The Art Director

The Art Director

12/11/1949 0h 7m 6.0/10

Overview

A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Director

Otto Lang

Top Billed Cast

Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton

Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Joan Fontaine

Joan Fontaine

Self / Jane Eyre (archive footage) (uncredited)

Ann Harding

Ann Harding

Self - from unidentified film (archive footage) (uncredited)

Ronald Colman

Ronald Colman

Self - from 'Late George Apley' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Rita Johnson

Rita Johnson

Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

7/15/2025

6/10

This is quite an interesting short feature that spotlights the creative skills of the art director. Often creating the scenario from scratch, and equipped with a considerable knowledge of the styles of halcyon days as well as an imagination for what might be yet to come, this person has to create detailed sketches from which extensive and obviously expensive sets are built. It’s an integrated position that sees those with lighting and photography roles playing a complementary part in delivering the raw structure from which the director and the actors work to create the bright and airy or the dark and gloomy. It illustrates many of these talents using archive footage from previous films and even suggests that these designs inspire household furnishings and layouts, too.

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