Tag: vivien leigh

vivien leigh

Vivien Leigh: Becoming Scarlett

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Vivien Leigh Scarlett O'Hara Bright Lights Film Journal

There were quite a few of you who expressed interest in reading my MA dissertation “Deconstructing Scarlett: Vivien Leigh and International Film Stardom.” Well, now you can! Sort of. I’m really excited to say that my (edited) first chapter has been published in issue 75 of Bright Lights Film Journal! This piece, titled “Vivien Leigh: Becoming Scarlett” examines Vivien’s position within the British film industry of the 1930s–a time period that is not talked about much when it comes to her career. I’m absolutely tickled pink to be included among so many intelligent film writers. I think this means I can officially call myself a historian, right? šŸ˜‰

On February 29, 1940, Hollywood’s elite gathered in the famous Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel to celebrate the 12th annual Academy Awards. It was a night of many firsts in Hollywood history.Ā Gone with the WindĀ swept the show with a then-unprecedented ten awards, including Best Picture.Ā Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award for her moving performance as Scarlett O’Hara’s Mammy, and at the age of twenty-six, Vivien Leigh collected the first of her two career Oscars for bringing Margaret Mitchell’s heroine to life. Leigh had been up against some of the top stars of the studio era including Greta Garbo and Bette Davis. Just as she had run away with the part of Scarlett, Leigh again beat out strong competition to become the first British winner in the Best Actress category. Later that night, Peter Stackpole photographed her placing her statue on the fireplace mantle in her Beverly Hills home. This photo, printed in the March 11, 1940 issue ofĀ LifeĀ magazine, captures Leigh on the brink of international stardom. It also exemplifies what Richard Dyer terms the “myth of success”: the popular notion that “American society is sufficiently open for anyone to get to the top, regardless of rank.”Ā The odds of a young, unknown hopeful making it on the big screen were slim even in the 1930s. That such an aspirant ā€” and a foreign one, at that ā€” should win the most coveted and publicised female role in Hollywood history was next to impossible…

Read the entire article here!

Special thanks to Belen Vidal and Lawrence Napper, professors of Film Studies at King’s College London for the encouragement along the way, and Gary Morris at Bright Lights for deeming it good enough to publish!

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The Secret’s Out…

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vivien leigh by laszlo willing 1940

I’ve got a secret! Okay, it’s not really so much a secret as an announcement — one I’ve debated making here for ages, and one which, after some good vibes from a couple good friends, I’ve finally decided to make. Ready?

I’m writing a book!

Not just writing, but also assembling. It’s an illustrated photography book (read: coffee table book) about Vivien Leigh and I’ve been working on it for the past three years. Nearly everything I’ve done during this time has been in some way related to accomplishing this goal and I believe in this project with all my heart. I’ve had this vision for so long, and like many things in life, the road has not always traveled straight ahead. The original plan was to do something about the personal and professional relationship of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. In the past four or five months, however, the topic has shifted to focus on Vivien and her life. I think this is the right decision.

Why this book? How long has it been since someone wrote a decent biography about Vivien Leigh? At least 20 years. Since becoming a fan of Vivien way back when and, as such, a passionate fan of classic cinema, it has always puzzled and saddened me that there have been no books of this format that focus on Vivien. All the other stars of the studio era have beautiful photography books dedicated to their lives and careers. You’d think there would be nothing left to say about Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn, for example, but they get new ones nearly every year. In Vivien’s case, the only illustrated books dedicated to her are Angus McBean’s Vivien A Love Affair in Camera and John Russell Taylor’s Vivien Leigh. These books, while containing lovely photos and heartfelt sentiments, barely scratch the surface.

It’s high time Vivien Leigh–the woman and actress–was put back in the spotlight. With her 100th birthday coming up in 2013, I aim to do just that.

What’s new to offer? While previous Vivien Leigh biographies have been well-researched, the fact is that there is so much more out there. I’m talking about archival materials, loads of rare and never-before-published photographs and personal papers. This will be the first book about Vivien to tap into the rich collections in major archives, including those in the British Library and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.Ā 

What can I bring to the table as a writer? Years’ worth of research, a film degree and a lot of TLC.

Vivien Leigh more than deserves to be celebrated in a book like this. Her life and career were interesting of course, but she also had an aesthetic that lent itself so well to photography. This is the book I’ve always wanted to buy.

How YOU can help

I’m always looking for stories and original, rare photos of Vivien to enhance the materials I’ve already sourced. If you are a collector and have photos you’d like to share, or if you are a fan and were lucky enough to correspond with or even meet Vivien in person, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you!

I’ll keep you all updated on new developments. It’s been a long, sometimes frustrating process, but I’ve never lost hope that it will come to fruition in the end. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say. Vivien deserves it.

vivien leigh

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

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Roses for Vivien Leigh, 54 Eaton Square London

People have already started setting off fireworks in north London for Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes’, a celebration of the failed Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament in 1605. For Vivien Leigh fans, this day has a different kind of significance because it happens to be her birthday. Vivian Mary Hartley was born on the evening of November 5, 1913 in Darjeeling, India. Here at vivandlarry.com, there has been a tribute every year since the site was launched. In 2010, I took some roses to her former home in 54 Eaton Square, Blegravia, one of the most swanky neighborhoods in London where a blue English Heritage plaque reminds passers-by that a Very Important Person once resided there. This year, I invited other people to join. Many fans who visit the site live overseas, and many in London weren’t able to make it, but a few of us got together to celebrate!

I met Anthony, a Polish fan who now lives in London, at Victoria Station where we bought a bouquet of flowers before walking over to Eaton Square. There we met Zara and Chloe, two fabulous young ladies who attended the Weekend with the Oliviers back in May. A nice woman pushing a pram let us into the garden where we snapped some photos of the bench that Gertrude Hartley (Vivien’s mother) dedicated to her famous daughter in 1967, following Vivien’s death. We also had a celebrity sighting when we saw two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer being escorted into No. 54 by her caregiver. The 101 year old German actress now occupies Vivien’s old flat.

Afterward, the four of us had lunch on the top floor of Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square, which offered a beautiful view of the rooftops of Kensington and Chelsea. They had good scones, too. This was followed by a walk over to Durham Cottage, which is looking particularly lovely and antiquated with all of the falling leaves.

Having done so many bi-annual tributes for Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, it’s difficult to think of anything new to say about why I admire them, or why I’m glad that so many other people still share in this admiration. I only know that I do still admire Vivien Leigh and I am glad that other people still do, as well. She’s been dead for nearly 45 years and yet so many people still love and remember her. I think this is a true testament to her legacy.

Vivien Leigh

November 5, 1913 – July 7, 1967

ā€œOnly England could have produced her. She was the perfect English rose. When the door opened and she was there, she was so terribly good-looking. She had such an exquisite unreality about her.ā€ – former Vogue editor in chief Diana Vreeland

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Final Destination: Golders Green

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Golders Green crematorium

Consider this 31 Days of the Oliviers {days 10-15}.

There have been many posts around the classic film blogosphere lately documenting visits to cemeteries where the rich and famous are interred. Okay, so all of these posts have come from Meredith at Dear Mr. Gable, but they’re fascinating. I have a long-standing fascination with cemeteries, particularly victorian ones such as Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA, and Highgate Cemetery in North London (which I visited a few months ago and posted about on my photography blog). They are beautiful, somewhat creepy and endlessly fascinating. There are many burial grounds in London. Whether out in the open or inside cathedrals, if you visit one you’re almost guaranteed to spot a famous person’s grave.

Today I went to snap photos at a place that’s slightly different from your traditional cemetery. Golders Green Crematorium is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. Its gates opened in 1902, and it has been providing non-secular cremations and funeral services for both celebrities and the general public ever since. Fans of Vivien Leigh may find it interesting because she was cremated here in 1967 before her ashes were scattered at Tickerage Mill. Some of the notable names who still remain at Golders Green include Ivor Novello, Alexander Korda, Elisabeth Bergner, Keith Moon, Sigmund Freud, Conrad Veidt, Anna Pavlova and Peter Sellers, among others.

The grounds and garden are very beautiful, especially now that the foliage has donned Autumn colors. It was very quiet and peaceful when I visited this afternoon, with only one or two people resting on the benches in the garden, taking in the afternoon sun and possibly thinking of a departed loved one. As it is a crematorium and not a cemetery, there are no grave stones. Ashes are kept in urns inside the chapels or are scattered on the lawns in the garden. Plaques adorn the walls as well as sit at the base of rose bushes and trees that have been dedicated in memory of the dead.

Golders Green Crematorium can be reached via Golders Green tube or by bus from Golders Green road. It’s very easy to find–located just across the street from the Jewish cemetery.

All photos in this post Ā© Kendra Bean/vivandlarry.com