27 December 2021

Entr'acte

Entr'acte literally means 'between the acts'. Nowadays, the French use it for a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous with an intermission. Entr'acte is also the name of a French postcard series by Editions Asphodèle, located in Macon. The series presents rare set photos from classic Hollywood films from the collection of B. Courtel. These wonderful photos give us a glimpse of what happened behind the cameras: stars in costume discussing scenes, make-up specialists giving a finishing touch to the glamour of a beautiful actress, cast en crew having fun, directors, and cameramen preparing a difficult scene... We selected the best Entr'acte cards from our collection. Profitez-en !

Set photo Life With father (1947)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/02. Photo: set photo of Life With Father (Michael Curtiz, 1947). Caption: For the purposes of the film, a real pit in a dummy street at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

Charles Laughton and Sally Jane Bruce on the set of The Night of the Hunter (1955)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/06. Charles Laughton and Sally Jane Bruce on the set of The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955). Caption: Sally Jane Bruce, star of The Night of the Hunter, on Charles Laughton's lap, learns about framing.

Boris Karloff on the set of The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/09. Photo: Boris Karloff relaxing with a cigarette during an interval of the shooting of The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935).

Gene Tierney, Clark Gable and Belita on the set of Never Let Me Go (1953)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/15. Gene Tierney, Clark Gable, and Belita on the set of Never Let Me Go (Delmer Daves, 1953). Caption: Gene Tierney, Clark Gable, and Belita (British prima ballerina), all three reunited on British soil to make the film.

Rod Cameron and Yvonne de Carlo at the set of Frontier Gal (1945)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/16. Rod Cameron and Yvonne De Carlo on the set of Frontier Gal (Charles Lamont, 1945). Caption: Rod Cameron and Yvonne De Carlo are besieged by autograph hunters as they film on location.

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart on the set of Confidential Agent (1945)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle. Mâcon, no. 001/21. Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart at the set of Confidential Agent (Herman Shumlin, 1945). Caption: Between two love scenes with Charles Boyer, a break for Lauren Bacall, with her husband Humphrey Bogart.

Gary Cooper on the set of Man of the West (1958)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/24. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Gary Cooper on the set of Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958). Caption: Gary Cooper and director Anthony Mann on the set of the film.

Ronald Reagan and Doris Day on the set of The Winning Team (1952)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/26. Ronald Reagan and Doris Day on the set of The Winning Team (Lewis Seiler, 1952). Caption: Ronald Reagan and Doris Day relax in their own way.

Robert Taylor and Harry Stradling at the set of Song of Russia (1943)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/29 Photo: Robert Taylor and director of photography Harry Stradling on the set of Song of Russia (Gregory Ratoff, 1944) in 1943. Caption: Famous photographer Harry Stradling submitted some rushes of the film to Robert Taylor shortly before he was drafted into the US Navy.

James Cagney, Bud Westmore and Jack Kevan on the Set of Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle. Mâcon, no. 001/30. James Cagney, Bud Westmore, and Jack Kevan on the set of Man of a Thousand Faces (Joseph Pevney, 1957). Caption: Development of the mask to be worn by James Cagney in the film about Lon Chaney senior's career with chief make-up artist Bud Westmore and his assistant Jack Kevan.

Kirk Douglas, Jane Wyman and Irving Rapper on the set of The Glass Menagerie (1950)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/4. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Kirk Douglas, Jane Wyman, and Irving Rapper on the set of The Glass Menagerie (Irving Rapper, 1950). Caption: Hand and legwork for Kirk Douglas. Smiles from his partner Jane Wyman and Irving Rapper, the film's director.

Errol Flynn on the set of Montana (1949)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/5. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Errol Flynn on the set of Montana (Ray Enright, 1949). Caption: A solution to refresh yourself without getting wet! Errol Flynn, in between takes, can't stand the heat of the Hollywood summer.

Gary Cooper, posing during shooting Fighting Caravans (1931)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/7. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Gary Cooper on the set of Fighting Caravans (Otto Brower, 1931). Caption: Gary Cooper poses for a publicity photo, guns in hand, in front of the Paramount studios where he is the star.

Ernst Lubitsch and Maurice Chevalier, set The Love Parade (1929)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/9 Photo: Ernst Lubitsch and Maurice Chevalier on the set of The Love Parade (Ernst Lubitsch, 1929). Caption: Director Ernst Lubitsch and Maurice Chevalier in the shadow of the cameras, during the shooting of the first talking operetta on the screen.

Gregory Peck and Bob Kennedy on the set of Mackenna's Gold (1968)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/10. Collection: B. Courtel /D.R. Gregory Peck and Bob Kennedy on the set of Mackenna's Gold (J. Lee Thompson, 1969). Caption: Senator Bob Kennedy visits the film crew shooting in Arizona, starring Gregory Peck.

Cecil B. de Mille, Fredric March, and Franziska Gaal at the set  of The buccaneer (1937)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/15. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Cecil B. DeMille, Fredric March, and Franziska Gaál (in the US written as Franciska Gaal) on the set of The Buccaneer (Cecil B. DeMille, 1938). Caption: Cecil B. DeMille directs with his inseparable cinematographer Victor Milner, the stars of the film Fredric March and Franciska Gaal.

Edward Dmytryk and Humphrey Bogart on the set of The Left Hand of God (1955)
French postcard in the 'Entr'acte' series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon. Photo: director Edward Dmytryk and Humphrey Bogart on the set of The Left Hand of God (Edward Dmytryk, 1955). Collection: B. Courtel / D. R. Caption: On the set of the film, Edward Dmytryk discusses Humphrey Bogart's role: the story of an American adventurer who tries to escape from a warlord in China by disguising himself as a priest. In the background, Humphrey Bogart's partner: Gene Tierney.

Doris Day, Bill Philips, and Frank Flanagan on the set of Lucky Me (1954)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/86. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Doris Day, Bill Philips, and Frank Flanagan on the set of Lucky me (Jack Donohue, 1954). Caption: On Doris Day's face, make-up artist Bill Philips (left) makes a final touch-up and cinematographer Frank Flanagan (right) measures the light intensity for a scene in preparation.

Cecil B. de Mille and Yul Brynner on the set of The ten commandments (1955)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/2. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Cecil B. DeMille and Yul Brynner on the set of The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, 1955). Caption: Yul Brynner, film actor and photo enthusiast, takes a break to photograph director Cecil B. DeMille.

Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, and Frank Capra on the set of Meet John Doe (1940)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/3. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, and Frank Capra on the set of Meet John Doe (Frank Capra, 1940). Caption: Conference between Gary Cooper, Water Brennan, and director Frank Capra.

Laurence Olivier and Peter Ustinov at the set of Spartacus (1960)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/8. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Laurence Olivier and Peter Ustinov on the set of Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960). Caption: Contrast of eras between the clothing of Laurence Olivier and that of the director and actor Peter Ustinov.

W.C. Fields, Fuzzy Knight and Eddie Cline on the set of My Little Chickadee (1940)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/10. Photo: Collection: B. Courte / D.R. W.C. Fields, Fuzzy Knight, and Eddie Cline on the set of My Little Chickadee (Edward F. Cline, 1940). Caption: Close-up of W.C. Fields; on camera, director Eddie Cline.

Charlton Heston on the set of Three Violent People (1956)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/11. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Charlton Heston (right) on the set of Three Violent People (Rudolph Maté, 1957). Caption: Dressing up and carrying weapons! Training session for Charlton Heston between two sets at Paramount Studios.

Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson at the set of Key Largo (1948)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/13. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson on the set of Key Largo (John Huston, 1948). Caption: Ouch! My ears! Wouldn't Humphrey Bogart appreciate the efforts of his partner Edward G. Robinson recording a song?

Charles Chaplin and Geraldine Chaplin at the set of The Countess from Hong Kong (1966)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 005/4. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Charles Chaplin and Geraldine Chaplin on the set of The Countess from Hong Kong (Charles Chaplin, 1966). Caption: Charles Chaplin, whose last film this was, directed his daughter Geraldine.

Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand and Gene Kelly on the set of Hello Dolly (1969)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 005/13. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, and Gene Kelly on the set of Hello Dolly! (Gene Kelly, 1969). Caption: A moment of pause for Gene Kelly and his stars Barbra Streisand and Louis Armstrong.

Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson on the set of Rio Bravo (1958)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle. Mâcon, no. 006/7. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson in 1958 at the set of Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959). Caption: Dean Martin and his partner Angie Dickinson behind the camera for a break.

Yul Brynner and Harold Hecht on the Set of Taras Bulba (1962)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 006/10. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Yul Brynner and Harold Hecht on the set of Taras Bulba (J. Lee Thompson, 1962). Caption: Harold Hecht, the film's producer, and Yul Brynner, the film's lead actor, observe from a distance a scene filmed by the second crew.

Henry and Jane Fonda at the set of There was a crooked man (1970)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 006/12. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda on the set of There was a crooked man (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1970). Caption: A family resemblance? Jane Fonda visits her father Henry Fonda on a Warner Studios set.

Jerry Lewis at the set of The Family Jewels (1965)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 006/14. Photo: Collection B. Courtel / D.R. Jerry Lewis on the set of The Family Jewels (Jerry Lewis, 1965). Caption: Jerry Lewis plays almost all the roles in this film: here he is behind the camera with the outfit playing Bugs the gangster.

And, check out our Flickr album with the Entr'acte series.

2 comments:

Maria said...

Without a doubt, one of the most fascinating posts you have ever done. Some truly great images here. Thank you.

Paul van Yperen said...

Wow, Maria, thank you. Your comments are always appreciated. Best wishes for 2022! Paul