Film couple

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As a film pair (also: screen couple ., Eng screen couple ) is called in the film two actors , which are used for several film productions away as the lead pair and characteristic as a pair interaction patterns develop that are recognizable to the public from film to film. The term is sometimes used equally for corresponding couples in the cinema and on television.

General

Usually the term describes a mixed-gender actor couple whose characters in the film plot are love partners or become love partners. In addition, however, same-sex couples also occur; their screen partnership usually has no sexual character.

So-called dream couples

Particularly widespread were screen couples under the terms of the star system of Hollywood , where the studios were trying to establish a female and a male actor on targeted publicity as branded products. This usually included a corresponding image, which found its equivalent in the scripts for the respective films in which the screen couple appeared. The image of the individual pairs differed considerably, so that some screen pairings brought their productions onto the market parallel to one another, without being displaced. The popular couple Vilma Bánky / Ronald Colman , who were under contract with Samuel Goldwyn , specialized in romantic adventure films between 1925 and 1928, which were set in distant lands against an exotic backdrop. A short time later, the rival studio MGM launched a couple with Greta Garbo / John Gilbert , whose films mostly portrayed tragic love stories. In contrast, the Fox Film Corporation built a duo with Janet Gaynor / Charles Farrell , which deliberately appeared in rather harmlessly cheerful romances and earned the couple the title America's Favorite Lovebirds .

Most screen pairs usually only established themselves after the positive response from the audience to a joint appearance in a film. As a rule, the studios then tried to arouse the fans' interest permanently with a specially designed film. A typical example of this was the pairing Kay Francis / William Powell . Both had in the 1929 Paramount Pictures strips Behind the makeup of a few, rather insignificant scenes together, but the positive feedback from the fans prompted the studio, both through the films Street of Chance and For the Defense to establish targeted as a duo . The two actors moved to Warner Brothers together in 1932 , where they were promptly used in two films in a row ( Journey of No Return and Jewel Robbery ). Such dream couples also happened in Indian cinema . The best examples of this are Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol . Although both starred in Baazigar in 1993 and Karan Arjun in 1995 , both of which became great hits, their breakthrough as a screen couple came with the film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge . The film was so successful that it is still screened continuously in an Indian cinema after more than 700 weeks. The couple's subsequent films, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai , Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and My Name Is Khan , also became blockbusters . In the Indian press they are always referred to as Jodi No. 1 (German: dream couple number 1).

At the same time, however, the studios also tried very specifically to create a screen dream couple from two actors. Among the more well-known examples was Paramount Pictures' attempt to establish contract actors Fay Wray and Gary Cooper as Paramount's Glorious Young Lovers . The attempt ended after the first joint appearance in The First Kiss . On the other hand, MGM's attempt was successful when they also turned Jean Harlow and Clark Gable , who had already had a few scenes in The Secret Six in 1931, into a screen couple through the film Jungle in the Storm a year later . The corresponding slogan was simply: They were born to co-star!

Most screen pairs only survived a certain number of films. The end of the cooperation could have various reasons. One or both actors could get tired of working together and have the desire to change genre or seek artistic development. This is how Banky / Colman ended their partnership as both stars were literally tired of each other. The same happened to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire , who ultimately saw the collaboration as a limitation on their personal development. Another aspect was the decline in public interest, which usually inevitably went hand in hand with the constant repetition of the scripts. In this case, the investment was no longer worthwhile for the studio and the screen pair was dissolved. The duo Jeanette MacDonald / Nelson Eddy appeared in mostly very opulently produced operettas, but with the change in audience taste, the films ended up costing more than they made, and in 1942 the studio no longer renewed the contracts with the actors, which were running out.

The publicity tried to spread rumors that the two stars would develop romantic feelings for each other even after the shooting ended. A certain problem with screen couples arose when one of the partners, contrary to the stories launched in the fan magazines, decided to marry a third party. Such a decision may also mean the end for the screen couple, as in the example of Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell.

The combination Dorothy Lamour / Bob Hope / Bing Crosby occupied a certain special position between screen dream couples and comedian duos . The trio established itself in 1940 with the film The Way to Singapore , one of the surprise hits of the year. The studio developed a whole series of films from this, which presented the three stars in the leading roles. The films combined comical situations between Hope and Crosby with a romantic love triangle between the two and Lamour. Lamour also shot numerous films with one of the two actors.

With the end of the studio system , when Hollywood was organized much more decentrally and actors were no longer tied to studios by long contracts, screen pairs were rarely formed over many film projects. One exception was director Woody Allen , who appeared in front of the camera many times in his films with his then partner Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow .

Comedian duos

Especially in America, comedian duos, preferably formed by two male actors, were popular on stage and in film. Many of the well-known duos had already established themselves on stage and / or on the radio before switching to film. The comedian duo Jerry Lewis / Dean Martin had already had an extremely successful career in nightclubs and revue theaters when they made their film debut in 1949. The first appearance was still as a supporting actor, but already with the follow-up film, the two comedians were presented in situations specially tailored to their talents. The duo Bert Wheeler / Robert Whoolsey had success on Broadway before the two performed numerous joint appearances for RKO . Actress Dorothy Lee starred in most of the films.

Other well-known comedian teams were Stan Laurel / Oliver Hardy , who first appeared in countless short films for Hal Roach before making the leap to full-length feature films in 1931, as well as Bud Abbott / Lou Costello , who appeared repeatedly on the screen since 1941 and were among the most popular Movie stars belonged to the time. Female duos were rarer, among which actually only the pairing Marie Dressler / Polly Moran , both of whom were under contract with MGM , had lasting commercial success. The comedian duo Gracie Allen / George Burns , who are also married in their private lives, had their first successes in a popular radio show, before they continued their careers partly together in film and later on television.

With the advent of television in the late 1940s, family series became popular in America, often starring couples who were also privately married. Examples were Harriet and Ozzie Osmond from the series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , which even included their sons in the plot, and Lucille Ball / Desi Arnaz with their show I Love Lucy .

Prices

The Golden Raspberry (Razzie Award) is a "negative" film award for poor performance, which has also been awarded since 1994 in the category of the worst screen couple.

Mixed-sex couples

Egypt

Germany

India

Great Britain

United States

Same sex couples

Denmark

Germany

Great Britain

Italy

United States

International

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sawf.org

Sources and further reading