Great Day (1930 film)

Great Day is a rotated in 1930, but left unfinished film based on the operetta by Vincent Youmans. Joan Crawford should play the main role, however, was dissatisfied with the script and their own representation. The shooting was canceled after some time. From the film at the present time there are only a few Setphotos.

Production history

Joan Crawford was reached since the last days of silent film thanks to a series of films that they showed as exuberant young woman of high society to fame. She managed to easily make the leap to talkies, but gradually worked their Flapperimage untimely. While the studio Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer presented regularly in prestigious roles in elaborately staged melodramas, Crawford has appeared in such films as cheaply produced Untamed or Montana Moon. Against the background was the appearance on Great Day to be a turning point in her career for the actress.. Metro -Goldwyn -Mayer bought the rights to the less successful eponymous operetta by Vincent Youmans end of 1929, the Singspiel brought it only 29 performances, but two of the songs, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu, were nonetheless very popular: Without a song and More Than You Know. With the advent of sound film enjoyed great popularity operettas and musicals. The studio had been with Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett two popular singers under contract and now tried to launch even Joan Crawford as a vocal artist. The production preparations began in the spring of 1930., The film should be shot mainly on location in the south of the USA. Following extensive investment the shooting started in September of this year. After some time - the data vary between 10 days and several weeks - the filming were hired.

There are different versions of why it has come to this unusual even for MGM decision. The studio was known for his films undergo extensive previews and depending on the reaction of the test audience to turn all new parts, as happened in the case of Laughing Sinners The Sin of Madelon Claudet or. Sometimes, Louis B. Mayer decided even not to bring completely crazy movies in the rental. 1930, for example, two Marion Davies musicals ever published: The Five O 'Clock Girl and Rosalie. In the case of Great Day things, however, were after all, what is known is fundamentally different. One explanation is based on the testimony of Joan Crawford in her autobiography A Portrait of Joan. After that, the actress with the script and its presentation of a frivolous Southern Belle was dissatisfied. They then appealed directly to Louis B. Mayer and asked to be relieved from the obligation. Despite considerable outlay of 280,000 U.S. dollars Mayer Crawfords have complied Please. Another theory evaluates Crawfords advance and Mayer's consent as a targeted revenge of the two to Irving Thalberg. Thalberg was then in high reputation in Hollywood. At MGM, he had almost unlimited access to all projects and almost completely free hand in filling the personally supervised by him films. From his omnipotence benefited primarily his wife Norma Shearer that rose under his guidance of a moderately talented actress to First Lady of the canvas. Especially Joan Crawford had to suffer the preference of Shearer for years. Whenever she wanted to play a role that had prestige and dramatic potential, they had to compete with Shearer, who had a Thalberg virtually the Erstzugriffsrecht to all scenarios. Crawford lost in this way, both the lead roles in The Trial of Mary Dugan as well as in The Divorcee, won the Oscar for Shearer. The role in Paid got Joan Crawford only when Shearer was pregnant just before filming began.

In parallel, the ratio of Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer had deteriorated. The deferred dispute stirred predominantly originate from the different understanding on the orientation of the studio. While Thalberg film looked at as an art and therefore sought only first-class productions with high quality standards, Mayer was more anxious to reduce the average cost and maximize profit. The dispute is, as the representatives of this declaration, be escalated during the filming of Great Day. The production was not known to be ill-fated. The screenplay was frequently rewritten, the director was very inspiring, and the participants were dissatisfied with their dialogues. For Mayer this mess should have been reason enough Crawfords request for release from the obligation to comply. In the long term I want to achieve Mayer to overthrow Thalberg.

Regardless of the market for operetta and revue films from the mid 1930s was completely collapsed due to oversupply. MGM pulled, like the other studios also rapidly consequences, and broke, among other things, the shooting for the film The Hollywood Revue of 1930. It was not until the end of 1931 Ernst Lubitsch should bring with The Smiling Lieutenant the entire genre with new, innovative ideas back to life. Against the background was the decision of Louis B. Mayer, not to pursue the project Great Day, also motivated by tangible economic interests.

Sources and literature used

Roy Newquist (ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus, N. J. 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9
Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9

1930 in film Harry A. Pollard Film score Charles Rosher Untamed (1929 film) Preview (computing) Paid (1930 film)

278245