The Race Film Industry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_film

Footage: https://youtu.be/wbEdYGS0R-c

The clip shown is from the film 'Dark Manhattan' (1937), starring the Black matinee idol Ralph Cooper and actress Cleo Herndon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Cooper

Prior to desegregation, Race Films were beloved for presenting films to their target audience that portrayed wealthy, glamorous or middle class Black leads - and not the oafish caricatures and tropes that dominated Hollywood.

Been going through old fan magazines on the Media History Digital Library and found a couple of articles written by actual script girls in the 30s. Some of it surprised me.

Pay was about $35 a week in 1931. Photoplay pointed out Alice White made $35 as a script girl and $2,000 a week once she became a star at Warners. And between pictures the star still got paid, the script girl usually didn't.

One writer in Silver Screen (1938) said they were working 57 hour weeks for $40.50 base until they formed a guild, which got it down to 54 hours and $50. So like 71 cents an hour going up to 93.

Best bit is from Carmelita Geraghty, who was a teenage script girl before she started acting. They'd been shooting almost 16 hours, moved from an interior set to an exterior, and Raymond Griffith had a full beard inside the house and walked out the door clean shaven. Nobody noticed. She figured the retake cost at least $1,200. That's like 34 weeks of her salary lol. She said that's when she decided to try acting instead.

Also didn't know Dorothy Arzner and Margaret Booth both started out as script girls.

Picture Play article if anyone wants to read it: https://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/picturepla34stre_0067
Silver Screen one: https://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/silverscreen08unse_0_0078

Sources (all free to read):
- Picture Play, 1931, "The Ups and Downs of a Script Girl": https://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/picturepla34stre_0067
- Silver Screen, 1938: https://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/silverscreen08unse_0_0078
- Photoplay, 1931: https://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/photo40chic_0332

I put the numbers together in a longer write-up here, if anyone wants it: https://rewindtale.com/the-forgotten-history-of-hollywoods-script-supervisor/

Credit: 60swonderland

According to Raft's biographer Lewis Yablonsky, Raft later claimed he turned the role down because it wasn't right for him. The rumor that he turned it down was therefore started by himself.

What does "make love" involve in classic noir era films? Last night I saw "Leave Her To Heaven". Prosecutor ( played by a youngish, clean shaved Vicent Price) charged the defendant ( Cornel Wilde) with "making love" to Price's fiance. Ooo , was he mad! But of course, it was only...

Making eyes? Sweet talk? Flirty joking? "Fond attentions"? Touching? Getting in close..."First base"? ...Seems like "making love" in this sense comes From a Man To a Woman, willing or unwilling.

What noir actors were good at this? What scenes do you remember?

Trailer for The Don Siegel Classic. Originally meant to be a TV Movie, Universal decided to release it in theaters due to the violence. For me, this is the best film Don ever directed. Why? Because there is so much beyond its plot. The film is about running, running from fate. The grim reaper was out for all. Once you enter this world of violence and murder, it is blood in, blood out. No matter how strong you are, how good you are with a firearm, death can come anywhere and nothing you can do will prepare you for it. The whole notion of the invincible badass killer is thrown right out the window and I love it. A rare instance of the remake surpassing the original! I think my only complaint is that it was originally meant for TV and it shows hence the budget production value. Still, great movie.