Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1010570
Russian-born French artist and designer, Romain de Tirtoff, known as "Erte," to help the new studio establish a uniquely sophisticated design style, but after six months with production delays, cost overages and personality conflicts, the working relationship between Erte and MGM came to an end. With the 1925 merger, MGM had inherited Goldwyn Pictures' wildly over-budget production of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which had been shooting in Italy since 1923. This mammoth film had been beset with many delays, cast changes, strikes, riots, set malfunctions and disasters. Louis B. Mayer ordered the production to return to Culver City, presenting Cedric with both a challenge and rare opportunity to prove himself as an effective manager and creative leader. In record time, Cedric and his team designed and built the Circus Maximus chariot set in a nearby field located at the intersection of Washington and La Cienega Avenues. Their solutions included the creation on an ingenious series of in-camera hanging miniatures as set extensions that saved the company time and money, which was always the best way to Mr. Mayer's heart. Ben-Hur would go on to dazzle audiences with its Hollywood wizardry and spectacles, becoming a prestigious success for the newly launched MGM Studios. As a reward for his efforts, Cedric Gibbons was cast in the greatest role of his life, that of the new studio's first Supervising Art Director. Cedric was to become the executive manager and founder of Hollywood's finest Art Department, a creative collective of talents that he preferred to call the "architectural and engineering department" and he remained the master of his dream factory for the next thirty-one years. 1925 was a momentous year for Cedric Gibbons, a year where he secured his promotion at MGM with a future full of possibilities. It was also the year that he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of making the grand tour of Europe. While in Paris, Cedric was amongst the first of his generation of motion picture Art Directors to attend the famous Paris Exhibition where many avante-garde concepts for architecture, interior design, art and fashion were being exhibited for the first time. A. BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST (MGM 1925), THE CIRCUS MAXIMUS' FOREGROUND MINIATURE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. B. A LOW-ANGLE SHOT REVEALING THE MATTE LINE BETWEEN THE ARTICULATED HANGING MINIATURE AND THE BUILT SET AT THE WEST LA LOCATION. A B C D