During the 1930's, relative Hollywood newcomer RKO succeeded for a
while in establishing itself among 'the majors' -- MGM, Paramount, Fox
and Warner Brothers. This happened in spite of the fact, that RKO could
never seriously compete with the big budgets of its illustrious
competitors, nor even boasted a particularly outstanding camera
department. Nonetheless, RKO amply made up for these deficiencies by
having one of the most creative art departments, headed (until 1941) by
Van Nest Polglase. The number one art
director under his supervision was Carroll Clark, who deserves at least
an equal share of the credit for the Art Deco/Hollywood Moderne 'RKO
look'. Clark, a qualified architect with experience in commercial
design, was the primary creative force behind the 'Big White Set'
(BWS), with its elegant, spacious, all-white interiors, curvilinear
designs and highly reflective surfaces. This utilitarian concept, at
once aesthetically pleasing and immensely cost-effective, proved a
memorable and popular backdrop for the expansive dance routines of
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers in all of their films, from
Flying Down to Rio (1933) to
Sorgenfrei durch Dr. Flagg (1938).
Clark's career encompassed the entire history of RKO, from 1930 to
1956. He was a perfectionist craftsman, comfortable at working in every
genre and on every historical period: from costume drama (a good
example are the excellent Scottish village sets for
The Little Minister (1934));
films noir (notably Verdacht (1941)
and Berüchtigt (1946) for
Alfred Hitchcock; and
Fritz Lang's
Jenseits allen Zweifels (1956));
and lavish Technicolor adventures
(Die Seeteufel von Cartagena (1945) and
Sindbad der Seefahrer (1947)).
After RKO ceased operation, Clark joined
Walt Disney as supervising art director,
winning two Oscar nominations for
Der zerstreute Professor (1961)
and Mary Poppins (1964). The
invention of a 'moving cloud and horizon machine' also won him
(alongside F. Thomas Thompson) a Scientific and Engineering Award in
1943. Clark was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame in 2006.
