ALL BECAUSE GREER GARSON HAS RED HAIR . . .

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 205, 30 August 1941, Page 15

ALL BECAUSE GREER GARSON HAS RED HAIR . . .

Bii Adrian Att er

C 7 1 "Pride and Prejudice" was the loei-t'in.-i t ? r Gai ' s on's introduction to colour. Once the picture was in production it was too late. Then Miss (.arson did a stage show for the Ri ltish War Relief Society in Noel Coward s "To-night at 8.30." All Hollywood saw her, and none nut colour-blind persons missed seenig that Miss Garson had something in her Titian locks. About this time Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had found a vehicle for Miss Garson in "Blossoms in the Dust," a dramatic theme inspired by the life of Mrs. Edna Gladnev, superintendent of the Texas Children's Home and Aid Society, who has devoted thirty years to find homes for more than 2000 babies. The script was ready and a date set when Miss Garson s red hair entered the picture. Photographer's Discovery Karl Freund, who photographed "The Good Earth," was called in to make a conventional colour shot of Miss Garson, her first. There was no thought of filming "Blossoms in the Dust" in technicolour —the shot, a few feet of "film, was to be used in a studio advertising trailer. A few minutes after Freund viewed the result of his camera artistry he was banging on the office door of director Mervvn Leßoy. Leßoy rushed to the office of producer Irving Asher. It was decided that anything but Miss Garson in colour was doing Miss Garson and the public an injustice. The problem immediately arose of making a straight drama in colour. The films mostly have used colour for musicals and outdoor subjects, in which blues, reds and yellows could be allowed to run riot across the screen. This would hardly do for a story about babies. But the mental vision of red-haired Miss Gaison holding a red-headed baby in her arms made the obvious difficulties seem insignificant. The outcome, after ten weeks of labour over colour charts, was the first film in which colour is a part of the dramatic construction and action. Since it was aimed primarily to set off Miss Garson's colouring, which is delicate, the colours used for settings and costumes had -5- +-

gECAUSE Greer Garson has red hair and green eyes, her next appearance on the screen was set back two months. Ever since the Irish actress appeared in Hollywood directors and cameramen have been saying that Miss Garson and technicolour should be joined. The union caused more complications than anyone could have suspected.

to be subtle. The effect achieved was complete naturalness of colour. Where walls would be grey, they are grey. There is not a set in the film —most of them are indoors—which gives the impression that colour is being used. All Mixed to Order When Gibbons, Leßoy and the technicolour experts could not find colours they needed colours were invented. Soft pastels were the choice tor nearly every costume and setting. When rose was too bright it was toned down with lavender and grey. Costumes were matched with sets, warm hues balanced against lull tints, all as a frame for Miss Garson's red hair. Colours were mixed to order in every case whore ordinary colours did not fit. Consideration had to be given, too, to a period effect, with the story opening in 190G, the day of the Gibson Girl and pompadour. In all, 291 colours, shades, tints and hues were blended. Light, gay scenes are brightly coloured, dramatic scenes on the dark side, the nurseries in light pimcs and blues, and for the first time homes and offices and streets appear normal and not something off an artist's palette. Instead of colour being the dominant fact, realism was the goal. Against these backgrounds and costumes, Miss Garson's red hair stands out boldly. There never was any trouble with the hair, but no sooner had Miss Garson changed costumes than her green eyes gave Freund the jitters. In some costumes, particularly the deep blue ones, and under the glaring lights, Miss Gar-

son's hair turned blue. Five times as much light is used on a technicolour set as is required for black and white. Miss Garson's eves, being very light, pickcd up and reflected the strongest colour. It was a lot of trouble to show off Miss Garson's red hair, but M.G.M. feels that the effort has been worth it and that after this the star and technicolour will be associated permanently.