It is rare for a film's art direction to drive its publicity. But a syndicated headline appeared in papers across the country on March 7, 1936 that read, "Balcony Scene Will Be Gorgeous in Romeo and Juliet." While the article praised the beauty of the design, it paid most attention to the scope of the MGM's new film.

Romeo and Juliet (1936) was shot on the world's largest sound stage at that time. The Capulet castle and garden from the famed balcony scene covered 52,000 square feet. Though art director Cedric Gibbons objected, director George Cukor brought in Oliver Messel from England as a design consultant for the elaborate sets and costumes.

Gibbons, head of the MGM art department for over thirty years, is another Hollywood rarity - an art director whose name the public recognized. As MGM's Supervising Art Director, Gibbons accumulated 1500 screen credits over his career. In fact, when the studio was formed in 1924, Gibbons already had a decade of art direction behind him. Gibbon's name appears on projects that range from Greed (1924) and A Night at the Opera (1935) to The Wizard of Oz (1939) and An American in Paris (1951). Some question Gibbon's actual hands-on involvement in the design process. He did, as stipulated by his contract, receive design credit for almost every film produced at MGM during his time there (an impossible 70 plus films a year). Others point out Gibbon's total control over design decisions, personnel and overall vision that colored every film whether he ever picked up a pen or not.

Regardless, Cedric Gibbon's legacy in Hollywood cannot be overlooked. Married to actress Dolores Del Rio, Gibbons was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He even designed the Oscar statue, which he won 11 times. He was nominated a total of 39 times, including his shared Oscar® nomination for Best Art Direction on Romeo and Juliet.

Director: George Cukor
Producer: Irving Thalberg
Screenplay: Talbot Jennings (based on the play by William Shakespeare)
Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Editing: Margaret Booth
Music: Herbert Stothart
Cast: Norma Shearer (Juliet), Leslie Howard (Romeo), John Barrymore (Mercutio), Edna May Oliver (Juliet's Nurse), Basil Rathbone (Tybalt), C. Aubrey Smith (Lord Capulet), Andy Devine (Peter), Conway Tearle (Escalus), Ralph Forbes (Paris).
BW-125m. Closed captioning. Descriptive Video.

by Stephanie Thames