Latest news with #GloriaSwanson
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Our director is a madman': a century on, Gloria Swanson's disastrous film Queen Kelly is finished
In the long history of Hollywood excess, there is no tale as torrid as that of Queen Kelly. This lavish silent melodrama starring Gloria Swanson and directed by Erich von Stroheim will screen as the pre-opening event at this year's Venice film festival, with a new score by composer Eli Denson. The film is an outlandish saga of illicit love in sordid surroundings – and so is the story of its production. Queen Kelly is set in Europe before the first world war and tells the story of Patricia Kelly (Swanson), a convent girl who falls in love with a prince (British actor Walter Byron) who is engaged to a deranged queen. Patricia is sent away to Tanzania, where she is forced into marriage with a vile character called Jan, later earning the nickname Queen Kelly. It's a far-fetched tale, which sets a curious tone from the beginning with its infamous meet-cute, in which Patricia is so overawed by meeting the prince that her knickers fall to the ground. On the first day of shooting in 1928, Swanson had a premonition that the film would never be finished, and events proved her correct. The screening at Venice consists of a new restoration by Dennis Doros that incorporates previously unseen material, and some inventive methods of recreating the film's grand finale. He describes this version as a 'reimagining'. Viewers of the film have always had to fill in the gaps, as did those who wanted to learn what happened behind the scenes. The story of the film begins with a love affair. In 1927 Swanson was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, married to French war hero Marquis Henry de la Falaise, when she met the married Boston businessman Joseph P Kennedy, father of the Kennedy clan. The following year Swanson and Kennedy became lovers, and their relationship was soon an open secret in Hollywood. Swanson, who was living beyond her generous means, put her financial affairs in his hands. Kennedy had been in the movie business for some years, and together they planned a lucrative showcase for Swanson's talent. Making an expensive silent film when the talkie revolution was already in motion was one questionable decision. The next was hiring Von Stroheim to write and direct it. He was anything but a safe bet, known for his censor-baiting storylines, immense profligacy (insisting the extras in 1922's Foolish Wives be supplied with silk underwear) and epic running times (his original cut of 1924's Greed was said to be nine hours long). Von Stroheim proved as immoderate as ever. In the third month of filming, with costs soaring, Swanson and Kennedy called the whole thing off. Her objection was that Von Stroheim had taken the narrative in a direction that would never pass the censors. The scenes they were working on in Africa were clearly set in a brothel. She was exhausted by his reshoots and horrified by having to do a scene in which Jan (Tully Marshall) dribbled tobacco juice on to her hand. She called up Kennedy, saying: 'Our director is a madman.' For his part, Von Stroheim claimed the shoot was abandoned purely because the coming of sound rendered this expensive silent film obsolete. Whatever the reason, Swanson and Kennedy cut their losses, which totalled a reputed $800,000. Von Stroheim was unceremoniously removed from the project. He would never complete a film as director again, although he would continue to find success as an actor, dubbed the 'The Man You Love to Hate' for playing German villains, most notably in Jean Renoir's 1937 classic La Grande Illusion. Swanson and Kennedy tried to complete the film as a talkie and even a musical. A 1932 cut of Queen Kelly was shown in a few countries, but this was essentially only the film's first half. Fast-forward to 1950, when Swanson staged her own glorious comeback, playing washed-up silent film star Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's black comedy Sunset Boulevard. None other than Von Stroheim was hired to play Norma's butler, the man who keeps her fantasy of enduring fame alive. And when Wilder needed to use a scene from one of Norma's old movies? A clip of Queen Kelly was chosen. Swanson was back in the spotlight, and one of her most famous follies was once more a talking point. From then on, she did her best to revive the project she once thought was doomed – screening her cut of the film at one-off events and even on US TV, with the words: 'This Queen Kelly gal was a child that somehow didn't want to be born.' Swanson died in 1983, just two years before Doros completed his first reconstruction. He used Swanson's own prints and outtakes, which had been preserved at the George Eastman Museum. This new restoration, and its red-carpet premiere in Venice, may just be everything that Swanson dreamed of for her lovechild Queen Kelly. Von Stroheim, one suspects, would prefer to try a few more takes. Queen Kelly screens in Venice on 26 August
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Our director is a madman': a century on, Gloria Swanson's disastrous film Queen Kelly is finished
In the long history of Hollywood excess, there is no tale as torrid as that of Queen Kelly. This lavish silent melodrama starring Gloria Swanson and directed by Erich von Stroheim will screen as the pre-opening event at this year's Venice film festival, with a new score by composer Eli Denson. The film is an outlandish saga of illicit love in sordid surroundings – and so is the story of its production. Queen Kelly is set in Europe before the first world war and tells the story of Patricia Kelly (Swanson), a convent girl who falls in love with a prince (British actor Walter Byron) who is engaged to a deranged queen. Patricia is sent away to Tanzania, where she is forced into marriage with a vile character called Jan, later earning the nickname Queen Kelly. It's a far-fetched tale, which sets a curious tone from the beginning with its infamous meet-cute, in which Patricia is so overawed by meeting the prince that her knickers fall to the ground. On the first day of shooting in 1928, Swanson had a premonition that the film would never be finished, and events proved her correct. The screening at Venice consists of a new restoration by Dennis Doros that incorporates previously unseen material, and some inventive methods of recreating the film's grand finale. He describes this version as a 'reimagining'. Viewers of the film have always had to fill in the gaps, as did those who wanted to learn what happened behind the scenes. The story of the film begins with a love affair. In 1927 Swanson was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, married to French war hero Marquis Henry de la Falaise, when she met the married Boston businessman Joseph P Kennedy, father of the Kennedy clan. The following year Swanson and Kennedy became lovers, and their relationship was soon an open secret in Hollywood. Swanson, who was living beyond her generous means, put her financial affairs in his hands. Kennedy had been in the movie business for some years, and together they planned a lucrative showcase for Swanson's talent. Making an expensive silent film when the talkie revolution was already in motion was one questionable decision. The next was hiring Von Stroheim to write and direct it. He was anything but a safe bet, known for his censor-baiting storylines, immense profligacy (insisting the extras in 1922's Foolish Wives be supplied with silk underwear) and epic running times (his original cut of 1924's Greed was said to be nine hours long). Von Stroheim proved as immoderate as ever. In the third month of filming, with costs soaring, Swanson and Kennedy called the whole thing off. Her objection was that Von Stroheim had taken the narrative in a direction that would never pass the censors. The scenes they were working on in Africa were clearly set in a brothel. She was exhausted by his reshoots and horrified by having to do a scene in which Jan (Tully Marshall) dribbled tobacco juice on to her hand. She called up Kennedy, saying: 'Our director is a madman.' For his part, Von Stroheim claimed the shoot was abandoned purely because the coming of sound rendered this expensive silent film obsolete. Whatever the reason, Swanson and Kennedy cut their losses, which totalled a reputed $800,000. Von Stroheim was unceremoniously removed from the project. He would never complete a film as director again, although he would continue to find success as an actor, dubbed the 'The Man You Love to Hate' for playing German villains, most notably in Jean Renoir's 1937 classic La Grande Illusion. Swanson and Kennedy tried to complete the film as a talkie and even a musical. A 1932 cut of Queen Kelly was shown in a few countries, but this was essentially only the film's first half. Fast-forward to 1950, when Swanson staged her own glorious comeback, playing washed-up silent film star Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's black comedy Sunset Boulevard. None other than Von Stroheim was hired to play Norma's butler, the man who keeps her fantasy of enduring fame alive. And when Wilder needed to use a scene from one of Norma's old movies? A clip of Queen Kelly was chosen. Swanson was back in the spotlight, and one of her most famous follies was once more a talking point. From then on, she did her best to revive the project she once thought was doomed – screening her cut of the film at one-off events and even on US TV, with the words: 'This Queen Kelly gal was a child that somehow didn't want to be born.' Swanson died in 1983, just two years before Doros completed his first reconstruction. He used Swanson's own prints and outtakes, which had been preserved at the George Eastman Museum. This new restoration, and its red-carpet premiere in Venice, may just be everything that Swanson dreamed of for her lovechild Queen Kelly. Von Stroheim, one suspects, would prefer to try a few more takes. Queen Kelly screens in Venice on 26 August
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
At 75, "Sunset Boulevard" is ready again for its closeup
There are some movies where just about every line is quotable. Take Billy Wilder's 1950 masterpiece "Sunset Boulevard," which premiered 75 years ago this month. Gillis: "You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big."Desmond: "I AM big. It's the pictures that got small." The film was anything but small! The legendary director had Gloria Swanson as the rejected silent film star, Norma Desmond, who seemed to be going quietly out of her mind; and William Holden as the failed screenwriter Joe Gillis, who became her kept man. "She was 52 at the time; William Holden was 31," said UT Austin film professor Noah Isenberg. "The age difference was extraordinary. Today we might not think much of it, but it was big." Isenberg says the noir "Sunset Boulevard" tested the limits of what a 1950 audience would bear. The opening scene is gruesome enough, with the murdered Gillis face down in a swimming pool. But the film originally started in the L.A. morgue, with Gillis and other cadavers talking about how they got there. Isenberg said, "It was too dark, too morbid. Audiences weren't ready for it. Instead, you have John Seitz's camera trained on that curb." Appropriately, the film begins in the gutter. The original film, now restored in glorious 4K ultra hi-def, is available from Paramount. Nancy Olson was only 21 when she played aspiring writer Betty Schaefer opposite Holden's Gillis. Olson, now 97, says Holden's air of desperation in the film mirrored what was happening in his life. "His career was dying," she said. "And that's the character. If you look carefully, you will see one of the most extraordinary, real performances of a man who gave up his soul for survival." Still, Olson says they got along famously on set, especially when director Wilder lined them up for their first-ever love scene in a crowded studio where some of the cast's family members happened to be present: "And we got to the end, where Bill says to my character, 'What happened?' And I turn to him slowly and answer, 'You did.' Whereupon he takes me into his arms and gently starts to kiss me. "Now, Billy said, 'Do not separate until I say cut.' And we both were enjoying this. And all of a sudden, there was a female voice saying, 'Cut, damn it! Cut!' It was Mrs. Holden! I never got over it. But I learned something." What was that? "Bill and I loved to kiss!" And moviegoers loved the film: "Sunset Boulevard" got 11 Academy Award nominations. "I was shocked," Olsen said of the Oscar nods. "Now, we didn't win. But we've outlasted everybody." To watch a trailer for the 75th anniversary release of "Sunset Boulevard" click on the video player below: "Sunset Boulevard" was later re-born as a musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sir Andrew was intrigued by the story of Hollywood discarding aging stars, and got the blessing of Wilder, who by then was being gently phased out of Hollywood himself – in his own way getting the Norma Desmond treatment. Webber said, "He does tell a wonderful story about him going to see some young movie executive who had just been there. And this young executive says to him, 'Um, well, Mr. Wilder, we're very impressed by this screenplay that you've done, but it would be really helpful if you could tell me what you have done in the past?'" The director of such classics as "Double Indemnity," "The Lost Weekend," "Ace in the Hole," "Some Like It Hot," and "The Apartment," turned to the young executive and said, "You first." "Sunset Boulevard," the musical, opened in London's West End in 1993, with Patti LuPone as Desmond; when they brought the show to Los Angeles and New York, Glenn Close played the lead. And in the latest, radically re-conceived version, Desmond was played by former pop star Nicole Scherzinger. Asked about seeing Scherzinger in the role of Norma Desmond, Webber said, "I have always rated Nicole as one of the most astounding singers I've ever worked with. And I worked with a few. And I could say that Nicole is right up there with the very, very, very top ones, might even be the best." Scherzinger brought a new level of intensity to Norma Desmond, and took home a Tony Award this year. You can stream the Broadway cast album of "Sunset Blvd." featuring Nicole Scherzinger by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full): The show closed last month, and we took Scherzinger back to the St. James Theatre just before they took down all the signs. "I can't believe that this is still up; I want to take it home!" she laughed. "I want to take it home and I want to put this in my garage." One sign was half-removed from the stage door. "I think someone stole my face!" she laughed. Asked what she thinks "Sunset Boulevard" says about the entertainment industry and its treatment of older women, Scherzinger said, "It's difficult that the industry kind of puts an expiration date on you when you've actually lived a life and actually, finally, have something really meaningful to say." Hollywood has changed (and so has Paramount Pictures). But seventy-five years on, "Sunset Boulevard" still holds up. Isenberg said, "For people who love movies – cinephiles and film geeks, whatever we want to call them today – you can just luxuriate in a movie like 'Sunset Boulevard.' It's like a warm bath." Gloria Swanson herself luxuriated in playing a faded movie queen. Even back then, she somehow knew that "Sunset Boulevard" would make her a legend. Asked if Swanson was anything like the character she portrayed, Nancy Olson replied, "No. She was much more real and sensible. And she was the only person on the entire set that understood that this movie would live forever and that she would be remembered forever – that it was a story that had a truth to it that would never be forgotten." Web exclusive: Extended interview - Nicole Scherzinger (Video) For more info: "Sunset Boulevard," available on VOD and streaming on MGM+, is also available on Blu-Ray/4K disc"Ready for My Close-Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream" by David M. Lubin (Grand Central Publishing), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available August 12 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop orgNoah Isenberg, professor, University of Texas at Austin"A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour" by Nancy Olson Livingston (Author), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler. See also: "Some Like It Hot": From Hollywood classic to the Broadway stage ("Sunday Morning")Gallery: Paramount Pictures at 100"It's the pictures that got small": How movies have changed in the era of streaming ("Sunday Morning") To tip or not to tip: That is David Sedaris' question The JFK Files Extended interview: "Sunset Boulevard" actress Nicole Scherzinger Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
At 75, "Sunset Boulevard" is ready again for its closeup
There are some movies where just about every line is quotable. Take Billy Wilder's 1950 masterpiece "Sunset Boulevard," which premiered 75 years ago this month. Gillis: "You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big."Desmond: "I AM big. It's the pictures that got small." The film was anything but small! The legendary director had Gloria Swanson as the rejected silent film star, Norma Desmond, who seemed to be going quietly out of her mind; and William Holden as the failed screenwriter Joe Gillis, who became her kept man. "She was 52 at the time; William Holden was 31," said UT Austin film professor Noah Isenberg. "The age difference was extraordinary. Today we might not think much of it, but it was big." Isenberg says the noir "Sunset Boulevard" tested the limits of what a 1950 audience would bear. The opening scene is gruesome enough, with the murdered Gillis face down in a swimming pool. But the film originally started in the L.A. morgue, with Gillis and other cadavers talking about how they got there. Isenberg said, "It was too dark, too morbid. Audiences weren't ready for it. Instead, you have John Seitz's camera trained on that curb." Appropriately, the film begins in the gutter. The original film, now restored in glorious 4K ultra hi-def, is available from Paramount. Nancy Olson was only 21 when she played aspiring writer Betty Schaefer opposite Holden's Gillis. Olson, now 97, says Holden's air of desperation in the film mirrored what was happening in his life. "His career was dying," she said. "And that's the character. If you look carefully, you will see one of the most extraordinary, real performances of a man who gave up his soul for survival." Still, Olson says they got along famously on set, especially when director Wilder lined them up for their first-ever love scene in a crowded studio where some of the cast's family members happened to be present: "And we got to the end, where Bill says to my character, 'What happened?' And I turn to him slowly and answer, 'You did.' Whereupon he takes me into his arms and gently starts to kiss me. "Now, Billy said, 'Do not separate until I say cut.' And we both were enjoying this. And all of a sudden, there was a female voice saying, 'Cut, damn it! Cut!' It was Mrs. Holden! I never got over it. But I learned something." What was that? "Bill and I loved to kiss!" And moviegoers loved the film: "Sunset Boulevard" got 11 Academy Award nominations. "I was shocked," Olsen said of the Oscar nods. "Now, we didn't win. But we've outlasted everybody." To watch a trailer for the 75th anniversary release of "Sunset Boulevard" click on the video player below: "Sunset Boulevard" was later re-born as a musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sir Andrew was intrigued by the story of Hollywood discarding aging stars, and got the blessing of Wilder, who by then was being gently phased out of Hollywood himself – in his own way getting the Norma Desmond treatment. Webber said, "He does tell a wonderful story about him going to see some young movie executive who had just been there. And this young executive says to him, 'Um, well, Mr. Wilder, we're very impressed by this screenplay that you've done, but it would be really helpful if you could tell me what you have done in the past?'" The director of such classics as "Double Indemnity," "The Lost Weekend," "Ace in the Hole," "Some Like It Hot," and "The Apartment," turned to the young executive and said, "You first." "Sunset Boulevard," the musical, opened in London's West End in 1993, with Patti LuPone as Desmond; when they brought the show to Los Angeles and New York, Glenn Close played the lead. And in the latest, radically re-conceived version, Desmond was played by former pop star Nicole Scherzinger. Asked about seeing Scherzinger in the role of Norma Desmond, Webber said, "I have always rated Nicole as one of the most astounding singers I've ever worked with. And I worked with a few. And I could say that Nicole is right up there with the very, very, very top ones, might even be the best." Scherzinger brought a new level of intensity to Norma Desmond, and took home a Tony Award this year. You can stream the Broadway cast album of "Sunset Blvd." featuring Nicole Scherzinger by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full): The show closed last month, and we took Scherzinger back to the St. James Theatre just before they took down all the signs. "I can't believe that this is still up; I want to take it home!" she laughed. "I want to take it home and I want to put this in my garage." One sign was half-removed from the stage door. "I think someone stole my face!" she laughed. Asked what she thinks "Sunset Boulevard" says about the entertainment industry and its treatment of older women, Scherzinger said, "It's difficult that the industry kind of puts an expiration date on you when you've actually lived a life and actually, finally, have something really meaningful to say." Hollywood has changed (and so has Paramount Pictures). But seventy-five years on, "Sunset Boulevard" still holds up. Isenberg said, "For people who love movies – cinephiles and film geeks, whatever we want to call them today – you can just luxuriate in a movie like 'Sunset Boulevard.' It's like a warm bath." Gloria Swanson herself luxuriated in playing a faded movie queen. Even back then, she somehow knew that "Sunset Boulevard" would make her a legend. Asked if Swanson was anything like the character she portrayed, Nancy Olson replied, "No. She was much more real and sensible. And she was the only person on the entire set that understood that this movie would live forever and that she would be remembered forever – that it was a story that had a truth to it that would never be forgotten." Web exclusive: Extended interview - Nicole Scherzinger (Video) For more info: Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler. See also:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Essanay Studios — briefly home to Charlie Chaplin — opens for movie production
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 10, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 99 degrees (1944) Low temperature: 49 degrees (1982) Precipitation: 1.87 inches (1979) Snowfall: None 1907: Essanay Studios began its 10-year run of making movies in Chicago, featuring Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson and other box-office stars. The studio made 2,000 films. About 215 survive today. Lost 'Sherlock Holmes' film shot in Chicago from 1916 found in France For 23 cold winter days in early 1915, Chaplin lived and worked in Chicago, where he made one of his short comedies for Essanay Studios, 'His New Job,' before fleeing for Essanay's operation in Niles, California. 1983: ChicagoFest was held for the last time. Among the acts at Soldier Field were the Charlie Daniels Band, Chicago, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Beach Boys. 1995: Sears officially moved its headquarters to Hoffman Estates. Nearly 5,000 employees would work at the suburban site. Sears headquarters had been in Chicago since Richard W. Sears moved his watch company there from North Redwood, Minnesota, in 1887. Sears timeline: Rise, fall and restructuring of a Chicago icon over 130 years Demolition of the vacant campus began in 2024. Dallas-based Compass Datacenters bought much of the 273-acre site at 3333 Beverly Road on the village's far western edge in 2023, and planned to construct five massive data centers, which house the IT components needed to run the internet. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@ Solve the daily Crossword
