classic film laurence olivier photography

Laurence Olivier In Focus (Part 1)

By

May 22nd is Laurence Olivier’s 103rd birthday, so I thought it would be fun to do a sort of “ode to Larry” and post some of my favorite Olivier photos in a series called “Laurence Olivier in Focus.”

This particular photo was taken during Larry’s service with the Fleet Air Arm during the war.  You can see he’s got his Navy blues on, and frankly he looks like he’s modeling that uniform, what with the popped collar and everything.  Very nice.  My favorite part of this picture, however, is that it’s made out to Vivien Leigh’s mother.  The inscription says “Darling Gertrude, with love, Larry.”  I’m sure Gertrude Hartley appreciated a nice, handsome military photo of her son-in-law.  Or perhaps Vivien asked him to send one.  Who knows!

cinema archive tv appearances

“The Skin of Our Teeth” Starring Vivien Leigh

By

In 1959, Vivien Leigh gave her only full-length television performance in a filmed version of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth.  She plays Lily-Sabina Fairweather (often just called Sabina in the play), a character she had made famous nearly 15 years earlier on the London stage.  This adaptation was televised live by Granada Television and today is virtually non-existent.  We weren’t sure if it was still out there, or if it had been locked away in some vault, or worse yet, lost or destroyed.  So imagine my surprise and utter delight when I received an email from a vivandlarry.com visitor saying she had an archive copy and wanted to send it over!

Though there are three acts in Wilder’s play, only the first two are shown in this broadcast.  We aren’t sure if Act 3 was even filmed.  Vivien is a delight to watch.  In her original run back in 1945-46, critic James Agate described her as “half dabchick, half dragonfly.”  She brings the same flirtatiousness and comedic timing to this performance, and never misses a beat.  I really like how this TV production was staged, substituting the cameras for the audience.  I also think it’s funny how Vivien plays two characters:  Sebina, and Ms. Sommerset (the actress playing Sebina within the play).  Her accent swiftly changes from a Scarlett-Blanche hybrid to her normal posh British at the drop of a hat. George Devine provides good comedic support as Mr. Antrobus.

This program is truly a lost treasure (you can see it in 2 parts below), and I am very proud to be presenting it here at vivandlarry.com!

Submitted to vivandlarry.com by Marina.

Part 1
[flv:http://vivandlarry.com/videos/skinpart1.flv]

Part 2
[flv:http://vivandlarry.com/videos/skin2.flv]

classic film collecta-belle general discussion the oliviers

Buried Treasures (Part 3)

By

Some of my favorite collectibles are vintage film star scrapbooks. Not only do they provide a rich record of (in this case) other people’s lives or careers, but they give us a glimpse into the lives of the ordinary people who assembled them.

About 5 years ago, I purchased a scrapbook on ebay that was assembled from 1944-1946 by a young British lady named Joan Still. Joan was an avid theatre-goer and a big fan of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. She went to nearly every play they performed during this time, despite only being able to afford a standing place or stall seats (as shown in some of the ticket stubs). Along with playbills, Joan clipped stories featuring the Oliviers and other prominent British stars of the time out of newspapers and magazines. Like a lot of theatre fans today, Joan also waited by the stage door to see her favorite actors and have her playbills autographed. I found an extra Olivier signature when flipping through a Henry IV playbill!

What emerged from Joan’s hobby is a historical primary source documenting British popular culture and events that shaped the world during the 1940s. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Laurence Olivier really came to prominence on the London stage during the 1944 Old Vic season when he rocked the West End with his performance as Richard III. Along with Shakespeare, he played Sergius in George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, and the Button Moulder in Henrick Ibson’s Peer Gynt. The clipping above shows Larry in another star turn as Oedipus in the 1945 season.

… Continue reading

cinema archive screentests

Rebecca Screentests: Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier

By

After wrapping Gone with the Wind, Vivien Leigh determinedly screen tested for the role of “I” in Alfred Hitchcok’s Rebecca. It seems her motive had more to do with working opposite Olivier than any specific interest in the role itself or the film. SHe did two screen tests, one opposite Laurence Olivier and another opposite Alan Marshal. Comparing the two yields interesting results. While in the Marshal screentest, she is a veritable Scarlett O’Hara, in this one she seems much more subdued and quietly passionate.

[flv:http://vivandlarry.com/videos/rebeccatest2.flv]