If a cinemagoer were transported back to a time a century ago, they would inevitably notice the absence of two fundamental elements that modern audiences take for granted: sound and colour. Yet, within a mere decade of that century's turn, both had arrived, albeit with vastly different trajectories. Sound was the vanguard, replacing silent cinema with a brutal determination that seized the industry's attention within a few short years. Colour, however, was a more reluctant guest. It infiltrated the medium gradually over decades, often clunky and experimental, eventually becoming the standard. This uneven evolution of visual technology offers a crucial context for understanding the legacy of Becky Sharp, the 1935 historical drama directed by Ruben Mamoulian. Released only eight years after the watershed moment of The Jazz Singer (1927), and widely regarded as the first "proper" feature film in colour, it is a fascinating, if somewhat understated, footnote in cinematic history—a film that achieved technical breakthroughs while struggling to secure the enduring iconic status of its sound counterpart.
The film’s pedigree is steeped in literary tradition, tracing its origins back to William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 satirical novel, Vanity Fair. This magnum opus of English literature was adapted for the stage by the American writer Langdon Mitchell in 1899. Becky Sharp is essentially the cinematic translation of Mitchell’s play, meaning the screenplay was already steeped in theatrical conventions before it ever reached the screen. The plot is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, a period of geopolitical chaos that provides a suitably volatile stage for the protagonist’s ascent. At the centre of this maelstrom is the titular character, portrayed with biting cynicism by Miriam Hopkins. Becky is an orphaned daughter of an English art teacher and a French dancer. The narrative commences at Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies, where Becky befriends Amelia Sedley, played by Frances Dee. Amelia represents the virtuous, though somewhat dense, woman from a relatively well-off middle-class family. Becky, however, observes her surroundings with a cold, calculating eye, acutely aware of her own precarious financial situation. Her salvation arrives in the form of Amelia’s brother, Joseph Sedley (Nigel Bruce). Though Joseph is a portly, somewhat unappealing figure, Becky successfully manipulates his affections to secure a position as a governess, a stepping stone that allows her to gradually climb the treacherous ladder of English high society.
As the story progresses, Becky’s trajectory becomes a study in ruthless pragmatism. She marries Rawdon Crawley (Alan Mowbray), a British Army officer only to see her husband abandon her with significant debts when he departs to fight Napoleon. Becky’s ascent is marked by scandal and opportunism, most notably her attempt to ingratiate herself with the wealthy Marquess of Steyne (Cedric Hardwicke). Rawdon eventually uncovers her duplicity and leaves her. Becky’s fall is dramatic; following Rawdon’s departure, she is left destitute and forced to perform in beer halls to make ends meet. The cycle of fortune and misfortune closes with her rescue—once again—by the still besotted Joseph Sedley.
Technically, Becky Sharp was a monumental achievement, pioneering the use of three-strip Technicolor. While colour cinematography had been experimented with in previous decades, it was typically confined to obscure, complicated, and exorbitantly expensive methods, the most famous of which was the two-strip process. Pioneer Pictures, a studio founded specifically with the aim of making colour films, took the gamble on this new technology. Becky Sharp became the first feature-length film to utilise three-strip Technicolor, a process that would dominate Hollywood and British cinema for the next few decades. This technological leap, however, came at a physical cost. The new cameras, makeup requirements, and lighting setups necessary for the process created an unbearably hot environment in the studios, which proved fatal for the film’s original director, Lowell Sherman. It is widely believed that the grueling conditions weakened his health, leading to pneumonia that claimed his life before production could be completed. Ruben Mamoulian, who was brought in to replace Sherman, was a director both experienced in the nascent sound era and steeped in the traditions of the theatre. Mamoulian began his career in actual cinema rather than on the stage, but his background served him well as an enthusiastic adopter of new technology. He famously reshot all of the footage shot by Sherman to ensure his own directorial vision, and it was his touch that shaped the film's final aesthetic.
At least on a superficial level, the result is impressive by mid-1930s Hollywood standards. Mamoulian possessed an intuitive understanding of the potential of colour, using it not merely as decoration but as a narrative tool. His direction shines brightest in the famous sequence depicting the Duchess of Richmond’s ball at the eve of Battle of Waterloo. Mamoulian plays masterfully with the visual elements of the scene— depicting the glow of fire on the horizon and the striking bright red of the British Army uniforms against the shifting background. It is a moment of visual poetry that validates the immense effort put into the production, offering a glimpse of the future of the medium that cinema would soon embrace.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film does not sustain this level of sophistication. While Miriam Hopkins delivers a vivacious and delightfully rebellious performance, successfully portraying a character who disdainfully exploits the men around her, her efforts are often thwarted by the script itself. The plot is episodic in nature, lacking the cohesive narrative drive of a great novel. The dialogue is frequently stilted and bad, feeling heavy-handed and lacking the naturalism that sound cinema had already begun to master. Furthermore, the supporting cast, despite featuring British acting giants like Cedric Hardwicke and genuine Hollywood stars like Frances Dee, largely fails to leave a lasting impression. Frances Dee, in particular, is utterly forgettable in her role as the virtuous Amelia, failing to generate the empathy required to make the audience care about her plight. The only actor who generates any genuine chemistry is Nigel Bruce as Joseph Sedley, whose buffoonish admiring role provides the film with its only consistent source of grounded humanity.
Another issue that would immediately strike a contemporary viewer is the sheer heaviness of the makeup. It renders the actors' faces looking like masks, adding an extra layer of artificiality that makes the film feel "stagey." This was largely a consequence of Hollywood still experimenting to determine whether techniques that were acceptable, or even necessary, in black-and-white films would translate effectively to colour. Without the tonal gradations of monochrome to hide uneven skin tones and flawed complexion, early Technicolor required performers to wear makeup that was both heavy and highly pigmented to ensure the colours would register correctly on the film stock.
Despite these flaws, Becky Sharp enjoyed a degree of commercial success, proving that colour could be a viable commercial product for audiences. However, the sensation it caused failed to rival the seismic impact of The Jazz Singer. Pioneer Pictures continued to push the boundaries of colour production and soon became involved with George Selznick, the producer who would go on to create Gone with the Wind. That film, arguably the most iconic and famous colour production of the 1930s, would eclipse Becky Sharp in the public consciousness.
Ultimately, Becky Sharpis a solid, by-the-books work of Classic Hollywood, but it is a film that ultimately can only be recommended to the most hardcore cinema history buffs. It is a fascinating document of technical innovation and a brave experiment that paved the way for the Technicolor dominance of the Golden Age, but as a piece of pure entertainment, it remains a flawed and uneven experience.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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