Ben Carré

Early Career

Born in Paris, Ben Carré began his career designing and painting theatrical backdrops and stage sets. He later worked in film production in Paris, Fort Lee, New Jersey, and eventually Hollywood. Carré has been described by film historians as one of the first true visual artists of American cinema. As an art director, Carré pioneered several filmmaking techniques. He was the first to paint film sets in color, worked on Don Juan (1926), the first feature with a synchronized musical score, and contributed to The Jazz Singer (1927), the first feature-length film with spoken dialogue. His work includes such memorable films as The Pride of the Clan (1917) and The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917), both starring Mary Pickford, The Phantom of the Opera (1925), and the Marx Brothers’ A Night at the Opera (1935).

In 1937 Carré began designing backdrops at MGM. He spent the last half of his career as the perspective expert of the MGM Scenic Art Department, creating architectural drawings with an accuracy that deceived audiences into believing what they saw was real. Memorable films demonstrating Carré’s preternatural drawing skills include Marie Antoinette (1938), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), National Velvet (1944), An American in Paris (1951), Young Bess (1953), and Singin’ in the Rain (1952). His architectural perspective work contributed to iconic screen environments including the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest (1959).

Legacy

Ben Carré helped establish many of the artistic techniques that defined Hollywood scenic art during the studio era. His mastery of architectural perspective influenced generations of scenic artists, while his work on landmark productions continues to illustrate the importance of painted environments in the history of motion pictures.

Carré, Anne. Ca. 1989. The Glory Years. Unpublished manuscript. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California., Isackes, Richard M., Maness, Karen L. 2016. The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, ReganArts