''Becky Sharp'' is a 1935 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and sw ...

directed by

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. ...

and starring

Miriam Hopkins Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930. Her best-known roles included a pickpocket in Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy '' T ...

who was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. Other supporting cast were William Faversham,

Frances Dee Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. Her first film was the musical ''Playboy of Paris'' (1930). She starred in the film '' An American Tragedy'' (1931). She is also known for starring in the 1943 ...

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...

Billie Burke Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...

, Alison Skipworth,

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock ...

, and

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in Wo ...

. The film is based on the 1899 play of the same name by Langdon Mitchell, which in turn was based on

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

's 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair''. The play was made famous in the late 1890s by actress

Minnie Maddern Fiske Minnie Maddern Fiske (born Marie Augusta Davey; December 19, 1865 – February 15, 1932), but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century. She also spearheaded the fig ...

. The screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh. The film was considered a landmark in cinema as the first feature film to use the newly developed three-strip

production throughout, opening the way for a growing number of

color film Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

s to be made in Britain and the United States in the years leading up to World War II. In 2019, the film was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film recounts the tale of a lower-class girl who insinuates herself into an upper-class family, only to see her life and the lives of those around her destroyed.

Plot

Becky Sharp (

), a socially ambitious young lady, manages to survive during the background years of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's defeat at Waterloo. Becky gradually climbs the British social ladder, overcoming poverty and class distinctions, through her best friend Amelia Sedley (

), praising any rich man who would listen. In her efforts to advance herself, she manages to connect with a number of gentlemen: the Marquis of Steyne (

), Joseph Sedley (

), Rawdon Crawley (

), and George Osborne ( G. P. Huntley Jr), the husband of Amelia. She rises to the top of British society but becomes the scourge of the social circle, offending influential ladies such as Lady Bareacres (

). Sharp falls into the humiliation of singing for her meals in a beer hall, but she never stays down for long. At the end, she cons her last man and finally lands Amelia's brother, Joseph.

Cast

as Becky Sharp *

as Amelia Sedley *

as Marquis of Steyne *

as Lady Bareacres * Alison Skipworth as Miss Crawley *

as Joseph Sedley *

as Rawdon Crawley * G. P. Huntley Jr. as George Osborne *

William Stack William Stack (March 5, 1882 – January 15, 1949) was an American actor who began his acting career in Great Britain. Over the course of his career he appeared in over 50 films in the U.S. and the U.K, including such notable films as Mary of S ...

as Pitt Crawley *

George Hassell George Jefferson Hassell (July 5, 1888 – February 10, 1928) was an American serial killer and mass murderer who killed his wife and eight children (ranging in age between 1 and 21 years old) on December 5, 1926, in Farwell, Texas. He also ...

as Sir Pitt Crawley * William Faversham as

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

* Charles Richman as General Tufto * Doris Lloyd as Duchess of Richmond *

Colin Tapley Colin Edward Livingstone Tapley (7 May 1909 – 1 December 1995) was a New Zealand actor in both American and British films. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictur ...

as William Dobbin * Leonard Mudie as Tarquin * May Beatty as Briggs * Charles Coleman as Bowles * Bunny Beatty as Lady Blanche * Finis Barton as Miss Flowery *

Olaf Hytten Olaf Hytten (3 March 1888 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1955. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, while sitting in his car ...

as The Prince Regent * Pauline Garon as Fifine * James 'Hambone' Robinson as Sedley's page * Elspeth Dudgeon as Miss Pinkerton *

Tempe Pigott Tempe Pigott (2 February 1869 – 6 October 1962) was an Australian silent and sound screen character actress. She was a stage actress in England and Australia, Canada and the United States for a number of years before entering motion pictures. ...

as The Charwoman *

Ottola Nesmith Ottola Nesmith (December 12, 1889 – February 7, 1972) was an American actress who appeared in more than 100 films and television shows. Selected filmography * '' Still Waters'' (1915) - Drasa La Rue * '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' (1918) - Mr ...

as Lady Jane Crawley *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as British Officer (uncredited)

Production

John Hay "Jock" Whitney and

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...

formed

Pioneer Pictures Pioneer Pictures, Inc. was a Hollywood motion picture company, most noted for its early commitment to making color films. Pioneer was initially affiliated with RKO Pictures, whose production facilities in Culver City, California were used by Pio ...

specifically to produce color films, and signed a contract to release Pioneer films through

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. After producing ''

La Cucaracha La Cucaracha ("The Cockroach") is a popular Mexican folk song about a cockroach who cannot walk. The song's origins are unclear, but it dates back at least to the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. The song belongs to the Mexican genre. The s ...

'', ''Becky Sharp'', and ''

Dancing Pirate ''Dancing Pirate'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Corrigan. It is the third film shot in the three strip Technicolor process and the first musical in that format. Produced by the makers of ''Becky Sharp'', the film was ...

'' (1936), the Whitneys and David O. Selznick formed Selznick International Pictures. Two Selznick International films, '' A Star Is Born'' and '' Nothing Sacred'' (both 1937), were produced by Selznick, copyrighted by Pioneer Pictures, and released through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

rather than RKO. Lowell Sherman, the original director, had fallen ill while working on '' Night Life of the Gods'' before starting ''Becky Sharp'', but had continued to work on the project; he died of double

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

four weeks into production. After Sherman's death,

was brought in to finish the film. Mamoulian did not use any of the footage shot by Sherman, deciding instead to reshoot the entire film.

Color development

''Becky Sharp'' was the first feature film to use the three-strip

process, which created a separate film register for each of the three primary colors, for the entirety of the film. Earlier

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

films to use the new Technicolor process for part of the film include the final musical number in the feature '' The Cat and the Fiddle'' released by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in February 1934, and in short sequences filmed for other movies made during 1934, including ''

The House of Rothschild ''The House of Rothschild'' is a 1934 American pre-Code historical drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring George Arliss, Loretta Young and Boris Karloff. It was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the play by George Hembert Westley ...

'' (

Twentieth Century Pictures Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an independent Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Zanuck from Warner Bros. Financial backing came from Sche ...

) with

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

and ''

Kid Millions ''Kid Millions'' (1934) is an American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, and starring Eddie Cantor. Its elaborate "Ice Cream Fantasy Finale" production number was filmed in three-strip Technicolor, one ...

'' (

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

/United Artists) with Eddie Cantor.

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

released two

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

shorts, ''Service with a Smile'' (July 28, 1934) and ''Good Morning, Eve!'' (September 22, 1934), and RKO Pictures released the short ''

'' (August 31, 1934).

Reception

Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'',

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

raved that "colour is everything here" and characterizing its use in the film as "a triumph". Although Greene complained that the Technicolor "plays havoc with the women's faces", leveled criticism at Hopkins for her "indecisive acting", and noted that he had found the film's climax in Bath to be "absurd" and "silly", he described these minor complaints as "ungrateful" and his overall impression was that the film gave "delight to the eye". (reprinted in: )

Awards and honors

Wins *

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

: Best Color Film, Rouben Mamoulian, 1935 Nominations *

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Miriam Hopkins, 1935 * Venice Film Festival: Mussolini Cup, Rouben Mamoulian, 1935

Preservation status

For many years, the original three-color Technicolor version of the film was not available for viewing, though a 16 millimeter version was available. This version had been printed (poorly) on two-color Cinecolor stock which did not accurately reproduce the colors of the original film. The smaller film gauge also resulted in a grainier, inferior image. In the 1980s, the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

restored the film, under the supervision of archivist Robert Gitt. Rouben Mamoulian appeared at the premiere of the restored print at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences theatre in Beverly Hills.

References

External links

* *
''Becky Sharp''
at ''Film Reference'' web site. * *
''Becky Sharp''
on ''Theatre Royal'': July 21, 1954 {{Authority control 1935 films 1930s color films Cultural depictions of George IV American historical drama films 1930s historical drama films American films based on plays Films directed by Rouben Mamoulian RKO Pictures films Films set in Belgium Films set in London Belgium in fiction Films set in England Films set in the 1810s England in fiction Films based on Vanity Fair (novel) Films based on adaptations United States National Film Registry films 1935 drama films Early color films Films about social class Articles containing video clips 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films with screenplays by Francis Edward Faragoh