The Gay Sisters (Warner Bros.) (1942)

ogs iy Fe ee Suit (Left): Geraldine Fitzgerald wears this meticulously tailored suit-dress of two shades of gray wool. The front panel of the skirt and the sleeves are of a lighter shade of gray. The collar is white bengaline. (Center): Barbara Stanwyck’s dress is of an interesting color combination. The sleeveless jacket is of chartreuse while the dress of black crepe has chartreuse and gold embroidery in a pine cone motif. (Right): Youthfully enchanting is this powder blue wool crepe worn by Nancy Coleman. It has a softly gored skirt and collarless jacket enhanced by gaily colored embroidery. Order Mat No. 302-B from Campaign Plan Editor, 321 West 44th St., New York City. Hollywood Girls Go Suit-Minded War conservation programs have carried over their emphasis on efficiency and practicability into the field of fashion, as well as defense industries. The enthusiasm of Hollywood’s feminine stars for doing their bit can well be looked up to. Found in all branches of civilian defense and workers’ units for “the boys” they are faced with the same problems of leading efficient, courageous lives as housewives and business girls. Suits, then, have been given prime importance as the most practical garb of today’s woman. But don’t shy away at the thought of hundreds and hundreds of women parading to and fro clad in jacket and skirt, jacket and skirt, neverending jacket and skirt. Hollywood has pointed the way to giving the suit an individuality. Orry-Kelly, Warner Bros. designer, points out that cut and styling of a suit make it “your suit” but still embody the advantages of a strictly tailored one. Nancy Coleman, brilliant young Warner Bros. actress, featured in “The Gay Sisters,” wears an Orry-Kelly suit that is both practical and smart. A slimly cut, grey flannel skirt is topped with a jacket styled for freedom of movement and cut from material that will catch anyone’s eye. It is of grey flannel, pinstriped in white and blue. Detail of design shows the stripe running horizontally at collar, lapels and four patch pockets. Though a fitted jacket, the bodice is given fullness by reason of the new, deep armholes. Bolero suits, attached-capesuits, and basque jacket suits stem from the parental jacket and skirt suit. If you are the type who can’t bear a strictly tailored suit, you will find these suits delightfully femi nine. Now don’t raise the objection that such suits are not durable! Orry-Kelly recommends wools as the answer. There are beautiful sheer wools that will long outlive any other fabrics, and are as soft looking as the finest French crepe. Fabric, coupled with good line in styling, will give you an outfit that will be fashionable and durable for a long time. Hollywood stars are already answering that personal question of “What can I do if I can’t wear a suit?” Though it is improbable that some type of suit cannot be worn by every individual, there are those who absolutely bar them from their wardrobes. For such persons, Barbara Stanwyck, who is starred in “The Gay Sisters” has a wonderful suggestion. Barbara had Milo Anderson design her a basic dress from which seven different outfits could be effected. Still GS 18; Mat 102—15c GEORGE BRENT and BARBARA STANWYCK Actress Has New Start In ‘The Gay Sisters’ One of Europe’s finest actresses went before the cameras for the second time in her life, and started what she hopes will be an American film career. She is Helene Thimig, wife of famed producer, Max Reinhardt, and she appears with Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent in “The Gay Sisters.” It was just ten years ago — back in 1932 — that Miss Thimig made her sole screen appearance. Busy on the stage, where she was acknowledged one of Europe’s most versatile stars, she hadn’t had time for picture work. One attempt convinced her she would like it, but it was just about this time that the Reinhardts left Germany to make their home in America. “It’s wonderful,” Miss Thimig confessed, after her first scene, “but I feel just like a beginner.” Still Service Stills available. on most of the scene cuts on the publicity pages in this campaign plan. Price: 10c each. Order by still number indicated under each cut, from Campaign Plan Editor, 321 West 44 Street, New York City. If still number is not given, photo is not available because the cut was made from a special retouch or a composite. (*Asterisk denotes still is available at local Vitagraph Exchanges.) Director Irving Rapper Goes All-Out for Perfection The official contract list for Warner Bros. studios lists the name of Irving Rapper under “directors.” That is absolutely correct — he directed “One Foot in Heaven” for example — but it doesn’t tell everything. It doesn’t indicate that Rapper is one of the ablest actors on the lot. Rapper, who currently directed “The Gay Sisters,” now at the Strand Theatre, is easily one of the most entrancing Thespians on the lot. It’s a pleasure to watch him. When he is rehearsing or directing a scene, Rapper, a former dialogue director, not only mouths every word by every player in the scene, but he gestures, reacts, postures and does business with each performer. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald and the rest of the cast are constantly amazed each morning when they find Rapper on the job. They figure he is so exhausted from the previous day’s activities that he can’t possibly come back. But he does. It is not uncommon, of course, for directors to react unconsciously to the mouthings and movements of their players. Mitchell Leisen has been known to break up takes, on occasion, because he is prone to laugh out loud at some particular bit of comedy. Preston Sturges beams happily, smothers a chuckle and smirks. Wesley Ruggles writhes in his chair, frequently closing his eyes to get the effect of a particularly important piece of dialogue. But Rapper tops all of these. He does it with gestures. Often, in a rehearsal, he will call for “action!” and deliber Gig Young Proclaimed Expert After One Kiss When Gig Young kissed Geraldine Fitzgerald in a scene for Warner Bros.’ “The Gay Sisters,” now at the Strand, it was the first time he had delivered a screen osculation. All of Gig’s previous film appearances had been in minor roles, so unimportant they didn’t even get him together with a feminine player. In the story, Gig is in love with Nancy Coleman, and Miss Fitzgerald, the more predatory of the three Gay sisters, is trying to take him away from her. “Print that one,” said Director Irving Rapper, after the first “take” of the kiss. “That was fine, Gig.” “Shucks!” muttered Young. “All day long it’s do it over, do it over. Then something pleasant comes along — and all of a sudden I’m an expert!” ately walk away, his back to the scene. While he listens to, and studies, the effect of each line of dialogue, he gestures, shrugs his shoulders, moves in character, and unconsciously recites the lines of each player. As a former dialogue expert, he is a stickler for enunciation and inflection. Each line has a definite meaning, and must be spoken in a certain way so that the audience may get full value. He is much like Ernest Lubitsch in his comments after a rehearsal or a take. “Wonderful! Excellent!” is the usual line. “And now, we try one more. Barbara, I think that if in this line — ” and so on to a technical discussion. But it is always “Wonderful!” or “Excellent!” Rapper is enthused about “The Gay Sisters.” It is, he says, a film which depends almost entirely upon performance. And from his cast — Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Nancy Coleman, Larry Simms, etc.—he got top performances. Silent Sequence in The Gay Sisters’ Provides Novelty Silent picture technique was revived at Warner Bros. when six players worked a full day without uttering a single word of written dialogue. It was all for scenes in “The Gay Sisters,’ which used a retrospect technique for some of its highly dramatic scenes. Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent, co-stars of the picture, with Hobart Bosworth, Erville Alderson, Fern Emmet and Mary Field went through a wedding ceremony, a wedding dinner and a couple of other scenes without the benefit of sound apparatus. In the story Miss Stanwyck is telling her two sisters — played by Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman — the story of her marriage to Brent. Her voice will describe the action as it takes place. For that reason no sound was necessary in these scenes. Authors of the script had provided no dialogue for these scenes, but Director Irving Rapper instructed his players to say words appropriate to their actions. As these were not recorded, they naturally will not be heard. Hardest job, the players admitted, was to underplay, as they unconsciously gave way to exaggerated pantomime to express what is normally told in dialogue. Still GS 106; Mat 205—30c The Gaylord family as played by Barbara Stanwyck, Nancy Coleman and Geraldine Fitzgerald, get together for a confab in this scene from Warner Bros.’ new film, “The Gay Sisters”. Picture is now at the Strand Theatre.