Tuesday, January 3, 2006



Best Performance By An Actress In A Wardrobe Test --- Part 2

Now we have Liz back on the job in May of 1955, and she's doing the biggest show of her career --- GIANT --- directed by George Stevens!! (well, Quo Vadis was maybe bigger, but she didn't have to carry so much of that one on her back). A quick aside here, for us to recognize that director George Stevens shared his name with another 20th Century folk hero, George "Kingfish" Stevens of Amos 'n Andy fame. I wonder if Gosden and Correll might have chosen that name for their immortal character as a tribute to the obscure young cameraman then grinding out Hal Roach comedies, knowing someday he'd rise to the very heights of the Hollywood firmament? Or maybe it's just coincidence, you think? Anyway, we think "Kingfish" is a good monicker for both these guys, and so henceforth we'll be referring to director George as "Kingfish", being he was a king among the Hollywoodites, or a bigger fish than all the other big fish in the pond, or however you want to think of him.

Back to Liz. Isn't she sweet in that night dress, even without her shoes dyed (note the instruction on the board)? She's smiling too, as if somehow knowing that this wardrobe still would one day be pilfered out of its filing cabinet at Warner Bros. and sold to one of those "No Questions Asked" memorabilia shops that used to line Hollywood Boulevard, ultimately to end up right here on Greenbriar Picture Shows.

Now, check out the other one. She's darker, a little moodier, but not sullen. Sad, perhaps. You see, they're getting ready to bury Sal Mineo and she wants to be in character for the scene. Liz really needs to do this right, because even on his best days, Kingfish shoots about fifteen miles of film every time he turns on the camera. Whew. Looks like a hard day. Maybe it's okay for me to lean on this standee board. Boy, this sure is gonna be a long picture.