RUTH HARRIET LOUISE - MGM PHOTOGRAPHER 1925-30

[charliechaplinfan]

One of my great book finds has been a relatively cheap book from Amazon marketplace called Ruth Harriet Lousie and Hollywood Glamour Photography by Robert Dance and Bruce Robertson. Harriet Ruth Louise was born in 1903, the cousin of Carmel Myers and the sister of Mark Sandrich the director of Top Hat. She developed an interest in photography and joined her brother in Hollywood, whilst there LB Mayer saw some pictures she had taken of Carmel Myers in one of her costumes from Ben Hur. He offered her a job taking photographs of MGM stars, she took stills at that studio from 1925-1930 catching Norma Shearer, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Buster Keaton, Lon Chaney in their prime.




A shot of Garbo that is often shown in the vertical but this is how the shot was conceived.



To me it's great both ways.



Another Garbo, she caught Garbo's haunting beauty so well



One of my favorite guys, she caught Buster in many different poses

Just a taster to begin with, it's taken me ages to get this far. I'll post more tomorrow

[silentscreen]

I really like the one of Buster, Alison! It suits him.

Brenda

[charliechaplinfan]

Some more



Anna Sten



More Garbo



Joan Crawford



Buster in homage to Lon

[charliechaplinfan]

Norma Shearer, for some reason she really reminds me of my maternal grandmother in this picture.



Renee Adoree



The beautiful Nina Mae Mckinney





Mary Nolan on the left, not sure who is on the right, any ideas?



Ruth Harriet Louise herself.

[knitwit45]

Wow! did you find a scanner hidden amongst the branches of the Christmas tree ? Thanks for sharing.

[feaito]

Great photographs Alison. Thanks for sharing. Joan Crawford really looked better with thinner lips, they suit her much better.

Nina Mae McKinney was truly beautiful and Garbo looks gorgeous.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've been scouting around on the internet, it's difficult to find pictures of the men she photographed apart from Buster. I will continue looking around.

I love the fashions of the time and the way she photographed her subjects. At this time MGM was a relatively new company only formed in 1924, which had money worries with Ben Hur running so much over schedule. Mayer's idea was to find new talent, he quickly singed Garbo, Joan Crawford had been signed in New York, Norma Shearer was just starting out and Marion Davies home studio was Cosmopolitan which made it's home at MGM. Mayer aimed his films at the women, knowing that they would take their men folk to watch them. To help him do this he promoted the great woman stars, turned them into queens, infiltrated every fashion magazine and picture magazine with their pictures. The women stars advertised clothes both for local and national manufacturers, cosmetics, anything that could be advertised and could bring revenue in was used. Along with the pictures of the female stars came posed stills from the films, in those days the only way of keeping the film fresh in your memory was to buy picture of your favorite star in your favorite picture.

[Ann Harding]

The few portraits of Ruth Harriet I have seen, I have loved. She was one of the few female photographers at the time. Thanks for mentioning this book. I might have a look at the library to see if they got it.

[charliechaplinfan]

I found it quite cheap brand new at Amazon marketplace, a third of the advertised price.

I've been trawling around the internet finding her pictures, I just hope that the veracity of my sources can be trusted.

[charliechaplinfan]

A few more to savour



A medieval looking Eleanor boardman



A very glamourous Joan Crawford



Joan Crawford again in a gorgeous dress.



Another Garbo in fashions of the day

[charliechaplinfan]

Anita Page, very glamourous and a favorite of Ruth's to photograph.



This lady is Sally Starr, not someone who is known to me but is listed on the imdb but made movies in Hollywood through the silent period.



Toby Wing, not an MGM star but a GOldwyn actress, Ruth did some work for Goldwyn after she left MGM in 1930.



A lone male figure in my search for photos by Ruth Harriet Louise, Robert Montgomery looking really fetching.

[charliechaplinfan]

Does anyone know who this might be?

[rudyfan]

She was a fabulous photographer and, among other things, took a series of portraits of the cast of Ben-Hur. She also took some wonderful shots of John Gilbert. Many of the portrait images you find or see are actually cropped down from full length shots. She favored full length portraiture. Her early death was a real loss, IMO.

I have this book, too, it's wonderful.

[Gagman 66]

Alison,

Hi. The girl with the flower is Marceline Day. I colorized this photo many months ago. The other lady is Dorothy Sebastian. Some very nice photos in the thread, some of these I hyave not seen before. If this graphic does not meet the size restrictions here, I am sorry. I have reduced the size significantly as it is. Can't post hardly any photos here as they do not meet the strict and if I may, unrealistic standards.





Marceline Day-"A Flower Fair"

[Gagman 66]

Alison,

I don't know if this is Ruth Harriet Louise or not, but it is an MGM Photo.




William Haines and Marion Davies as Jack and Jill