Vivien Leigh by Anne Edwards

Author:Anne Edwards
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781589797864
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing

With Larry in Paris, Vivien was her gay, witty old self. Then, after he left to return to London, she became quiet and withdrawn. The days were spent listening to Duff Cooper read stories by Elizabeth Bowen in a dry, slow, and rather sad voice while outside there was a forlorn, melting snowscape.

By May they were in production at Shepperton with Anna Karenina, bathed in a premature heat wave during which all the cast members wore furs and trudged through ersatz snow while prop men nailed icicles on the windows. Vivien became depressed and somewhat difficult as the strain of picture making began. She nagged and complained to Beaton that her gloves were too small. Finally, piqued to the point of exasperation, he turned on her. “It’s not that the gloves are too small”—he glared—“but that your hands are too big.”

According to Beaton, the difficulties were becoming overwhelming and absorbing. One morning he went into her dressing room confident that he would find her in a great stage of elation, for it had just been announced that Larry was to be knighted.

I open the door [Beaton writes]. “Oh, I’m so happy for you about the great news!” A face of fury is reflected in the mirror. “Really, it’s too stupid! Would you believe it—the dressmaker from Paris was waiting at her hotel the entire day yesterday and the studio forgot to order a car for her. Really—I’ve never worked on such a film as this!” Later Vivien instructs me: “Please tell Clarissa how to behave when she brings journalists on the set. I don’t want them turned off, but I want to have them announced first and presented.” When the message is relayed to Clarissa, she has already received it from half a dozen other sources.

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