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!

King Vidor and The Citadel

Staying in the theme of the last film, The Patsy, comes another great by director King Vidor. Starring British actor Robert Donat and Ms. Rosalind Russell, and adapted by A.J. Cornin. Robert plays Andrew, a new doctor eager to make a difference and help people. His first assignment is to help the people in a poor town plagued by Typhoid Fever. He helps sick patients, revives a newborn, and starts to really think of himself as a doctor. He meets fellow physician Denny, played by Ralph Richardson, and they both come to the conclusion that the Typhoid is streaming from the water source. Denny has the bright idea to blow up the water system as a means to fix the bad water conditions and help the people. Andrew is thrown by Denny's adventure and risk taking, but in the end goes along with him. The plan works and the new water system prevents another outbreak. 

While treating a child with measles he encounters a pretty teacher named Christine. After a tiff about contagious kids staying home from school as opposed to coming to school sick and sitting in the corner with a glass of milk, the doctor and Christine meet up again when Christine ends up, naturally, sick. She should have listened to the good doctor!

Andrew wants more to his trade and decides to take a job in a miner's town treating the workers. Trouble is, they want a married doctor. Andrew really wants the job, and has the hots for Christine, so he asks her to marry him, without even knowing her first name. Naturally, she says yes. They marry, and Andrew starts his new job. He quickly realizes that the miners are all sick with lung issues and after much research discovers they all share Tuberculosis due to the mining dust. Andrew wants to do tests and study these men, and makes the lungs his focus, even to write his findings in a medical journal. But most of the miners just want a sick pass so they don't have to go to work. Andrew sticks up for himself and his integrity, and in return the minors destroy his research and he and Christine's hard work about this lung disease. Andrew has no better choice than to resign.

The pair move to London in hopes of Andrew starting a practice and getting back on his feet. Trouble is, nobody is calling, and he and his wife fall on hard times. They befriend a restaurant owner next door who feeds and helps them when she can. During lunch one day, the doctor is finally beckoned to help a poor soul in need. The soul turns out to be a spoiled socialite who has a meltdown at the dress shop. Andrew slaps it out of her and takes her home. There he meets an old colleague Dr. Lawford played by a very young Rex Harrison. He invites him to his hospital where the nurses are hired for their looks, each hospital room looks like a suite at the Ritz, and doctors are treating the rich where the only ailment is hypochondria. 

Andrew soon gets into the scam. He is making more money than he knows what to do with it, and he and Christine can finally enjoy the nicer things in life. However, Christine is on to him. When she sees Andrew receiving a huge check for just watching another doctor do surgery and questions him about it, she realizes he isn't doing more than telling his patients what they want to hear and getting paid for it. Christine longs for the days where her husband wanted to make a difference, and stood up for what was right. 

I spy Rex Harrison 4th from right!

She tries to talk about it with Andrew, she even tells him she doesn't care to be rich and isn't happy. Andrew gets angry and storms off. Back at home, they run into old pal Denny. He has a plan to start a healthcare practice for anyone who can afford it with the best doctors, and invites Andrew on the team. Andrew scuffs at the idea, and while at their favorite lunch place hears about his old friend the restaurant owner share that her daughter is very sick and in the hospital with a condition Andrew is an expert in. He blows her off as well as he enjoys some cheese. 

It seems everyone is aware of how much Andrew has changed. Denny is upset from being rebuffed and gets drunk off whisky. He shows up to tell Andrew what he really thinks about him and when he leaves he gets hit by a car. Andrew rushes to his side and takes him to the surgeon at the swanky hospital. The surgeon botches the surgery and Denny dies. Andrew is heartbroken. His best friend is dead due to incompetence. He realizes what he is involved with. Doctors who do nothing but collect a check and have no real care in helping people. Because of this they don't have the skills or knowledge to help anyone who is really in need.  This tragic accident is just what Andrew needs to see what is really going on around him. Andrew must change if he wants to save his practice and his marriage and get back to being the doctor he used to be. 

Vidor and Donat both earned Oscar nominations, as did the screen writers. Let's talk about King Vidor for a moment. As I mentioned before, King directed an array of films that covered topics about real people. His films are heartwarming and full of human emotion. In The Citadel, when newbie doctor Andrew delivers a dead baby and doesn't give up to finally have the baby come to life, you can feel the relief and pride on screen. As Andrew leaves the residence, he exclaims to himself, "Dear God, I am a doctor." Vidor had the ability to draw the audience in and have empathy with his characters, a skill not all directors share. 

Vidor was born to Hungarian parents in Galveston, Texas. His work in show business started as a projectionist and eventually turned to script writing and directing for Boy City Film Company who made shorts focusing on American society issues. This might have influenced Vidor to tackle topics such as race, religion, and blue collar America. He eventually contracted with MGM and continued to make films into his eighties. 

Rosalind Russell was on the brink of true fame when making The Citadel, with The Women and His Girl Friday releasing in 1939, and 1940. In this film, her character is sweet, supportive, and genuine as the wife of a doctor who has his ups and downs professionally. In the scene where the two meet in her classroom, he barges in while she is teaching and gives her the riot act. The class, full of about 8 year-olds, is perfectly still and silent the whole time. As a teacher I chuckled at this, as it is not in any way realistic, but cute nonetheless!

King, Robert, and Ralph on set

Marion Davies in The Patsy

 While I am not a huge fan of silent films, I do find one now and then that I love. This time it's The Patsy from 1928. Starring Marion Davies, with Orville Caldwell and veteran actress Marie Dressler, and director King Vidor at the helm.

Pat is the younger sister to Grace played by Jane Winton. Grace is beautiful and elegant, while Pat is young and innocent. One thing they do have in common is they both have the hots for Tony (Caldwell). Naturally he loves Grace. On top of this misfortune for Pat, her mother (Dressler) is a beast to her youngest daughter, and gives her grief for everything, including how she feels about her sister's beau. She is yelled at, forced to do chores, and even given the worst part of chicken at dinner. Her father, played by Dell Henderson, has compassion for Pat, and although he is too timid to stand up to his bossy wife, he supports her. 

On the night of a fancy outing, Grace steals Pat's new coat, and once at dinner, she is stuck watching her sister and Tony together while her mother insists she leave them alone. Along comes playboy Billy (Lawrence Gray) and quickly Grace is smitten.

Pat has Tony all alone and tries to make small talk. She is ready to dance. Her cute antics remind me of Charlie Chaplin in Gold Rush when he plays with dinner rolls. 

Tony is not amused, but dances with Pat so he can spy on Grace, who eventually leaves the party on Billy's boat. Pat will take any dance she can get with Tony, even if he isn't even paying attention to her.

With some quirky antics, she realizes her mother and sister are afraid of her, and they ease up. Billy comes over and he and Grace start canoodling, which makes Pat angry knowing what she is doing to Tony.

As soon as they take off to who knows where, Tony comes looking to show Grace his building plans. Pat covers for Grace, and convinces Tony to show her what he is working on instead. They end up spending some time together, and Tony starts to consider Pat as more than just a kid sister. They sneak a kiss, but mother sees and is mad. Only Grace should have what she wants!

Pat's mother forbids her to see Tony, and tells her she must never let him know that Grace is a two-timer. Grace overhears Pat and father talking about how she feels. Grace isn't interested in Tony anymore, but convinces Tony to give her a lift to the yacht club, where Pat finds out.  Pat gets the bright idea to go over to Billy's house, but when she gets there,  he is passed out. She tries to get his attention by impersonating some well known ladies, but to no avail. Tony gets word and tells Pat he would not want any girl who finds herself at Billy's house. Pat's plan has backfired. 

At home, father has had enough and for once stands up for himself and his daughter. An argument ensues and Pat's mother has to beg for forgiveness. While Pat is happy her parents have reconciled, she is still sad about her love for Tony, when sure enough, he turns up asking if she wants him or Billy. The choice is clear, and Pat finally wins in the end.

This was the first of three pairings for Marion Davies and King Vidor. Vidor holds the record for the longest directorial career, spanning 67 years. His body of work includes The Crowd, Hallelujah, Comrade X, Northwest Passage, The Fountainhead, and War and Peace to name a few. He also was uncredited for directing the tornado and Somewhere Over the Rainbow scenes in The Wizard of Oz. 

Marion, notorious for her decades-long affair with William Randolph Hearst, had a fruitful career of her own. Hearst would support her career emotionally and financially, but her talent was apparent nonetheless. She was  known for being incredibly kind to work with, even to go as far as paying for crew members medical bills if they got sick. She would go on to marry Horace Brown after Hearst's death, and was a philanthropist until she died in 1961 at the age of 64.  Marie Dressler was on the downward end of her career until signing up to act in The Patsy. The success of this film brought her career back, and she worked on 20 films following, including Anna Christie with Greta Garbo, and was part of the all-star cast of Dinner At Eight.