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The Movies
If you step on the set with the immortal lovers, you'll see film history being made !
Caught by the candid camera, during a moment of relaxation on the vast Romeo and Juliet set, are (from left to right) John Barrymore, Prof. W. J. Strunk, Jr., Director George Cukor, Leslie Howard and Edna May Oliver
By Dorothy Spensley
THEY were shooting the fifteenth century classic Romeo and Juliet on Metro's back lot. Leslie Howard, the Romeo sat dozing in the sun. Open on his knees was a script of Shakespeare's great love tragedy. It was a quiet afternoon.
Juliet was nowhere to be seen on this Verona, Italy, street scene that covers one hundred acres. Norma .Shearer, who is Juliet in the talking screen's first version of Shakespeare's play, was in the wardrobe department trying on the pink chiffon "balcony scene" dress that has a fabulously hand-embroidered and sequined blue cape.
Outside of San Zeno, the grand old 12th century Italian cathedral, Tybalt (Basil Rathbone) stood drinking a pint of chocolate-milk. He hadn't met his death yet, by Romeo's sword, and enjoyed the black tights, and the silver-and-gold trappings of his black blouse with its nail-studded sleeves.
Down a side street, the camera crew was working with Director George Cukor in charge. Cukor is the solidly-built fellow, imported from Broadway's stage in 1929, who directed Dinner at Eight, Little Women, David Copperfield. A hundred or more extras milled about the set, dragging their gold lame gowns (cloth
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of gold, in Renaissance days) on the cobblestones; the men were wearing peaked felt hats with single feathers swooping up from the pointed brims. The set could only be described as colossal.
I hailed Mr. Cukor with a question: Wouldn't he like to do Romeo and Juliet in modern dress, as John Barrymore did HamUt in modern "tails" on Broadway, several seasons ago ?
MR. CUKOR answered decisively. "It would lose much of its charm in modern dress," he said. "The Renaissance, one of the most romantic and brilliant periods in history, offers the perfect setting for Shakespeare's poetic thought. The more colorful costumes permit greater liberties than would modern costumes. It is possible to capture in costumes and settings the drama of any era, and the Renaissance was essentially a dramatic period in
history." TVi»i, nrors r«.
The man actually behind this vast jJeaJsJ^g %<,;
experimental production is Irving ^j^^ ^j^^^ ^^hen
Thalberg. the husband of Norma snapped here!
Shearer. Howard is be
"W'hv Romeo and Juliet ?" I asked low the "mike"