Such an unholy mess of a girl

“I’ve had two years to grow claws mother. Jungle red!”

The Women (1939)

# film lines # The Women # Norma Shearer # Rosalind Russell # Joan Fontaine # Joan Crawford # George Cukor # gif # photoset # vintage # film # missavagardner # trixiedelight

Cast and crew of “The Women” behind the scenes

3 months ago ♦ 81 notes © tracylord

# Norma Shearer # Joan Crawford # Joan Fontaine # Rosalind Russell # Paulette Goddard # Mary Boland # Phyllis Povah # George Cukor # vintage # my edits # emmanuelleriva

Joan Crawford photographed by George Hurrell

5 months ago ♦ 77 notes © tracylord

# Joan Crawford # vintage # my edits

5 months ago ♦ 191 notes © tracylord

# Joan Crawford # my scan # vintage # theladyeve # missavagardner

The story of Norma and Joan

Joan Crawford´s first job at MGM was doubling for Norma when she played a dual role in 1925’s “Lady of the Night”. When shooting the movie Shearer saw Crawford’s potential. “I found myself sitting in a car,” wrote Shearer in 1955, “and in the other corner was a girl with the most beautiful eyes. They were the biggest eyes I had ever seen. But they didn´t trust me. I could see that. They never have.”

Shearer recalled their next enounter. “I saw her crying up on the balcony outside the dressing rooms. I stopped and asked what was troubling her. She told me that she didn’t like the dress the wardrobe department had given her. I tried to console by telling her it looked lovely.”For a time, Crawford idolized Shearer “I tried to watch everything Norma did,” wrote Crawford. “She dated Irving Thalberg, who as in charge of the studio production. Thalberg would come by the set occasionally a cool-looking, dark young man who tossed a gold coin in the air, tossed it and tossed it, with such concentration that you never dared speak to him.” She never dared speak to him - because Shearer was dating him. Thus was born a rivalry that would worry MGM for the next fifteen years.

“They were complete opposites,” wrote Frederica Maas. “As warm and outgoing as Norma was, Joan was cold and reserved. Norma was generous in spirit, Joan was calculating. She remained envious of Norma Shearer as their careers progressed.” Irene Selznick viewed Crawford from her father’s vantage point. “She blamed her overwhelming sense of rivalry on the preferred position Norma Shearer came to hold as Irving’s wife. She overlooked the fact that Norma had been with the company since Mission Road and had traveled a long way.” Forty years later Crawford still hadn´t changed her mind.

By 1932 Joan´s jealousy got so bad that she told Fairbanks that Shearer and Harlow were in some way “part of a conspiracy” to hold her back. When the gossip got back to Norma, she decided to speak out:

“I admire Joan. And I believe she feels the same way about me. I hope so. I think both of us have been hurt and embarrassed by the persistent stories of our rivalry and hatred… How could I hate Joan? She is so much like me. We have been through so many of the same painful but invaluable molding processes. We have both had to fight desperately to overcome self-consciousness. We have both made ourselves over, both struggled to create an illusion of glamour and beauty…

People think that because Irving Thalberg is my husband all I have to do is ask for any role I want. They think it´s been easy sledding for me. What they don´t realize is that I´ve had to work twice as hard to secure any recognition because Irving IS my husband. I have to be twice as good in order to get half as much credit. Furthermore, the very fact I am Irving’s wife keeps me from going out and fighting for roles. I know just how busy and harassed he is. And I know that it is just as important to him that Joan Crawford should have good pictures. It is his job to see that all MGM films are excellent, not just Norma Shearer’s”