MARLENE DIETRICH in DESIRE (1936) with AUTHOR HOWARD GUTNER &
his book BANTON OF PARAMOUNT: HAUTE COUTURE IN HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN AGE
Friday, May 29 at 7 PM
$22 Public | $15 Members
Tickets include screening
of Desire (1936), interview and Q&A with Howard Gutner. His book Banton
of Paramount will be available for
purchase at the event from our friends at The Next Chapter
Following our sold-out event about fashion photographer Bill Cunningham,
author Howard Gutner offers us an engrossing opportunity – with his
sumptuously illustrated large-format book, Banton of Paramount
and the help of a Marlene Dietrich classic - to discover Travis
Banton, the seminal Hollywood fashion designer who set the standard for
opulent 1930s screen style at Paramount Pictures. A colleague of MGM’s Adrian
and mentor to the famed Edith Head, Banton was responsible for creating
the on-screen images of such legendary actresses as Carole Lombard, Claudette
Colbert, Mae West, and most notably Marlene Dietrich. In
particular, he collaborated with Dietrich to bring about her stunning
transformation from the sordid and earthy Lola Lola in Germany’s The Blue
Angel of 1930 to the transcendent Hollywood icon - an accomplishment
considered one of the most drastic and successful image overhauls in film
history. In Desire (1936), both building on and liberating
herself from the image she created with her mentor Josef von Sternberg, director Borzage brilliantly
added a softening, tender and comedic touch which allowed Dietrich to reinvent
herself for some of her greatest roles later in her career.
Desire (1936)
Regarding her 1936 film Desire,
Marlene Dietrich famously said that it was "the only film I need not be
ashamed of.” Produced by Ernst Lubitsch and directed by Academy Award winner
Frank Borzage – but noted for its considerable, urbane “Lubitsch Touch” -
Dietrich is again paired with Gary Cooper with newfound onscreen chemistry. Sexy
and beautiful Madeleine de Beaupre (Dietrich) is an international jewel thief
who uses an unsuspecting American engineer, Tom (Cooper), to smuggle stolen
pearls across the Spanish border. During the escapade, she falls in love with
him, forcing a choice between her crime career and redemption. Dietrich’s beloved composer Frederick
Hollander from her Blue Angel days wrote the score as
well the song she sings, “Awake and Sing.” (USA, 1936, 95 mins,
English | Dir. Frank Borzage)
Banton of Paramount: Haute Couture in
Hollywood's Golden Age
Hollywood art and design expert Howard Gutner presents a sumptuous,
large-format book, illustrated in both black-and white and color, covering the
career and artistry of Travis Banton, one of the preeminent costume/fashion
designers of Hollywood’s Celebrated “Golden Age.” Working at Paramount Pictures
from 1925 through 1938, Banton was responsible for creating the on-screen
images of such legendary actresses as Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Mae
West, and most notably Marlene Dietrich. His peers were Gilbert Adrian at MGM
and Orry-Kelly at Warner Brothers; one of his proteges was the legendary
designer Edith Head. After studying fashion design at the New York School of
Fine and Applied Arts, Banton took positions with the foremost couturiéres
of the 1920s. This served as the training ground for Banton’s
ground-breaking career as head of design at Paramount Pictures, where he helped
define the concept and reality of “glamour” we so admire today. Gutner’s
celebration of Banton’s career and achievements is long overdue.
Howard Gutner first became interested in the Hollywood studio system and
its traditional blend of business and art while attending the film studies
program at Northwestern University. In 2001 he published Gowns by Adrian: The
MGM Years1928–1941 (Harry N. Abrams). This book was the first
comprehensive review of Adrian’s career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Gutner's most
recent book is MGM Style: Cedric Gibbons and the Art of the Golden Age of
Hollywood. He lives in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Produced by Jud Newborn, Two Time Emmy Award Winner
