Recently, an internet search of mine led me to this post from the blog Music Vine. In it, “Production Designer on The Fabulous Baker Boys, Jeffrey Townsend reveals how the film’s iconic Making Whoopee scene started out as a single page of the script and wrapped as a timeless one-shot classic.”
As you might imagine, I was hooked by that capsule description and had to read Townsend’s account of one of my favorite scenes of all time from one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s a fun read, and I highly recommend it for the behind the scenes stories of how this iconic shot came to be. Here are a few excerpts:
“It’s a movie suffused with melancholy, populated by characters who have been pummeled by life and still keep going. But, the script had a turning point in the second act, which needed to suggest a new hope for the musicians; a different trajectory for their story. “
Townsend proceeds to dig into the technical aspects of production schedules, and how director Steve Kloves and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus conceived of a spectacular 360 degree shot that could cause delays in the schedule—“choreography, lighting, focus issues—so many ways to blow a take”—but ultimately became the film’s centerpiece, and one of the most iconic moments in movie history.
As much as I love reading about the technical wizardry involved in making movie history, this part also grabbed my attention:
“My art department had already built a wooden cover for the four highest keys on the piano, painted glossy black, that could hold Michelle’s weight without damaging the keys. From the camera’s position, it looked perfectly normal. Her next step, however, to the piano bench, was tending to reveal Ms. Pfeiffer’s underwear for just a moment.”
Oh, my. Yowza. I now demand the immediate release of The Underwear Cut! Come on, the footage must be out there! Someone make it happen!
“Choreographer Peggy Holmes worked with Michelle on the routine, and costume designer Lisa Jensen had to keep an eye on the slit in Michelle’s red dress: it had to be deep enough to allow for all the slyly acrobatic moves, but no deeper.”
Keeping an eye on the slit in Michelle’s dress is a job I’d kill for, good gawd. It must’ve been difficult for the crew to remain composed while watching Michelle, in that dress, rolling around in a state of sensual reverie on top of that piano. What a powerful performance, my goodness.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it every time this film comes up: Michelle deserved the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. The Academy whiffed so badly on that one. Thankfully none of that changes the reality, which is that Michelle cemented her place in movie history, thanks to a career-defining performance as Susie Diamond, and the “Making Whoopee” scene is the centerpiece of it all.
The Starfire Lounge 