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situations. And lastly, they were as tough as old boots, giving as good as they got when challenged and demanding respect from those around them. Their stories might hold some lessons for us today. MARGARET BOOTH (1898–2002) Margaret Booth began working with D.W. Grith in 1915 and was the supervising editor for MGM for more than 30 years, supervising up to 50 films a year. Her loy- alty to the studio and her discretion were legendary. Film historian Kevin Brownlow described her in later life as having the manner of an expensive doctor: "Time with her was short and you were grateful for it." Despite her reputation, she was nominated for just one Oscar for "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1936) (she didn't win). But she eventually received a Special Academy Award in 1977 after 62 years in the industry. After her stint with Griffith, Margaret B o o t h j o i n e d L o u i s B. M a y e r 's s t u d i o where she came into direct contact with the director John Stahl and later, after the merger with Metro and Goldwyn, Irving Thalberg ("the greatest man who ever was in pictures"). She credited Stahl as being the person who taught her to cut. She was undoubtedly tough, as she was tapped by Thalberg to work with director E r i c h Vo n S t ro h e i m , t h e i n te m p e ra te director who had, unsurprisingly, a lot of problems working with editors. The technology of the time was ru- dimentary. In the early days, editors cut using negative prints since the labs that generated the positive prints hadn't yet moved out West. Before the introduction of the Moviola in 1924, the cutters cut by hand, without key numbers. "We just looked at it and matched the print with the negative," she later said. "We had no numbers at all — we matched the action.... When I cut silent films, I used to count to myself … to get the rhythm." She thrived under Thalberg but declined his offer to make her a director, saying that she would rather be an editor. After Thalberg's death, Mayer asked her to be supervising editor and to let him know immediately if she saw anything wrong with the pictures under her jurisdiction, particularly concerning how the stars were photographed. It wasn't always smooth sailing. Booth later described how she was bullied by Al Lewin, the associate producer on "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935), who accused her of not using the best material. But she had 26 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E SHOP TALK: Adrienne Fazan confers with "American in Paris" star Gene Kelly.