Temple Tuesday: Behind the Scenes, SYWA

A teenage Shirley Temple made a comeback of sorts with the 1944 prestige picture, “Since You Went Away” (hereafter referred to as “SYWA”), produced by David Selznick. Like his blockbuster hit of 1939, “Gone with the Wind,” the theme of “SYWA” was about how war affected those at home; no battles were shown in either movie, other than the personal struggles felt by its characters. Unlike its predecessor, “SYWA” was more of a lowkey picture, lacking the driving core of the romance between Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Regardless, “SYWA” is an amazing snapshot of World War II and the brave women who made a difference on the homefront. Shirley played Brig Hilton, the daughter of the female lead, Claudette Colbert, and sister of Jennifer Jones. The three were the heart of the story, which begins as the unseen father leaves to join the war effort. Above, Shirley is pictured with Monty Woolley, who plays a boarder of the Hilton family, thus helping them make ends meet without the father’s regular salary. One of the early scenes in the picture has frenemies Agnes Moorehead and Colbert meeting up for a drink, where they run into family friend Lieutenant Willett (Joseph Cotten).



While most people don’t think about the set design when watching a picture, I completely geek out on it, especially if it’s not done on location. What props did the set department choose to use? Does it feel authentic? What was the inspiration? Below is the set for the cocktail lounge where the three are hanging out. Imagine creating all that atmosphere for only a few minutes of celluloid and then having it torn apart, destroyed, or re-used in another film.



In this scene, Colbert, Temple, and Jones gather in the master bedroom after the father has gone to support the war effort.



A shot of the set from the Huntington Collection:



Another angle of the room from my collection:



A number of family photos are shown on the mantle and dresser:



A closeup shows a childhood photo of Shirley and one of Jennifer Jones:



Interestingly enough, in the Huntington shot, Shirley is nowhere to be found. Instead, there is a small picture of actor Neil Hamilton on the left.



A screenshot from the movie, showing Claudette looking longingly at photos of her character’s husband, portrayed by Neil Hamilton.



A detailed view from my photo of the set:



Hamilton is probably best known as Commissioner Gordon from “Batman” (1966), also the father of Batgirl (Yvonne Craig).



Back to Shirley! Here’s another copy of the photo that was used in the movie and placed on the mantle for the final set design:



This photo session was for “Little Miss Broadway” (1938), and like most publicity shoots, there were plenty of alternate poses taken!









One of the shots even made it on a magazine cover, circa December 1938:



Also from the Huntington collection is this color test shot taken of the living room set:



In a few scenes, Colbert can be seen leaning outside the upstairs bedroom window.



Thanks to movie magic, partial set design, and matte paintings, only this portion of the window was built. Not sure who is leaning out the window, but it definitely is not Claudette!



How the exterior of the house looked in the movie, thanks to a partial set built which was combined with a matte painting:



For the final shot of the film, a miniature set was used and footage of the three women hugging was combined with the model:



Here’s a view of the gargantuan set created for the dance at the hangar:



Combined with a matte painting for the top portion, it truly was impressive.



A production shot of the hangar dance scene. Director John Cromwell can be seen in the upper right corner with the camera crew:



Dancers from the hangar scene, Elsie Peritz and Jack Arkin were captured in these five publicity shots doing some impressive jitterbug moves!











I can’t verify this, but my gut feeling is that the bowling alley scene with Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones was shot at a real bowling alley. If so, I would love to know which one was used and what happened to it.



The premiere of the film was held on July 17, 1944 at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood:



Demolished in 1969, it was reborn in a slightly smaller scale at Anaheim’s Disney California Adventure theme park:



Back to the premiere: shown below are the arrival of Lt. Commander Joel Pressman, Colbert, Captain Don Wilcox, and Commander Michael Sanchez:



Shirley went to the premiere with then boyfriend Private Andy Hotchkiss. Naturally, her parents followed right behind her.





The entire happy foursome. Hotch is probably whispering, “When can we ditch Mom and Pop?”



Another shot of the theatre the night of the premiere:



A closeup of the marquee:



From the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, July 17, 1944:

CELEBRITY THRONGS TO ATTEND PREMIERE

Set off by possibly the most distinguished guest list of stars that ever attended a world premiere, David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away” will be shown in a trade and press screening tonight at Carthay Circle Theater with bands playing and searchlights flashing the skies. “Since You Went Away,” which cost more than $3,000,000 to produce, is a picture of unusual interest to the motion picture industry, as well as to the fans, since it is Mr. Selznick’s first offering in four years. It is a war picture without battles, about America today. His most recent pictures were “Gone with the Wind” and “Rebecca.” Among the stars who will attend are: Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Walker, Frank Sinatra, Mary Astor, Fred Astaire, Charles Boyer, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Durante, Deanna Durbin, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Hedy Lamarr, Adolphe Menjou, Burgess Meredith, Lana Turner, Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney, Jane Withers, and Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock.

After the premiere, the headlines proclaimed: “Selznick Triumphs Again”

The Alameda Times reported this bit of sad news in connection to the premiere on July 19:

Film Actor Faces Leg Amputation

Film Actor Ward Bond, facing possible amputation of a leg injured in a traffic accident Monday night, today was being treated with the wonder drug penicillin. “If we save his leg it will be only by a miracle,” his physician, Dr. John C. Wilson, said. Bond, struck by an automobile shortly after leaving the Hollywood premiere of “Since You Went Away,” was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital after treatment at an emergency hospital. The driver of the car was not held. The former University of Southern California football star’s leg was almost severed in the accident, hospital attendants reported.

The result can be found over on imdb.com:

On July 17, 1944, Bond was leaving the Hollywood premiere of Since You Went Away (1944) and was attempting to cross the street when he was struck by an auto. His left leg was so severely fractured that physicians wanted to amputate, but Bond refused to allow it, and although it took several months, Bond recovered. He limped in his next few films, and was still recovering, using a cane, when he served as best man at the wedding of John Wayne to his second wife in January 1946. The driver, a retired cosmetics manufacturer, was fined $25 for speeding but was not charged with failing to yield right of way to a pedestrian. In 1945, Bond was awarded $50,000 at a civil trial.

Bond would costar with Shirley in 1948’s “Fort Apache”:



And that’s the end of today’s rabbit hole!

See more "Since You Went Away" photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: LIFE can be cruel!

At first glance, the above photo is a charming shot of Shirley Temple, former child star and darling of the 1930s, and Mary Pickford, a “child” star from the teens and 1920s. At the time this 1943 photo was taken, Shirley was poised for a comeback under the direction of producer David O. Selznick. Mary had gone behind the camera, producing films for United Artists, which she was one of the founding members back in 1919. LIFE Magazine typically was kind to movie stars and often got exclusive photos and stories as a result; for this particular image, they were rather cruel. It ran full page in the October 4, 1943 issue with the headline, “TWO GREATEST HAS-BEENS.” From the rest of the feature:

Shirley Temple and Mary Pickford are seen here on a Hollywood movie set. Miss Temple is 15. Mary Pickford is 50. They are almost of a size. Their combined careers almost span the history of the motion picture industry. Mary Pickford has appeared in 60 full-length movies, Shirley Temple in 28. They are Hollywood’s two greatest has-beens. They are has-beens in the same peculiar way. Both of them have finished great movie careers. Mary Pickford as “America’s Sweetheart”; Shirley Temple as the screen’s greatest child actress. Miss Temple, for many years a top box-office draw as a curly-headed moppet, is now taking on her first real dramatic role. When Mary Pickford was her age she was appearing in David Belasco’s “Warrens of Virginia.” The occasion for their meeting was an on-the-set party to celebrate the first of shooting on Shirley Temple’s new picture, United Artists’s “Since You Went Away.” Miss Pickford, a part owner of United Artists, is also beginning a new movie career. Recently she paid $410,000 (the top price for a Broadway play) for the screen rights to “Junior Miss,” which she will soon produce. It is rumored that Shirley Temple will have one of leading roles in the movie.

There were so many other ways LIFE could have chosen to describe these two legends, all of which would have been more respectful. Below is another shot of Temple and Pickford from the party:



From the accompanying caption:

In the friendly, informal atmosphere of a typical American home, Claudette Colbert and Producer David O. Selznick recently entertained a group of Hollywood notables at a “housewarming.” Scene of the unusual gathering was the “Hilton Home” set, on which will be shot some of the footage for Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” story of a typical American home in wartime. Present at the party were Producer Selznick, Director John Cromwell and members of the all-star cast, Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Robert Walker, Hattie McDaniel, Neil Hamilton, Eric Sinclair, Rhonda Fleming, Christopher Adams and Vicci Styles. Left to right: Commander Garcia, Shirley Temple and Mary Pickford.

A detail of the pin Mary is wearing:



Below are cast members Robert Walker, current wife Jennifer Jones, Selznick (who would eventually marry Jones), Shirley, and Joseph Cotten. Ingrid Bergman, smiling in the background, was a visitor to the set party.



Another shot with Bergman, Selznick, Temple, and Jones. That’s some purse Jones has tucked under her arm!



Below is a shot of Shirley getting ready. The accompanying blurb:

LADY’S TIME OUT to fix up before returning in front of the cameras. Shirley Temple has her hair done by Cleo, the hair stylist, for a scene in David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away.” Others in the all-star cast are Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Monty Woolley and Robert Walker.



Poor Cleo; no credit or last name could be found for her on imdb. In an attempt to make up (pun intended) for that, below is a color shot of Shirley in the same outfit on the cover of Modern Screen Magazine, circa April 1944:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Memos and Letters

Producer David Selznick was known for his prolific memos; a rather large book was published in 1972 filled with his correspondence titled Memo from David O. Selznick. Two of the memos from the compilation include our gal Shirley. In a June 15, 1943 memo the producer wrote to his Director of Advertising and Publicity, Joseph Henry Steele:

When we’re ready, the story on “Since You Went Away” should be built on the following:

David O. Selznick today announced that…“Since You Went Away” will mark the return to production of Selznick, and be his first picture since “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca.” At the same time, Selznick confirmed previously published reports that Claudette Colbert will play the role of the young wife and mother in the film, which is based upon the Whittlesey House and Ladies’ Home Journal story of the same title…

With Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Monty Woolley, and Shirley Temple, the cast looms as one of the most important of recent years. Selznick also stated that there would be other important players cast shortly, to give the film a cast rivaling that of the producer’s famous production of “Dinner at Eight.”

Rewrite the above as much as you want to, but please be careful to: (a) handle the mother and sister angles almost exactly as above; (b) use the casting in the recapitulation as stated above, i.e., Colbert first, Jones second, Woolley third, and Temple fourth; (c) I’m anxious to get the accent off this as a Temple vehicle and start hammering away at its tremendous cast.…I’m getting tired of being referred to solely as the producer of Gone With the Wind and Rebecca, and would like to get some of the other pictures alluded to as often as possible (I can see my obituary now: ‘Producer of Gone With the Wind dies!’)…



The above shot of Shirley taken in October 1943 was accompanied by this publicity blurb:

Fresh Start for Shirley Temple

Brentwood, Calif. – Now 15 and a typical teen-age girl, Shirley Temple is launching a “second” career. As a child actress, she was at the top as film box office drawing card from 1935 to 1939, under a 20th Century-Fox contract. Since 1941, she has made only two movies, and in 1942 she starred in a radio series, “Junior Miss.” At the same time she gave more attention to her school work at the Westlake School for Girls, and to growing up as a normal girl.



Now, under a new contract with David O. Selznick, a new program is being worked out, with adult stardom as the aim for the future. For the present Shirley will continue her schooling and make occasional pictures in which she will have important roles but not be starred. She is at work now on“Since You Went away,” in which she plays the tomboy daughter. These photos were made at the Temple home here. Shirley is seen with her new friend Abby Wilder, whose mother, Margaret Buell Wilder, wrote the novel “Since You Went away.” Shirley plays Brig Hilton, who in real life is Abby Wilder.

The below image shows Ingrid Bergman visiting Selznick (who she was under contract to at the time), Shirley, and Jennifer Jones on the set of “Since You Went Away.” Selznick may have been looking at Shirley, but his romantic attentions were about to be focused on Jones, who he would eventually marry.



This November 3, 1944 memo from the Producer was to Reeves Espy, a Selznick executive:

Shirley is exceedingly hot at the moment. We can”t commence to fill demands for interviews and other press material on her from newspapers and magazines; and this is, of course, an indication of the interest of the public. At the preview of “I’ll Be Seeing You,” costarring Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, and Shirley Temple, Shirleys name was received with the biggest applause of all three, despite the fact that the Gallup poll shows that Cotten is the great new romantic rage, and that Ginger is one of the top stars of the business.

Shirley’s publicity in the New York press, both in connection with this appearance and in connection with her prior trip East to sell bonds, received more publicity_including, astonishingly, big front-page breaks in the middle of a war—thank I think has been accorded the visit of any motion-picture star to New York in many, many years. Indeed, it is said (and I believe a check would confirm it) that her visit received more space than that of General de Gaulle! She has made a great hit in Since You Went Away; and in her first grown-up part, that in “I’ll Be Seeing You,” is a sensational success. Her fan mail is great than that of any other star on our list—actually exceeding by a wide margin that of Ingrid Bergman, Jennifer Jones, and Joan Fontaine, who are the next three, in that order.

If Shirley was so hot, why didn’t her teen career flourish more? You can probably chalk it up to Selznick’s obsession with promoting Jones. All the choice lead roles for a young woman went to her, as the Producer ended up loaning Temple out to other studios while he focused on building up Jones’ career.



See more teenage Shirley Temple photos at my main website.