The Art of Photojournalism: Image of the Month
Dorothy Sebastian, Joan Crawford and Anita Page, Hollywood, September 29th, 1928, probably Ruth Harriet Louise
By Alan Sparrow
This wonderful photograph is of actresses Dorothy Sebastian, Joan Crawford and Anita Page and is from the film Our Dancing Daughters which premiered in September 1928. It carries the by line of Victor Console, a photographer who worked for the Daily Mail based in Paris, but a quick search suggests that this is an image from the MGM studio.
One of those who worked in the studio was Ruth Harriet Louise who built a rapport with Joan Crawford, and it is more likely that she is the photographer.
Louise was the chief photographer at MGM studios from 1925 to 1930 and was Hollywood’s first woman photographer. Crawford considered her a close friend and was a huge fan of her work; by 1928 Crawford had become Louise’s most photographed subject. It is believed that she took over 100,00 images during her tenure at MGM.
Ruth Harriet Louise was replaced by George Hurrell in 1930. It is thought that MGM’s top star at the time, Norma Shearer, preferred the sexier work that Hurrell produced.
The work of Ruth Harriet Louise has been exhibited at major museums such as the National Gallery of Art and The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC and the Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
She died in 1940 due to complications during childbirth, aged 37.
The film, Our Dancing Daughters, was about two women competing for the attentions of one man and was a huge hit for MGM. It is reported that the film earned $757,000 taking $40,000 in the first weekend; overall, the film made a profit of $304,000. Encouraged by its success MGM went on to make two more films in a series , Our Modern Maidens (this time without Dorothy Sebastian) and Our Blushing Brides.
Our Dancing Daughters had no script but a synchronised soundtrack. According to TCM,
’’Crawford had stolen a copy of the screenplay from the studio script department and presented it to producer Hunt Stromberg, begging him for the role. Crawford later said that, Stromberg relented and gave her the part, the script was revised to suit her persona, marking the first time a studio screenwriter wrote especially for her’’.
This was the breakthrough film that began Joan Crawford’s career, and after it her salary doubled.