A Dvorak Candid Moment: On the Set of “G Men”
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 200
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Photos of scenes from movies are grand. Glamorous portraits are also fab. However, it’s the candid shots that really get my heart a flutter. There’s something about the un-posed and un-retouched images that I find fascinating and sometimes insightful.
For the 200th post in the 2013 Ann Dvorak blogathon, her is a shot of her on the set of the 1935 Warner Bros. feature G Men. She’s taking a breather while shooting the musical number  “You Bother Me an Awful Lot.” The shot is so candid that her face is obscured by the water glass and I love that she’s sitting on one od the chairs that is actually part of the set design while the members of the crew are busy behind her.
Maybe it’s a cheap thrill, but I am really a sucker for these candid photo.
“G Men” with Cagney, the studio’s top star at the time, was certainly one of Warner Brothers’ prestige pictures of that year. So Ann’s inclusion in it meant she had, at least temporarily, wrangled her way out of the studio’s dog house?
Temporarily being the key word…
Was it common practice for the studios to have photographers around the set to glean these candid shots? I agree, they are more enjoyable to look at than stills from the films.
This particular photo came from a wire service, so I am guessing one of service’s photographer’s was allowed to visit the set. The studio photographers would also take behind the scenes shots which were officially released, but they are much more stylized than this one. I am guessing Warner Bros. would have never officially released an image like this where the actor’s face is obscured with something!