betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry) (05/17/85)
> Almost any set that looks white before the mid-thirties was actual a pastel > color, often pink. In the mid-thirties, cinematographers figured out a way > to light a pure white set so that it would look good. This contributed to > the art deco look of many 1930s films. RKO, and the Astaire-Rogers musicals > in particular, became famous for always including a BWS - a Big White Set. > > Doubtless those involved sought to make sets and costumes pleasing to the > color-distinguishing eyes of the cast and crew, but only secondarily. The > primary goal was producing interesting contrasts when converted to black > and white film. > -- > Peter Reiher Ayup. As a matter of fact, some surprising transformations took place in black-and-white films. For instance, the famous "scarlet dress" in Bette Davis' *Jezebel* was a rich mahogany brown, just as Hershey's Syrup substituted for red blood. Some transformations take place even today, with Technicolor. When Mae West was in *Myra Breckenridge*, her contract specified that only she could wear black, white, or black-and-white costumes. (People dressed in monochrome stand out vividly in Technicolor; Mae wanted to dominate her scenes.) One day Raquel Welch showed up on-set in a black dress, set off at the shoulder with a pale-blue ruffle. Pale blue photographs in white in Technicolor, so that the final prints would show Raquel in black- and-white. Ms. West threw a fit, but the 'blue' dress stayed. (I gleaned both these fascinating facts from *Edith Head's Hollywood*, a ghosted memoir of the famous costume designer's career.) -- Elizabeth Hanes Perry UUCP: {decvax |ihnp4 | linus| cornell}!dartvax!betsy CSNET: betsy@dartmouth ARPA: betsy%dartmouth@csnet-relay "Ooh, ick!" -- Penfold