Behind the camera - Fascinating on set photos part 1

Nothing gives a 21^st Century girl more of an insight into the real ins-and-outs of Precode Hollywood than behind the scene images. Sometimes just promotional shots put out by studio publicity departments or perhaps something more telling, backstage photos are always amongst my favourite images of Precode actors and actresses. They often provide viewers a special insight into the process behind the making of a film from technology to costume and makeup design to the job of a director. Below are some of the most interesting in my collection. I plan to do a few more posts featuring these images, so keep watching!

1) Barbara Stanwyck deep in thought on the set of 'Ever in My Heart' (1933)

2) Director, Frank Borzage, watches on as Gary Cooper initiates a love scene with Helen Hayes in ‘A Farwell to Arms’ (1932)

3) Henry Wilcoxon and Claudette Colbert chat to director, Cecil B. DeMille, on the set of ‘Cleopatra’ (1934) 

4) Fredric March (aka Mr Hyde) with director Rouben Mamoulian and a cheeky Miriam Hopkins on the set of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ (1931)

5) Maureen O’Sullivan on the set of ‘Tarzan the Ape Man’ (1932)

6) Jean Harlow posting on the set of ‘Red Dust’ (1932)

7) Greta Garbo and Clark Gable catch a secret moment on the set of ‘Susan Lenox (Her Rise and Fall)’ (1931)

8) Gary Cooper and Shirley Temple between scenes on ‘Now & Forever’ (1934)

9) Clara Bow preparing for a scene on (I think) ‘Hoopla’ (1933)

10) Director Howard Hawks with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore during filming of ‘Twentieth Century’ (1934) 

11) Carole Lombard and Clark Gable take a lunch break on ‘No Man of Her Own’ (1932) 

(This film was released seven years before Lombard and Gable married. Rumour has it they didn’t get on during the making of the film, funny how things change.)

12) Boris Karloff having his makeup and costume ‘removed’ following a scene for ‘The Mummy’ (1932)

13) Norma Shearer applying makeup on the set of ‘The Last of Mrs. Cheyney’ (1929)

14) A makeup artist applies bruises to Jean Harlow for the film ‘Hold Your Man’ (1933)