Irving Thalberg

At 37 years old, Irving Thalberg has this physical status:

Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film director during the early days of motion pictures.

He was known as "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his ability to select scripts, select actors, recruit production staff, and produce profitable films, including Grand Hotel, China Seas, Camille, Mutiny on the Bounty and The Good Earth.

His films carved out a global market, "providing a seductive picture of American life brimming with vitality and deeply embedded in democracy and personal liberty," states biographer Roland Flamini. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died before he reached the age of thirty, but doctors said he would die before he reached the age of thirty.

He worked as a clerk during the day and learned some job skills after graduating from high school.

He started as a secretary with Universal Studios' New York office and then became a studio manager for their Los Angeles facility.

During his three years with the company, he oversaw the production of a hundred films.

Early years

Thalberg was born in Brooklyn, to German Jewish immigrant parents William and Henrietta (Haymann). He was diagnosed with "blue baby syndrome" shortly after birth, which was caused by a congenital disease that restricted the oxygen supply to his heart. The family's doctor and specialists' prediction was that he would live to the age of twenty, or at least to thirty.

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He began experiencing chest pains, dizziness, and exhaustion during his high school days in Brooklyn. This affected his ability to learn, but he was a good student before that time. He had rheumatic fever when he was 17 and was banned from bed for a year. His mother, in order to avoid him from falling behind other students, began teaching him at home. She also hoped that the schoolwork and reading would keep him away from the "tantalizing sounds" of children playing outside his window.

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He read novels as a main hobby because he had nothing to entertain him. He adored popular books, classics, films, and biographies. His books, which were essential, replaced the streets of New York and ignited his fascination with classical philosophy and philosophers, such as William James.

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Thalberg's high school graduation came as he returned to school, but lacked the stamina for college, which he felt would have necessitated regular late-night learning and cramming for exams. Rather, he took part-time jobs as a shop clerk and in the evenings to learn some job skills, and taught himself typing, shorthand, and Spanish at a night vocational school. 5 When he turned 18, he placed an advertisement in the local newspaper in the hopes of finding better jobs: he did not get a job.

Personal life

Thalberg had been romantically involved with Carl Laemmle's daughter, Rosabelle, during his brief time with Universal while living in New York. His feelings against her were no longer present in his early teens and later in Los Angeles, when they were still in his twenties and later spent the majority of his time in Los Angeles. Flamini suspects that this may have influenced his employment at Universal, which may have partially caused his departure from the company. According to Flamini, "The Laemmles wished that Irving would marry Rosabelle." "They wanted their sons to be educated and their daughters to marry well-behaved Jewish boys."

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Thalberg sustained a serious heart attack due to overwork less than a year after he and Mayer took over the newly established MGM studios, and the youngest MGM studios were only twenty-five years old. Mayer was also aware of Thalberg's congenital heart disease and is now worried about the possibility of running MGM without him. Mayer was also worried that one of his daughters would be romantically involved, and he told them so:

Thalberg, who was aware of Mayer's feelings, made it a point of not giving enough attention to his daughters at social events.

Thalberg's most notable feature was his ability to work long hours into the night with no signs of exhaustion. Thalberg, according to Vieira, as long as his mind was fresh in his work and he wasn't bored, he would not get sick. Thalberg, a former wrestler who often got by with just five hours of sleep, found that most people could get by with less than they expected. 74 To maintain his mental capabilities, he may read philosophical books by Bacon, Epictetus, or Kant. "They inspire me." If I didn't read and keep up with latest thinking, I'd be out of sight in a flash, and philosophers are brain sharpeners.

Thalberg was ambivalent about political events in Europe in the early 1930s. Although he feared Nazism and Hitler's assassination, he also feared Communism. Many Americans, including Thalberg, would prefer the former at the time, according to Vieira, "given a choice between communism and fascism."

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He replied that "Hitler and Hitlerism will pass" in Germany when some fear that many Jews will die as a result of Nazi anti-Semitism. "Mr. Thalberg, your own people are being systematically hunted down and rooted out of Germany," Catholic Prince Löwenstein of Germany, who had barely been captured before fleeing Germany, told him. Thalberg said that world Jewry should still not interfere, that the Jewish race would survive Hitler. 310: In Germany, the American film industry was "choked off" within a few years. All American studios closed down in German offices, according to Led by Warner Brothers.

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A few years after he joined MGM, Thalberg began dating actress Norma Shearer. They married in 1927 in the garden of his rented house in Beverly Hills following their conversion to Judaism. Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin presided at the wedding, with Shearer's brother Douglas Shearer giving the bride away and Louis B. Mayer as the best man. The couple travelled to Monterey for their honeymoon and then moved to Beverly Hills, California, where they later renovated their newly constructed home.

Shearer considered quitting films after her second child was born, but Thalberg convinced her that acting would be fun, and she could find her good roles. She went on to be one of MGM's top actresses of the 1930s. Irving Jr. (1930–1987) and Katharine (1935–2006), respectively, were their two children.

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Career as producer

He began working as an office secretary at Universal Pictures' New York office and later became the studio's president and chief, Carl Laemmle. Among Thalberg's duties were transcribing and editing notes that Laemmle had written during film screenings. He earned $25 per week and was an expert at making insightful observations, which delighted Laemmle.

Thalberg came to see his Los Angeles production plant, where he spent a month watching how filmmaking was conducted. Laemmle advised Thalberg to stay and "keep an eye on it for me" when returning to New York. Laemmle returned to California seven months later, partly to see how Thalberg was able to do the jobs he was given. Thalberg gave him suggestions and impressed Laemmle by his ability to comprehend and explain problems.

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"The first thing you should do is create a new position as the studio manager and give him the responsibility of monitoring day-to-day operations," Thalberg suggested. "All right." Laemmle sighed as "all right." "You're it."

In shock, Thalberg replied, "I'm what?"

8 When Laemmle was 19 years old, he was given the opportunity to oversee the Los Angeles studio, which he did in early 1919.

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David Thomson, a film scholar, writes that his new position as studio manager "owed nothing to nepotism, private wealth, or experience in the film industry." Despite "Thalberg's youth, modest education, and frail appearance, he claims he possessed the fire, knowledge, and presence that captivated the film world."

Thalberg was one of the majority of Hollywood film industry workers to migrate from the East Coast, primarily from New York. Some film actors, such as Conrad Nagel, did not like the five-day train ride nor the sudden warmth of the California climate. Marion Davies was not used to such "wide spaces" as a result of such "wide open spaces." 9 Samuel Marx, a close friend of Thalberg's from New York, recalled how quickly Thalberg adapted to Southern California, often standing outside his doorway during moments of contemplation to enjoy the scenery. Buster Keaton, a comedian, said, "We were all young." "The air in California was like wine." Our company was still young and growing like no one had ever seen before.

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As he battled with well-known director Erich von Stroheim over the length of Foolish Wives (1922), he quickly established his tenacity. Roland Flamini's review notes that the film was Universal's most expensive "jewel" ever made, and that its producer and actor, von Stroheim, was pushing the film far beyond budget. Before the studio's working capital was used up, Thalberg, now Universal's general manager, was forced to have the director approve the project quickly.

Flamini describes the situation:: 30

Von Stroheim was welcomed to his office, where he was still wearing his film costume as a Russian Imperial Guard and was escorted by members of his production crew. "I have seen all the movie and you have all you need for the picture," Thalberg calmly told him. "I want you to avoid shooting," Stroheim replied, "But I haven't finished." "You have" replied Thalberg. "You have spent all the money this company can afford." I can't afford you any more.

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Thalberg remarked that the director worked under the producer's name, and it was his job to monitor costs. Von Stroheim, his aides, surrounded by his sons, then confronted Thalberg: "If you were not my master, I would smash you in the chest." "Don't let that stop you," Thalberg said, unflinchingly. 32 "The result was that Thalberg took over editing shortly afterward." From five-and-a-half hours to three hours to von Stroheim's deep dissatisfaction, the uncut footage was reduced to a bare minimum.

Merry-Go-Round (1923), von Stroheim's next film, a similar problem was identified. Despite the fact that he had promised Thalberg to remain within budget this year, the designer continued production until it reached twice the agreed length and was not even close to completion.

Flamini speculates why this happened:

Thalberg summoned von Stroheim to his office, wrote and signed by himself, describing the conditions, and summarily dismissed von Stroheim as of that time. Thalberg's letter cited the reasons as one of the reasons.

According to Flamini, von Stroheim's demise was regarded as a "earthquake in film circles." "It was the first time a director had been shot," producer David O. Selznick said. It took a lot of guts and courage... Von Stroheim was completely indifferent over money, and he may have pushed on and spent millions, but no one to discourage him." 36 Days ago, director Rouben Mamoulian said that the "little fellow at Universal" had "asserted the primacy of the studio over the director" in a single bold stroke and forever changed the balance of control in the film industry.

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Flamini's youth was a point of discussion within the film industry, according to Flamini. Executives from other studios, actors, and film crews often mistook him for a junior employee. "What's the joke?" says movie columnist Louella Parsons, who was first introduced to him.

Where's the new general manager?"

After five minutes of speaking with Thalberg, she later wrote about "Universal's Boy Wonder": "He may be a boy in appearances and age, but not in the senses of dealing with Universal City's intricate politics." "I had hoped for motion-picture creators as big gentlemen smoking oversized cigarettes," 37 novelist Edna Ferber wrote the same way, saying, "I had admired motion-picture makers as gentlemen smoking oversized cigars." But this young man, whose word seemed so definitive at Universal City, captivated me greatly.

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The male actors in the scene had a similar reaction. Lionel Barrymore, a man who was almost twice his age, recalled their meetings:

Thalberg earned the admiration of leading playwrights, some of whom also looked down on him due to his youth. George S. Kaufman, co-author of Dinner at Eight, several Marx Brothers films, and two George Gershwin plays, all arrived in New York to talk with Thalberg. "That man has never written a single word," Groucho Marx told me later, but he's able to tell me exactly what to do with a tale." I didn't know you had people like that out here.

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Norma Shearer, an actor who later married, was stunned after she greeted her at the door and led her to her first job interview: "Then you're not the office guy." She asked. As he sat himself behind his desk, he smiled: "No, Miss Shearer, I'm Irving Thalberg, vice president of the Mayer Company." I'm the one who sent for you.

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Even after leaving Universal to assist in the start of MGM, his younger-than-average age for a studio executive was often mentioned. Agnes Johnson, a screenwriter who worked with Thalberg for years, recalled his contribution during meetings: During meetings, she explained her contribution.

"I go to him if something that reads well in the paper turns out not so good on the screen," he says, and—Henley clicks his fingers—has a cure." He's an amazing performer. 74 76 A 74th assistant producer to Thalberg shares this: "I'm a little late."

His youth contributed to others' open-mindedness to others' theories. Thalberg's general reaction to those he worked with, according to Conrad Nagel, who appeared in several Thalberg films: "Thalberg never raised his voice." He just looked into your eyes, spoke softly, and after a few minutes, he cast a spell on you. "The true foundation of Irving's longevity was his ability to see life through the eyes of any given individual," 74 Studio attorney Edwin Loeb, who also worked to develop AMPAS, explained. He had a gift of compassion and a clear vision. "You looked like you were talking to an Indian savant," producer Walter Wanger said. He could cast a spell on anyone.

According to film critic J. Hoberman, his ability as a producer was enhanced by his "near-miraculous" abilities of concentration. As a result, he was never bored or tired, and he supplemented his spare time with reading for his own amusement, recalling Francis Bacon, Epictetus, and Immanuel Kant as one of his favorite writers.

Thalberg's value has never diminished over three years at the studio, according to biographer Bob Thomas. Universal's photographs improved noticeably, mainly because of Thalberg's "uncanny sense of humor." He tightened his grip on several key aspects of filming, including the requirement that scripts be tightly developed from then on rather than during production. Thomas notes that he also "showed an incredible talent for casting actors, casting them effectively and assisting them in their careers."

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He presented Laemmle with his proposal for a film based on one of his favorite classic tales, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, when he first appeared in film at Universal. Thalberg suggested that it be turned into a spectacle rather than simply a horror movie, which would include a recreation of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Lon Chaney was allowed to play the hunchback. The film was Universal's most lucrative silent film, as well as Chaney's career as a top-flight actor.

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Thalberg had produced over a hundred films, reorganized the studio to give more power to the producers, and had "stopped the defection" of several of their leading actors by giving them better, higher-paying jobs after nearly three years with Universal. He's also produced a number of Universal's prestige films, which made the company profitable. However, he decided that it was time to find a Los Angeles studio more suitable to his talents, and that word was out that he was available.

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Cecil B. DeMille was the first one to hire him, telling Jesse Lasky, "The boy is a genius." I can see it. "I know it," says the author. "Geniuses we have all we need," Lasky said of the recruitment. "46 Thalberg got a letter from Hal Roach, but it was turned down because Thalberg had no expertise with slapstick comedy films." Thalberg was introduced to Louis B. Mayer, president of a small but growing studio in late 1922. Thalberg "made a deep, immediate impression on Mayer at the first meeting," Flamini says. Mayer said to studio attorney Edwin Loeb: "I tell him if he comes to work for me, I'll look after him as if he were my son."

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Though their personalities were in many ways contradictory, Mayer being more outspoken and almost twice the younger man's age, Thalberg was hired as vice president in charge of Louis B. Mayer Productions, despite the fact that they were both younger and younger. "It's impossible to believe anyone that boyish could be so important." Mayer's daughter Irene Mayer Selznick recalled that "it was difficult to believe anyone that boyish could be so important." 47 Thalberg was recruited because, although Mayer was an astute businessman, "what he lacked was Thalberg's almost unerring ability to blend quality with commercial success" to bring artistic aspirations in accordance with the box office's needs." "47 Mayer's firm later merged with two others to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), with the 24-year-old Thalberg being part owner and given the same role as vice president in charge of production." MGM became Hollywood's most profitable studio three years after the merger.

Thalberg oversaw the development of over four hundred films during his twelve years at MGM. Despite the fact that Thalberg and his coworkers at MGM knew he would not live much past the age of 30 due to heart disease, he still loved making films. He continued to produce innovative concepts while also overseeing the majority of MGM's images. MGM produced over 40% more films yearly than Warner Brothers, as well as more than double "Almost every film bore Thalberg's imprint from 1924 to 1936," Mark Vieira wrote.

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According to Vieira, Thalberg's filmmaking methods "broke new ground in filmmaking." Story conferences, sneak peeks, and scene retakes were among MGM's contributions. He authored the Production Code, the first horror films to be followed by every film studio, as well as a set of moral code. Thalberg was a pioneer in the field of stage drama and literary classics, as well as Hollywood films.

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During the Great Depression, MGM became the only movie theater to consistently show a profit during the Great Depression. MGM's triumph, according to 6 Flamini, was dependent on combining actors, a Broadway hit or a well-known classic, as well as high production quality. This combination was described as a "revolutionary step" in the film industry, which had previously assumed that a actor was all that was needed for success, regardless of the story or production quality. Following MGM's example, the other studios began following MGM's lead with the same formula.

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Thalberg's productions were generally controlled by a system. "Thalberg wrote the film on paper, and then the filmmaker directed the film on film," Lawrence Weingarten, one of his assistants who later became a producer."

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Thalberg, a producer and control costs, was generally opposed to location shootings in Asia, where he would not be able to control production and control costs as with Ben Hur. He therefore kept hundreds of back-lot carpenters at work, as he did for fifteenth-century Romeo and Juliet (1936), or with China Seas (1935), to imitate Hong Kong's harbors.

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Vieira points out that Thalberg's "intuitive to Broadway plays" regularly required him to develop and present stories physically. 8 For example, he outlined in detail how he wanted the film to appear on screen for China Seas.

Thalberg wanted to ensure that the desired effects were achieved, so he made sure his cinematographers were considerate in their use of light and shadow. "More than any other designer or studio, Thalberg and MGM modified lenses, filters, and lighting controls to affect the viewer," Vieira claims. "The majority of Thalberg's films contain scenes like this," the filmmaker recalls, transcending mere exposition and giving the viewer something to treasure.

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The majority of the studio was able to assist Thalberg in making these types of creative choices. Weingarten describes it as "a large family." "Anyone, every designer, every plasterer, was raving about it," said the tizzy about the whole concept of picture making.

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MGM made fifty films in 1929, but only five of them made a buck, though none of them were profitable. Hallelujah was also a gamble by Thalberg, one of those that failed. "I'm not positive that it will make a dollar at the box office," King Vidor, the film's producer and director, told Thalberg for the first time, specifically African Americans. "Don't be concerned about that," Thalberg replied. MGM can afford an occasional experiment, as I've told you.

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A number of actors started losing at the box office early in the 1930s, partly due to the Great Depression that was now undermining the economy, as well as the general's ability to invest in entertainment. Thalberg began using two actors in a film rather than one, as had been the case in all studios, including combining Greta Garbo with John Gilbert, Clark Gable with Jean Harlow, and William Powell with Myrna Loy. After struggling with a few such films, including Mata Hari (1931), which were lucrative, he settled on a multi-star production of another Broadway play, Grand Hotel (1932). It had five main actors, including Garbo, Joan Crawford, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Beery. "There was no Grand Hotel in the American imagination before Thalberg," Vieira writes. 7 In 1932, the film received an Oscar for Best Picture. 167 167

Thalberg took a risk with The Great Ziegfeld (1936), costarring Luise Rainer, going against consensus. Despite Louis B. Mayer's decision not to put her in the role, which he felt was too young for a new actor, Thalberg wrote that "only she could play the part." 240 Doubs of Rainer's acting skills emerged in the press just a few years since the shooting began in late 1935. Despite her few appearances in the film, Rainer "so stunned audiences with one particularly emotional scene" that earned the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Thalberg, who won her role in The Great Ziegfeld, wanted her to play a role that was opposite of her older sister's for The Good Earth (1937). She was expected to act entirely submissive to her husband, being huddled in submission for the entirety of the film, and not a word of dialogue. The rainer recalls that Mayer did not approve of the film or her involvement in it: "He was horrified at Irving Thalberg's insistence that I play O-lan, the poor little Chinese peasant." "142 However, she won the Oscar for Best Actress, becoming the first actress to win two consecutive Oscars, a feat not equaled until Katharine Hepburn's two Oscar victories thirty years ago.

Thalberg's actors took on a distinct "look" to MGM films and often reciting well-known tales or plays. According to Flamini, Thalberg wanted his female actors to be "cool, classy, and stunning." He also wanted to make the male actors appear "worldly and in command." Thalberg films and actors were, in general, "luxurious," "glossy," and "technically flawless." "8": "He made actor or boosted actor careers of actors like Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Gilbert, Greta Garbo, Helen Hayes, Jean Harlow, John Harlow, Wallace Beery, Luise Rainer, & Lewis Hayman.

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Greta Garbo, a young Greta Garbo, then twenty-years old and unable to speak any English, was taken over from Sweden at Mayer's request, as she saw how she looked in still photographs in 1925. A Swedish friend hoped to help her by calling Thalberg, who eventually agreed to administer a screen test. "The result of the examination was electrifying," author Frederick Sands says. "The studio arranged to do her teeth, made sure she lost weight, and gave her an English tutor," Thalberg was impressed and began grooming the young actress the following day: "The studio made her teeth straight and announced her weight."

Joan Crawford's debut in MGM was in a Thalberg production, and she became one of the company's leading actresses for the next thirty years. Crawford was somewhat jealous of Norma Shearer because she felt she was given the best stuff by her husband Thalberg out of nepotism. However, she maintained that her MGM contribution was vital to the film industry. "Thalberg was dead, and the suggestion of a 'big' picture took me right out the window," she recalls not long after his early death.

Thalberg also discovered that old stars who few had never heard of could be turned into fresh ones. Marie Dressler, a fifty-year-old early vaindeville and film actress who had appeared in the first feature-length film, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), was unable to get any roles in films after leaving show business for several years and finally serving as a maid. Frances Marion, a MGM screenwriter, told Thalberg that she would do well in a leading role in a new film, and was surprised that she was aware of her previous successes. Thalberg permitted her to use her without a screen test and gave his rationale:

Dressler was the country's top box office celebrity by 1932, just before she died.

Marie Dressler was paired twice in Min and Bill (1930) and Tugboat Annie (1933), with Wallace Beery, another major silent actor who had been struggling to find work in sound pictures before Thalberg cast him. Beery had enjoyed a fruitful silent film career dating back to 1913, but Paramount had dismissed him shortly after sound pictures were released. Thalberg played "Machine Gun Butch," which had been supposed for recently deceased Lon Chaney in The Big House (1930), an exciting prison film that became a big hit. Beery was nominated for an Academy Award for his work, and his MGM burgeoning career made him the studio's highest paid actor in fewer than two years, despite the fact that he received the Oscar for The Champ and the theater had become a burgeoning box office draw as a result of Thalberg's foresight.

MGM had few failures during this period, as well as numerous blockbusters, according to Vieira. Among the reasons were Thalberg's unique method of creating a script during story sessions with writers before filming began, and later giving "sneak previews" followed by audience feedback by written questionnaires. He requested scenes to be reshot a lot of times, as he felt that change was needed. "The difference between something good and something outstanding is often very small," Thalberg said.

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Thalberg said he had his "finger on the pulse of America." "I know what people will do and what they won't do," he said. However, his decision was not always accurate. According to Flamini, Thalberg's bringing Broadway productions to the screen to raise picture quality has occasionally resulted in "studied" actor or "stagey" sets. 6 In 1927, after the successful debut of his first full-length talking picture, The Jazz Singer (1927), he still felt that talking pictures were a fad. Thalberg did not know that black-and-white in movies would replace black-and-white in movies.

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Thalberg refused to make changes when an assistant imagined a love scene in Paris with an ocean background, saying, "We can't cater to a select group of people who know Paris." Thalberg's greatest distraction was his obsession with making his wife Norma Shearer a well-known actress, which culminated in "overblown and overglamous" productions. When he told a colleague producer, "You're behaving like I did with Norma." I knew she would play anything. It's a sort of romantic astigmatism that threatens producers when they fall for an actress.

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When MGM was established, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, one of his first pictures, was inherited and also in production by another studio. Due to the lavish sets and location shooting in Rome, the film was turning into a costly expense, with cost overruns now in the millions. To minimize their losses, most studio executives decided to end the film. Thalberg, on the other hand, felt differently, and that the film would have a huge following in MGM, which would highlight the film as a major new studio.

He therefore deleted a portion of the original film shot in Italy and rebuilt the scene on MGM's back lot in Culver City, which added more million to the overall production but gave him more control over it. For the dramatic chariot race scenes, the new set also included a recreation of Circus Maximus. Flamini adds that Thalberg's "gamble paid off," attracting foreign interest to MGM and Thalberg in the movie industry for his brave move.

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Mutiny on the Bounty was the studio's new most expensive film after Ben Hur, with some now referring to it as "Thalberg's masterpiece." He had trouble convincing Mayer that he could make the film without naming the mutineers' heroes. He did this by turning himself into a hero of the British Royal Navy, whereby the officers and shipmates would then display their mutual admiration from then on. Thalberg also had to convince Clark Gable to take the role against his will. He begged Gable for weeks, eventually promising that "If this isn't one of your best successes, I'll never ask you to play a part you don't like." Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone were the film's other main actors. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Picture. Thalberg was named producer from Frank Capra and was given the award.

Thalberg and studio chief Louis B. Mayer went along well; however, their production philosophys differed. Thalberg adored literary works, while Mayer prefered glitzy crowd-pleasing films. A clash was inevitable, and their friendship became increasingly frosty. Mayer used the situation to replace Thalberg with David O. Selznick and Walter Wanger as he became sick in the final weeks of 1932. Thalberg's fame at the time for working long hours was well-known, and news about his fragile wellbeing had dominated entertainment trade journals. In January 1933, the Hollywood Reporter revived its readership about his illness and raised concerns that he might be compelled to leave the industry despite his young age:

Thalberg recovered enough from his bout with the flu to return to work in 1933, but not as one of MGM's unit designers, with first pick on projects as well as preferential access to all of the studio's facilities, including casting casting. Thalberg's long-term friendship with Nicholas Schenck, the former president of Loew's Incorporated, proved to be a great benefit for him. Since Loew's company was the corporate parent of MGM, Schenck was the true power and supremote of the company, and he continued to do so whenever doubts about projects or production needs arose. Thalberg has continued to produce or coproduce some of MGM's most notable and critically acclaimed ventures in this period, including The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), A Night at the Opera (1935), San Francisco (1936), and Romeo and Juliet (1936).

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