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Claudette Colbert: James Robert Parish Discusses the Legendary Paramount

Those who remember — or who have heard of — Claudette Colbert picture a woman raising her skirt so as to get a ride in
Frank Capra’s 1934 Academy Award-winning comedy It Happened One Night (above, with Clark Gable).

Colbert, however, could get her way without having to resort to displaying her ankle to some
poor, unaware driver. In fact, during her nearly three decades as a film star — a superstar during
more than half of that period — Colbert almost invariably got her way in both dramas and
comedies, in modern dress and in period clothes. All she needed to do was raise a knowing
eyebrow, open a shiny-white smile, or bathe naked in a pool filled with asses’ milk.*

On screen, Colbert could be funny, heartbreaking, witty, dazed and confused, sophisticated,
bourgeois, sexless, sexy. On the set of her films, she could be the perfect diva, making demands
on how she should be lit and how she should be photographed. (According to cinematographer
Joseph August, Capra and Colbert "ended up hating each other" after working together in the
actress’ only silent film, For the Love of Mike. Things didn’t improve any during the shooting of
their second joint effort, It Happened One Night.)

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But — at least on screen — Colbert couldn’t be one thing: phony. Indeed, the vast majority of her performances hold up
remarkably well, whether because of her Broadway training or simply because the actress had what it takes to behave naturally in
front of the camera. Despite the elaborate coiffures, the glamorous gowns, and the penciled eyebrows, Colbert exuded freshness at
a time when so many performers — both male and female, stage-trained or not — believed that film acting meant posing and
declaiming.

James Robert Parish, author of The RKO Gals, Fiasco: A History of Hollywood’s Iconic Flops, and It’s Good
to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks, among dozens of other titles, has agreed to answer a few
questions about Claudette Colbert. Jim — I’ve known him for years — has been doing research on Colbert’s life for a book
project.

* Thank you, Mark Vieira, for reminding me that Colbert milked asses — not goats — for her bath in The Sign of the Cross.

Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra: Henry Wilcoxon doesn’t want to lend any of his pretty golden bracelets to Claudette Colbert, but
the actress is not about to give up.

You’ve been planning for some time a biography of Claudette Colbert. How
did you become interested in Colbert’s life story?

As a very young teenager, I saw several of Claudette Colbert’s films on TV and was fascinated by
her verve, throaty voice, attractiveness, and acting versatility — whether drama, comedy, or just a
"personality" performance. Later, I saw several of her stage vehicles: In pre-Broadway tryout, on
Broadway, and on tour, ranging from The Marriage-Go-Round in 1958 to Aren’t We All in 1985.
On stage, she proved just how superior a (light) comedienne she was, and her energy/presence was
truly captivating — no matter how slight the play. Over these years, I became very intrigued with
what made her "tick."

Would you say there’s something that distinguishes Claudette Colbert from
the other screwball comediennes of the 1930s — Jean Arthur, Irene Dunne, Myrna Loy, Carole Lombard?
And if so, how would you define that special "it" that Colbert possessed?

Colbert had a beguiling mixture of sophistication and "down-to-earthiness," and she was able to call upon this blend when on
camera, whether the scene called for her to be funny, poignant, or romantic. She possessed an undeniable Continental flair — due
to her French background — that set her apart from the very American Arthur, Dunne, Loy, and Lombard. Then too, unlike her
screen comedy rivals, Colbert won an Oscar for starring in a screwball comedy (It Happened One Night in 1934). [Colbert
received two other Academy Award nominations: In 1935 for Private Worlds and in 1944 for Since You Went Away.]

In his autobiography, director Frank Capra fired off quite a few complaints
about Claudette Colbert. How have her other directors — and co-stars —
described working with her?

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Contrary to her public image of being gracious and ladylike, Colbert was a determined show
business trouper who could be exceedingly tough on fellow performers/technicians who did not meet
her particular standards of professionalism. When displeased, she could swear like a sailor. She was
also a shrewd businessperson who negotiated very favorable terms for doing her screen projects.
Moreover, she was quite stubborn about how she was to be presented on screen — whether it be her
trademark bangs hairstyle, the better side of her face that should be featured in movie scenes, or how
she should be costumed for filming.

As she famously said about her word being final in matters concerning her professional activities:
“I’ve been in the Claudette Colbert business a long time.”

Claudette Colbert was the top female Paramount star for nearly a decade, from
the mid-1930s to the early 1940s. Did she always have first choice of roles at
the studio, or did she have to fight with fellow Paramountie Carole Lombard for the cream-of-the-crop
projects?

Just as it was true at other studios, emerging leading ladies at Paramount got typed in particular roles: in the early 1930s at that
film lot, soulful Sylvia Sidney handled many of the heavy dramas — especially when it involved a proletarian heroine;
tomboyish Carole Lombard played down-to-earth ladies, Marlene Dietrich was the Continental sophisticate; and Colbert was
typically the bright beauty who nearly always seemed smarter than her leading man or the script’s other characters.

There were several occasions when due to filming schedules and/or producer/director
preference, other talent had been wanted for a role first (e.g., Columbia’s It Happened
One Night, 20th Century-Fox’s Under Two Flags [left, with Ronald Colman], and
Paramount’s Zaza). However, Colbert was considered so distinctive and versatile that
Paramount usually built vehicles expressly for her. And because she loved to work (and
even more so loved the high salary she was paid) the film lot kept her constantly busy.

A follow-up to the previous question: Which roles did Claudette Colbert

Colbert knew her limitations (because of her sophisticated look and being French-born),
so, once a star, she stayed away from seeking parts that would be too far afield from her
screen type. Noticeably, she was one of the few actresses in late-1930s Hollywood who
did not seek the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind despite the fact that she was a great favorite and personal friend of
GWTW producer David O. Selznick.

A few years later, Selznick offered Colbert a huge salary to star in his life-on-the-homefront World War II saga, Since You Went
Away. She couldn’t resist the hefty fee, but lived to regret the decision, because the set of that picture was so strife-torn — with
married Selznick pursuing married young leading lady Jennifer Jones, who played Colbert’s daughter in the film. [Jones was
then married to actor Robert Walker, who plays her soldier boyfriend in Since You Went Away. She later divorced Walker and
married Selznick.]

Charles Laughton (as Nero), Claudette Colbert, and Fredric March in Cecil B. DeMille’s (unintentionally) funny 1932 Ancient

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Rome romp The Sign of the Cross.

Whenever people think of Claudette Colbert, they think of "It Happened One Night." Whenever I think
of Claudette Colbert, I think of "The Sign of the Cross," "Midnight," and "Since You Went Away." How
did she get involved in those four films? Did she have anything to say about them later on?

Paramount’s Cecil B. DeMille was struck by Colbert’s beauty, wit, and sophistication, which made her ideal to play the
decadent Empress Poppaea in The Sign of the Cross. (Besides, she was already under Paramount contract.) Her performance in that
epic was the first of three pictures — including Cleopatra in 1934 — she made with DeMille. She acknowledged that working in
DeMille vehicles did much to elevate her from the actress pack, and helped to make her a top Hollywood star. [The third
DeMille-Colbert collaboration was the over-the-top adventure-comedy-melodrama Four Frightened People, also released in 1934.]

Many actresses had been wanted for It Happened One Night, including Myrna Loy, Margaret Sullavan, and
Constance Bennett. Many refused, but Colbert finally accepted the assignment — not because she had great faith in the
project but because she was able to negotiate a highly favorable loan-out salary (and she had already worked with director Frank
Capra in For the Love of Mike — her 1927 screen debut). Colbert always was amazed that such a little picture as It Happened
One Night could bring her and the film such enduring tributes.

Midnight (1939) was originally planned to star Marlene Dietrich, but she was on her way out of Paramount by the time it was
filmed. Colbert was a natural replacement choice for this chic comedy set in Paris, and she found working with director Mitchell
Leisen a felicitous experience.

As noted above, David O. Selznick used his friendship with Colbert — and offering her a hefty fee ($265,000) — to gain her
participation in Since You Went Away.

Claudette Colbert’s stardom fizzled in the early 1950s. Apart from the fact that she was then in her
early 50s, that the studios’ contract players were being let go, and that female moviegoers were staying
home to watch "I Love Lucy" — did Colbert fail to do something that would have kept her film stardom
afloat?

Colbert was born in 1901 [older sources said 1905; new sources say 1903; Jim has confirmed it’s 1901] and by the time of The
Texas Lady in 1955 she was in her mid-50s. Although she remained strikingly attractive and retained a youthful figure, she was
smart enough to know that in the fast-changing Hollywood — where the studio system was dying — her screen stardom days were
over. Most of her contemporaries (e.g., Carole Lombard, Sylvia Sidney, Marlene Dietrich, Kay Francis, Jean
Arthur, Irene Dunne) were either dead, retired, or had migrated to TV work (as did Colbert in the 1950s).

With her film stardom behind her, Claudette Colbert returned to the
stage. What was that like for her? Did she miss Hollywood, or was she
content with being back on Broadway?

Colbert had always adored performing on the stage and wisely decided to return to
Broadway where she knew her age would not rule out starring vehicles. The relocation to
Manhattan (while her husband Dr. Joel Pressman remained in Los Angeles) suited her
strong desire to participate in the chic New York social scene, and to enjoy life in the
metropolis where she had grown up. In New York — out of the Hollywood media glare —
she was much freer to live life on her own terms.

[Photo right: Stephen Collins and Claudette Colbert in the 1987 TV miniseries The
Two Mrs. Grenvilles, for which she won a best supporting actress Golden Globe and an
Emmy nomination. On his website, Collins says, "It was a rare treat and honor to work
with Claudette. This was her first appearance on film in over twenty years. She was an
amazing pro, a great dame, and always showed up to work — even at 5AM — with
perfectly done makeup and her hair coiffed and camera-ready. No one ever saw her in
curlers. Legendary hairdresser Sydney Guillaroff did her hair, as well as
Ann-Margret’s. Sometimes, he’d even fix mine." Photo © NBC]

There have been many rumors about Claudette Colbert having been a lesbian whose marriage was one for
appearances’ sake. Is there anything you can tell us about that matter?

Much of that will be saved for the book. However, her marriages were rather "unique." She and her first husband, film actor/director
Norman Foster, lived apart, never sharing a home together in Hollywood. Instead, Colbert chose to live with her domineering

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mother in Los Angeles.

From 1935 until his death in 1968, Dr. Joel Pressman was Colbert’s spouse. His main duty in their childless marriage was to be her
social companion at industry/social events. By the mid-1950s, when Colbert relocated to New York City (and then to her estate in
Barbados) she and Pressman lived essentially apart. Over the years, Claudette had several close women friends.

Claudette Colbert gets some much needed rest in So Proudly We Hail, the story of World War II nurses working under
life-threatening circumstances. John Litel is the only man in the photo. Academy Award-nominated Paulette Goddard (as best
supporting actress) is the third one from the right.

And finally, which ones of Claudette Colbert’s films and performances would you, personally, list as
her best?

There are several Colbert performances I especially admire, including the 1935 comedy The Gilded Lily and the 1943 battlefront
drama So Proudly We Hail (above). One of my particularly favorite Colbert performances is in the World War II drama Arise, My
Love, directed by Mitchell Leisen. In this patriotic yarn co-starring Ray Milland, Colbert has solid opportunities to display a
range of her talents: light comedy, romance, and action.

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