In the early part of the twentieth century, Hollywood operated under the ‘studio’ system – whereby actors were contracted to one studio, often for five to seven years. The studios developed their own materials with their own writers, directors and cinematographers. (Interestingly, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, DW Griffiths and Charlie Chaplin created United Artists, to further their own interests in 1919). But in general the ‘studio’ system was how Hollywood operated. An actor may have been lucky to be contracted, and could be let go, but many great stars emerged from the system. The draw-back for actors was that while they may have been generating huge incomes from audiences, either due to their popularity, talent or the calibre of film they were given, they worked up to 50 weeks per year, often in back-to-back (and sometimes overlapping) films at pay rates well below their ‘studio worth’ and often in projects well beneath their proven talent.
At the time, the Hays code regulated what could be depicted in film, and demanded a high moral code of ethics from the studios, players and films. While many violations occurred, and many stars led lives that would not meet the code, the press at the time respected (or were paid off? or were owned by men in precarious moral circumstances of their own…) the studios, and generally did not print scandalous material. Many stars were subjected to blackmail by their studios to keep them in line, some lived repressed lives, but many popular or low-key performers lived very alternative lifestyles openly and without fear of exposure. It depended on who you were, and how much you were worth. Scandalous stories were printed, but names were not used, leaving the public guessing and the subjects fearful.
Behind the scenes were some interesting underlying
stories and scandals.
Hollywood Scandal #1: Gone With The Wind
Gone With the Wind was a long-term MGM project. It had George Cukor, an MGM director, attached, and one of their studio players, Clark Gable cast as the male lead, Rhett Butler.
The issue: Cukor, openly gay, was considered a ‘woman’s director’ and Gable, who wielded great power at MGM, wanted him removed. Eventually after a two-year casting process, the film got underway. In the meantime, Gable had been purportedly undermining Cukor with producer David O. Selznick, and eventually Cukor was replaced. In fact he isn’t even credited on the titles. Vivien Leigh and Olivia De Havilland, who played Scarlett and Melanie respectively, were both devastated and did all they could to have Cukor re-instated. In the end, Victor Fleming was released from his directorial commitments at MGM’s other great project,
The Wizard of Oz, and came on board with
Gone With The Wind. Both Leigh and De Havilland, unknown to the studio and to each other, continued to run scenes with Cukor as the film shot.
There are varying reports as to how much of a role Gable played in this internal drama. However, years later, a rumour circulated that Gable, famed for his macho film characters and persona, had had an affair with William Haines, a gay actor, in the Twenties, and that Cukor was aware of the relationship.
Interesting facts:
- Bette Davis had been a front-runner for Scarlett in Gone With The Wind, so was quickly cast by her studio, Warner Brothers, in Jezebel; another story of a ‘strong-willed’ Southern Belle, which also starred Henry Fonda, father of Peter and Jane.
- Gone With The Wind commenced shooting without a leading lady. Vivian Leigh was first seen by David O. Selznick, the producer, during a night shoot of the Burning of Atlanta. Selznick’s brother, Myron, an agent, brought along the British beauty and introduced her as Scarlett O’Hara. Leigh, who was in Hollywood with Laurence Olivier as he filmed Wuthering Heights, went through the arduous audition process and was eventually cast. They were living together at the time, and eventually married, with Katharine Hepburn and Garson Kanin as witnesses.
- Both Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz had three directors active in the project, but Fleming was listed on the credits of each.
- Shirley Temple, contracted to 20th Century Fox, had been originally slated for Dorothy, in an exchange deal for MGM’s Jean Harlow. However Harlow died prematurely at 26 years of age, and the deal fell through. MGM resorted to their contract player, Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm), and history was made.
- Cukor, who was loved by many of the actresses of the time, had a competitive friendship with Katharine Hepburn and Frances Howard Goldwyn (Mrs Sam Goldwyn – the ‘G’ in MGM). Cukor is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park – next to Mrs Goldwyn.
Hollywood Scandal #2: Clark Gable’s Love Child
This one also involves Clark Gable and his scandalous involvement with the very prim, proper and beautiful Gretchen Young – one of three acting sisters, including Sally Blane. Young adopted the first name of Loretta, and had a very long and successful career which branched into television later in her life. But in 1934 she was a 21-year-old starlet with an annulled marriage under her belt , a promising career ahead and was starring in the
The Call of the Wild, with the married Gable.
Following the movie, she went on ‘holiday’ to England, and kept a very low profile for several months. Then it was back to work. A year or so later, Loretta adopted a one-year-old baby, Judy, and gave her the surname of her second husband, Lewis. Judy Lewis did not know until adulthood that her father was Gable, despite having heard rumours throughout her life. Young never confirmed the situation publicly, but according to Lewis, he eventually admitted the truth privately. In Young’s autobiography published after her death, she revealed the truth.
Lewis had a successful acting and writing career in TV soaps and went on to a career as a therapist.
Interesting facts:
- Judy’s aunt, Loretta’s sister Georgiana, was married to the actor, Ricardo Montalban of Fantasy Island fame, for over 60 years.
Hollywood Scandal #3: William Hearst & Citizen Kane
Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst was in a precarious social position. He was intensely private, and married, but was captivated by the much younger beautiful movie comedienne Marion Davies, with whom he set up house despite remaining married until his death. He had great aspirations for Davies and pushed her towards more artistic and dramatic roles, ultimately ending her career.
He was morally very judgemental of others, and on weekends on his yacht or at his castle San Simeon, unmarried couples were housed in separate rooms or cottages. Only one alcoholic drink per person per evening was ever allowed as Marion was developing a drinking habit.
Hearst’s incredible wealth and media power afforded him the privilege of conducting an illicit lifestyle whilst wielding the threat of publicity over others. (Today his publishing empire still includes newspapers like the
San Francisco Chronicle, and magazines in Australia such as
Cosmopolitan,
Harper’s Bazaar and later this year, the Australian edition of
Elle as well.)
Interesting facts:
- Orson Welles, a greatly talented actor and filmmaker, made arguably one of the top ten movies of all time in 1941 with Citizen Kane, based loosely on Hearst’s life. Hearst re-acted strongly to the parallels by banning mention of the movie in any of his publications. At that time, it was estimated that one in four Americans read a Hearst publication each day. The film failed financially at the time as a result, but over the years has maintained critical success. Welles’ career was definitely affected long-term by the negativity of Hearst.
Hollywood Scandal #4: The Charlie Chaplin shooting?
On a weekend aboard William Hearst‘s yacht Oneida, the silent actor, director and screenwriter Thomas Ince was shot and killed, or later died – reports vary. He was quietly disembarked, and returned home, where his death was written up as a heart attack and he was quickly cremated. Hearst’s power and wealth, and a significant payment to Mrs Ince, covered up the incident, which purportedly was an attempt to shoot Charlie Chaplin, who was having an affair with Marion. Also on board was Louella Parsons, who managed to negotiate a lifetime contract as a gossip writer on the Hearst publications following this now infamous weekend. Parsons wielded incredible power and could make or break Hollywood reputations.
This incident is depicted in the Kirsten Dunst movie,
The Cat’s Meow.
Interesting facts:
- Hearst’s Castle, San Simeon, was constructed of European rooms and a castle which were taken apart, transported to the United States and reassembled. The Castle is now a tourist attraction.
Hollywood Scandal #5: John Barrymore’s showgirl affair
John Barrymore came from an acting family. It was in their blood, and his brother Lionel and sister Ethel, were all in the business. John had an infatuation with the teenage actress/showgirl Evelyn Nesbit when they were 18 and 16 respectively. During the course of their romance, Evelyn was at some stage admitted to hospital for an appendectomy. Rumours over the years were that she in fact had an abortion, and the romance was brought to an end by the machinations of her older suitor, architect Stanford White, and her pushy stage mother.
Sadly, Nesbit and Barrymore may have been better off together. Whilst Barrymore went on to a hugely successful career it was often clouded by his personal problems, including excessive alcohol consumption and numerous relationships, and later in life, the inability to retain lines, hence requiring cue cards (even for one word lines!). Evelyn went on to marry the mentally unstable Harry Thaw who then shot and killed White during one of Nesbit’s performances. This scenario is played out in the modern musical
Ragtime, and Nesbit was known as The Girl On The Swing and the murder as “The Crime of The Century”. Nesbit remained married to Thaw for sometime before divorcing him. She too slipped into alcoholism in later life.
Interesting fact:
- Barrymore’s granddaughter, Drew, is well known to modern audiences, having gone from child star in E.T. to a successful adult career as an actress and producer.
