Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512164
A. CENTRAL PARK STAGE SET FROM A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. MGM, 1935. B. LA TROUVERE SET IN OPERA HOUSE ON STAGE 6 FROM A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. MGM, 1935. C. PAINT DECK, SCENIC PAINT DEPARTMENT, MGM (CIRCA 1940'S. and crew. Ben was amazed to see how MGM's Art Department had evolved. There were draftsmen, set dressers, prop men—all doing the things that he was accustomed to doing by himself. Many of the crew heads at MGM were old-timers from Fort Lee and knew Ben well so he felt very supported and appreciated. Designing for the picture's stunts and gags was challenging because many of the props and choregraphed gag sequences needed to be engineered. The picture's screenwriter, George S. Kaufman, was a very intimidating presence on the lot, but he respected Ben's talent for problem solving, a trait that had served him well throughout his career. A big problem was that no one could figure out how to end the picture and ultimately it was Ben's staging suggestions that successfully solved the final stunt and madcap chase sequences in the picture's opera house. Ben broke down the working script and made his preliminary set sketches. He started going through the studios' scene dock and backlot looking for set pieces and locations that could help save the studio time and money. This was the standard way that all unit art directors at the studios functioned. Ben created his budget estimates for the sets and then went to see the studio manager, Joe Cohn, another veteran from Fort Lee. Ben estimated that the sets would cost $60,000. Chewing on his cigar, Cohn said, "NO! All you can spend is $30,000!" Cohn was playing the poker hand typical of all money managers at the studios. Fortunately, the script's many revisions and the picture's shooting delays ran the final budget up much higher than Ben's original projections. Still every time that Ben submitted a new budget for Cohn's approval, he would get the same lecture, "Carré, you know that you are way over budget already!" MGM Builds a New Scenic Paint Department 1937 In 1937, Ben received yet another phone call from Cedric Gibbons, but this time informing him that MGM was reimagining its scenic paint department. Now releasing a feature film every week, the studio needed to create backdrops on an industrial scale and schedule. They were building a new state-of-the-art scenic paint building and they had hired Scenic Artist George Gibson to manage the department. Cedric asked if Ben would consider working as MGM's new lead Scenic Designer and Artist. Ben now 54, was at a point in his life where he was searching for stability and continuity after thirty-one years of working as a migrant freelance Art Director. A B C