Maude Adams Screen Test (1938)

Maude Adams (1872-1953), a world-renowned American actress, is remembered today as the first to perform the role of Peter Pan on Broadway, and the inspiration behind the film "Somewhere in Time." From the early days of Hollywood, movie producers tried to woo Adams into film acting, but she had gone into semi-retirement and declined these offers. She taught acting at Stephens College beginning in 1937. The following year, producer David O. Selznick succeeded in bringing her to Hollywood to test for the film "The Young in Heart," but Adams never accepted the part. The surviving screen test, a clip of which appeared in the 1969 documentary "Hollywood: The Selznick Years," was the only film ever shot of the famous actress. (She did perform in several radio plays in the 1930s, and at least one audio recording of her, in "The Little Minister," survives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTJfCO6hRME)

A portrait of Adams inside Piper's Opera House in Nevada inspired Richard Matheson to write the novel "Bid Time Return," in which he heavily modeled the fictional actress Elise McKenna on Adams. Matheson later adapted the novel as the 1980 film "Somewhere in Time," starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

Adams charmed audiences all across the United States, and each town she played in probably has a story to tell. Here's a two-part article about her multiple performances in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the local response to her there:

Part 1: https://insideofknoxville.com/2020/10/somewhere-in-time-a-knoxville-theater-and-the-actress-who-inspired-a-classic-film-part-one/

Part 2: https://insideofknoxville.com/2020/10/somewhere-in-time-a-knoxville-theater-and-the-actress-who-inspired-a-classic-film-part-two/

Видео Maude Adams Screen Test (1938) канала VideoBiz1982