A Preston Sturges Group of Set Stills from His Films

A Preston Sturges Group of Set Stills from His Films Including The Great McGinty, Christmas in July, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and The Great Moment. Please note that there may be some duplication of photographs in each film folder. The Great McGinty (Paramount Pictures, 1940). Starring Brian Donlevy. Director Preston Sturges. Approximately 45 silver gelatin photographs, 8 x 10 in., many with location descriptions handwritten in ink to border, many with 'Interior Decorating (36)' stamped to verso. Christmas in July (aka The New Yorkers) (Paramount Pictures, 1940). Starring Dick Powell. Director Preston Sturges. Approximately 100 silver gelatin photographs, 8 x 10 in., many with location descriptions handwritten in ink to border, many with 'Interior Decorating (36)' stamped to verso. Together with 2 black-and-white negatives featuring Dick Powell and Ellen Drew, 8 x 10 in.; and a negative strip. Sullivan's Travels (Paramount Pictures, 1941). Starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. Director Preston Sturges. Approximately 220 silver gelatin photographs, 8 x 10 in., some with location descriptions handwritten in ink to border, some with 'Interior Decorating (36)' stamped to verso, one featuring a long shot of Joel McCrea swimming in the pool. The Palm Beach Story (Paramount Pictures, 1942). Starring Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert. Director Preston Sturges. Approximately 125 silver gelatin photographs, 8 x 10 in., some with location descriptions handwritten in ink to border, some with 'Interior Decorating (36)' stamped to verso, one featuring Claudette Colbert. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (Paramount Pictures, 1943). Starring Betty Hutton. Director Preston Sturges. Approximately 175 silver gelatin photographs, 8 x 10 in., some with location descriptions handwritten in ink to border, some date stamped (Nov. 1942), some with 'Interior Decorating (36)' stamped to verso. Together with 25 smaller photos, 4 x 5 in., one featuring director Preston Sturges with Eddie Bracken and one featuring Betty Hutton, William Demarest, and Bracken. The Great Moment (aka Triumph Over Pain) (Paramount Pictures, 1944). Starring Joel McCrea. Director Preston Sturges. Approximately 200 silver gelatin photographs, 8 x 10 in., some with location descriptions handwritten in ink to border, some with 'Interior Decorating (36)' stamped to verso. For many, the genre 'screwball comedy' begins and ends with director Preston Sturges. Starting out as a Broadway playwright, he became a screenwriter for Paramount and graduated to directing, turning out a sequence of hit films starring the likes of Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Betty Hutton, Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Claudette Colbert, and many others. Physical slapstick comedy was the focus of the screwball comedy genre, and actors such as Betty Hutton and Eddie Bracken fit well into Sturges' productions. Paramount agreed to allow him to write and direct the film, The Great McGinty (1940), earning Sturges an Academy Award® for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. The rest of the decade saw 11 more productions from Sturges, making him one of the highest paid and most popular directors in show business at that time. 8 x 10 in. or smaller Footnotes: The collection of Paramount Pictures set stills that is being offered in this auction is an extraordinary historical archive from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. Sets stills were taken for continuity purposes and to document the arrangements of the sets and props, etc, during the making of a film. Not only does this collection photographically document the changes in filmmaking through the decades, it details the changing styles of architecture, interior design (the Art Deco sets from the 1930s are astonishingly beautiful), fashion, cars, and more. In the cases of location shooting, one can see the evolution of various southern California towns and landmarks, from the tony nightspots of Hollywood to the open spaces of Brentwood to the artistry of the Paramount Ranch. The photos give a unique behind-the-scenes look at the stars during filming; some vamp for the camera while others avoid it, some study their scripts or confer with the director, and some look incredibly bored. Equally interesting is the appearance of the stars' lookalike stand-ins and famous extras such as Bess Flowers. The unsung heroes of filmmaking, the crews, are seen as well, holding the booms, adjusting the lights, holding the clapper boards, and waiting, waiting, waiting. And speaking of unsung heroes, the talent, imagination, style, and creativity of the art directors and set decorators for these films cannot be overstated. Most of the fashion designers of the 1930s and '40s, such as Edith Head, are recognized for their contributions, as well they should be; however, the set decorators and art directors are grossly overlooked. Masters of their profession such as Hans Dreier, Robert Usher, William Flannery, Hal Pereira, Ernst Fegte, Sam Comer, Walter H. Tyler, A. Earl Hedrick, and so many others, deserve their place in the sun, and hopefully, the future owners of these historic photographs will appreciate their artistry. Lot to be sold without reserve. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing