The Sheila Variations

Happy place

Uhm ... never seen this image before. How much do I love it?? No wonder people fell in love with her.

Miker just sent me a 900 page biography of Howard Hawks - and words cannot express how excited I am to start it in earnest - 900 pages about him????? I've already flipped through it - and there was a whole section on how Hawks handled Hayworth on Only Angels Have Wings - her first big role. She happened to have a sexy body - but she didn't feel sexy, and couldn't "act" sexy. She was no Marilyn Monroe who knew how to turn that on. Hayworth was shy, and kind of damaged, psychologically. She also was a very new actress - and this was her biggest part she had ever had. She was stiff as a board at first. She couldn't do what Hawks asked her to do. So he would basically just "trick" her. He told her where to go, how to stand - and then made sure that the costume designer had given her a bodacious dress. So Rita didn't have to 'act' anything.

For example: she was in that flowy dress with the flowing V-neck. And Hawks said to her, "When you come into the room, close the door behind you, and then lean against the closed door, with your arms behind your back." And ... you know what? Rita Hayworth does exactly what he asks - you can see it in the film - and Hawks is right. The dress does 90% of the work for her. The pose does the final 10%. If he had said to Hayworth, "Okay, so walk into the room and be really sexy" - Hayworth would have been shy and awkward. By giving her very specific (and indirect) direction - he got her to do just what he wanted.

I was very impressed with that story.

Anyway.

HAPPY PLACE!!!! Beauty! What a smile!

Posted by sheila