...now that I have your undivided attention, as one of our more infamous presidents (whom Ginger supported, alas) used to say, "Let me make one thing perfectly clear..."
In NO way am I defending Mark Sandrich's overall attitude and downright MEANNESS toward Ginger, which is totally unexplainable...or is it? Riddle me this, y'all...
With all the 'Sandrich-bashing' afoot on the board, and my WELL-documented record of proclaiming Mr Sandrich the King of ALL Gooberheads, I thought I would just take a step back and 'ponder' this question: ...WHY did Sandrich act like such a toad to our fair Ginger? It's frankly a very perplexing issue...
I know y'all well enough to know y'all have thought about the 'angles' I am about to delve into regarding Sandrich's attitude towards Ginger...but I will throw it out there, anyway, for the record...
Let's say that Sandrich came home one evening and had the following conversation with his wife:
"How was work today, dear?"
"Um...ok - started production of a new film...should be a good one..."
"Why, that's simply BEGUILING news! What's it called?"
""The Gay Divorcee" ... it's a musical..."
"Well, that's nice - who will be in it?"
"uh... Fred Astaire, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore..." (note that Ginger isn't mentioned...)
"That's a stellar cast, Poopsie...that young Astaire fellow was quite good in the Rio movie...but who will play the 'divorcee'?"
"Oh, it's just that little blonde girl that danced with him in 'Rio'..." (obviously downplaying the fact that he will be directing Ginger)
"You mean Ginger Rogers? You're going to be directing HER? ...WELL!!! ...I might just have to follow you down to the set each day to make sure you don't do any 'post-production' with HER!"
...and that could well be the start of Mr. Sandrich's conscious effort to go out of his way to NOT show any kindness or favoritism to Miss Rogers, for fear of mama back home, even if she was only being 'jovial' in her 'warning' to Poopsie... because , REALLY - there would not have been a sane man in 1934 (nor any other year, for that matter) who would have not at least been CORDIAL to Ginger, right? As 'backup' for this theory, recall Fred's wife Phyllis' feelings toward him working with Ginger... nuff said.
In NO way am I defending Mark Sandrich's overall attitude and downright MEANNESS toward Ginger, which is totally unexplainable...or is it? Riddle me this, y'all...
With all the 'Sandrich-bashing' afoot on the board, and my WELL-documented record of proclaiming Mr Sandrich the King of ALL Gooberheads, I thought I would just take a step back and 'ponder' this question: ...WHY did Sandrich act like such a toad to our fair Ginger? It's frankly a very perplexing issue...
I know y'all well enough to know y'all have thought about the 'angles' I am about to delve into regarding Sandrich's attitude towards Ginger...but I will throw it out there, anyway, for the record...
Let's say that Sandrich came home one evening and had the following conversation with his wife:
"How was work today, dear?"
"Um...ok - started production of a new film...should be a good one..."
"Why, that's simply BEGUILING news! What's it called?"
""The Gay Divorcee" ... it's a musical..."
"Well, that's nice - who will be in it?"
"uh... Fred Astaire, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore..." (note that Ginger isn't mentioned...)
"That's a stellar cast, Poopsie...that young Astaire fellow was quite good in the Rio movie...but who will play the 'divorcee'?"
"Oh, it's just that little blonde girl that danced with him in 'Rio'..." (obviously downplaying the fact that he will be directing Ginger)
"You mean Ginger Rogers? You're going to be directing HER? ...WELL!!! ...I might just have to follow you down to the set each day to make sure you don't do any 'post-production' with HER!"
...and that could well be the start of Mr. Sandrich's conscious effort to go out of his way to NOT show any kindness or favoritism to Miss Rogers, for fear of mama back home, even if she was only being 'jovial' in her 'warning' to Poopsie... because , REALLY - there would not have been a sane man in 1934 (nor any other year, for that matter) who would have not at least been CORDIAL to Ginger, right? As 'backup' for this theory, recall Fred's wife Phyllis' feelings toward him working with Ginger... nuff said.
From a man's perspective, it would be a pretty fine line to walk... and as a public figure, if he DID 'coach' Ginger too much, even in a totally professional way, folks would talk, right? I mean, there was no TMZ back then, but rumors can get around in any era... so he well could have resigned himself to the fact that he could NOT be friendly to Ginger, lest his career and/or his marriage be jeopardized.Now - the first reaction most of y'all have is..."WELL! that is JUST like a man - blaming a woman for a man's troubles!" Well, yep, I agree totally. IF this was the scenario, dude should have 'manned up', directed properly, and let the chips fall where they may - or he should have walked away from the production.
The only OTHER scenario I can figure is that he was REALLY taken by Ginger, and, again, made a conscious effort to NOT show any favoritism or even joviality to her, lest HE fall deeply in love, only to be crushed in the end - maybe he had been down that road before with previous actresses on previous sets...Well, if those two scenarios are false...the only other option was... dude was a blithering idiot.
As to the title of this post - could Sandrich actually be Ginger's BEST director? Well, he DID direct half of the GandF movies, and while it's obvious her fave (as well as the fave of MOST of us) is 'Swing Time', due in LARGE part to having a director OTHER than Sandrich, let's face it, 'Gay Divorcee', 'Top Hat', 'Follow The Fleet', 'Shall We Dance', and 'Carefree' are ALL TOTALLY essential movies in the Gingerology lexicon... and each movie IS very well directed, overall.
Carefree is Ginger's movie... and is really awesome... but would it have been if someone else directed it? The knee-jerk reaction is "Sure - it would have been LOADS better!" BUT... by this point in the series, Sandrich knew the 'tendancies' and 'weaknesses' of each, and seemed to have worked everything out quite well in the final product... not sure if anyone else could have stepped in and gotten the 'best' out of Ginger at this particular point... he pushes her to prove him wrong - "Yes, I CAN be the star of the movie!" Adversity creates good things in general.
AND, the crux of the matter is this...he obviously got Ginger's dander up... and that usually is a good thing - as the 'Sassy Ginger' is the one we all know and love, right? Think about her characters in each of these movies... compared to the 'non-Sandrich' movies... I would argue that overall, the 'Sassiest' Gingers are directed by Sandrich. I think 'Shall We Dance' is perhaps the MOST Sassy Ginger, although the way she slaps Fred around in 'Top Hat 'makes it a strong candidate also. And of course, the infamous 'Feather dress' saga alone is perhaps THE major 'epiphany' that Ginger had in regards to her career, as to not backing down - and ultimately made her that much stronger of an actress.
As for his obvious mishandling of scenes with Ginger, well...just not much defense for that, unless... he was worried that too much Ginger 'face time' in a movie would equal out to trouble with mama at home... but overall, I feel that Ginger benefited from the 'adverse conditions' Sandrich imposed on her, for "that which don't kill ya...makes ya stronger!"
AND, the crux of the matter is this...he obviously got Ginger's dander up... and that usually is a good thing - as the 'Sassy Ginger' is the one we all know and love, right? Think about her characters in each of these movies... compared to the 'non-Sandrich' movies... I would argue that overall, the 'Sassiest' Gingers are directed by Sandrich. I think 'Shall We Dance' is perhaps the MOST Sassy Ginger, although the way she slaps Fred around in 'Top Hat 'makes it a strong candidate also. And of course, the infamous 'Feather dress' saga alone is perhaps THE major 'epiphany' that Ginger had in regards to her career, as to not backing down - and ultimately made her that much stronger of an actress.
As for his obvious mishandling of scenes with Ginger, well...just not much defense for that, unless... he was worried that too much Ginger 'face time' in a movie would equal out to trouble with mama at home... but overall, I feel that Ginger benefited from the 'adverse conditions' Sandrich imposed on her, for "that which don't kill ya...makes ya stronger!"Anyway, here is a pretty good link to an 'overview' of Mark Sandrich's career, if you are still reading this:
http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Ri-Sc/Sandrich-Mark.html
http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Ri-Sc/Sandrich-Mark.html
Pretty sad that he died young...I'm in MY 44th year, so yeah, that's YOUNG, y'all...
Anyway, that's it... again, NOT defending the dude, but just trying to... throw a few 'discussion points' out there for the Gingerologists to mull over... The final analysis at Gingerology?
Dude was King Gooberhead... period. But I feel he DID give Ginger that 'drive' to prove herself that she would need for landing future roles... so MAYBE he gets a pass... well, a stay of execution, anyway...
KIG!
VKMfan
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'just wanted to stop by and say that i love your blog! Ginger Rogers is one of the very first classic movie stars I saw 6 years ago or so that got me interested in old movies. the ginger music you have here too is amazing! i love ginger's songs!
ReplyDelete-Rachel
Great post!
ReplyDeleteHmm I agree, I cannot see why he would be mean to someone as wonderful as Ginger, but maybe it could have possibly been because he tried to find flaws in her. So far I have never heard a rude word spoken about her and maybe that seemingly perfect reputation was something he wanted to break.
Another theory is that he could have felt she needed that sort of attitude to push her to do well in her roles. Maybe he was just subtle about his approach.
My final theory is that (like the article you posted the link to about Sandrich said) Ginger was more experienced in acting then Fred so maybe Sandrich saw her as somewhat arrogant (which we all know she wasnt) and difficult. Im sure incidents like the infamous Cheek to Cheek feather dress didnt help Ginger's case either.
Either way, as you said, he was an idiot.
I think you're underestimating the overall effect of the studio system here. Sandrich really has to please Pandro Berman; even if there's an issue with Ginger, he might have a good rep for shooting on time and under budget.
ReplyDeleteTo be sure, he treated Ginger bad enough to have Berman scold him in a letter, so it must have been pretty bad.
We also forget how badly everyone was treated in the studio system. Louis B. Meyer used to call Judy Garland his "little hunchback."
I didn't sleep well and now you're scaring me:
ReplyDeleteYou prepared this since "Saturday, July 24, 2010" - right.
Finally the whole thing was "Posted by VKMfan at 10:26 AM" - that should 'have been' today.
BUT: It's still 8:16 AM and you should have 7:16 AM at this time ...
WHY, THIS IS KIND OF CREEPY!
Don't panic Clarissa; maybe I'm still sleeping ... let me first have a shower ...
This is great post Huey! I kind of wonder myself if Sandrich's strange reaction to Ginger was not some kind of secret crush he knew would never come to fruition. He was an overall good director, most of the documentaries point out how uber smart he was and how meticulous he was with planning each shot. The movies that he made with G&F are some of their greatest movies. He just should have found a way to be professional to both stars, and not make it a point to continuously pick on Ginger. Unless in his backwards mind he saw that was the only way to get her to show the emotion he wanted to see on camera. Some directors are a little sadistic.
ReplyDeleteIve thought that to - maybe he was pushing her to do her best. Maybe we blow this way out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteHer best director - not sure about that but they did make some pretty good films together!
What are you driving at, Huey?
ReplyDeleteIt's all Ginger's fault, because she's too pretty and sooo charming? During the middle age they might have burned her ...
Your theory, Sandrich might have crushed on Sandrich, isn't bad - I thought about this too. There's another theory being in circulation. It says men tend to destroy what they love. Don't misunderstand me Huey, not all men are having this attitude and I don't think you have it.
I wasn't bashing Sandrich, it was just facts. I had looked up his bio too, but I deleted what I wrote after this, because it sounded like moralizing over the possible reasons of his early death. But honestly I'm more worried about Ginger ...
Here's the solution, just in that letter, Fioraon had presented:
"... The bottom line is that we must make every effort to treat Ms. Rogers with utmost respect. She is one half of the reason we're selling out seats in theaters across the co(u)ntry. ..."
www.from-RKO-archives.jpg
So she was half of the reason they were selling out seats in theaters all over the country. And I think Ginger could easily afford to say: "Mark, as soon as you're ready to behave like a grown man, I'll be back on the set. Just give me a warning ..."
................................
"Call me 'darling'* (page 236, 3rd §) again, Mark, and I go home at once."
He would learn it sooner or later ... I would certainly explain this all to Berman.
_________________________
Huey said...
* "... that could well be the start of Mr. Sandrich's conscious effort to go out of his way to NOT show any kindness or favoritism to Miss Rogers" - So that's why he called her 'darling' or what?
Huey said...
"... the 'Sassiest' Gingers are directed by Sandrich" - I disagree. The sassiest Gingers to me are Anytime Annie and Susan Applegate. Anyway she didn't say much in those films with Fred - at least it wasn't much intelligent. There are quite a lot of films I didn't see yet - maybe they're even sassier ... :)
Desarae said...
ReplyDeleteSome directors are a little sadistic.
This is just a matter of self-defense. I would fight for Ginger if I was her friend, sister or whatever! I wouldn't say: "That's life my dear, don't complain."
I've thought of that once, and I thought the same thing, maybe I was in love with but he can't show so blablabla... But who knows? Maybe he hates blondes, or maybe he was jalous of her beauty that her wife hasn't? Ok, I say stupidity, I leave ->
ReplyDelete"maybe he was pushing her to do her best."
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a standard excuse for all bullying bosses - not only in showbiz. In most places people try to avoid 'unnecessary' trouble, so they expect the victim to put up with anything. It doesn't make the victim tougher, that's not true. Ruined nerves never get as well as they had been before.
The victim's dignity doesn't count. The only way out is to show "I'm not an easy victim - I might be most difficult, 'cause I'm gonna fight for my dignity."
Sorry, I forgot that. But it's an important point.
I look at this from a different viewpoint. First let me say, I am not disputing that Sandrich had good success as a director. His directing credits went well beyond the Ginger/Fred movies. I'm saying that in directing Ginger he could have done better work in featuring her on camera. Ginger and her photogenic qualities were the best part of the scene, and I believe he let his biases cloud his vision of that.
ReplyDeleteGinger in her autobiography mentioned several male studio biggies who made advances towards her when she was in their office. Sandrich was not one of them, so I highly doubt he ever "came onto" her. We all adore the Ginger personna and feel everyone else probably does, too. I think we need to remember the times. It was the thirties. The movie business was totally male dominated except for the actresses. The men made the call. Sandrich, according to the biography Huey linked to, was a graduate of the Ivy League Columbia University, a most prestigious accomplishment in those days. Ginger never finished high school. It is very clear in the early to mid 30s that Ginger was not regarded as a serious actress by the studio; a money maker, yes; but not capable of the serious dramatic role. Do not forget that Sandrich actually made the suggestion to Ginger just prior to Carefree that she take acting, singing and dance lessons. Clearly he took her lightly, and when she stood up to him on the feather dress issue, that was the kiss of death. All this leads me to think the problem was his ego. And let us not forget from whence she comes. Lela. She might have relied on her mother to back her, but there also was some of Lela in her.
Furthermore, I don't agree at all that Ginger needed an antagonistic relationship to get the best from her. Look at her excellence in Swing Time. There was no Mark Sandrich there. Look at her joy and enthusiasm in Roberta. I feel her performance lifted Fred's. Ginger was a trouper. As hard working as they come. Fred has spoken to that. A number of people have commented on how quickly she learned. Ginger might have had her opinions and disagreements on how things should be done, but she always gave it her all. Look at Swing Time with the bloody feet problem. You ladies know how awful it feels to have high heels rubbing to the point of soreness. Well, Ginger was bleeding and dancing and not a peep from her. No one would have known had not her shoes turned pink. Nope, I'm convinced that Ginger herself was highly motivated, and she succeeded in spite of Sandrich not because of him.
But that's my opinion
Fioraon
PS. Can we use BBCode here? Is that how you make things bold, italic and show the url as links? Can we insert images? Is there a page with blog guidelines here?
First my complement for your comment, Fioraon.
ReplyDeleteNow, this is ...
bold: (a)TEXT(/a)
italic: (i)TEXT(/i)
But instead of "()" you use "<>"
(can't use those now to demonstrate this, because they would just vanish, as they should)
____________________________
Now here's my link tool, which I always have in a txt-document on desktop - ready to be copied for use:
(a href="DOMAIN")DESCRIPTION(/a)
If I do the same now with this "<>", you see just this:
DESCRIPTION
Let me ad that every human is able to work best, if he/she is relaxed and feeling well - given he isn't lazy (well, Ginger wasn't, as Fioraon showed).
ReplyDeleteI love Ginger more than I love her films. She gave me too much. Besides humans are more important than little plastic things with movies on it. If we criticize them, and their directors, they won't vanish out of our shelves.
But I got to be true to Ginger and I will always fight for her, as I do for Jean.
It's interesting that, even though he died young, that he didn't have more film credits. He only made one picture a year in 1935 and 36? That would have been unheard of back in the day when it was normal to shoot practically a movie a month. That tells me he wasn't too popular a director and may have had a bad reputation; no one wanted to work with him, or Berman didn't trust him, perhaps?
ReplyDeletePerhaps his meanness to Ginger was just his way of pushing her buttons to get that sassy performance out of her....but I don't think so. I think he was just a nasty, bad tempered, male chauvanistic man who was full of himself.
I don't think anyone is disputing the fact that Ginger didn't NEED Sandrich to push her in any way. She was a phenomenal actress, and that showed in all of her performances. No one ever deserves to be treated the way Sandrich treated Ginger, and it is a testiment to how great of a person she was that she never slapped him in the face for his condescending attitude and nasty remarks.
ReplyDeleteSince Sandrich's attitude towards Ginger is so baffling, she being one of a handful of A-list Hollywood actresses who didn't whine and complain about her job and only accepted 100% from herself in all of her work, it leads some people to try to fill in the blanks or hypothesize in regards to his antagonistic behavior. This is no way puts the blame on Ginger. Most, if not all, people are 100% on her side in this argument. Despite his underutilization of Ginger's extraordinary talents, she still shined in all of the movies she did with him. She rose above all of his negativity and never gave less than 100% when working with him, no matter how she felt about him. She had the work ethic that directors dream of, which is why Sandrich's attitude toward her remains to be seen as sheer insanity for some. I, for one, cannot fathom why a person would try to continuously bully and berate another person who is doing them no personal, or professional, harm. Ginger never let any of it crack her, though, and that is part of what makes her so great. She knew who she was, and she stood up for that.
Well put Desarae!
ReplyDeleteBrava Desarae! Your 3rd assaulting wave fixed him. :)
ReplyDeleteHuey, you can get out of that trench - game is over!
(Stage direction: with Susue Applegate* voice) Aaand dear uncle Huey: Won't we get our poll now, who was the sassiest Ginger?? ;)
_________________________
* Had too much of that - yesterday even two times, today once again. Simply divine!
SG -- Thanks for the code. I guess we can't insert images???
ReplyDeleteI agree, Desarae. But if you're like me, you know a lot of talented, nice, hard working people who have rotten bosses. You do wonder what's wrong with those bosses, and there are probably as many answers as there are rotten bosses.
In Ginger's case I agree with SG in that someone in the performing arts needs those creative juices to flow to be on her "A" game. Having a Sandrich who made the work environment negative and stressful is counter productive. It's a testimony to Ginger that she could rise above it and do great work.
Also it should be noted that Fred wasn't subjected to nastiness from Sandrich. It was directed at Ginger, hence my theory of ego and lack of respect.
OOPS! Please substitute CS for SG in my prior post. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised Ginger was bullied by Sandrich. I also heard she didn't get along with Fred either, although I'm reluctant to believe it. Men often bully women they like, especially those they can't get, regardless of their looks.
ReplyDeleteIt happened to me a couple of times -- men behaved in a really weird way. I even lost my job once because of my boss coming on to me.
We'll never know the truth, though. You'd have to witness the relationship in order to judge whether he was pushing her to bring out the best in her or simply bullying her.
Fioraon, I absolutely know what you mean about rotten bosses :P I have had a few myself, and a person can drive themselves crazy asking why or how a person can be the way they are (guess it's good I got into psychology because I am always asking that).
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you and CS that in a performing environment a person excels when they feel completely confident in themselves and know that they have the confidence of those around them. I was a musician once upon a time, and I found that when my percussion instructor played with me, or allowed me to play without him being overly critical, I enjoyed practicing that much more and it helped when it came to the final performance because I had that much more confidence in my abilities. You are right to say it is counterproductive in that type of environment to have that much negativity and stress. As for Sandrich not acting that way towards Fred, you also have to look at who the studio held in greater esteem. To get Fred to continue to work with Ginger they offered him royalites they never offered her, and even though she had more movie experience they paid him more. Sandrich probably took this as seeing Fred as "The Big Cheese", and messing with Fred Astaire would have been as good as getting himself a quick pass to the bread line. I don't think he saw any threat in Ginger, which was a big mistake on his part.
Fioraon said...
ReplyDeleteSG -- Thanks for the code. I guess we can't insert images???
You can't, Fioraon. But aren't you mixing up people????
Never mind.
F said...
ReplyDeleteOOPS! Please substitute CS for SG in my prior post. Sorry about that.
Never mind again. Why don't you call me "Smith" - it's not as long as "Clarissa". As people called Jean Arthur's character always "Saunders" in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Because it's very exhausting to say "Clarissa". On the other hand I always have to look up, whether it's Firoaon, Forioan or whatever. I guess I never learn that. Say is that French, F?
Stella, I should say anyone could get along easily with Ginger, but Fred was a little difficult himself. The only problem with Fred and Ginger is, that they had had a little romance in New York 1931 and Ginger didn't answer his letters after she had gone to Hollywood. So Fred married someone else and this someone else was always at the set and looked out, their characters wouldn't kiss.
Ginger's only mistake was, that she put up with almost anything, but this was her problem and her personal matter. At last this made her so easy to handle. Very typical her relationship to Kate Hepburn. Kate treated her impossible, but Ginger always kept polite and friendly.
Sometimes I personally use the sassy way of Ginger's characters, to confuse unfriendly people. It works fine, but it seems Ginger hardly used this, although always practicing it on the set.
Desarae said...
ReplyDeleteTo get Fred to continue to work with Ginger they offered him royalites they never offered her, and even though she had more movie experience they paid him more.
But Fred was a very famous Broadway Star, even in those days when Ginger was a little child. He was really a big name, when he started with Ginger 1933! Besides stage routine generates a lot of skills you can use on the film set as well. You can work more steadily on stage. Jean Arthur was a rotten actress until 1932. So she went back to New York, where she worked on stage. Being back in Hollywood 1934, she suddenly was gorgeous in films. Jean explained herself, that stage-work is much more effective than the little bits you do on the set. You learn much more on stage and you can use it even on the film set.
I think I'll stay with the CS and SG. If I make the mistake again, then it'll be Clarissa and Sassy. I have a special fondness for "Sassy" but am a bit reluctant to use it. As for Clarissa, that's such a pretty, distinctive, and not commonly used name. That makes it so much more special than "Smith".
ReplyDeleteFioraon is Irish Gaelic bestowed upon me by a buddy on another site.
Stella -- Ginger maintained in her autobiography as well as interviews used in documentaries that she and Fred had a very good relationship and they got along fine. She said that it was the studio spreading false rumors of dissension as a publicity measure. I've never seen anything to contradict that account.
Note to CS -- I finally answered your question in the prior topic. I just realized I never did. :(
ReplyDeleteFioraon, please don't worry. Everything is just fine! I didn't see any question, which never had been answered ...
ReplyDeleteAs to SG/CS/D/F/VKM..., I felt from the beginning it was a little impersonal. I did call SassyGinger "Sassy" at that time and I still find this most cute. But maybe I was wrong ...
We could use numbers at well, but wouldn't that be awful?
I keep a little book with passwords and there's still the little note in it I made in February: "Nice people". I found "Hollywood Dreamland" at that day - just by accident. Actually I had been looking for other fans of Jean Arthur. Well I didn't find that, but I got into "nice people". It gave me the feeling my obsession was right - let be people around me who like old films too.
It's like you tried to live in many towns and you always moved, because people always were nasty and ugly. One day you come to a cute little town, where people are different and you decide to stay.
But you wonder why people always name each other ABCDEFG... Well, it's still nice nevertheless.
Huey is such a nice fellow, I hated to call him "VKMfan". And I was glad to learn there was the option "Huey". - He did a great job again on this issue, I knew he was pushing us with his little provocation above. And it really worked - we discussed like crazy. :)
And I still ow you my issue Ginger, but as you see: My blog is kind of dead and you're still my next issue. This here was too much challenge already. Wasn't it Fioraon?
I have been very interested in the way actresses were treated in the thirties. They had so little power. Not until Ginger became a box office hit did she have any leverage, and that's why she was able to make her stand on the feather dress as well as on her salary. I think most actresses back then just acquiesced to demands made of them. Though it appears Ginger tried to get along, when it really, really mattered to her, she made her stand. The whole Sandrich issue riles me because as I said I think his treatment of Ginger was ego driven, and that's disgusting. I believe in treating people nicely and with respect whether or not I like them. So, yes, Huey pushed one of my buttons on this. (And I agree; "Huey" is a most lovable name.)
ReplyDeleteYes, Ginger really went on strike, to get more money - and she finally got it. But 24 hours on the set in Carefree ... I think she should have gone home, because this is crazy: She got to sleep nights to be fit again the next morning. And I think, Sandrich was rather not supposed to call her "darling". He wasn't a friend and Ginger couldn't trust him! I would have refused to tolerate that - and I would have warned him to do it again ...
ReplyDeleteJean Arthur fixed Harry Cohn quite easy. When he began trying to bully her, she just left Hollywood. Her home in Carmel was very comfortable and she enjoyed that, until Cohn finally gave in - because Columbia needed her, like RKO needed Ginger. That's the way Jean won her little war on Cohn.
Now see, THIS is what Huey likes to see... True Blue Gingerologists giving both barrels to Ginger detractors, such as Sandrich.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, CS, you 'broke the code', for the most part... this post WAS pretty much just set up to be the ol' 'Devil's Advocate' (weird phrase, but y'all get it, hopefully) - just trying to relay a few of the 'scenarios' I was thinking of that may have SOMEHOW explained dude's attitude towards Ginger... But yes, the probable reason WAS that he was the 'big dawg' director, and generally 'dismissed' Ginger as a 'prima donna' or whatever, thus treated her with little respect.
BTW - good to see new folks chime in - ladyrachel and Stella! hope to hear more from you!
And CS - as for the 'Sassy' deal - I was actually just referring to GandF movies - think she is Sassiest in 'Shall We Dance'. But as for OVERALL 'SassyGinger', I would vote 'Professional Sweetheart'... even tho her singing is 'dubbed', she is nearly out of control in that one... check it out!
AND, y'all can call me whatever... Huey is just fine with me... the only reason I use 'VKMfan' is because...well, it identifies me as a Ginger fan (although most folks don't know the intiials VKM... but a good way to explain it to them.)
Anyway, ultimately, I think y'all know my thoughts towards Sandrich... I won't repeat them here, lest I lose my 'PG' blogging rating...
Viva La Ginger, y'all!!! (Did I say that correctly, Camille?)
VKMfan (Huey)
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I only read part of one of Fioraon's comments in addition to your whole post, Huey. I caught the part in Fioraon's comment about the ego. I'm sure Sandrich was all caught up in his ego. But maybe he and Ginger just didn't click - in any sort of way. You know how you meet people, and sometimes there's this person you just cannot stand, but you don't even know why? That's no excuse for him to be rude to her (that's him being a jerk), but he probably just didn't like her.
ReplyDeleteClearly it was pretty stupid of him to ask her to take singing/acting/dancing lessons in preparation for Carefree, because if he thought she needed this, wouldn't he ask her to do it for, oh, the first movie he directed? Or maybe the second, even? Also, by Carefree, Ginger proved pretty likable. She wasn't technically perfect, but that's what people like to see! Someone entertaining, quirky, and totally human. Therefore, by mathematic principle, Sandrich is pretty much a dumbnut.
PS As I was scrolling up, I have to note I love how Clarissa is writing out proofs and evidence and quotes. Way more laid out than any English essay I could ever do. Speaking of writing, kudos, Fioraon for all your text.
Also, I'm pretty sure all the times on here are set to Huey's time zone.
Very nice complement, Lauren - thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteWell, Ginger wasn't an outstanding singer. But Fred is the first to need voice lessons: He's forcing his chin and larynx (above all on deep notes, which is a very bad, bad mistake), it's simply dreadful!* Ginger sings much better, above all more naturally: Instead of Fred's much to precisely hitting to the point (well this actually causes the cramp in his chin), she uses a beautiful portamento. A human voice isn't an accordion, Fred – it works completely different!
Sandrich killed all her time, when should Ginger have practised singing (yes, of course – constantly improving the connections between vowels can never harm)?? But if he criticizes Ginger, praising Fred at the same time, he's absolutely wrong again. No substance at all!
A wonderful example, dear SassyGinger: the most beautiful version of Cheek to Cheek you chose, which I had never heard before. I have always tears in my eyes, while listening to this. And I wouldn't have tears in my eyes, if her technique wasn't right. Maybe, in the transition/bridge ...
... „Dance- with me- I want my arm- about you-...“
... she takes „dance“ a wee bit too dramatically and perhaps „arm“ too. Why, she is still quite young and a young voice has to grow over many years (don't forget, Fred is much older!). But I don't consider this a mistake – she had to dare a bit drama, to have it lively. Sometimes it may be a wee bit too much, but it's certainly still OK (good singing means taking risks, like riding the blade!). When she sings the same bridge again, she does it a bit more carefully and every note is like a beautiful rose.*
Her high notes are perfect! She's not muting, it doesn't sound thin - she takes them slenderly and that's perfectly right and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! And she never tries to force a tone.
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* In "All My Bags in One Basket" it's most obvious. Ginger doesn't sound inspired (the orchestration isn't inspiring), but she sings technical better.
Clarissa said...
ReplyDelete"All My Bags in One Basket"
Must be a mighty huge basket ...
I certainly meant "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket".
Lauren said...
ReplyDelete"She wasn't technically perfect, but that's what people like to see! Someone entertaining, quirky, and totally human."
Yes, Lauren, I love to read that. Technically exact voices can be dull. I adore Irene Dunne, but she couldn't sing „We're in the Money“ so freshly as Ginger did. Ginger is hotting like a jazz-cornet! And how creative she was in the final chorus! But not to forget: „I'll Be Hard to Handle“ - that's real hot-jazz!
Ginger Rogers said...
ReplyDelete"Carefree was Mark Sandrich's swan song with me. We never made another picture together and I didn't miss him. Getting Mark out of my hair was a relief ..."
These are the words of an angel.
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