Early Photos of Marlon Brando Preparing for His Screen Debut ‘The Men’

Following his somewhat astounding but appalling performance on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire, a 25-year-old Marlon Brando decided to leave the theater behind, headed out west to try for film stardom. His first screen role was in The Men, a wrenching drama about a bitter paraplegic war veteran facing struggles while attempting to adjust to society. To prepare for the role, Brando spent a month at the Birmingham Army Hospital in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. Film reviewer Bosley Crowther of the New York Times wrote that his character “is so vividly real, dynamic and sensitive that his illusion is complete.”

During Brando’s preparation, LIFE photographer Ed Clark captured the soon-to-be legend actor deep in “The Method.” According to Theodore Strauss’ notes about Brando from LIFE’s archives, the actor refused director Stanley Kramer’s intention to put him in a good hotel. “First of all he insisted on living with the paraplegics in Birmingham Veterans Hospital during the four weeks before production began.” Strauss wrote. “This, he felt, was necessary to giving a completely knowledgeable and valid performance in his role. He was given a bed in a 32-bed ward, where he was treated almost like any other patient.”

Below is a rare photo gallery presented by LIFE.com on the 10th anniversary of Brando’s death:

Marlon Brando takes a break while training for his role in 'The Men,' 1949.

Marlon Brando chats with a production manager while training for his role in 'The Men,' 1949.

Marlon Brando in training for his role in 'The Men,' Van Nuys, Calif., 1949.

Marlon Brando rehearsing his role in 'The Men,' Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital, Van Nuys, Calif., 1949.

As his real-life inspirations play cards in the background, Marlon Brando takes a break from rehearsing for 'The Men,' Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital, Van Nuys, Calif., 1949.

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Old Photos of People on Sidewalk of Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles in 1936

Perino's was a restaurant located on Wilshire Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The original location at 3927 Wilshire Boulevard was opened in 1932 by Italian-American restaurateur Alexander Perino, immediately becoming popular with Hollywood's elite. In 1950 it moved to a larger location at 4101 Wilshire, where it remained until it closed in 1986.

The restaurant was a Los Angeles landmark which, like the Brown Derby, Chasen's, and Romanoff's, was famed for its celebrity clientele during the Hollywood Golden Age. Despite its closure, the restaurant enjoyed an afterlife as a filming location for film and television until the building was sold and demolished in 2005.

These old photos are from a Dick Whittington commercial assignment for the Chouinard Art School, people on sidewalk in front of Perino's, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA in 1936.

(USC digital archive/Dick Whittington Photography Collection, 1924-1987).

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Joan Bradshaw Walking Her Poodle on Hollywood & Vine, 1957

American photographer Michael Ochs shot these stunning pics that show Joan Bradshaw and her dog named Fifi making the turn at Hollywood Boulevard on September 8, 1957.

Interestingly, Joan is only about seventeen here. She will go on to a very modest career in front of the camera but have a substantial one behind the camera. As was her intent, in this outfit in the direct sunlight, she was a head-turner.

(Photos © Michael Ochs)

Los Angeles Oil Fields Boom: Pictures of Oil Derricks Loomed Over California Beaches From the 1920s and 1930s

In the 1890s, the small town of Los Angeles (population 50,000) began a transformation driven by the discovery and drilling of some of the most productive oil fields in history. By 1930, California was producing nearly one quarter of the world’s oil output, and its population had grown to 1.2 million.

In the decades that followed, many wells closed, but even more opened, surrounded by urban and suburban growth. Machinery was camouflaged, loud noises were abated, methane pockets were vented, as residents learned to live side-by-side with oil production facilities.

To this day, oil fields in the Los Angeles Basin remain very productive, and modern techniques have centralized operations into smaller areas or moved offshore. Gathered here are images of oil derricks loomed over California beaches from the 1920s and 1930s.

Oil derricks line the coast of Venice, California, c. 1920.

A family beach picnic with Signal Hill oil derricks in the background, c.1920.

A Long Beach home with oil derricks nearby, c.1929.

An oilfield in Venice, California, c.1930.

The Signal Hill oilfield in southern California, c.1930.

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Last Known Photos of Sharon Tate Taken by Her Friend Jay Sebring Days Before She Was Murdered by the Manson Family

Tate was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time of her death, and her friend Jay Sebring was also one of the victims.

These are the final photographs ever shot of Sharon Tate. Her friend and former boyfriend Jay Sebring along with Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger were all killed by the Manson family in a house on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California on August 8th, 1969.

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The Lost Building of Los Angeles: 15 Amazing Photos of the Richfield Tower in the 1930s

Construction between 1928 and 1929, Richfield Tower was served as the headquarters of Richfield Oil. It was designed by Stiles O. Clements and featured a black and gold Art Deco façade. The unusual color scheme was meant to symbolize the "black gold" that was Richfield's business. Haig Patigian did the exterior sculptures.

The building was covered with architectural terra cotta manufactured by Gladding, McBean, as was typical of many west coast buildings from this era. In an unusual move, all four sides were covered since they were all visible in the downtown location.

The 12-floor building was 372 feet (113 m) tall, including a 130-foot (40 m) tower atop the building, emblazoned vertically with the name "Richfield". Lighting on the tower was made to simulate an oilwell gusher and the motif was reused at some Richfield service stations.

The company outgrew the building, and it was demolished in 1969, much to the dismay of Los Angeles residents and those interested in architectural preservation, to make way for the present ARCO Plaza skyscraper complex.

These amazing photographs from the American Historic Buildings Survey that captured the architecture of this building in the 1930s.

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Marilyn Monroe Working Out at the Bel Air Hotel in 1953

In 1945 Hungarian-Romanian photographer Andre de Dienes met the nineteen-year-old Marilyn Monroe, then called Norma Jeane Baker, who was a model on the books of Emmeline Snively’s Blue Book Model Agency

Norma Jeane had recently separated from her husband, James Dougherty, and told Dienes of her wish to become an actress. Dienes suggested that they go on a road trip to photograph her in the natural landscapes, for which Dienes paid her a flat fee of $200.

Dienes next met her on Labor Day in 1946, with her new name of Marilyn Monroe, they next worked together in 1952, where he shot her at the Bel Air Hotel and 1953, where she telephoned him at 2am, and took him to a darkened street where he used his car headlights to illuminate her, taking pictures her wide-eyed and unmade up. Dienes last saw her alive in June 1961.

These photos were taken by Hungarian-Romanian photographer Andre de Dienes at Bel Air Hotel in 1953, showing the beautiful Marilyn Monroe working out — or not really — and keeping herself in tip-top shape. De Dienes was also among the first photographers who photographed Marilyn during her early modeling days, notably the 1949 pin-up series taken at Long Island’s Tobay Beach in New York.

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Old Photos of a Teenager Angelina Jolie Modeling at a Photoshoot in California, 1991

It’s no secret that Angelina Jolie is a beautiful woman. When she was younger, she even tried to have a modeling career. But things did’t go smoothly.

Jolie is seen as a positive role model for women and girls all over the world. She is an advocate for human rights and female reproductive health. At 14 years old, Angelina’s mother pushed her towards a career in fashion modeling.

The Academy Award-winning actress opened up about her experience saying that it was actually upsetting.

Inquisitr reports that Jolie’s experience “humiliated” her and it forever influenced her view of the modeling industry. Her memories of the industry have stayed with her and even when she took on the starring role in Gia in 1997, Angelina Jolie felt more than fit to play the role of Gia Carangi, who passed away from AIDS at the young age of 26.

“I tried modeling when I was 14 and failed miserably,” Jolie revealed to Vogue. “Like Gia, I was a bit of a dirty punk, but it was interesting to clean up and start feeling like a girl. I was told I had all these problems I needed to fix. I was told to lose weight, and I was thin already. They actually put me in a room in a bathing suit and measured every part of me. I felt terrible.”

Here, we dug up some old pictures of Angelina Jolie at just 16 years old, modeling at a photo call on January 11, 1991 in Los Angeles, California. She poses for the camera, looking wise beyond her years and quite frankly, destined for stardom. The photos were taken by Robert Kim.

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40 Fascinating Photos Show What Los Angeles Looked Like in the 1970s

Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous city in the United States, after New York. It is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of the West Coast.

Los Angeles is in a large basin bounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and by mountains as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 m) on the others. The city proper, which covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), is the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the country. Los Angeles is also the principal city of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second largest in the United States after that of New York City.

Street scenes of Los Angeles in the 1970s

Los Angeles is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States, with a diverse economy in a broad range of professional and cultural fields. It is also famous as the home of Hollywood, a major center of the world entertainment industry.

These fascinating photos from Flickr's members that show what Los Angeles looked like in the 1970s.

Los Angeles street scenes, 1970

The demolition of L. A. High after the earthquake of February 1971

Morrison Hotel, Los Angeles, May 1972

Western Avenue looking south toward Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1972

The Broadway, Los Angeles, 1973

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