Art Directors Maurice Ransford and Lyle R. Wheeler: The Boys of Twentieth Century Fox

I've spoken about the great Cedric Gibbons and Edwin B. Willis here on The Affair, and although I am a huge fan of their work, I also cannot exclude the dream team over at Fox, Maurice Ransford and Lyle R. Wheeler.  

Some of my favorite films were art directed by these men, and separately and collaboratively they created some of the best and well known sets in Hollywood. Ransford joined Fox in 1940 and Wheeler came in 1944, both working together inclusively until Wheeler left Fox in the 1950s.  

Maurice Ransford was born in Indiana in 1896. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in architecture and worked as one for over 10 years. He joined Twentieth Century Fox in 1940 and quickly became art director. He worked at Fox for 21 years until his retirement in 1961. 

Ransford was an architect first and foremost, and used these skills in his time as art director using real blueprints, and constructing sets with detail and stability. He was nominated for three Academy Awards for Titanic, The Foxes and Harrow, and Leave Her To Heaven. He died in San Diego in 1968 at the age of 72.

Lyle R. Wheeler was born in Massachusetts and graduated with a degree in architecture from USC. He worked as a magazine illustrator and industrial designer before joining MGM in 1931. Wheeler worked as a layout artist for Cedric Gibbons and was quickly promoted to assistant art director. In 1939 he worked on Gone With the Wind designing sets for Tara and suggesting they light the old sets from King Kong and King of Kings on fire for the film's burning of Atlanta scenes. 

He joined Fox in 1944 as supervising art director and became head of the department. There he worked until 1960 with his last film being the Marilyn Monroe picture, Let's Make Love. He was nominated for 29, yes 29 Oscars, and won 6 notably for Gone With the Wind and The King and I. 

Wheeler fell on hard times in his later years and had to sell his home and put his awards in a storage unit, which he then couldn't pay for and was auctioned off. The Oscars were lost. An empathetic stranger reached out and helped him retrieve at least one of them before his death in 1990 at the age of 84.

Personally my favorite work of these fellas is definitely Leave Her To Heaven. Five minutes into the film you know that their work is something special. The art deco train car in the opening scene, the three homes Gene Tierney's character Ellen inhabits are unique and grand in their own rights. 

I recall the first time I saw this film I quickly tried to research if the Back of the Moon Lodge was a real place and if that cabin was still standing. Nope, this amazing place was the handiwork of Ransford and Wheeler built on Bass Lake in Northern California, and it was, sadly, just a set. 

Another huge favorite is the set from 1957's Desk Set with Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Gig Young, and Joan Blondell. Taking place in New York City, these sets are stunning, mid century eye candy. Who wouldn't want to work in this environment? 

The King and I's grand exterior and interior sets:

1953's Titanic:

I'm thinking James Cameron dug up the old story boards for his 1997 version, they look so similar! 

With much effort I could not find any images of Maurice Ransford, which is a shame since he was so successful. Perhaps because Wheeler had such a long standing career there were more images available. There must have been more cameras around him at the time!