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Posted: |
Jul 26, 2020 - 11:44 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In the 1935 adaptation of Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, de Havilland played “Hermia,” who is in love with “Lysander” (Dick Powell). The Max Reinhardt-directed film was the first for de Havilland, although it was the third of her films to be released. De Havilland, whose name was misspelled on the screen as "Oliva de Havilland," was first given the role of Hermia in Reinhardt's Hollywood Bowl stage production of the play after he saw her in a small production of the play in Saratoga. She was originally hired as the understudy and replaced Gloria Stuart when she was unable to go on because of illness. De Havilland was the only member of the stage production to transition to the film version. Studio records indicate that Bette Davis was also a candidate for the part of Hermia in the film.
Dick Powell and Olivia de Havilland in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
During the production, de Havilland picked up film acting techniques from the film's co-director William Dieterle, and camera techniques from cinematographer Hal Mohr, who was impressed with her questions about his work. By the end of filming, she had learned the effect of lighting and camera angles on how she appeared on screen and how to find her best lighting.
Following premieres in New York and Beverly Hills, the film was released on October 30, 1935. Despite the publicity campaign, the film generated little enthusiasm with audiences. While the critical response was mixed, de Havilland's performance was praised by the San Francisco Examiner critic. In his review in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Winston Burdett noted that de Havilland "acts graciously and does greater justice to Shakespeare's language than anyone else in the cast." Erich Wolfgang Korngold primarily adapted the music of Felix Mendelssohn for the score, adding some connecting material of his own. The score was newly recorded by the Deutsches-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for a 1998 CD.
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Posted: |
Jul 26, 2020 - 11:52 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Olivia De Havilland had her first teaming with Errol Flynn, co-starring in 1935’s CAPTAIN BLOOD. They would make seven films together. Lionel Atwill played “Colonel Bishop,” the leading citizen of Port Royal, Jamaica. De Havilland played Bishop's high-spirited niece, “Arabella.” Jack L. Warner had initially offered the part of Arabella to Marion Davies. At a cost of $1 million, the film was a big gamble for Warner Bros., since it was cast without any major stars. But both Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland became stars after the film's release.
Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in CAPTAIN BLOOD
The on-screen chemistry between de Havilland and Flynn was evident from their first scenes together, where clashes between her character's spirited hauteur and his character's playful braggadocio did not mask their mutual attraction to each other. The bantering tone of their exchanges in the film—the healthy give-and-take and mutual respect—became the basis for their on-screen relationship in subsequent films. Flynn, an inveterate prankster, played many of them on de Havilland during the filming. One of them was leaving a dead snake in her underwear, which she found when she went to put them on. After that she lived in terror of what prank he would pull on her next.
Michael Curtiz directed the swashbuckler, which received good reviews and had wide public appeal. De Havilland’s performance was singled out in the New York Times and Variety. "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 27, 1937 with Flynn, de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Henry Stephenson reprising their film roles.
Because Erich Wolfgang Korngold had only three weeks for scoring the picture, he used portions of two tone poems by Franz Liszt for some of the action scenes. Consequently, he insisted on the screen credit "Musical Arrangements by," although 90% of the score was original. Only 8 minutes of the original soundtrack have been officially released, on a 1996 Korngold compilation. But 63 minutes were issued on a 2001 gray market release, and there have been numerous re-recordings of suites from the score.
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Posted: |
Jul 26, 2020 - 12:13 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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De Havilland’s second film with Errol Flynn and director Michael Curtiz was 1936’s THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. Flynn was “Major Geoffrey Vickers” of the 27th Bengal Lancers, and de Havilland was his fiancée, “Elsa Campbell.” Although Anita Louise did a screen test for the part of Elsa Campbell, writer Rowland Leigh argued strongly that de Havilland be cast in the role. When the studio realized how successful CAPTAIN BLOOD had proved to be (in the top 25 films of the year, earning $3.1 million), they decided to re-team de Havilland and Flynn. During the film's production, de Havilland renegotiated her contract with Warner Bros. and signed a seven-year contract on April 14, 1936, with a starting weekly salary of five hundred dollars (equivalent to more than $8,500 today).
Olivia de Havilland in THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
The Oscar-nominated score was by Max Steiner, but little of the original recording has been officially released. The first major re-recording was by Barry Kolman and the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra. Their 1998 Centaur release covered 35 minutes of the score. A complete new recording was done by Tribute in 2009, with William Stromberg conducting the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE earned more than CAPTAIN BLOOD, grossing $3.9 million at the box office.
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Posted: |
Jul 26, 2020 - 12:57 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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De Havilland’s third film with Errol Flynn was the 1938 classic THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, in which she played Maid Marian. However, studio memos clearly indicate that de Havilland was not the first choice for the role of Marian. The original actress, whose name is blacked out in each of the documents, became pregnant out of wedlock, and could no longer accept the role. When Michael Curtiz replaced William Keighley as director halfway through the production, the picture became de Havilland’s fourth with Curtiz. It was also her fourth with a score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The original recording has only been released on a gray market CD, but the score (and portions of it) has been re-recorded numerous times, most recently in 2003 by Marco Polo/Naxos with William Stromberg and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD was the third highest grossing film at the 1938 box office, pulling in $10 million. It was so successful that a sequel was commissioned. However, the U.S. Government wanted to restrict the amount of money invested in filmmaking at that point in anticipation of joining World War II, so it was delayed. By 1945, when the war was over, the project was scrapped because Olivia de Havilland and Claude Rains were no longer employed at Warner Bros.
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Posted: |
Jul 26, 2020 - 1:34 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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DODGE CITY was de Havilland’s fifth film with Errol Flynn, who as “Wade Hatton” rides into town to sell his Texas cattle. There he meets “Abbie Irving” (de Havilland), the niece of the town doctor (Henry Travers). For de Havilland, playing yet one more supporting love interest in a limited role, the film represented the emotional low point of her career to that point. She later said, "I was in such a depressed state that I could hardly remember my lines."
Michael Curtiz directed de Havilland for the sixth time in this action-packed western. The score for the 1939 film was by Max Steiner, his third for a de Havilland picture. Film Music Archives released the original tracks in 2002. With all the classic films released in 1939, DODGE CITY still managed to score at the box office, landing in the top 15 films with a healthy $6.8 million gross.
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in DODGE CITY
Warner Bros. chartered a special sixteen-car train which transported the principal cast members, production personnel, and at least thirty-six reporters to Dodge City for the film's 1 April 1939 premiere. Along the way, an unscheduled stop was made in Pasadena so that Olivia de Havilland could leave the train and report for work on GONE WITH THE WIND.
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Posted: |
Jul 26, 2020 - 2:13 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In the 1939 blockbuster GONE WITH THE WIND, Olivia de Havilland plays “Melanie Hamilton,” the cousin (and later wife) of “Ashley Wilkes” (Leslie Howard). In a letter to a colleague dated November 18, 1938, the film’s producer, David O. Selznick, wrote, "I would give anything if we had Olivia de Havilland under contract to us so that we could cast her as Melanie." De Havilland had read the novel, and unlike most other actresses, who wanted the “Scarlett O'Hara” role, she wanted to play Melanie Hamilton—a character whose quiet dignity and inner strength she understood, and felt she could bring to life on the screen. But Warner Bros.’ studio head Jack Warner was not willing to lend de Havilland to Selznick.
Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, and Vivien Leigh in GONE WITH THE WIND
So, a number of actresses tested or rehearsed for the part of Melanie, including Joan Fontaine, de Havilland’s sister. De Havilland herself was also considered for the lead role of “Scarlett O’Hara.” De Havilland turned to Jack Warner's wife Anne for help. Warner later recalled, "Olivia, who had a brain like a computer concealed behind those fawn-like eyes, simply went to my wife, and they joined forces to change my mind." Warner relented, and de Havilland was signed to the project a few weeks before the start of principal photography on January 26, 1939. Her co-star Leslie Howard was signed for Ashley around the same time.
De Havilland always meticulously researched her roles. As she had not yet had a baby in real life, she visited a maternity hospital to study how various women coped with the stresses of childbirth for the scene where Melanie has her baby. Off-camera, the scene's director, George Cukor, would occasionally pinch her toes to make her feel pain.
Selznick ultimately fired Cukor as director of the film, replacing him with Victor Fleming. Although he was dismissed from the production, Cukor continued to privately coach both Vivien Leigh (“Scarlett O’Hara”) and de Havilland at their request on weekends, unbeknownst to both Selznick and Fleming.
Hattie McDaniel, Olivia de Havilland, and Vivien Leigh in GONE WITH THE WIND]
De Havilland said of her role: “Melanie was someone different. She had very, deeply feminine qualities ... that I felt were very endangered at that time, and they are from generation to generation, and that somehow, they should be kept alive, and ... that's why I wanted to interpret her role. ... The main thing is that she was always thinking of the other person, and the interesting thing to me is that she was a happy person ... loving, compassionate.”
To portray Melanie, de Havilland spent most of the film in drab, dowdy costumes. She wore two elaborate dresses in the film: one when Melanie and Ashley announce their engagement, and another, a striking blue taffeta dress, that Melanie wears to Scarlett's first wedding. Unfortunately, due to the film aspect ratio at the time (long before the advent of widescreen), the screen could not accommodate a shot with two dresses built up with hoop skirts, so the hoops had to be removed. Thus, de Havilland's rare appearance in a beautiful dress was shot from the waist up, with the skirt hanging limp.
Clark Gable and Olivia de Havilland in GONE WITH THE WIND
After Scarlett returns to a vandalized Tara, digs up a carrot in the garden, then retches and gives her famous "As God is my witness . . . " line, the vomiting sounds were actually looped by Olivia de Havilland. One version of the story is that Vivien Leigh "could not" produce a convincing enough retching sound. Another version is that Leigh "would not" make the retching sound because "it simply was not lady-like."
The world premiere of the picture was held on 15 December 1939 at the Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta, GA. Leigh, Clark Gable (“Rhett Butler”), de Havilland, Selznick, and author Margaret Mitchell were among the many celebrities who attended the premiere, parade, and ball that took place in conjunction with the film. Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times wrote that de Havilland's Melanie "is a gracious, dignified, tender gem of characterization", and John C. Flinn, Sr., in Variety called her "a standout". De Havilland was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for the film, losing to Hattie McDaniel for her portrayal of “Mammy” in the picture.
Olivia de Havilland in GONE WITH THE WIND
Max Steiner scored his fourth de Havilland picture. There have been fourth major re-recordings of music from the score, and the most complete release of the original tracks was by Rhino in 1996. The film was the biggest hit of 1939 and the biggest in film history up to that time, grossing an astonishing $56.6 million.
When Alicia Rhett, who played “India Wilkes”--the daughter of “John Wilkes” (Howard Hickman)--died less than one month before her 99th birthday on January 3, 2014, Olivia de Havilland became the last surviving cast member of GONE WITH THE WIND and remained so for six more years.
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