the quality of stills associated with a film indicates the aesthetic of it's director - someone like Erich von Stroheim took a great interest in his stills, and Josef von Sternberg even accompanied Marlene Dietrich to her portrait sessions. Others were less co-operative. Some hitherto undiscovered talents furthered their careers with portrait stills - Rudolph Valentino is an example - or established stars tried to remake their images. Harold Lloyd lost two fingers and was almost killed in one session when a real explosive bomb was accidently substituted for a paper mache prop. A picture of Clarence Brown directing Garbo in Flesh and the Devil shows the huge lights used, and how close Brown and the camera is to Garbo's face. Garbo is also seen in a Clarence Sinclair Bull shot for Two Faced Woman yet to be retouched, revealing her "imperfections" - lines under her eyes, and a tiny mole to the right of her nose. The nature of stills was also influenced by censorship, with special concern over the display of women's cleavage. Numerous stills were also taken as camera tests for costume and makeup at many different angles for continuity and reference purposes, exemplified by the monumental effort to help Dustin Hoffman look like a woman in Tootsie. The studios also liked to photograph new stars arriving in Hollywood, though a publicity stunt backfired when a giant tame bear who was supposed to shake hands with Mary Martin, had other ideas and ended up on top of her. Of further interest are examples of "doctored" stills, such as the ones Woody Allen used for his Zelig,. The notorious mishap which occured during a photo session wth Carmen Miranda dancing with Cesar Romero, where what she wasn't wearing under her skirt was captured. The leaning board invented to prevent wrinkling of the dress worn by Jean Harlow in Dinner at Eight. A wedding shot of the sham marriage between Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates. Boris Karloff in Frankenstein costume eating lunch. The still of Betty Grable which became the most famous pin-up shots of all time. And the genuinely candid and notorious mug shots of an arrested and dishevelled Frances Farmer, juxtaposed with a glamourous portrait taken when she was a leading lady only a few years earlier.

This is a fantastic book for film fans of the "golden age" as well as anyone interested in photography and the history of same as relates to the movie/film industry during this early period. The photos and illustrations will delight any fan or historian of that era of films, studios, and most especially, the stars. Highest recommendation for this for any fan's library.

Hollywood Movie Stills is an interesting and useful view of the business of making still photographs for the film industry. Not only does it explain the 'why' and the 'how' things are done it shows interesting examples of photography that are related to the making of movies and publicising its stars. Books like this are rare, but if one is interested in still photography, this book should be a part of one's library.