Back in the Golden Age of Hollywood, stars like Jean Harlow and Grace Kelly graced movie screens looking every bit as glamorous as you’d expect. And these candid photos prove that the style icons from yesteryear were just as fabulous when they were in-between takes on set.
1928: Clara Bow
Iconic 1920s film star Clara Bow is joined on the set of her film The Fleet’s In by actor Richard Arlen and his dog, Scotty.
1931: Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow rests on a dolly between shots on the set of The Beast of the City.
1932: Bette Davis and Joan Blondell
Bette Davis (right) smiles next to her costar, Joan Blondell, during a beach shoot for their movie Three on a Match in 1932.
1932: Lilian Harvey
Lilian Harvey strikes a pose on set in 1932. She starred alongside Cicely Courtneidge in Happy Ever After and mostly worked on German films (her father was German, while her mother was English).
1936: Mae West
Mae West meets with director Raoul Walsh before shooting a scene for her 1936 film Klondike Annie.
1936: Shirley Temple
Eight-year-old child actress, Shirley Temple, takes a break during a busy day of filming. The actress starred in films like Heidi and The Little Princess throughout out her career and started in the industry at the age of three.
1936: Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich takes a smoke break while wearing a turban for her role in The Garden of Allah.
1941: Bette Davis
Bette Davis sinks her feet into the sand as she takes a break while filming a scene in Death Valley, California for The Bridge Came C.O.D. in 1941. The actress wasn’t exactly dressed appropriately for the beach in her fur-trimmed jacket.
1942: Joan Crawford
While on set for Possessed, Joan Crawford listens to notes from director Curtis Bernhardt. A clear sign the actress is in-between takes? The knitting needles in her hand, a hobby she enjoyed whenever she had free time on set.
1947: Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles
On the brink of divorce, Rita Hayworth joins her director husband on the Columbia Pictures set of their latest movie: The Lady from Shanghai. The couple was granted a divorce shortly after, which took a year to finalize, after being together for four years.
1948: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall leans on the shoulder of her husband and costar, Humphrey Bogart, while waiting on the set of their film Key Largo. After meeting on the set of To Have and Have Not, this was the couple’s third collaboration.
1948: Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli
A 2-year-old Liza Minnelli visits her mother, Judy Garland, on the set of Words and Music in 1948.
1950: Grace Kelly
As a young actress, Grace Kelly dons a nurses outfit for an episode of CBS’s anthology series Studio One in Hollywood in 1950. The actress and future Princess of Monaco would move on to starring in films.
1951: Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh
Costars Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh chat during a break from filming A Streetcar Named Desire. Method actor Brando was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Stanley Kowalski, but has said revealed he detested playing the character.
1952: Lana Turner
Lana Turner pays a visit to the makeup chair to get done up for her scene in The Bad and the Beautiful in 1952.
1952: Vera-Ellen and Nancy Davis Reagan
While on the set of The Belle of New York, dancer and actress Vera-Ellen chats with future First Lady Nancy Reagan, while watching Fred Astaire dance during a take.
1953: Grace Kelly
During a break, Grace Kelly takes a nap in the sun on the set of Mogambo, a movie she starred in alongside Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.
1953: Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, and Marilyn Monroe
The trio of stars from 20th Century Fox’s film How to Marry a Millionaire take a break during filming to touch up their hair and makeup.
1953: Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe’s famous platinum blonde curls are tended to by someone in the makeup department, while the actress films a scene for How to Marry a Millionaire.
1954: Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby
Rosemary Clooney catches up with her costar, Bing Crosby, who’s casually reclining in a director’s chair, in-between filming scenes for White Christmas.
1955: Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor applies her own makeup, a skill the star was known for on her movie sets, on the set of Giant in 1955.
1955: Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock
Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock joins his leading lady, Grace Kelly, for tea on the set of To Catch a Thief.
1955: Natalie Wood and James Dean
Child star Natalie Wood goofs around with her costar, James Dean, while on the set of Rebel Without a Cause.
1956: Audrey Hepburn
While in character filming the movie War and Peace in 1956, Audrey Hepburn sketches on a notepad. The actress starred alongside her husband, Mel Ferrer.
1956: Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall and costar Gregory Peck pose by the pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel, where they filmed their 1957 film Designing Woman.
1957: Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner sits back and relaxes with a Coca-Cola while on the set of her film The Sun Also Rises, which she shot in France and Spain.
1957: Jayne Mansfield and Joan Collins
Jayne Mansfield and Joan Collins pop out of a trailer on the set of their film, The Wayward Bus, in 1957. The film was an adaption of John Steinbeck’s novel and was one of Mansfield’s first major roles in film.
1960: Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda chats with her Tall Story costar, Anthony Perkins, while the two take a coffee break on the Warner Bros. set.
1960: Janet Leigh
Psycho actress Janet Leigh touches up her makeup in-between scenes on the set of the classic thriller movie.
1960: Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren takes a break from filming in 1960. For A Breath of Scandal, the Italian actress donned a full length ball gown, elbow-length gloves, and a tiara.
1961: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Eddie Fisher
Elizabeth Taylor sits on her husband Eddie Fisher’s lap while he visits her on the set of Cleopatra in Rome. The couple are seen talking to Taylor’s costar, Richard Burton, whom the actress would eventually leave Fisher to marry.
1962: Catherine Deneuve
French actress Catherine Deneuve is seen filming the famous wedding scene in Roger Vadim’s movie Vice and Virtue. Vadim, a well-known French director, was involved with the actress at the time. The two eventually split and Vadim married Jane Fonda a year later.
1963: Tippi Hedren
Clad in an olive green suit and pearls, Tippi Hedren poses on the set of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. The actress worked with the famous director on both the 1963 thriller and Marnie a year later, but recalls their professional career ending after she refuted his sexual advances.
1963: Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda touches up her lipstick on the set of Sunday in New York.
1963: Brigitte Bardot
Iconic French actress, Brigitte Bardot, makes sure her signature blonde bouffant was just right before shooting a scene for Le Mepris.
1965: Audrey Hepburn
Sporting a fashionable, short beehive, Audrey Hepburn enjoys a quiet moment on set in 1965.
1966: Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood is descended upon by a team of makeup and hairstylists, who were tasked with touching the actress up on the set of The Property is Condemned.
1966: Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress is photographed on the set of Casino Royale. The Swiss actress was the “It” girl of the moment.
1968: Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow preps before a scene for Rosemary’s Baby. The burgeoning actress, and wife of Frank Sinatra at the time, won the Academy Award for her role in the 1968 film.
1968: Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway shares a laugh with director Vittorio de Sica on the set of A Place for Lovers, which was shot on location in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Alps.
1968: Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards
On the set of Darling Lilies director Blake Edwards shares a magazine with his future wife, and lead actress of the film, Julie Andrews.
1969: Sharon Tate
A pregnant Sharon Tate is photographed in hair and makeup while filming her final film 12 + 1.
1971: Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch kicks a ball around in a Chelsea soccer uniform while filming Hannie Caulder in Arizona.
1977: Katharine Ross and Michael Caine
Actress Katharine Ross sits on the sidelines with costar Michael Caine as they film the disaster movie The Swarm on location in 1977.
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