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Tuesday 3 July 2012

Lillian Roth - I'll Cry Tommorrow


I was reading the beginning of the fabulous autobiography of the tragic and talented Lillian Roth called 'I'll Cry Tommorrow'. I found this interesting passage regarding the early Precode film she costarred in, 'Madam Satan' (1929) and the director Cecil B. DeMille:

"...Hollywood's famed dress designer (shes talking about Adrian) had prepared a startling costume. I was to come to the ball as a pheasant - iridescent golden bra, iridescent golden shorts, and streaming out behind, tremendous pheasant feathers. Adrian wrestled with the bra. "You'll never fit into it," he said, annoyed, looking at me as if I betrayed him. "I've designed it for a boyish figure."
We consulted Mr DeMille. "The girl isn't supposed to be made to fit the bra," he said sharply. "Make the bra fit the girl." Adrian scolded and fussed, but did as he was told."

image de Madame Satan

I found this quote interesting on a couple of levels: first, I always thought Lillian had a beautiful figure (she was "the legs" before Marlene) and would not have trouble fitting anything. Secondly, people have a negative view of Cecil, mainly, his bed-side manner and treatment of actors and this shows that he was genuinely focused on boosting the confidence of his actors/ stars.

On another note, I must recommend the autobiography 'I'll Cry Tomorrow". It is a great inspirational read that has helped my through some tough times.

Blink and you will miss it....

Lillian Roth

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