Home FranceArlesLust for Life Kirk Douglas as Vincent ArlesAuvers-sur-OiseFranceSaint-Rémy Lust for Life Kirk Douglas as Vincent by VanGoghology June 26, 2024 3K views 11 minutes read 3K Released in 1956, Lust for Life is an American biographical film depicting the life of Vincent van Gogh.The film is considered a cinematic masterpiece and is an adaptation of Irving Stone’s 1934 novel of the same title, skillfully brought to the screen by Norman Corwin. Kirk Douglas plays van Gogh in Lust for Life, the Vincente Minnelli-directed, John Houseman-produced film, which also stars James Donald as his devoted brother Theo, Pamela Brown as Sien, Everett Sloane as Dr. Paul Gachet, and Anthony Quinn as Paul Gauguin. Douglas’ outstanding performance earned him the prestigious Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama, while Quinn received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Douglas was also awarded the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.The movie was a long time coming, however, and although it was released in 1956, preparation for the book and Irving’s initial introduction to Vincent’s work came decades prior while starting out as a dramatist in Paris.Like most Americans, Irving Stone was not familiar with the Dutch post-impressionist until well into the twentieth century. That is, until a student at the Sorbonne, with whom he had been exchanging English lessons for French lessons, introduced him to the post-impressionist. The student invited him to the “superb exhibition of van Gogh’s” at the Rosenberg Galleries. Stone declined the invitation, claiming he had never heard of Van Gogh and had seen enough paintings to last a lifetime. The young student persisted, claiming. “Ah, but once you have looked at Vincent’s painting, the whole world will change under your very eyes. You can no longer be the same person.” and proceeded with a dare and a promise to buy him the very best French wine should he become bored. Stone obliged.When I walked into the Rosenberg salon and saw on the walls some fifty of Vincent’s blazing Artesian canvases, something happened to me that had never happened before and has never happened since: I stood transfixed, unable to move or breathe or think. I don’t know how long I remained in that condition, perhaps two minutes, perhaps twenty, before I was able to generate the power to walk into the gallery itself and carefully scrutinize the pictures. When I finally pulled myself away, I asked myself, “Who is this man who can move me so deeply, who can show me that all my life I have been blind.Stone discovered that German art critic and novelist Julius Meier-Graefe had written a biography of van Gogh some twenty-eight years prior, a “beautiful and poetic work but incomplete.” This was enough for him to set the wheels in motion, and upon returning to the Big Apple, he spent countless hours at the New York Public Library reading the volumes of letters between Vincent and Theo.Dr. Felix ReyEmpowered by Vincent’s literary genius, and his emotional attachment to the artist, he returned to France alone to undertake study, then again in 1930 with his then-wife, Lona, where they spent 6 months gathering material.The Lust for Life author formed a friendship with Dr. Felix Rey, the 23-year-old intern who provided medical treatment to Vincent in Arles following the ear incident. Dr. Rey created a concise drawing of Vincent’s detached ear to provide a clearer understanding of the severity of the injury. From 1930 to 1933, the book was rejected by seventeen prominent publishers in the United States. Irving pondered whether the manuscript was too lengthy, so he asked his secretary/fiancée, who would eventually become his second wife, to revise the book. The biographical novel took Jean Factor (Stone) six months to edit, and Longmans Green, an English publisher, gave it their approval along with a $250 advance. A simple Google search estimates this to be approximately $5,810 in 2024. During the depression, this would have been a significant sum.“Lust for Life” was published in September 1934 and has sold tens of millions of copies in over 70 languages. Years later, in 1946, following the release of a best-selling new edition, MGM paid a handsome $120,000 to secure the screenplay rights, with a contract provision that the screen version be completed within the decade. Spencer Tracy would play Vincent.Suffice it to say, producers scrambled for the opportunity to take on the movie. Arthur Freed (The Wizard of Oz, Babes in Arms) and Sam Zimbalist (Quo Vadis, Ben Hur) each assigned rival screenwriters, and while other hopefuls, including Irving Stone himself, attempted to compose what might become the screenplay, nothing progressed.At least not for a few more years…In 1950, Arthur Freed proposed reassessing the film’s production, with Richard Brooks taking on the roles of both writer and director after his departure from Warner Brothers. Fast forward to 1953, with the release of John Houston’s highly successful movie, Moulin Rouge. Shot in three-strip Technicolor, the film focuses on Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the renowned cabaret nightclub in Paris. Within its initial year, the film generated revenue of £205,453 in UK cinemas and $9 million at the North American box office. Although this achievement falls short of becoming record-breaking, it was sufficient to reignite interest in Lust for Life.Willis Goldbeck, a renowned American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his work on Dr. Kildare, proposed his concept by suggesting the name of Jean Renoir, a prominent French film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He was considered one of the greatest directors of all time, and he was also the son of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir.Goldbeck’s proposal was to finance the film in Europe, with MGM distributing it in America for a $300,000 fee. American actor Van Heflin would be cast as Vincent. And while MGM liked the idea, Goldbeck was forced to abandon the project due to budget issues.Jack Palance was said to have been in talks with MGM to acquire the rights and create an adaptation through a company of his own, with himself as the lead actor. However, the deal ultimately fell through.Irving Stone offered to buy back the rights to his novel in order to move ahead with production on the big screen using another studio. Italian film producers Agostino “Dino” De Laurentiis and (major art collector) Carlo Ponti were to bankroll the film, which would star either Yul Brynner, Marlon Brando, or Kirk Douglas as Vincent under the direction of Jean Negulesco. MGM was under pressure to finish the cinematic adaptation within the next twelve months. Meanwhile, in January 1955, Bryna Productions, incorporated by Kirk Douglas in 1949, announced a six-picture deal with United Artists. One of those films would be a biographical movie about Vincent van Gogh, directed by Jean Negulesco and written by Harry Brown. The film would be filmed in Rome and would star Douglas in the main role.Rather than go up against Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Douglas, who was about to begin filming The Indian Fighter, offered to make a van Gogh picture together with his services as the main lead. John Arnold, Executive Director of Photography at MGM (centered): technician Matt Kluznik handling the transparency controls; seated is cinematographer Harnkness Smith.Vincent Minnelli, the director of Lust for Life, was occupied with The Cobweb in 1955 before moving on to Kismet. In order to commence production on Lust for Life, Minnelli had to relinquish control of Kismet to Stanley Donen. Long before shooting began on location in Europe, MGM spent several months scouring the globe for authentic van Gogh paintings, pleading with museums, galleries, and private collectors if they could capture their canvases on film for reproduction. A new photography method was devised specifically for Lust for Life that involved making 8″ x 10″ Ektachrome transparencies of the paintings, then photographing them with motion picture cameras at MGM studios in Culver City. Edward G. Robinson, with his painting of Père Tanguy,As the legal team scoured the globe for Vincent’s paintings, MGM’s European offices sought out principal locations in which to shoot the film. The cast was predominantly assembled at Borehamwood Studio’s in London, and with only ten days left before shooting, they still hadn’t decided on an actor to portray Theo. After considering Dirk Bogarde and other possibilities, the casting of Scottish actor James Donald—who also provided the voiceover for Vincent’s letters throughout the film—was finalized. The primary production for Lust for Life finally began on August 2, 1955, in Auvers-sur-Oise. Thus, shooting the final scenes with Vincent painting Wheatfield with Crows and his suicide came first. Locals were used as extras in cafe scenes at Auberge Ravoux and also during the Town Hall Bastille Day celebrations.After spending a week filming in the picturesque town known today predominantly as where van Gogh spent his final days, the crew headed to the Francoeur Studios in Paris, where they shot some interior scenes. They left the French capital and traveled south to Provence, spending the next three weeks filming on location. They began in Arles, where they built a replica of the Yellow House due to the destruction of the original structure during World War II.On set, a cut scene of Vincent meeting Gauguin.During their time in Arles, the film crew encountered two older gentlemen who had personal memories of Vincent van Gogh from their younger years. Through their firsthand accounts, the film crew likely gained a deeper understanding of van Gogh’s relationships with the locals. The movie afforded both of them the chance to make an appearance.From Arles, the cast and crew ventured slightly northeast to Saint-Rémy, where van Gogh spent a year at the Saint-Paul Asylum. Seasonal weather conditions dominated a large portion of the shooting. For instance, in order to capture the almond blossoms in bloom in the Arles scenes, a photography unit traveled to the region in March. In Auvers-sur-Oise, nature’s call for harvest beckoned, prompting producer John Houseman to purchase five acres of crop to film the verdant wheat fields.Setting out in mid-September from the intense heat of southern France and moving north to shoot under the cloudy skies of the Netherlands proved a welcome treat… initially. Amsterdam, the Hague, and Nuenen were all featured, with the first stop focusing on Vincent and Sien Hoornik, followed by a live adaptation of The Potato Eaters. Locals were hired to represent the peasants, who bore an uncanny likeness to the de Groot family.Once again, weather conditions prevented specific scenes from being shot outdoors, so the crew packed up and headed to the Borinage, the last location in which filming would take place, yet the first scene to appear in the movie. As with the townspeople in Auvers, the coal miners and their families were hired by the studio as extras, but filming the scenes underground proved challenging, at least as far as configuring the right lighting, which was eventually recreated back in Hollywood.Filming on location in Europe came to an end on September 29, when the main cast and crew returned to California to shoot the remainder of the movie. For the next two months, Minnelli assembled the puzzle, and the final cut came in mid-January, two weeks after Irving Stone’s deadline, for which he received an additional fee of $35,000.The film’s ambitious scope and large-scale production forced several scenes to be trimmed, others recreated. Van Gogh’s funeral was cut completely, much to the delight of the screenwriter, who felt the flowers made it look like a gangster’s funeral. Minnelli was disappointed that parts of Gauguin’s first scene at the cafe in Arles were chopped, but the movie was already too lengthy and over budget. On August 19, 1956, the Caley Picture House hosted the international premiere as part of the Edinburgh Film Festival. It subsequently premiered on September 17 at the Plaza Theatre on East 58th Street in New York City as a benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s student program.The picture below depicts Gauguin admiring some of Vincent’s paintings shortly after arriving at the Yellow House. For the production, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired American painter and watercolorist Richard Parker to recreate some 200 canvases. The studio’s initial approach was to showcase Parker’s hands rather than Douglas’ hands as they brought van Gogh’s paintings to life throughout the movie. This technique was only used for Wheatfield with Crows, however, with Parker taking on the task of painting other replicas for the film used in backgrounds. The film’s star, Kirk Douglas, devoted himself to portraying van Gogh authentically and accurately. Douglas immersed himself in the role, studying the artist’s paintings, letters, and journals to fully understand his complex personality and motivations. His performance as van Gogh earned him critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination.Overall, the production of “Lust for Life” was a testament to the power of artistic passion and dedication. The film remains a timeless homage to van Gogh’s extraordinary talent and tragic life, capturing the essence of the man behind the masterpieces. Copyright © 2024-2025 VanGoghology ~ All Rights Reserved. 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditEmail previous post Van Gogh or not Van Gogh, that is the question. next post Rain by Van Gogh at the Philadelphia Art Museum You may also like Vincent van Gogh Poppies The Saint Paul de Mausole Asylum Saint Rémy The Decline of Saint Paul de Mausole Saint... Rain by Van Gogh at the Philadelphia Art... Van Gogh or not Van Gogh, that is... Adeline Ravoux – The Interview and more Auberge Ravoux Plaque Ceremony 1946 The Death of Vincent van Gogh The Bedroom Van Gogh The Auberge Ravoux ~ The House of Van...
